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LadyPictureShow
Nov 18, 2005

Success!



withak posted:

Wasn't he the brogrammer whose gym bag the main character trips over at the beginning?

Ohhh, that’s right. I forgot about the gym bag part. But if he was a gym bro he got what he deserved.

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maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004

LadyPictureShow posted:

Ohhh, that’s right. I forgot about the gym bag part. But if he was a gym bro he got what he deserved.

he violated the fire code (blocking egress). you can't run around breaking the law and not expect it to catch up with you

facebook jihad
Dec 18, 2007

by R. Guyovich
This season largely sucked. Here’s my write up from the GBS thread.

facebook jihad posted:

I binged most of the season tonight and thought it was pretty awful honestly. I mean, each episode on its own was decent entertainment; but none of it really felt like Black Mirror. Definitely the worst season by a huge margin.

Quick rundown of my thoughts.

E1: a fun episode but overall morally confusing. Like, yeah, Fatt Damon’s character was an rear end in a top hat/psychopath, but the episode established that several of the victims were kind of dicks (especially the co-owner, but also the two other women besides the main protagonist). Plus it set the tone that all of the people had wronged him in some way, but never went into why the intern or the computer guy were mean to him (guessing the protagonist wronged him by saying she wasn’t into him). Plus the Fatt Damon character was a loving moron. He punishes the people briefly after failing to escape but then immediately trusts the protagonist to go in to the mission alone and then go swimming with her? What? Just, bleh. The ending was kind of predictable, yet satisfying until you think about it a bit more. Like, what are the real world implications of what happened? The real life protagonist is going to feel like she hosed over and killed a man she admired and respected. It focused way too much on the avatars and felt kind of like a rehash of the white Christmas episode in reverse.

E2: this was probably my favorite episode honestly. Plot was satisfactory and it asked real world questions about how much protective parenting is too much. Good episode overall, even though it kind of reminded me of the Entire History of You.

E3: bad, bad bad. Main character had no relatable traits at all, and the episode really did a poor job of fleshing out her character in understanding her motivations. The first part had her feeling bad about the situation, then she flips over to a maniacal murderer. Predictable ending with a moral that I guess was ‘don’t do bad things or you’ll regret since the web will only get deeper’.

E4: This one felt the most ‘Black Mirror’ of them all, but the ending was terrible. It kind of reeked of bad fan theories about it all being a dream. The rest of the episode was good but the ending left a bad taste in my mouth.

E5: worst of the season. Black Mirror has hinted at post apocalyptic settings before but always went back on it, and this was the first time they went whole hog with it. It was boring, had no establishment of characters or really their motivations; along with no explanation as to why the environment was the way it was. In the end it was a confusing boring mess and was basically a Black Mirror episode in name only.

E6: honestly I couldn’t finish it. I have issues with self mutilation due to a traumatic experience in the past and had to turn it off with the scene that involved that. Seemed like a decent episode and maybe I’ll get back to it eventually.

Overall I’d rank them: 2, 4, 6 (Maybe?), 1, 3, 5. Bad season overall and may not watch it after the next season if it doesn’t turn around.

Bicyclops
Aug 27, 2004

Oh my loving god, how many people are actually going to say that the people in the office "deserved" what happened to them and when the hell are we going to get past the overplayed Meth Damon/Fat Damon nicknames? The dystopia is definitely right here, it's not even in the episodes.

maskenfreiheit
Dec 30, 2004

Bicyclops posted:

Oh my loving god, how many people are actually going to say that the people in the office "deserved" what happened to them and when the hell are we going to get past the overplayed Meth Damon/Fat Damon nicknames? The dystopia is definitely right here, it's not even in the episodes.

not all of them, and none of them deserved torture, but the front desk woman and the airline clerk from nosedive deserved bad things, yes

Cojawfee
May 31, 2006
I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius

maskenfreiheit posted:

not all of them, and none of them deserved torture, but the front desk woman and the airline clerk from nosedive deserved bad things, yes

Yeah, and how did one of the McPoyles become a CEO? Totally unbelievable.

Waltzing Along
Jun 14, 2008

There's only one
Human race
Many faces
Everybody belongs here
The CEO deserved it because he treated METH DAMON like poo poo and created a culture in the office where it was okay to show the CTO disrespect.
Cole deserved it because she was an rear end-kissing bitch who was one step away from opening her mouth to suck her way up the promotion chain.
Receptionist deserved it for being a horrible first thing anyone saw when getting to that office.
Gym bag deserved it because everyone hates that guy in real life already.

