Black Mirror

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Dec 4, 2011
Season #: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 528 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 479 out of 528
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 528
  3. Negative: 32 out of 528

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User Reviews

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  1. mugen_is_here
    Jan 7, 2017
    1
    It's meant to show the "misuse of technology" in the future. Guess what. The concept of "misuse" is such that no matter what topic you pick up you can show very degenerate people. Forget the future, in the medieval times itself there was a lot of savagery.

    Humans are always capable of savagery given that the situation demands it. And even then there would be people who would not resort    It's meant to show the "misuse of technology" in the future. Guess what. The concept of "misuse" is such that no matter what topic you pick up you can show very degenerate people. Forget the future, in the medieval times itself there was a lot of savagery.

    Humans are always capable of savagery given that the situation demands it. And even then there would be people who would not resort to savagery and would remain kind and helpful.

    The Black mirror series is akin to watching the Saw movie series. The episodes and stories are psychopathic. The crowd of people are generally shown to be degenerate beings capable of only getting entertained no matter what. Whereas in the real life we've had world-wide co-operated shutdowns like black day to protest for that Internet ISP throttling that was being planned. Recall the protests against PIPA and SOPA in real life. And now compare that kind of crowd to what they show in Black mirror.

    All the black mirror episodes are horrifying NOT because of the technology used, the torture performed, but because the MASS of people, the citizens are shown as degenerate, emotionless beings. People who have completely no brainpower other than taking pics and laughing at a victim. Moreover, the entire mass of people has been shown to be the same.

    Let me give you guys another "mind **** Those of you who have watched Black Mirror. Imagine the same episode but now replace the citizens with people who feel connected to each other, people who don't like others being harmed, and they can be united to stop violence. Now imagine the episodes that you watched. Does it still look that "mind ****ing"? I'll wager not.    … Expand
  2. IgnatzS
    Jan 4, 2015
    0
    While the arts are meant to challenge us to think, sometimes they can be used to destroy. Through the vile subject matter, the first episode actually contributes to the very problem it pretends to mock. Humans can be very very flawed, but to minimize certain flaws is destructive.
    Consider, would the viewer's reaction to this show have been different if it had involved pedophilia rather    While the arts are meant to challenge us to think, sometimes they can be used to destroy. Through the vile subject matter, the first episode actually contributes to the very problem it pretends to mock. Humans can be very very flawed, but to minimize certain flaws is destructive.
    Consider, would the viewer's reaction to this show have been different if it had involved pedophilia rather than bestiality?
    While government can and should not censor, we as individuals can. If you haven't watched this, you would do well to avoid it. It is a mind game that is destructive.    … Expand
  3. Gabrielle
    Oct 26, 2016
    0
    I consider myself fairly liberal, and I'm also a fan of irony and social commentary, but after watching the first episode, I don't think I have the stomach for any more. The willingness to watch a show about this topic mirrors the cynicism and numbness of the general population in the who, who watch a man being humiliated on public television. I like to think we're still above this.
  4. will_f
    Jan 20, 2015
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is rank self-indulgence parading as Hard Truth Speech. This episode purports (I can only suppose - why else would you make something so perversely ugly?) to open our eyes to the cold hard facts of eroded public morals when it comes to sensationalism. The "parable" is as follows: Prime Minister of Britain is subject to a form of psychological rape in a live broadcast, and because the entire citizenry cannot take their eyes away, no one is present to discover that he did not, in fact need to endure it. If the writer of this lurid indulgence thinks that showing the depths to which humans will go in the most quotidian of circumstances, he is living in a bubble of privilege.

    I was left with the impression that the creators must imagine that this story is revelatory. It is not. It is as immaturely sadistic as a little boy torturing a frog.    … Expand
  5. Aillas
    Dec 23, 2014
    0
    The plot of the first episode (National Anthem) is undeniably the work of a diseased imagination. The portrayal of the reactions to the central event of everyone involved, and of the public in general, is absurd and insulting. I am surprised that so many excellent actors have agreed to participate in this crass stupidity.
  6. tinyrick1
    Nov 13, 2016
    0
    This show is simply horrible. It masquerades as social commentary while simultaneously catering to our basest desires: watching people be humiliated, tortured or killed. Not only are the majority of the episodes disgusting and disturbing, but the spectacularly fail at any semblance of commentary. This is usually because it seems that the writers tend to get lost in their own gluttony forThis show is simply horrible. It masquerades as social commentary while simultaneously catering to our basest desires: watching people be humiliated, tortured or killed. Not only are the majority of the episodes disgusting and disturbing, but the spectacularly fail at any semblance of commentary. This is usually because it seems that the writers tend to get lost in their own gluttony for the horrifying and forget what the episode is supposed to be about. Stay away from the show and you'll do yourself a favor.… Expand
  7. Yomo
    May 9, 2016
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disturbing, pointless, garbage. The plot is not believable and illogical. Any person, especially a prime minister would not destroy his carrier, marriage, and life, forever, for an uncertain prospect or even for the proposed possible prospect. The response of the public is totally unrealistic. I do not need 150 words to describe something so woeful. Obviously I either do not see what some other critics see in it, or they are much smarter than I am. I'm surprise that the show creators did not quit making it when realized that if they had any message to convey, it is paper thin.… Expand
  8. fanglemeister
    Jan 28, 2017
    0
    I've never rated anything on Netflix below two stars, ever. Not until this diseased, vomitous dreck spewed out of my television. Laughably bad, laughably pretentious, no normal human is capable of liking this without certifying themselves, intellectually, a complete gelatinous glob.
  9. bob516
    Apr 2, 2018
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Because I had such high expectations for this show, I am so painfully disappointed.

