Board 8 > Black Mirror Season 7, coming April 10 at Netflix

(+) Yeah! (+)

Specifically, 12:00 am PT. There will be six episodes.

I wasn't too big on Season 6 but I do like the series' premise in general so I'll give it a watch.

Oh no... too many things coming out that I'm interested in, and plus I'm going on vacation starting on Saturday. Blast the timing of it all!

Well they're not going anywhere soon! Just gotta watch out for spoilers.

Don't trust this show to be good anymore unfortunately but still going to watch.

Yeah that's tomorrow, I somehow wasn't aware of it until, like, one hour ago lol so yeah thought I'd share it here.

I'm pumped. Hopefully there'll be some good episodes in there.

Season 8 will be a documentary

Loving the first episode so far even if it's pretty obvious where it's going.

Yeah just getting into the first episode but this is off to a really strong start. Looks like reviews are saying this season is a return to form as well.

Nutallergy?

Got half way through episode 1. Kids now want to watch the whole series with me, but they had to go to bed so I didn't finish.

IfGodCouldDie posted...

Got half way through episode 1. Kids now want to watch the whole series with me, but they had to go to bed so I didn't finish.

How old are your kids?

Ep 1 has sex and Ep 2 has some violence/blood, but if you're watching with them it's probably fine.

tyder21 posted...

Nutallergy?

Do you mean not allegory?

Raka_Putra posted...

How old are your kids?

Ep 1 has sex and Ep 2 has some violence/blood, but if you're watching with them it's probably fine.

Do you mean not allegory?

They will be 10 and 12 at the end of June. I've been watching "inappropriate" stuff with my kids since they were old enough to watch TV. They have always been welcome to sit down and watch whatever my wife and I have watched, and despite that they always gravitate to pg stuff when they search out media of their own.

Cool, cool. And they're pretty big already.

Episode 3's main conceit is fun but man it's frustrating how careless and... kinda stupid the main character is.

I only watched one episode so far, and I went out of order, it was the hotel redream one. My one sentence non-spoiler take is that I'll at least give it props for sending me on a wild plot ride I wasn't anticipating, but the execution was sloppy and nonsensical at times. Kind of just a "meh" episode for me.

Well I was referring to Issa Rae's character although Awkwafina's does come out looking worse considering it's her idea.

Anyway I still like it overall.

Onward to episode 4... Oh hey I know this guy!
Seeing Will Poulter speaking in an English accent still gives me whiplash.

Watched episodes 2-5 so far (my order watching these has been weird).

Episodes 2 and 4 are my favorites. Really enjoyed both of those. Though you may want to rewatch (or should I say replay?) Bandersnatch before watching episode 4.

Episodes 3 and 5 were just kind of meh for me. Both of them have compelling stories, episodes 3's was just too plot holey and marred by bad acting while episode 5 was just a bit dull despite everything else being good around it.

The only episode I really disliked was episode 3, predominantly because of Issa Rae's really terrible performance. The rest of this season was enjoyable! Maybe the best season since 3?

Loved this season. Much better than the last few imo.

UltimaterializerX posted...

I dont think it was terrible. Of course a black chick is out of place in the 40s, that was the entire idea.

That's definitely not what I'm talking about.

So far I'd rate the ep. 1 > 3 > 4 > 2

Finished watching them.

1 > 3 > 2 > 5 > 6 > 4

And yeah overall it feels like a return to form. Really happy with it overall.

My ranking so far is 2 > 4 > 1 > 3 > 5 with not a bad episode in the bunch.

Do I need to watch the first USS Calypso again before I watch this next episode or is the little synapsis that I hear they give at the beginning of the episode good enough?

I didn't feel like watching it again and it was fine. The episode also gives more flashback/reminders. You can also consult Wikipedia or such.

finished the season last night. i enjoyed it overall! it's hard to remember, but i think on average i liked it more than usual

episode 1 was classic but repetitive. It should've either been shorter or had a different ending (i have thoughts on it). i think 2 might have been executed the most successfully, and the concept was cute, but i personally struggle with repeated second-hand embarrassment. Unfortunately we did feel compelled to skip through a lot of 3. didn't feel like it was saying anything. 4 was so stupid, but for some reason I enjoyed it. Left me wanting more. Shout out to the part where he talks about always harvesting consoles because they have "the best tech" and it shows him buying a Switch. The Paul Giamatti episode barely even qualified as black mirror, and I wasn't invested, but I appreciate it keeping the tone of the season varied. 6 was a fun ride. The very very end was almost offensively unrealistic, but I guess they had to do something wacky to justify an entire 90 minutes of buildup. Jimmi Simpson's character especially was great. Them pulling (ending spoilers) a straight-up Being John Malkovich was so unnecessary. Talk about movies that screwed me up as a kid, by the way.

guffguy89 posted...

Do I need to watch the first USS Calypso again before I watch this next episode or is the little synapsis that I hear they give at the beginning of the episode good enough?

You for sure do not need to rewatch the first episode. They recap everything very well. The only thing I felt compelled to look up was whotf Karl was

2 ~= 4 ~= 6 > 5 >= 1 >= 3, but they're all solid.

Here are a few things I'd like to change from each episode:

1: You're right, it's indeed a bit too classic Black Mirror. A different ending or another twist might make it more memorable.

2: The tech is really fun and I wish we see more of it being used creatively by the main character at the end, or maybe in a future episode

3: I wish Issa Rae's character was written to be a little bit more restrained and smart, her choices come across as quite silly.

4: I don't really vibe with it since the development of his obsession and the technology itself is pretty obvious to be spending the majority of the episode on it. Like yeah, we get it. I want to see what happens next (I get making it ambiguous though).

5. Actually, it's pretty solid for what it is. Quite a slow burn. I thought the twist would be that the AI guide is the woman herself, but making it her child makes more sense. Maybe doing something more interesting with the tech will give it more oomph.

6. I wish they spend more time exploring the difference between the AI and the real life of the people and how they interact.

I agree with you on all of that.

4: I don't really vibe with it since

Yeah, there's a pattern with some episodes where the pacing is wildly off and events are predictable. This episode was slow, slow, slow and then only started picking up right at the end.

It's become... not quite a pet peeve, but a desire of mine to see more in fiction what happens after the traditional "ending". I read one book that had a long epilogue and it was so nice. I can see why a black mirror episode might want to leave stuff to the imagination, I suppose.

Just finished watching Eulogy, brilliant episode.

Very similar in premise to an episode of UK sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf. And like Eulogy, this episode features the main character going into a photo of his past self playing in a band. The band was called Smeg and the Heads, and on the kick drum of the Paul Giamatti 's band are the words "The Heads".

Can't be a coincidence, surely

actuallyI think I read somewhere about Charlie Brooker being a fan of Red Dwarf

Too Infinity might be my favorite Black Mirror episode ever. That was great.

S7 rankings: 6 > 1 > 3 > 5 > 2 > 4

guffguy89 posted...

Though you may want to rewatch (or should I say replay?) Bandersnatch before watching episode 4.

i'm just skimming because i haven't watched them all yet, but how important is this? i actually have never watched that one still, should i...?

Eh, I'd say that you'll notice more easter eggs if you play Bandersnatch before Plaything. They're not really that closely intertwined.

But watching/playing Bandersnatch is worth it on its own.

Just finished the season. It was certainly an improvement over last season, but felt kind of uneven to me.

4>5>2>6>1>3