Black Mirror vs Electric Dreams vs Twilight Zone (part 2)

Black Mirror vs Electric Dreams vs Twilight Zone

If you missed Part 1, check out #52 - #40 in Part One first. Unless you intentionally missed it. In which case, as you were...

THE SECOND QUARTER

Everybody good? Good. Onto the second quarter. And to recap, Black Mirror is ahead for the lowest percentage of episodes in the bottom quarter, The Twilight Zone is right about where it should be, while Electric Dreams had half of its episodes in the clubs section. But this isn’t really a team sport. Well, I guess it is in so much as swimming and log rolling are team sports. You might have other people on your team, but they don’t really affect how well you do or how you’ll be remembered. Also, I have no idea how log rolling is scored.

After 7 rounds of play, it's Hatty McHatterson with 77.75 bags of sawdust, and Braided Ponygirl with 5 skidders and a hayburner 

To continue with a really silly metaphor, these 13 episodes would be the diamonds. They are certainly more sought after than the clubs, but the rigid line structure lacks the coolness of the heart and spade. But at least you know what a diamond is. I mean what the hell is a club? Yes, a club is like a baseball bat of sorts, but then why is it shaped like an off-ramp that’s partially under construction? Still, even though these next 13 episodes may technically fall in the bottom half, they’re still worth a watch.

#39
Fifteen Million Merits, Black Mirror 1.2
Featuring - Daniel Kaluuya, Jessica Brown Findlay
Summary - A community of what seem to be slaves living underground – though it’s never fully explained to us how these people came to be there – earn merits by riding on a bike all day. Bing helps to fund a friend to participate on an America’s Got Talent–type show, but he has to spend all the credits he has earned over 6 months to do it. And this gesture seems to have only made her situation worse.
Analysis - There are a lot of unanswered questions in this episode, namely where exactly did these people come from? Because it is tertiary to the story, it is never fully explained, and that mystery wraps up the episode in a blanket of anxiety. But ultimately, the story stretches itself out in the first, second, and third acts. It is a compelling story that could have probably been told about 15 minutes faster.
Or… - it could have been 30 minutes longer. This episode creates such a complex and difficult world in which to submerge its viewers in only 15-20 minutes before the turn, it leaves way too many unanswered questions out there. So it could have benefitted from either cutting out parts of that world and only telling part of the story, or going for the full ass. But as it stands, we only get half of it.

Get it?

#38
A Human Face, Twilight Zone 2.7
Featuring - Jenna Elfman, Christopher Meloni
Summary - A couple mourning the loss of their teenage daughter comes face to face with an alien who has appeared in their basement, brought by a cosmic flare passing through earth’s atmosphere. The alien begins to take the form and characteristics of their daughter, causing them to question how far they’ll really go to have their daughter back.
Analysis - This episode poses a great question about whether or not we would accept an illusion even if we knew it was an illusion. Would we give into our desire to feel better at the cost of the truth? Would we take the red pill or the blue pill? The episode is really intriguing, but is undone by its ending, which crams the question down our throat one more time when we were already full.
If you liked this episode… - you’ll also like Be Right Back, the Black Mirror episode I talk about down there somewhere. They both find interesting sci-fi ways to talk about grief. One is aliens, one is technology. Both have all-star casts. Pick your poison.

#37
The Wunderkind, Twilight Zone 1.5
Featuring - John Cho, Jacob Tremblay
Summary - A down-on-his-luck campaign manager gets the idea to support an 11-year-old YouTube star for president, but he perhaps doesn’t consider the long-term implications of what might happen should he succeed. Soon, the boy becomes too powerful and the flywheel is now going way too fast to jump on or to slow down.
Analysis - This episode draws some very obvious parallels to what it means to want something different out of the presidency. It is part mirror of the Trump presidency, and part homage to It’s a Good Life, The original Twilight Zone episode with the boy who wished things away to a cornfield. The ending is a bit silly and unnecessary, but it shines a decent-wattaged light on what happens when an obviously petulant child has too much power.
Tone-Def - You know when you don’t really like a TV show or movie but can’t put your finger on it? It's usually because of the tone. This episode – much like Ghostbusters (story for another day) – couldn’t seem to figure out its tone. Is it playful? Serious? Funny? It can be all of them, but it has to mesh them together well. This episode would have served well to pick one side of the fence or the other, because riding fences is just a huge pain in the ass.

