Black Mirror vs Electric Dreams vs Twilight Zone (part 3)

Black Mirror vs Electric Dreams vs Twilight Zone

If you missed the first two installments, check them out here first for some context. Or if you'd rather start here, do that. I'm not in the business of telling people how to waste their time.
Part One: #52-40
Part Two: #39-27

THE THIRD QUARTER

For those who may not know how fractions work, we are now into the top half of the lineup. As I said before, I recommend all episodes of these three series, with the exception of maybe the bottom 3-4 episodes, but we have now breeched into “non-qualifier” territory. This is a clunky way of saying that I would recommend all these episodes without any silly qualifiers like “If you like dystopian apocalyptic political horror thrillers…” or “If you like getting high and putting syrup on your eggs…” You’ll just like all these. Whether you like it or not.

In case any of you want to get diabetes and heart disease on the same day

Coming into the second half (also the third quarter, again for my fraction-impaired readers), Black Mirror is ahead with only 41% of its episodes in the bottom half, with the Twilight Zone in second with 50%, exactly where it should be, and Electric Dreams in the caboose, with 70% of its episodes already listed in the bottom half. But that’s OK. There’s still time to pull ahead! Actually, given this scoring algorithm, I’m not even sure what pulling ahead would look like. Or winning. But hey, we are after all assigning value to subjective art, so who gives a rat’s hooey how we do this, right? Also, in a rather short-sighted metaphor I started almost  a year ago, these 13 episodes would be the hearts of the deck. Majestic curves, while still coming to a point and a symbol that actually stands for something, unlike the stupid club that we should have replaced centuries ago. OK, I’m done talking.

#26
Six Degrees of Freedom, Twilight Zone 1.6
Featuring - DeWanda Wise, Lucinda Dryzek, Jefferson White
Summary - Just before the first human space flight to Mars takes off, news of an imminent nuclear war interrupts the countdown and the crew decides to go ahead with the launch, leaving humans on Earth to potentially become extinct. With no contact with anyone on Earth, the crew faces the potential burden of being the last humans in existence and struggle with what to do with that information.
Analysis - This was in intense from the outset. A lot of episodes introduce a strange thing and have a slow build up. But this puts you immediately in the seat and demands you decide – given the prospect of the world ending in nuclear war, do you return to base as is protocol, or leave for Mars and enjoy what’s left of whatever life you have? And then, just when you’re settling into your decision halfway through, maybe things aren’t what they seem.
The signpost up ahead - This episode could have easily been its own psychological thriller or space drama or anything it wanted. It had an interesting and original premise that grabs you right away and forces you to ask yourself a disturbing question and then considers the consequences. But there is of course the Twilight Zone twist, as is necessary. It also pays homage to another classic Twilight Zone episode, but telling you which one would be giving it away. And instead, it’s the opposite (you’ll see).

There goes the neighborhood

#25
Meet in the Middle, Twilight Zone 2.1
Featuring - Jimmi Simpson, Gillian Jacobs
Summary - Suddenly, a man begins to hear a voice in his head that seems to be coming from a woman. After he realizes she can hear his thoughts too, the two begin communicating. While both were enjoying the newness of their telepathic connection, things were great. But once they disagree about the direction of their relationship, they find it’s hard to set boundaries when you literally can’t stop communicating.
Analysis - This episode warns us of the dangers of becoming too close to someone we don’t really know. But mostly, it just hooks us with an interesting story and turns the tables on us just when we get comfortable. And there’s much more to the story than we are led to believe.
Run time schmun time - In researching these episodes, I found a lot of critics dogging the longer run times of these new Twilight Zone episodes over and over and over ad nauseum (which means it made me nauseous). And I don’t know why. Black Mirror and Electric Dreams episodes all run longer than these, and the Twilight Zone episodes have just as much to say. It is an example of low-hanging fruit for critics who need some reason to hate on the subject without saying anything that could be controversial. Like when Nicolas Cage has to actually act in a movie. Anyway, the run time is just fine with all these. Don’t listen to those critics. Listen to me.

I never understood this metaphor. There's no accompanying proverb about the fruit tasting worse, right? So yeah, why not pick the damn low-hanging fruit?

