USS Callister

Black Mirror usually isn't funny, but this one is very funny; a spoof of nerdish "Trekkies." The character called "Nannette" is great, and the actress playing her does a great job. As always with Black mirror, the show has fantastic plot tension. Some of the Black Mirror episodes are off-putting but this one was pretty enjoyable all the way through. I don't know why someone criticized it for being political. This episode doesn't really have any political or social commentary at all; it's just a spoof of Trekkies, with a spice of futuristic technology. The humor was a bit cheesy at times, but so what.

USS Callister is biting commentary on 'reboot-culture', gaming, internet trolls and nostalgia as a whole. This episode is almost like a loot-crate for sci-fi fans who grew up on this stuff (show runner Charlie Brooker did); you can see callbacks to things like the original Star Trek (obviously), the 2009 film reboot, Battlefield Earth, The Matrix, Toy Story, Interstellar, and even Guardians of the Galaxy (at least certain images did that for me). It evokes all these classics while telling a memorable tale in this anthology series masterpiece, showing how 'playing-master' over your subjects, even digital ones, is not necessarily a good thing.

For me, this episode is probably the season-best alongside Black Museum and Hang the DJ. Black Mirror is innovative television at its best.

I normally don't write reviews for TV shows or movies, but felt compelled to write one after reading some of the negative reviews.

The one thing pointed out by most of the negative reviews (all of the ones I read), is that there are major plot holes. I, for one, get incredible annoyed by gaping plot holes in movies and TV shows. I'm generally a VERY critical person when it comes to any movie or show. When going into any movie, I automatically assume it'll probably be trash, which is why I'm not real keen on going to or watching movies that haven't been extensively reviewed and give me some understanding of what I'm getting into. I don't like wasting hours of my time on churned out movies for teenagers who have not been disappointed enough yet, who will then crack jokes with their friends about how bad that movie was for an hour afterwards.

That said, are there gaping plot holes in this episode? Absolutely. But do they detract from the concepts and psychology of the characters on display (which is entirely the main point of the episode)? Absolutely not.

It's very rare for me to embrace a movie or a show with gaping plot holes, but don't let that turn you off from watching it. As they can easily be overlooked when you provide thoughtful ideas and concepts as well as a strong character analysis, which is what this episode does. The journey itself was just a means of expressing those ideas. On the other hand, if this was a mindless action film (which I thoroughly enjoy from time to time), then the plot holes would matter as the journey is the entire value of the movie.

As I see it, complaining over the plot holes in this episode is like if someone were to make a big deal if someone pronounced a word incorrectly after making a very thoughtful and nuanced statement. Isn't the point of language to communicate an idea or concept? So as long as you understand what the person is communicating, fussing over their incorrect pronunciation is irrelevant to the thoughts or ideas they had expressed.

Is the episode perfect? No. But it certainly doesn't deserve 3 stars or lower because of plot holes which are completely irrelevant to the ideas and concepts communicated in this episode.

When it started I could feel my high expectations fading, I thought I was in for a bad Star Trek spoof, but within minutes I realised that they'd come up with the goods in this episode. The plot is extraordinary, so incredibly imaginative, a wonderfully slick script and great performances all round. In the better episodes of Black Mirror you get absorbed in the crazy world, in this one I truly did buy into it. So imaginative, so good. 9/10

The best thing about "Black Mirror" is the originality of the story ideas. "USS Callister" is certainly original! The only real problem is the premise, though very original, is utterly ridiculous. My advice is just suspend your disbelief and go with it!

The show is about a very passive-aggressive man, Robert Daly. Although he's extremely shy and easily pushed around at work, he's developed an ultra-bizarre way of exacting revenge and feeling all-powerful. He's designed a huge multiplayer game but is apparently so brilliant that he's able to create exact copies of his hated co-workers and he torments them in this alternate reality. Here, Daly is the captain of a space ship (VERY MUCH like "Star Trek") and is these co-workers don't do EXACTLY what he wants, he tortures them. Eventually, a new co-worker is recreated in this world...and she's determined to defeat him even though he seems to hold all the cards.

Just ignore the voices in your brain that say "you can't do THAT" and the like. Of course you can't...and it's a fantasy show. So sit back and enjoy...though the show is occasionally tough to watch because Daley is indeed a sadist.