Oh good. Another ass pun.

#36
Safe and Sound, Electric Dreams 1.6
Featuring - Annalise Basso, Maura Tierney
Summary - In a world where there are two separate factions of people – the government-run majority and the radicals who live in “bubbles,” allegedly free from government oversight, a mother brings her daughter out of one of the bubbles for a year while she acts as a delegate for the radicals. While there, the daughter finds that she yearns for certain comforts that freedom does not provide.
Analysis - This episode touches on some really interesting subjects – notably the battle for truth. The government claims there have been terrorist attacks, while the radicals claim propaganda. Meanwhile, the daughter willingly gets a tracking device to make school easier and now questions if the voices in her head are real. The episode is undone by a leap in character logic, but the ending makes it worth that leap.
The Opposite of Dues Ex Machina - Apparently, this is the section of the rankings where I send all the good episodes undone by if not silly endings, then at least plot contrivances. Everything from pretty much Arkangel to this had great potential squandered in the third act. And in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I’m just gonna be general here and say that these episodes are like the opposite of an unsolvable problem suddenly becoming solved.

I'll let you figure out the opposite of this

#35
The Entire History of You, Black Mirror 1.3
Featuring - Toby Kebbell, Jodie Whittaker
Summary - In a world where people have a device implanted in their heads that record audio and video available to play back for others to see, Liam surprises his wife at a dinner party with her friends. She seems to be flirting with an old friend, and once suspicions are cast, Liam goes down a dangerous rabbit hole of needing to know exactly what happened and when.
Analysis - This final episode of the first season poses some very interesting questions (yes, I am a broken record now). Like how much do we really need to know about our loved one’s past? And what is more harmful – a small lie or the truth? Or something in between? Liam’s spiral was likely inevitable even without the implant, but how he got there was the kind of tragedy that Black Mirror became known for.
Run Time - Black Mirror (and Electric Dreams and Twilight Zone) episodes usually clock in at about an hour. But in these sci-fi stories, sometimes they need to create this entire world for you to live in and understand and that takes some time. This was done particularly well here with the dinner party, but it likely caused the end to be rushed. If we saw a more gradual transition of Liam’s character, we might have believed it more. But then we wouldn’t have believed in this world we’re in. Making TV is hard.

It comes across as much deeper in context. I think.

#34
The Comedian, Twilight Zone 1.1
Featuring - Kumail Nanjiani
Summary - The ghost of a standup comedian shows up to a club one night to bestow the gift of knowledge to a middling comic – which is that you need to put parts of yourself out there on stage. However, once you do that, the material belongs to the world and no longer belongs to you. Which of course has other consequences.
Analysis - Kumail Nanjiani can do no wrong. He is fantastic as a struggling comedian in the new inaugural episode of the Twilight Zone. This episode is fun and really sets the tone for this reboot of the VERY popular franchise. It does drag at times and doesn’t have the societal impact that many of the future episodes will, but for those that are real fans, hearing that theme song and the interrupting narrator is all the drug you need.
Warming up the crowd - This was the first episode in the reboot of the franchise, so for that, I probably gave it more credence than it deserves. But it’s got Kumail Nanjiani AND it’s about bad stand-up comedy. It also fingers a nerve I have about how thin the line is between killing and bombing on the stand-up stage, and it usually has little to do with the material. This episode isn’t necessarily headliner material, but it does a good job of warming up the crowd for the feature acts.

#33
Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too, Black Mirror 5.3
Featuring - Angourie Rice, Madison Davenport, Miley Cyrus
Summary - A shy teenage girl moves to a new school system and befriends an 8-inch robot replica of her favorite pop star, Ashley O. As she is unable to make friends at school as easily, Rachel becomes obsessively close with the doll. When a tragedy befalls the actual Ashley O, Rachel and her sister accidentally uncover a secret hiding deep within Ashley Too and Ashley too.
Analysis - This episode took me on at least two major twists I didn’t expect, and they were both pretty clever. I don’t know why this season of Black Mirror got so run over in the public media, unless they’ve just set their own bar too high to clear. The downfall of this episode is the end, though the credit scenes bring it back. It is a fantastic role for Miley Cyrus, as I’m guessing this was somewhat autobiographical.
Art Imitates Life Imitates Art… - It’s not exactly like a chicken and egg thing here, but more like if the chicken was wrapped around an egg. Which it technically is before the egg is hatched. Though Cyrus had already started her transformation years before with Wrecking Ball, it wasn’t until she starred as this Nine Inch Nails punk rocker that she finally went full disco-punk-rock with Prisoner and Heart of Glass. She didn’t exactly pull a Malcolm McDowell, but suffice to say, her role definitely drove her somewhere.