Indian guy, black dude, black chick were all cool and didn't deserve it.
Tommy didn't do poo poo other than be the son of an rear end in a top hat so he didn't deserve it.

But none of us deserved that horribly written episode as it was. Someone should have read the script and said: "our audience isn't loving stupid, let's edit this so they don't tear it apart constantly."

precision
May 7, 2006

by VideoGames
Was the guy from Black Museum a famous voice actor? It feels like I've heard him talking in a video game before. He also sounds kinda like James Urbaniak (Henry Fool, Venture Bros.) which is funny

Bicyclops
Aug 27, 2004

Waltzing Along posted:

The CEO deserved it because he treated METH DAMON like poo poo and created a culture in the office where it was okay to show the CTO disrespect.
Cole deserved it because she was an rear end-kissing bitch who was one step away from opening her mouth to suck her way up the promotion chain.
Receptionist deserved it for being a horrible first thing anyone saw when getting to that office.
Gym bag deserved it because everyone hates that guy in real life already.


Whenever I consider a character too monstrous for reality, I'll remember this post.

WampaLord
Jan 14, 2010

precision posted:

Was the guy from Black Museum a famous voice actor? It feels like I've heard him talking in a video game before. He also sounds kinda like James Urbaniak (Henry Fool, Venture Bros.) which is funny

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388061/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t20

Nope, he's only had like 2 voice acting credits and one is for an animated movie and the other is for a cartoon from 1999.

He was really good, and yea, I agree on his voice kinda sounding like Rusty Venture.

DoctorWhat
Nov 18, 2011

A little privacy, please?

Waltzing Along posted:

The CEO deserved it because he treated METH DAMON like poo poo and created a culture in the office where it was okay to show the CTO disrespect.
Cole deserved it because she was an rear end-kissing bitch who was one step away from opening her mouth to suck her way up the promotion chain.
Receptionist deserved it for being a horrible first thing anyone saw when getting to that office.
Gym bag deserved it because everyone hates that guy in real life already.

Indian guy, black dude, black chick were all cool and didn't deserve it.
Tommy didn't do poo poo other than be the son of an rear end in a top hat so he didn't deserve it.

But none of us deserved that horribly written episode as it was. Someone should have read the script and said: "our audience isn't loving stupid, let's edit this so they don't tear it apart constantly."

You're a loving sociopath and no one deserves that poo poo.

facebook jihad
Dec 18, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Bicyclops posted:

Oh my loving god, how many people are actually going to say that the people in the office "deserved" what happened to them and when the hell are we going to get past the overplayed Meth Damon/Fat Damon nicknames? The dystopia is definitely right here, it's not even in the episodes.

That’s not my point. The lady explains they all did something to wrong him when explaining his motivations to the protagonist, but then doesn’t go into all the reasons. It’s not a ‘they deserve torture because they were bad’ when the episode explains this point in exposition.

Also the last lines before the CEO blows up were confusing. ‘Yeah I treated you like poo poo, but fuuuuuuck youuuu!’. Pretty much sums up the episode.

precision
May 7, 2006

by VideoGames

WampaLord posted:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388061/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t20

Nope, he's only had like 2 voice acting credits and one is for an animated movie and the other is for a cartoon from 1999.

He was really good, and yea, I agree on his voice kinda sounding like Rusty Venture.

i figured it out, he sounds like Garrus from Mass Effect (but isn't him)

Valeyard
Mar 30, 2012


Grimey Drawer
I loved the guy in Black Museum, just hamming it up. He also worked for the same company that developed San Junipero, so we really did that technology in its early days

Grem
Mar 29, 2004

It's how her species communicates

DoctorWhat posted:

You're a loving sociopath and no one deserves that poo poo.

Good thing "no one" got it, because AI aren't people.

Chillgamesh
Jul 29, 2014

So my take on Metalhead is that it's not actually a post-apocalyptic scenario at all, all the technology in the episode is functional and in perfect working condition including utilities like internet and plumbing. The properties the woman breaks into aren't even dusty. The characters are just run-of-the-mill homeless people who need to steal stuff from a warehouse and they get loving murdered by Amazon dot com's Automated Loss Prevention Unit because what if capitalism but even more too much. "There used to be pigs here" is just a reference to traditional methods of farming/ranching being phased out because factory farming is so much more efficient that the old methods are no longer economically viable on any level.