#24
Striking Vipers, Black Mirror 5.1
Featuring - Anthony Mackie, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Summary - A new dad reunites with his college roommate a decade after college to play a new version of a fighting video game they were once obsessed with. Only this virtual reality version is a lot more interactive and inspires a lot more exploration. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that this experience is ripe for sexual encounters and this leads to some complicated feelings.
Analysis - Striking Vipers not only questions the nature of cheating in a relationship, but it makes you consider the nature of sexuality. If sex exists only in some virtual world, is it cheating? What if the other user is a different gender than his/her character? This episode takes you on an interesting journey of two people trying to reconcile this virtual sexual relationship with their real-world relationships.
Poloerotica - Owen Harris, who also directed Be Right Back and San Junipero, two Black Mirror episodes lauded for the romance in them, directed this episode. And when asked what convinced him to take on another episode, he said there was a line in it that instantly grabbed him. It is Brooker’s way of reminding us that there is a playful nature to Black Mirror, despite the darkness. “I even fucked Tundra the polar bear character. I fucked a polar bear and I still couldn’t get you out of my mind.” To hell with the gay and genderqueer conversations, let’s pursue this line a little further, shall we?

Don't even think about it, Falcon

#23
8, Twilight Zone 2.6
Featuring - Joel McHale, Nadia Hilker, Michelle Ang
Summary - An international crew of scientists on a 6-month mission in Antarctica to track a melting ice shelf discover a new species of octopus at the same time that they find three of their crew members missing and presumed dead while on a dive. The motives of the remaining crew may not be as they seem to one another, and their actions could have major human race life-threatening consequences.
Analysis - This episode touches on all the tropes. Hubris, selfishness, deceit, and above all else, man’s arrogance about his place atop the food chain. Just like in Alien, Planet of the Apes, and countless other stories of the type, man underestimates his opponent, and could very well clumsily give the key to world domination over to another species.
Submitted for your approval… - The coolest thing about this episode for serious fans of the original TZ is that there is an actual Rod Serling narration in the introduction. Whilst the crew watches TV in their igloo-pod, a show called The Life Aquatic is playing, which is a 1968-1975 Jacques Cousteau documentary and was actually narrated by Rod Serling. So The Twilight Zone is fiction in its own reality. Or something like that. It’s very Twilight Zoney to ponder.

#22
Nightmare at 30,000 Feet, Twilight Zone 1.2
Featuring - Adam Scott
Summary - While on a cross-Atlantic flight, an investigative reporter finds a portable audio player cued up to a podcast about the mystery behind a flight that disappeared. When he discovers that the podcast is talking about the flight he’s currently on, he tries desperately to stop this tragedy, but will anyone believe him in time?
Analysis - Not every Twilight Zone episode has to have some greater purpose bestowed upon us as viewers. Sometimes it’s nice to just put somebody in an impossible position and watch them react. Adam Scott plays a perfect Cassandra who could see the future but just couldn’t get anyone to believe him. And the episode has one of the more perfect endings in this franchise, giving the audience hope, but also a bit of justice, shall we say.
Recurring Nightmare - It’s got to be tough to play a role that successful actors before you have played. Adam Scott is faced with the task of bringing back to life a character played by William Shatner and John Lithgow, both known for their more eccentric turns. But the slight differences to the story combined with the nod to the original is a sweet nectar for fans of the OG TZ.

#21
Crocodile, Black Mirror 1.2
Featuring - Andrea Riseborough, Kiran Sonia Sawar
Summary - A woman and her friend accidentally kill a biker on a sparsely traveled road. Against Mia’s desires, Rob decides to dispose of the body. Fifteen years later, Mia witnesses an accident outside her hotel. An insurance agent tracks her down and asks her to be hooked up to a machine that would allow the agent to see Mia’s memories on a video screen. Mia is forced to decide if she wants to take that chance.
Analysis - This episode begs the oft-asked question of how far would you go to keep a secret. And once you start the cover-up, how much is too much? Crocodile does an excellent job of putting you in Mia’s position of someone who didn’t even want to carry this burden, but slowly slides further and further down that slope until you completely lose control on the ice.
The Crocodile Pit - Many people have speculated the reason for the title of this episode, especially since it involves no crocodiles and is filmed in Iceland, where no crocodiles exist. Is it because the main character is emotionless, thus crocodile tears? Is it because a crocodile’s brain is almost entirely limbic, which means they house memories better? Or is it that thing that Charlie Brooker said in Inside Black Mirror about how a Crocodile is a traumatic life event or whatever bullshit that was? I say it’s this episode’s ability to keep you one step ahead of the action rather than one step behind, so it all plays out like a slow motion nightmare, making that pit in your stomach the size of a crocodile pit. Why not? It makes just as much sense as whatever your theory is.

I'm an alligator, moron.