Dear Miley, If Stanley Kubrick ever walks up to you, just say no

#32
Men Against Fire, Black Mirror 5.5
Featuring - Malachi Kirby, Madeline Brewer
Summary - Stripe is a soldier assigned to kill what they call roaches, these zombie-esque mutant creatures who are hiding in the rural countryside. On his first mission, he manages to kill two of them, but seems to be suffering from some unusual headaches and visions, along with some technical glitches with the software in his head.
Analysis - This episode points a very heavy finger at military tactics and hypothesizes the next step in brainwashing. It draws a lot of obvious parallels to Nazi Germany, but it could apply to any group of people who are discriminated against. It is a painful look at both military culture and racism, and Black Mirror isn’t in the habit of pulling any punches.
Based on the Book - Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command is a 1947 book that talks about how most soldiers in World War II fired over the heads of their enemies because they identified them as humans. I doubt the book recommended the procedures Black Mirror implemented, but I get the reference.

Black Mirror goes deep for inspiration

#31
A Small Town, Twilight Zone 2.8
Featuring - Damon Wayans Jr., David Krumholtz, Natalie Martinez
Summary - A grieving widower takes up residence in his small town’s church attic. When he finds a detailed model of the town and realizes that the changes that he makes to the model actually happen in the town, he begins to play God. But he soon finds that being a god comes with a lot of baggage, and it isn’t always possible to fix or foresee everything.
Analysis - The detail that a man plays God in the attic of a Church is not a subtle one. It shows the inner struggle of this god-person when someone else dares take credit. And what will he do when he goes too far? This character relates well to his audience and asks exactly how far would you go to do what you think is right, and what will you do once you accidentally go too far? But it stops short of relating this fantasy to reality, in which a commentary on blind followers heaping praise on a sleazy, undeserving politician could have been relevant.
Dr. J - I grew up in Philly watching Dr. J fly above the rim pulling off these crazy gravity-defying dunks at least twice a game. I remember one time, he leaked out and got a lead pass from Maurice Cheeks and was headed for another SportCenter moment. What would it be? A windmill? A two-handed reverse? A back handspring? He jumped a mile into the sky, and with seemingly no idea what he really wanted to do, he just kinda let go of the ball and it fell through the hoop for two points. That’s what this episode was like.

Sometimes it does matter HOW you finish

#30
Smithereens, Black Mirror 5.2
Featuring - Andrew Scott, Damson Idris, Topher Grace
Summary - A rideshare driver takes an employee of a social media company hostage and demands to speak to the company’s CEO or he’ll kill the employee. The police, FBI, and the social media company (Smithereen) enter into a negotiation, all with different ideas of how things should go, and things don’t seem to go as planned for anyone involved.
Analysis - This episode is certainly more drama than the science fiction that Black Mirror is more commonly known for. It makes a commentary on social media today, but it isn’t anything revolutionary. The strength of this episode is in the tension it creates inside the car with the brilliant acting performance from Andrew Scott as we wait to find out exactly what he wants. And this episode really sticks the landing.
Science Fact - As I mentioned earlier, this was more drama than science fiction. The reason for this is that this is not science fiction. Much like The National Anthem (#48) and Shut Up and Dance (#28), this Black Mirror episode could happen today. All of this technology is out there already. Just replace the word “Smithereen” with “Twitter.”

