Black Mirror is a British science fiction anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker, with Brooker and Annabel Jones serving as the programme's showrunners. It centres on dark and satirical themes that examine modern society, particularly with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies. Episodes are standalone works, usually set in an alternative present or the near future. The show premiered on the British Channel 4, in December 2011. A second series ran during February 2013. In September 2015, Netflix purchased the programme, commissioning a series of 12 episodes later divided into two series of six episodes. The former was released on Netflix worldwide as the overall third series on 21 October 2016. Filming for the fourth series concluded in June 2017, with the premiere expected during the final quarter of the year.
Regarding the programme's content and structure, Brooker noted, "each episode has a different cast, a different setting, even a different reality. But they're all about the way we live now - and the way we might be living in 10 minutes' time if we're clumsy." The series has received critical acclaim and has seen an increase in interest internationally (particularly in the US) after being added to Netflix. In 2017, the acclaimed series three episode "San Junipero" earned Black Mirror its first Primetime Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special for Brooker.
Video Black Mirror
Series
Maps Black Mirror
Production
Conception
The first two series of the programme were produced by Zeppotron, for Endemol. An Endemol press release described the series as "a hybrid of The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected which taps into our contemporary unease about our modern world", with the stories having a "techno-paranoia" feel. Channel 4 describes the first episode as "a twisted parable for the Twitter age". Black Mirror series 1 had a limited DVD release for PAL / Region 2 on 27 February 2012. This was followed by a DVD release of series 2, also PAL for region 2 only.
According to Brooker (speaking to SFX), the production team considered giving the series a linking theme or presenter, but ultimately it was decided not to do so: "There were discussions. Do we set them all in the same street? Do we have some characters who appear in each episode, a bit Three Colours: Blue/White/Red style? We did think about having a character who introduces them, Tales from the Crypt style, or like Rod Serling or Alfred Hitchcock or Roald Dahl, because most anthology shows did have that... but the more we thought about it, we thought it was a bit weird."
Title
Charlie Brooker explained the series' title to The Guardian: "If technology is a drug - and it does feel like a drug - then what, precisely, are the side effects? This area - between delight and discomfort - is where Black Mirror, my new drama series, is set. The 'black mirror' of the title is the one you'll find on every wall, on every desk, in the palm of every hand: the cold, shiny screen of a TV, a monitor, a smartphone."
Development
In 2013, Robert Downey Jr. optioned the episode "The Entire History of You" (written by Jesse Armstrong) to potentially be made into a film by Warner Bros. and his own production company, Team Downey.
In September 2015, Netflix commissioned a third series of 12 episodes, which was later divided into two series of six episodes. The third series cast includes Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve, James Norton, Cherry Jones, Wyatt Russell, Alex Lawther, Jerome Flynn, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mackenzie Davis, Michael Kelly, Malachi Kirby, Kelly Macdonald, and Faye Marsay. The directors for the third series include Joe Wright, Jakob Verbruggen, James Hawes, and Dan Trachtenberg. The third series was released on Netflix worldwide on 21 October 2016. Channel 4 will not air the third series after Netflix outbid them for the rights, spending $40 million. A trailer for the third series was released in October 2016.
In October 2016, Brooker revealed that he had ideas of where sequels to both "White Bear" and "Be Right Back" would go, but it was unlikely that either would be made. He also revealed that actors had been approached to return to the series, but were not available, although Hannah John-Kamen does appear in "Playtest" after appearing in an unrelated role in "Fifteen Million Merits". Furthermore, Brooker also stated that there were some characters in the series three episode "Hated in the Nation" who could potentially recur.
According to Brooker, the fourth series will have even more variety in the episodes than in previous series. Moreover, he expressed a reluctance to make a sequel to the popular and critically acclaimed "San Junipero" episode. Other directors confirmed for the fourth series include John Hillcoat and David Slade. The series will feature an episode story conceived by Penn Jillette. Jodie Foster will direct an episode of the fourth series starring Rosemarie DeWitt with a mother and daughter theme; one episode is being filmed in Iceland, and one episode will be overtly comedic in tone. Jesse Plemons, Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson, Michaela Coel, Andrea Riseborough, Andrew Gower, Georgina Campbell, Joe Cole, George Blagden, Maxine Peake, Douglas Hodge, and Letitia Wright will all appear in the fourth series. In addition to Foster, the episodes will be directed by Toby Haynes, John Hillcoat, Tim Van Patten, David Slade, and Colm McCarthy.