I'm sure someone has already posted a theory like this but when I first read the thread I had only watched up to Hang the DJ so welp. :shobon:

My power ranking after having finished the season:

1. USS Callister
2. Black Museum
3. Hang the DJ
4. Metalhead
5. Arkangel
6. Crocodile

I only really enjoyed Callister and Black Museum. Hang the DJ was ok, but felt kind of trite, and Metalhead got a little better in retrospect but I didn't really enjoy it when I watched it. Arkangel was meh and I legitimately regret watching Crocodile and if you're reading this post having not yet watched it just loving skip it. Whatever you're imagining an episode named Crocodile is about is better than what it actually is.

Valeyard posted:

I loved the guy in Black Museum, just hamming it up. He also worked for the same company that developed San Junipero, so we really did that technology in its early days

Yeah I liked that the company that is responsible for creating Heaven basically did so by subjecting god knows how many people to unthinkable, hellish torture.

monkey needs a hug

Chillgamesh fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Jan 1, 2018

DoctorWhat
Nov 18, 2011

A little privacy, please?

Grem posted:

Good thing "no one" got it, because AI aren't people.

The episode says the AIs are people, so they are. Take poo poo at face value and engage your withered, dried-out sense of empathy for once in your husk of a life.

And even if they weren't - the cruelty itself is monstrous, regardless of the target.

spudsbuckley
Aug 29, 2008

by FactsAreUseless

(and can't post for 5 years!)

Chillgamesh posted:

So my take on Metalhead is that it's not actually a post-apocalyptic scenario at all, all the technology in the episode is functional and in perfect working condition including utilities like internet and plumbing. The properties the woman breaks into aren't even dusty. The characters are just run-of-the-mill homeless people who need to steal stuff from a warehouse and they get loving murdered by Amazon dot com's Automated Loss Prevention Unit because what if capitalism but even more too much.



Doesn't make sense with the two suicides she found in the house. They obviously killed themselves because some poo poo went down that they didn't want to be around for. The reason stuff still works is because it had to for the plot.

Grem
Mar 29, 2004

It's how her species communicates

DoctorWhat posted:

The episode says the AIs are people, so they are. Take poo poo at face value and engage your withered, dried-out sense of empathy for once in your husk of a life.

And even if they weren't - the cruelty itself is monstrous, regardless of the target.

I don't let some TV episode tell me how to run my life, duder.

DoctorWhat
Nov 18, 2011

A little privacy, please?
Do you frequently engage in tormenting artificial intelligence for personal catharsis?

Chillgamesh
Jul 29, 2014

spudsbuckley posted:

Doesn't make sense with the two suicides she found in the house. They obviously killed themselves because some poo poo went down that they didn't want to be around for. The reason stuff still works is because it had to for the plot.

Metalhead

They could've commit suicide for any reason. The couple died recently enough to stink and rot, meaning that if there was an apocalypse it would have had to have been relatively recent, which is inconsistent with everything else shown in the episode - everything's in working condition, nothing's out of order. Nothing's looted, no fires burning on the horizon. Another thing is where the woman thinks a society where everyone's a pig would better than the society they have - an equal society of paupers is better than one where corporate drones senselessly murder people over teddy bears.

Cojawfee
May 31, 2006
I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius

Grem posted:

I don't let some TV episode tell me how to run my life, duder.

You're a sociopath.

Grem
Mar 29, 2004

It's how her species communicates

DoctorWhat posted:

Do you frequently engage in tormenting artificial intelligence for personal catharsis?

I name my XCOM characters after people who have slighted me in minor ways then don't free them from those snake things that grab them and evac without them. I like to think they're still wrapped up when I pass out from my sad ambien almost-overdose.

DoctorWhat
Nov 18, 2011

A little privacy, please?
you're out of your loving mind

Grem
Mar 29, 2004

It's how her species communicates

Welcome to the squad, DoctorWhat

Doltos
Dec 28, 2005

🤌🤌🤌
First thing I'm going to do in the future is torture the digital consciousness of DoctorWhat and Bicyclops by removing their posting and viewing privileges. I Have No Keyboard And I Must Scream

Gaunab
Feb 13, 2012
LUFTHANSA YOU FUCKING DICKWEASEL
What if the characters in the first episode are unreliable narrators?!

Xenaul
Jun 2, 2007

DoctorWhat posted:

The episode says the AIs are people, so they are. Take poo poo at face value and engage your withered, dried-out sense of empathy for once in your husk of a life.

And even if they weren't - the cruelty itself is monstrous, regardless of the target.

How are they people? Cookies are systematically not treated as people, and while they seem to have limited rights (e.g. no termination for Monkey) they are not "people."

