The National Anthem

This is my opinion. Black Mirror is not for everyone.

The National Anthem was a great start for the series. Without any expectations, I was completely shocked by the unique story.

To get straight to the point however, I really appreciated how this episode put sneaky emphasis on the human condition. Despite all the chaotic scenes between the main characters, the main focus- to me- was the fictional audience that gathered and anticipated for the shame and cruelty. That was the punch of the episode. It makes you walk away from the t.v. and ponder on how we as a whole really are wicked.

Sure, I aim to be entertained. But it's a rare feeling to look at the world in a different perspective after a show. Black Mirror does just that. I recommend if you have time, keep watching!

I can see why people are so pissed of with this episode? I get it. But giving 1 and 2 star to this episode is far from acceptable. There is a detestation club running on for this episode, sorely for the purpose of diminishing its rating.

While the core idea might seem implausible, its presented in such a neat way that it starts to look feasible. The narrative is very good, and most of the performances are also decent. The screenplay is clever and satirises sharply on obsession of technology and its ill effects.

With such type of preposterous idea the episode could have easily turned into an awful course, but deft direction makes sure that it's on point and stays witty and perspicacious. Yeah, the climax was a bit disappointing as the motive is not much very much compelling, but from the narrative and thematic point of view, it makes sense. The whole idea is to test whether a population would like to watch such an indecent act or not. And surprisingly, they do. That's what the whole point of the artist to show our obsession with technology and public figures. It also explores the fragility of society's mindset under such huge threats.

So, overall a very unique idea explored in an incandescent manner. A nice watch...

Sadly is one of the very few great episodes in these series. But don't get worked up cause what you get in this episode will get only 2-3 times in the next 18 episodes as of 2018. Moral questions, today's sad world, plot twist, social and news media critic, this episode got everything and delivers it with great cinematography, acting, photography, script and much more

Although I love Charlie Brooker and heard nothing but good things about this show, it took me well over a year to get around to watching it. Without knowing more than people saying it was good, I sat to watch this first episode really not even knowing if it were a drama, a satire, a comedy or what it was. In the end I was very glad to come to this with no knowledge and it turned out that as a genre it really defies definition because it does so much at the same time and does it so well.

The episode opens with the Prime Minister woken by news that a young female member of the Royal family has been kidnapped and has released a video demand. The nature of this demand is the whole episode and it is darkly comic when it is revealed. At this point I thought the episode might lose the tension that it had in its early scenes but in reality it doesn't – it maintains it through the duration and all events. The ridiculousness of it all never goes away but the race against time is thrilling and really drew me in. My curiosity and my inability to look away from the screen mirrors the public in the episode and it is cleverly done in the way that it doesn't judge the reality of the news networks, the social media and the public – it simply lets it happen in a realistic way, the viewer is left to make their own unavoidable judgment and it is all the more sobering for being totally realistic.

The acting is great. There are lots of faces you will know from much lighter shows (In The Thick of It particularly) but they never let it become a comedy and they all sell every bit of it. The performances and the dramatic direction are really key in making the concept work and it works very effectively. As an episode it is not only very difficult to describe but also best not described and approached with no prior knowledge but it is well worth checking out for what it does.

BC UK, quite clearly you're not one for viewing between the lines. The point of this film is not it's plot but it's implications for just how plausible this event is, and just how little privacy or control of information we have these days. It's an 'open your eyes' kind of film.

Superb acting, writing and camera-work. The choice of people to show as 'joe average's were well thought out and don't seem clichéd. Also the setup is genius in it's simplicity. Genuinely thought provoking TV.

My only criticism is of the ending which I think should have ended with the 'twist' regarding the kidnap, with the reaction from the PM's wife put beforehand. Then again I don't know how that could make chronological sense.