Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Black Mirror

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #76
    Yup. Callister was a great one.

    Arkangel, filmed in Toronto and directed by Jody Foster was, I thought, a bit of a dud.

    Hang The DJ was marvellous.

    Crocodile was eerie looking (filmed in Iceland, of all places) and clever. Enjoyed it. But (and I'm not joking), I had to turn on closed captioning to understand some of the dialogue.

    Comment


      #77
      Did is a bit strong. It was the weakest, but also the most topical. How far parents should go to protect their kids from reality is a timeless and universal issue. It deserves a longer treatment.

      Comment


        #78
        So the long-awaited Bandersnatch Christmas special is out today, which I plan on watching this evening.

        However, I'm not sure if we'll be able to discuss it, as it's an interactive episode where you control the narrative.

        Comment


          #79
          Somehow I had no idea this episode was coming until yesterday and didn’t know it would be choose-your-own-adventure. It’s impressively seamless.

          I didn’t know WH Smith sold music.

          Comment


            #80
            This is very helpful.

            https://m.imgur.com/a/bQeXSYm

            I recommend going back and forth and trying to get to all the endings shown on the flow chart. There are actually more different endings than this shows because all of the (spoiler)In Jail/No Bandersnatch(/spoiler) ones are not entirely identical. I suggest working from left to right and then getting to the one where he (spoiler)finishes the game successfully(/spoiler). Because that one makes a lot more sense if you’ve seen the other pathways.

            Also, some of what appear to be dead ends give you a chance to go back to a point earlier, but then as you move back down again, some choices you had before are cut off.

            So I haven’t reached every possible conclusion. I’m going to have to start it all over a few more times to do that.

            It’s remarkable there’s actually a lot more to it than some critics I’ve read seem to think. I also loved the 1982 computer-games-on-tape-written-by-one-person set-up. Those were the days when I actually wanted to go into video game writing, but I learned I didn’t have the patience to be a computer person.

            Comment


              #81
              Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
              I didn’t know WH Smith sold music.
              In the 80s, WHSmith sold books, newspapers and magazines, stationary, records and home computers. And some electronic devices if memory serves (my dad had a WHSmith cassette recorder). And probably a few more things.

              It was a good shop once.

              Comment


                #82
                I’ve only seen them in airports, selling magazines and snacks.

                Comment


                  #83
                  "Wouldn't you be in a more entertaining scenario?"

                  Very nice indeed.

                  Comment


                    #84
                    Can anyone enlighten me as to why I can't find this on Netflix? And is the interactive component carried out with your remote control, or do you have to watch it on a computer (asking for my granddad)?

                    Comment


                      #85
                      I'm having to watch on my Chromebook. You will need a mouse or touchpad. I assume that if you are able to watch on a newer smart TV, your remote would work.

                      Comment


                        #86
                        Originally posted by imp View Post
                        Can anyone enlighten me as to why I can't find this on Netflix? And is the interactive component carried out with your remote control, or do you have to watch it on a computer (asking for my granddad)?
                        It uses the arrow controls on the remote.

                        I don’t know why you couldn’t find it. Sometimes new things don’t immediately appear on the choices so you have to search.

                        Your daughter just posted about it on Instagram, so maybe you sorted it out.
                        Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 30-12-2018, 00:52.

                        Comment


                          #87
                          Maybe he couldn't find it because it doesn't show up as another season of Black Mirror. It took me a minute to find it at first.

                          Comment


                            #88
                            That’s true. But it should pop up on the new releases or recommendations for anyone who previously like Black Mirror.

                            Netflix could make it easier to find stuff.

                            Comment


                              #89
                              Indeed we eventually found it, hooked up a laptop to the TV and had much family fun. Our choices meant our version was over in 90 minutes, though, so we'll definitely have another watch/play.

                              Especially liked the David-Mellor lookalike reviewing computer games. Was there any such kind of programme on British tv in 1984?

                              Comment


                                #90
                                Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post

                                Netflix could make it easier to find stuff.
                                This. One thousand times this. It's a fucking nightmare.