Reception
Critical response
The first series has been acclaimed as being innovative and shocking with twists-in-the-tale reminiscent of The Twilight Zone. Michael Hogan of The Daily Telegraph described the first episode, "The National Anthem", as "a shocking but ballsy, blackly comic study of the modern media". He went on to say that "This was a dementedly brilliant idea. The satire was so audacious, it left me open-mouthed and squealing. Rather like that poor pig." The series was taken up across much of the world, including Australia, Israel, Sweden, Spain, Poland, Hungary and China. The series has become popular and been well received in China, becoming one of the most discussed series in early 2012. User ratings on Douban reach 9.3, higher than most popular American dramas. Many viewers and critics praised the depth of the series. A reporter from The Beijing News thought the programme was "an apocalypse of modern world", "desperate but profound". Another article from the same newspaper thought each story criticised television from different aspects. Xu Wen at The Epoch Times thought the stories reveal modernity's moral turpitude.
In its second series, Black Mirror continued to receive acclaim. In his review of the episode "Be Right Back", Sameer Rahim of The Telegraph wrote, "The show touched on important ideas - the false way we sometimes present ourselves online, and our growing addiction to virtual lives - but it was also a touching exploration of grief. To my mind it's the best thing Brooker has done." Jane Simon of The Daily Mirror newspaper website, said that the second episode of the second series, "White Bear", lacked the "instant emotional tug" of the series opener, "Be Right Back". She went on to say that, a third of the way through the second episode, she had lost hope of it concluding well, "the acting was unbelievable, the script was riddled with horror-film cliches, the violence was a bit over the top", but that by the end, "I turned out to be absolutely dead wrong on every single count." She ended the piece with: "It's another work of dark and twisted genius from Mr Brooker." Several news reports, including one by Chris Cillizza, political reporter for The Washington Post, compared the 2016 Donald Trump political campaign to "The Waldo Moment", a 2013 episode in the second series; later, in September 2016, episode writer Charlie Brooker also compared the Trump campaign to the episode and predicted Trump would win the 2016 election. The second series is popular in China. Wen Bai at Information Times thought the second series was still "cannily made", and "near perfection".
In December 2014, Stephen King noted his admiration of the series. The show's Christmas special that year, "White Christmas" received critical acclaim. Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian praised the comic satire of the episode and noted that "sentimentality is offset with wicked wit, and Brooker's brio and imagination paper over any gaps in logic." The Daily Telegraph reviewer Mark Monahan gave the episode 4/5 stars, noting that the drama was "thrilling stuff: escapist entertainment with a very real-world sting in its tail". Monahan equated the episode with the stronger of the previous Black Mirror episodes, stating that "it exaggerated present-day technology and obsessions to subtle but infernal effect, a nightmare-before-Christmas reminder that to revere our digital gizmos is to become their pathetic slave."
The third series received positive reviews from critics and has a Metacritic rating of 82 out of 100, based on 23 reviews.
Accolades
In November 2012, Black Mirror won Best TV Movie/Miniseries at the International Emmy Awards. International Emmys are for TV series "produced and initially aired outside the US." After both series aired in the US, The A.V. Club placed it on its Best of 2013 list (along with Borgen, The Fall, Moone Boy and Please Like Me). Bryce Dallas Howard received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her performance in the episode "Nosedive". At the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, Black Mirror received three nominations with two wins, including Outstanding Television Movie for San Junipero.
Literature
In June 2017, Brooker announced a series of novels based on Black Mirror that will offer "new, original, darkly satirical stories that tap into our collective unease about the modern world". Brooker will edit three volumes of novellas that will feature anthology short stories by different authors. The first installment is scheduled for release on 20 February 2018; the second later that year; and the third in 2019.
References
Further reading
- Nussbaum, Emily (January 2015). "Button-Pusher: The seductive dystopia of 'Black Mirror'". The New Yorker. Condé Nast.
External links
- Black Mirror microsite at Channel 4
- Black Mirror press release from Channel 4
- Black Mirror at Netflix
- Black Mirror on IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments