[soneca]

The first episode is the very worst of the whole serious. "Fan-fiction" level of writing. Everything so obvious with tired tropes. A critique to social media that could be done by an imaginative high school kid.

The other ones are good, interesting and worth watching. Although only San Junipero is great.

Edit: Shut up and dance is great too.

[the_af]

Really? I liked the first episode. What I think is the absolute worst (of all Black Mirror, I'd say!) is the second episode, Playtest. It's embarrassingly bad, completely amateurish, not really scary, too drawn out and with dodgy SFX and a weak premise.

I also didn't like Shut Up & Dance much. To me it felt like a weaker "White Rabbit", and much of the episode hinges on a single plot twist at the end (much like White Rabbit, but that one was better executed).

I liked San Junipero. I liked that it has a different, unexpected tone from the rest. I liked that it was kind-hearted, for a change. Haven't watched the rest of the season yet.

Just my opinions, of course.

[knowaveragejoe]

I have to say I felt the opposite. E1 felt incredibly hamfisted, really pushing the whole "everyone is constantly on their phones and obsespsed with Internet reputation", when in my own life I have observed the pendulum actually swinging the other direction away from that trend which, in my experiences, peaked towards the end of the 2000 decade.

E2 on the other hand was quite good. I did not find the SFX to be bad at all - and that itself far removed from what made the episode great.

[the_af]

Yes, I didn't say I loved it, I just liked it. Though in my experience the trend still goes on, with everyone around me on facebook and constantly checking their phones. That said, Black Mirror is about extremes, not necessarily about how things are now.

[rhizome]

Interesting about "Playtest," did you see "10 Cloverfield Lane?" Same director.

[the_af]

Not yet, but my friends spoiled the plot for me. I know enough about it to think I'd probably like it. I'll probably watch it even knowing the plot.

There's nothing in Playtest that's similar to 10 Cloverfield Lane. It really has no redeeming qualities.

[jen729w]

Oh god. That movie.

I watched the trailer on a flight. Looked great. Started the film.

Turns out the only action in the entire movie is what they showed in the trailer. I thought it was deathly boring.

[skciva]

You think that was a worse episode than the first episode of the series? Or The Waldo Moment?

I really think Black Mirror is suffering from the Internet hype machine. If you never saw the show and only read the buzz online you'd think the first 2 seasons were masterclass and this one was a disaster..I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 seasons and thought some episodes were stronger than others but there was no large change in quality between seasons.

[ashark]

What's wrong with S1E1? It's structurally different enough from later episodes that I'd probably not make it the first episode I showed someone to introduce them to the series, but IMO it's solid.

[rhizome]

I agree. I think it's always been good and it might even be getting better.

[soneca]

I actually think S1E1 is very good. And had some fun with The Waldo.

[_v7gu]

I believe you'd like this Community episode. It's the same subject, but with a better view

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3278596/

[ashark]

> The first episode is the very worst of the whole serious. "Fan-fiction" level of writing. Everything so obvious with tired tropes. A critique to social media that could be done by an imaginative high school kid.

It was as much as 10 minutes too long and something was wrong with the editing, like they didn't have enough good meaty shots to fill out some kind of required run time so the editor had to hold shots too long. Then there was the climactic scene where they kept repeating similar shots and beats over and over for what felt like forever, like the story's needle was dislodged and skipping. That was a mess and killed the remaining investment I had in the story. There were also several important but very flatly filmed scenes of dialog that made the acting come off as weak (I think it was the editing/shot choice and not the actors, though). My least favorite episode by far, replacing The Waldo Moment, which was then bumped one notch higher again by the soldiers/VR episode later, which had several (maybe too many) decent ideas and an interesting world but needed a couple more passes on the script.

Other four were really good. San Junipero might be my favorite episode of the series.

[EDIT] I've just checked Wikipedia and S3E1 is the only episode that Brooker didn't write or co-write, just a "story by" with the teleplay by two other people (from Parks & Rec). Maybe that's where the trouble started.

[soneca]

Well, maybe it is about some expectations alignement problem. If I had started to watch not as "food for thought" story with twists, but expecting a simple satire and enjoying more the humor, I would have appreciated it more.

[gone35]

"Fan-fiction" level of writing. Everything so obvious with tired tropes. A critique to social media that could be done by an imaginative high school kid.

Funny: that's exactly what I think about the whole series. I have (guiltily) watched all three seasons with anticipation, and I still don't really see what the big deal is.

But then de gustibus non est disputandum, so that's just me.

[knowaveragejoe]

If you're a seasoned scifi reader then you'll see most of the twists coming and be aware of most of the tropes. The show relies on slowly unveiling the various concepts over the course of the episodes.

[josu]

I don't think this comment should be downvoted. While I did enjoy this episode, it does stand out in the series. While there is certainly some dark humor throughout the series, this one is straight out dark comedy, from beginning to end. AFAIK it is also the only one not written by Charlie Brooker, thus the fanfiction feel that soneca talks about.