DoctorWhat
Nov 18, 2011

A little privacy, please?

Xenaul posted:

How are they people? Cookies are systematically not treated as people, and while they seem to have limited rights (e.g. no termination for Monkey) they are not "people."

I'm not talking about the in-universe civil liberties struggle, I'm talking about the loving language of storytelling and basic goddamn human empathy.

Cojawfee
May 31, 2006
I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius
Oh I get it. The "Black Museum is just a metaphor for Black Mirror and isn't actually canon" argument is because it says they have to give the cookies rights in that episode, so that prevents creepy goons from having torture fantasies.

DoctorWhat
Nov 18, 2011

A little privacy, please?
Canon is fake and is the domain of pea-brains.

cosmically_cosmic
Dec 26, 2015
Trying to work out a chronology for Black mirror, or link ALL the episodes together in a consistent and satisfying way is just gonna drive you crazy. The links and references between episodes always seemed to me to be more of easter eggs than any indication of an actual shared universe, especially considering some episodes seem to take place in wildly different post apocalyptic scenarios.

Really you can only really count 'canon' on a per episode basis. I really wouldn't worry about what the implications of one stories canon are on another.

HorseRenoir
Dec 25, 2011



Pillbug
Don't bother trying to build a grand unified timeline for Black Mirror. At most, the different episodes are just alternate timelines where certain technologies got developed more than others.

Speaking of callbacks, seeing the postcard for San Junipero in Metalhead made me go :smith:

Phi230
Feb 2, 2016

by Fluffdaddy
Is the concept of an anthology too alien or what

precision
May 7, 2006

by VideoGames
it doesn't make me like the episode any more (or less) but i do kinda like the Metalhead theory that it's taking place in a completely non-apocalypse and it's "what if security guards but too much"

Xenaul
Jun 2, 2007
It is not really an anthology where all stories are in same Universe. The over reaching framing story just hasn't been fully revealed yet.

One can consider that Cookie Civil right movement lead to energy crisis where most of people had to move to arcologies and work as energy generators, while those who refused are being culled by Metalhead dogs to not be a strain on dwindling resources.

21 Muns
Dec 10, 2016

by FactsAreUseless

Xenaul posted:

It is not really an anthology where all stories are in same Universe. The over reaching framing story just hasn't been fully revealed yet.

One can consider that Cookie Civil right movement lead to energy crisis where most of people had to move to arcologies and work as energy generators, while those who refused are being culled by Metalhead dogs to not be a strain on dwindling resources.

You literally can't generate energy that way

HorseRenoir
Dec 25, 2011



Pillbug

precision posted:

it doesn't make me like the episode any more (or less) but i do kinda like the Metalhead theory that it's taking place in a completely non-apocalypse and it's "what if security guards but too much"

The main thing against this theory is that the guy in the house committed suicide, implying that the dogs went rogue at some point and he couldn't leave the house. I guess the original idea that the dogs are owned by some foreign military would make some sort of sense if they decided to "cleanse" an area instead of just occupying it.

Tei
Feb 19, 2011

ClumsyThief posted:

Metalhead

I don't buy the drone operator theory. They repeatedly demonstrated the dog's on-the-fly problem solving skills and active human control wouldn't be baited by Bella throwing candy at the thing to run its battery down.

The robots going rogue makes the most sense. It doesn't seem like that much time had lapsed since whatever happened to create the status quo. I mean, she found an opened and still liquid can of paint in the house, water was still running, etc. There was a Range Rover in the driveway of what looked like a really nice house, which presumably wouldn't have been someone lower class scheduled for extermination.

The dogs also don't seem sentient, and probably don't really qualify as AI so much as just being a complex piece of software designed to kill any living thing it comes in contact with. A small amount of world building would have drastically improved Metalhead instead of copping out with the "teddy bears dying kid aww" idea.


My theory:

These devices are popular and everywhere. Standarized enough so the same model is used by police, the public, etc. They are hacked with a update that label humans as targets to exterminate by somebody that has enough poo poo with humanity and is angry.

I did not trough that was a interesting episode.

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21 Muns
Dec 10, 2016

by FactsAreUseless

Tei posted:

My theory:

These devices are popular and everywhere. Standarized enough so the same model is used by police, the public, etc. They are hacked with a update that label humans as targets to exterminate by somebody that has enough poo poo with humanity and is angry.

I did not trough that was a interesting episode.

Oh, wow, just like in Hated In The Nation, AKA the worst Black Mirror episode by a long shot!

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