#20
Downtime, Twilight Zone 2.2
Featuring - Morena Baccarin
Summary - A hotel manager suffers a headache and awakens to find an orb in the sky. Slowly, people stop what they are doing and walk outside or go to a window to stare at the orb, unresponsive. She runs home to her husband who at first greets her, but then suddenly starts speaking in an Irish accent and walks outside to stare at the orb himself, leaving Michelle on her own to figure out this mystery.
Analysis - The episode gives the main character and the audience pieces of the puzzle as it sees fit and lets us play along with Michelle. Once we realize what the orb is, we have to decide whether or not we want to join in with the crowd, and we may not have a choice. I love this episode for a couple reasons, but mainly because it poses the question of when does a game become real, and it does it well.
What’s in a name? - No need to say spoiler alert here because the title of the episode gives away the hook. The Twilight Zone is supposed to take you toward a door and then yank the floor out and send you down that way. I think the ride at Universal Studios does exactly that. But the title of this episode takes away part of the suspense, and I rather enjoy being suspended. It’s not as bad as putting the Statue of Liberty on the cover of the Planet of the Apes VHS, but I still might have liked those 12 minutes of not knowing.

[SPOILER ALERT!]

#19
Nosedive, Black Mirror 3.1
Featuring - Bryce Dallas Howard
Summary - In a world in which people openly rate other people based on their interactions with them – however fleeting and unmeaningful – a woman tries to raise her score by attending an old friend’s swanky wedding. Because so much of life is tied up in these scores, every interaction and pastel outfit decision is so completely fake. In her quest to achieve a 4.5 rating, things don’t go exactly as planned.
Analysis - Black Mirror is known for being just on the edge of where we are or could possibly be as a society, and Nosedive is a perfect example. In this world, your social rating is tied to being able to fly standby and rent apartments, whereas here it’s just tied to riding a car and getting food delivered. It shines a light far enough in the distance that we can see it coming, but we’re still headed there – for better or worse.
What else is in a name? - So remember what I said about Downtime? Well, the same applies to Nosedive. It kinda gives away the ending. But I guess so does Die Hard. And Free Willy. And The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Seriously, you couldn't call it Guns of the West or something?

#18
Playtest, Black Mirror 5.1
Featuring - Wyatt Russell
Summary - An American backpacking across Europe to avoid dealing with his mother hooks up with a woman who works at a gaming tech company. The following day, he discovers his bank account has been emptied and he has to find a way to get money. He finds himself playtesting an interactive horror video game that distorts his idea of reality and ultimately makes him see parts of himself he has been hiding.
Analysis - The brilliance of this episode is in the misdirection. This episode has an extra layer, and one I didn’t get the first time through. On the surface, it’s a terrifying horror in which the main character and the audience never fully know what’s real. And that is frightening enough. But the greatness of the episode is the reference to Edgar Allen Poe in its relationship to the truth about his mother revealed at the end.
The Tweet Taste of Victory - The end of this episode was not written by Charlie Brooker. It was written by a rando twitter user named Mallory Ortberg. In 2015, she tweeted "Next on Black Mirror: What if phones, but too much?" And so – according to Brooker – Playtest featured an ending inspired by that incredibly cryptic tweet. But honestly, the more I read about Brooker, the more I get the feeling he maybe just likes to bullshit us plebians for continuously probing him for crap like this.

I came up with the idea for San Junipero from a discarded Diner napkin
that had a raspberry stain in the shape of St. Peter's Basilica 

#17
Be Right Back, Black Mirror 2.1
Featuring - Hayley Atwell, Domhnall Gleeson
Summary - A young, seemingly normal couple is thrust into tragedy when the man is killed in a car crash. The woman learns of a program that simulates that person’s tone based on their online presence and she begins to have conversations with him. As she gives the program access to more personal things about him, the interactions become more intimate and confusing.
Analysis - This episode is fantastic in how it explores a woman’s struggle with grief. While she really enjoys the interactions with this program and develops a new sort of relationship with it where she is telling her new friend things about him that he doesn’t know about, she begins to feel that things have maybe gone too far.
Technology changes, people don’t - Forget the tech for a minute. This episode would be fantastic if it didn’t have it at all. It is such a fantastic depiction on the different stages of grief that we all go through and how they don’t make sense, and how they sometimes repeat, and jump immediately from one feeling to the next and then back again, and even if we someday find a cure for losing someone, we will still have these same human problems.

