USS Callister

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.

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.

This one isn't really made to make you think and question your life. It's just an extremely entertaining, well made piece of television. It's very good.

I'll admit, I'd been dodging USS Callister ever since it dropped back in 2017. That poster, all flashy with the Star Trekish vibe, just didn't do it for me. I've never really been into that space adventure aesthetic, so I kept skipping it, assuming it was just Black Mirror having its own little sci-fi parody moment.

But cut to 2025, when its sequel suddenly popped up, I figured, let's take the risk. And wow! Just wow! That one glance I'd cast all those years ago couldn't have been more misleading. Because yes, the Star Trek vibe is there, but only as a wrapping paper. What's inside is something else entirely. A layered, haunting, and mind-bending exploration of ethics, power, identity, and justice, all wrapped up in classic Black Mirror brilliance.

And I do have a soft spot for the "bullied nerd finally takes revenge" kind of arc. There's always something raw and cathartic about watching the underdog flip the script, and Jesse Plemons starts to pull that off in the most unsettling way. But what is amazing is that it doesn't stop at just revenge. It flips that narrative too. As the story progresses, it shifts tone and perspective in a way that I honestly didn't expect. The structure had me hooked.

Technically, as someone who understands the ropes, I know better than to nitpick Black Mirror's science. It's meant to push boundaries with creative liberty, and it does exactly that here. The episode never let go of its grip, keeping me invested with that classic "will they, won't they" escape tension that I secretly love.

In a world where new content keeps disappointing me, Black Mirror somehow always knows how to reel me back in. It's episodes like these that remind me why I still believe in this kind of storytelling.

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.