You're just jealous because I'm on this list twice

#29
The Hood Maker, Electric Dreams 1.5
Featuring - Holliday Grainger, Richard Madden
Summary - In a world where a small faction of people have been seemingly outcast for their abilities to read another’s mind, one of these “Teeps” - as they are unaffectionately called - is hired to help the police. Though she is looked down on and despised by her colleagues, she has proven to be useful in the field, until it is discovered a special hood can be made to make a person unreadable.
Analysis - I enjoyed the turbulent relationship the Teep has with her cop partner. Though the Teep community is ostracized from the “Normals,” the two of them are forced to trust each other, as partners do. Part of that trust is that she is not allowed to read him or any other officer without their consent. When new information tests their relationship, she must choose between who she was and who she has become.
Yin, Yang, and Yong - Here’s a fun challenge. Watch this through the eyes of Honor, the Teep. It isn’t hard. She’s the main character. Then watch it through the eyes of the cop. THEN, watch it through the eyes of the “Normals.” They are all equally relatable perspectives and thus could all be the protagonist, antagonist, or both. The Teeps (telepaths) represent whatever oppressed minority you choose and they’re being used for their talents by the cops. The cops are trying to keep peace by using whatever means they can in a world seemingly at war. And the “Normals” have created these masks because they don’t want their thoughts to be read or tampered with. This episode is a lot more thought-provoking than most, and it leaves you wanting to know more about the world. Which is not a failure of the episode, but on the contrary, to its credit.

There's something strangely familiar about this image...

#28
Shut Up and Dance, Black Mirror 3.3
Featuring - Alex Lawther, Jerome Flynn
Summary - A teenage boy has his computer hacked and a video of him masturbating is sent back to him in an email. From here, the boy is forced into a blackmail game in which every next step gets worse and worse, until whatever line that he wouldn’t cross has been so stretched and blurred that it’s unrecognizable.
Analysis - Black Mirror isn’t happy unless they put some unassuming people in an incredibly horrible situation. This episode builds up tension with every new task the boy is asked to complete, and the audience is rooting for him the entire episode, no matter how far he goes. It is a terrifying look into what exactly hackers are capable of - even today - and the lengths some people will go to to hide a secret.
A New Villain - In previous versions of this screenplay, there were shots of the hackers in an internet café in Eastern Europe - toasting and making bets - having blackmailed the characters for fun. But in the end, Brooker felt there was no need for it. The internet was a stand-in for the overt villains uncommon to most episodes of Black Mirror. Yes. The internet. THE INTERNET IS THE VILLAIN!
Also - Also of note is that this is one of the most disturbing episodes of Black Mirror. DO NOT watch it with your kids thinking it’s the music video from Victorious.

They called the show "Victorious" because "Look at How Beautiful and Talented and Humble I Am" didn't test well

#27
The Who of You, Twilight Zone 1.8
Featuring - Ethan Embry, Daniel Sunjata, Billy Porter
Summary - A struggling and frustrated actor decides to rob a bank in a desperate and misguided attempt to save his relationship. While at the bank, he locks eyes with the teller and they somehow switch minds (or souls or essences or something). The actor (as the teller) then tries to escape with the money, and suddenly realizes this new power to switch his soul into another body could be quite useful.
Analysis - This episode has a lot to unpack in a short time. What happens to the souls of those bodies he steals? What is going on in the body of the actor? How will the detective assigned to the case deal with the information coming out of whoever is in the body of the actor? A sudden boost to his powers halfway through was a little contrived and distracting, but it is a heck of an interesting concept to explore.
ACTING! - For all you acting junkies out there, this one is for you. It’s your standard body swap trope on coke. Not the drug, but the soda. There are multiple actors playing multiple characters and none more than Embry, who plays at least five very diverse characters (spoiler alert: it’s six). This episode is fun and required a little rewinding at times for me to straighten out which cup the ball was under. But it’s possible you all are better at the shell game than I.

End of the First Half

Black Mirror – 9 episodes of 22 (41%)
Twilight Zone – 10 episodes of 20 (50%)
Electric Dreams – 7 episodes of 10 (70%)

And at the end of the first half of play, Electric Dreams is still ahead. But again, not in the good way. It added another 2 episodes in the 2^nd quarter, making a total of 70% of its episodes in the bottom half, with The Twilight Zone right where it should be at 50%, and Black Mirror sitting at 41% of its eps in the bottom half. What does all this mean? Nothing. Well, it means I like Black Mirror the best, and then the Twilight Zone, and then Electric Dreams. So yeah, I guess it does mean something. Sorry.