    I saw little in the storytelling of the first three episodes that brought something original, compared to Twilight Zone. Other than the "first great art piece of the 21st century," each story could have been told in the 1960's, as the Twilight Zone. Yes, the production values have improved, other than that I don't see a difference, in many ways this as less than what the Twilight Zone offered us to contemplate at the end of each episode.

    After watching a few more episodes there are some that I might consider worthwhile, but it still feels like this was written by people who never watched the Twilight Zone, or have no interest in exploring anything beyond what the Twilight Zone    … Expand
  10. subodai
    Jan 8, 2019
    2
    Stopped watching after the first episode, National Anthem. The first episode has an unlikely story about a princess, a prime minister and a pig.
    Mediocre acting, hardly shocking nor unethical. Far fetched and failed immorality at best, teenagers on drugs grade quality and wannabe pseudo-intellectual garbage: a turd, rolled in tin foil.
  11. Aloxb3
    Jul 28, 2017
    3
    Quase não vale a pena assistir Black Mirror! Há uns dois anos atrás eu comprei alguns DVDs (piratas, óbvio ! paguei R$10,00) com capítulos de uma série de 1995 Americana/Canadense chamada "outer limits". Se você relevar alguns poucos efeitos especiais toscos, é uma série ótima onde cada capítulo conta uma estória diferente porém, todas elas tem como tema, a ficção cientifica.
    O primeiro    Quase não vale a pena assistir Black Mirror! Há uns dois anos atrás eu comprei alguns DVDs (piratas, óbvio ! paguei R$10,00) com capítulos de uma série de 1995 Americana/Canadense chamada "outer limits". Se você relevar alguns poucos efeitos especiais toscos, é uma série ótima onde cada capítulo conta uma estória diferente porém, todas elas tem como tema, a ficção cientifica.
    O primeiro episódio da primeira temporada de "Black Mirror", pra mim, foi simplesmente nojento e sem sentido! O que você quis provar ou mostrar com isso? "Que pessoas são manipuláveis?" Quem tem uma hora de vida nesse planeta sabe disso! Outro fato que me incomodou profundamente em "Black Mirror", são os episódios previsíveis. Em 20 minutos você já sabe o que vai acontecer e os 20/30/40 minutos restantes, são só para mostrar acontecendo.
    Quem é novo (geração 2000) pode gostar dessa série de ficção cientifica pois, nesta geração não houveram tantas séries sobre #aliens, tecnologia e a interatividade das pessoas com o mundo, quanto nos anos 90, quando todo mundo questionava, sabia e/ou brincava com os fatos e estudos sobre a tecnologia e extraterrestres. Como sempre fica a critério de cada um gostar ou não gostar da série mas, se você é um fã de filmes e séries nesse estilo, existe uma grande probabilidade de "Black Mirror" ser uma grande perda de tempo.    … Expand
  12. sigfriend
    Aug 22, 2018
    0
    I cannot get through the first episode! It is so ridiculous! Unbelievable! Absurd! Vulgar to the point of unbelievability! I seriously doubt the intelligence of those that find this engaging! Western civilization is in serious danger!

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
89

Universal acclaim - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Lili Loofbourow
    Jun 16, 2023
    70
    The new season (critics got all five episodes) is responsive to the moment, but it pivots in ways that challenge some core features of the series as we’ve known it. It’s lighter, for one thing, and more than a little tongue-in-cheek.
    Read full review
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Melissa Maerz
    Nov 26, 2013
    100
    Every so often a British drama comes along that's so brilliant, you must ride a TARDIS to London just to watch. The cult-favorite sci-fi series Black Mirror is one of those shows.
    Read full review
  3. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Emily VanDerWerff
    Nov 26, 2013
    100
    The obvious comparison point is The Twilight Zone; that Black Mirror is a worthy successor is the highest praise that can be paid.
    Read full review
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