#16
Kill All Others, Electric Dreams 1.10
Featuring - Mel Rodriquez, Vera Farminga
Summary - In a world where North America is one huge nation (Mexuscan) and there is only one political party, a factory worker witnesses the political candidate tell everyone to “kill all others” live on TV. While he is convinced this will be the nail in her coffin, he finds no news or social media talking about it at all and we wonder if he is imagining this or if something more sinister is afoot.
Analysis - This episode is filled with allegory about our current sociopolitical climate. What do we do when we see a person of significant power do or say something so obviously wrong? Do we dare become the first to say something? The world is filled with either people who don’t care or don’t dare speak up. So what happens to the person that does speak out and tell the emperor he has no clothes?
Art imitates life - Dee Rees directed this episode and spoke of her experience watching the 2016 presidential race as inspiration: “When Trump was talking about making America great again, why was nobody asking ‘When was that again?,’” said Rees. “Get him to name just one decade when it was great, and then his whole premise is unraveled. People, smart people, people who are supposed to be thought leaders — no one asked what for me was the central question that would have un-did everything.” Instead, it felt like she was the only person awake in a time of madness. And it came out in this story.

I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and kill all others and I wouldn't lose voters

#15
Replay, Twilight Zone 1.3
Featuring - Sanaa Lathan, Damson Idris, Glenn Fleshler
Summary - A mother on her way to drop her son off at an all-black college realizes that the camcorder she is carrying has the ability to rewind time. As she heads to the school, she runs into a racist police officer. When she replays that moment and tries to find a way to the school, she realizes this is a problem even a magic camera may not be able to help her avoid.
Analysis - This episode dives head-first into the long history of racially-motivated police violence. The officer in the story is meant to represent racial injustice and how it doesn’t matter what route you take as a black person, but sometimes it is impossible to avoid it. And it’s also just a matter of time. When we take this as an allegory, it brings so much more meaning to a story that at times seems a little implausible. But maybe that’s the point.
Two Distant Strangers - The best film I saw all of last year was a 32-minute short story on Netflix called Two Distant Strangers. You may not have heard of it even though it was produced by Kevin Durant and Puff Daddy and won an Oscar. I was so in love with this TZ episode and shouted from the rooftops about it to anyone who would listen. And then I saw Two Distant Strangers and realized that Replay is a rough draft for that movie. They are actually very different, but you can see the inspiration. I definitely recommend watching both, as they each shine a very similar light on systemic racism in our country.

#14
Point of Origin, Twilight Zone 1.8
Featuring - Ginnifer Goodwin, James Frain
Summary - A seemingly typical rich suburban housewife finds herself in the middle of a scandal involving some immigration violation. Originally assumed it was about her recently deported house maid, she soon finds out it may be something else. Something she may not even consciously know. And she may not be who she appears to be.
Analysis - This episode draws a really interesting comparison to what it is like to be an illegal immigrant in this country. It often doesn’t matter how nice you are or how long you’ve been here, some people just see you as someone who doesn’t belong. And how can that possibly happen when you’re rich and white?
It's no fun - Yet again, another episode that takes a cannon to the bow of the sociopolitical climate of the time. Just like Not All Men did with toxic masculinity, Peele and friends address our society’s views on “illegal” immigration. I was reminded of Trump talking to reporters about why he arrested certain illegal immigrants. Obviously going off script, he said that they were arrested because they were criminals. Asked what they had done to make them criminals, he said that illegally crossing the border made them criminals. In other words, he admitted they weren’t criminals before they sought sanctuary from whatever danger they were fleeing from, but by our laws, the mere act of crossing the border was illegal, making them criminals. Only he probably used the term bad hombres. What a guy. I bet he could probably get away with saying we should kill all others on camera.

How come none of these episodes are about me?

End of the Third Quarter

Black Mirror – 14 episodes of 22 (64%)
Electric Dreams – 8 episodes of 10 (80%)
Twilight Zone – 17 episodes of 20 (85%)

At the end of the third quarter, Electric Dreams finally found a way to not be in last place. It managed to pull ahead of the Twilight Zone, which has 85% of it’s episodes in the top three quarters, meaning it has only 15% of its episodes in the top quarter. I’m sure you can all subtract double-digit whole numbers from 100, so I’ll refrain from doing that for you, but suffice to say if all things were even, each show would have 75% of their episodes in the bottom three quarters. So Black Mirror is ahead of the curve, while the other two are behind. What does this all mean? It means I need to spend more time cleaning the house, according to my wife. But somehow that feels unrelated.