                                Comment


                                  #91
                                  Originally posted by ad hoc View Post
                                  This. One thousand times this. It's a fucking nightmare.
                                  Yes. Every time I search for something, even when I know it's definitely on there, it won't bring up the actual movie/series, but just "titles related to..." and then a ton of stuff, most of which isn't related to the title you were looking for at all.

                                  Comment


                                    #92
                                    Originally posted by imp View Post
                                    Especially liked the David-Mellor lookalike reviewing computer games. Was there any such kind of programme on British tv in 1984?
                                    Modelled on this I think

                                    Comment


                                      #93
                                      Originally posted by imp View Post
                                      Yes. Every time I search for something, even when I know it's definitely on there, it won't bring up the actual movie/series, but just "titles related to..." and then a ton of stuff, most of which isn't related to the title you were looking for at all.
                                      When it does that, it means the title you want isn’t on Netflix. Try Amazon Prime or iTunes or whatever other options you have.

                                      Comment


                                        #94
                                        Originally posted by imp View Post
                                        Indeed we eventually found it, hooked up a laptop to the TV and had much family fun. Our choices meant our version was over in 90 minutes, though, so we'll definitely have another watch/play.

                                        Especially liked the David-Mellor lookalike reviewing computer games. Was there any such kind of programme on British tv in 1984?



                                        Slight spoilers...
                                        Like I mentioned before, it helps to have the flowchart so you can remember what you did before. All of it only really makes sense, insofar as it does at all, after you follow multiple paths and go back and forth.

                                        The one outcome where the game is a success is the most satisfying, but I only makes complete sense if you’ve been through the path where you ditch therapy to follow Colin Ritman to his apartment and I don’t think you can get to that ending if you’ve followed him there at that earlier point.

                                        The “Netflix” ending is amusing but kind of a dead end that’s not very satisfying.


                                        There are lots of references to previous episodes. The choice-branch glyph symbol showed up in “White Bear.” The game Ritman is making, “Nohsdyve” refers to the episode “Nosedive,” the one where Bryce Dallas Howard goes mental trying to get people to like her on social media. Tuckersoft also has posters of their big hit Metal Hedz, which was that episode about the robot dog things murdering everyone.

                                        Comment


                                          #95
                                          Originally posted by Ginger Yellow View Post
                                          Ah, thanks for that. I found myself mesmerised by the first edition, until I managed to switch off after about 15 minutes. Which mirrors my own relationship with computers at that age - my dad got one, and I'm struggling to remember why, but it would certainly have been something to do with work, maybe for accounting purposes. So it was sometime around 1984 or 1985 that I spent a whole day on it playing Manic Miner, stopping only to eat and go to the bog. At the end of the day I was horrified how many hours I'd wasted - at least 12. And even though I really, really wanted to get to the next level, I held back and never played Manic Miner again, or anything else. Although I've still managed to waste thousands of hours sitting at a computer.

                                          Comment


                                            #96
                                            Brooker started out as a video games journo, of course.

                                            Comment


                                              #97
                                              I had an enjoyable couple of hours yesterday afternoon watching (most of) the Bandersnatch permutations. It was a pretty basic 1.01 course in free will/control, but darkly comic and thoughtful. And I like trying to spot all the Easter Egg references to previous BM episodes - there were at least 10.

                                              Comment


                                                #98
                                                And I like trying to spot all the Easter Egg references to previous BM episodes - there were at least 10.
                                                Oddly enough I missed pretty much all of them except Nosedive and the White Bear one (and even then I only knew it was familiar, not which episode). On the other hand, I enjoyed all the 80s computer/gaming references. Especially casting Jeff Minter as the author.

                                                Comment


                                                  #99
                                                  have to say i found it pretty tedious. The interactive storyline didn't make up for tedious characters wooden acting and predictable storyline.

                                                  Comment


                                                    I loved it, but I'm a sucker for anything overly complicated and meta. I didn't really care very much for the characters but became really invested in the creation of the video game (at some point I got to a fork where I had no choice but to destroy the computer one way or another and was pretty much yelling NO DON'T DO THIS YOU NEED TO FINISH THE GAME!! at the screen), which made the 5/5 ending very satisfying

                                                    Comment

                                                    Working...
                                                    X