Season 3 is coming out on the 21st of October on Netflix, so I thought I would do a short snippet and rank the previous episodes (except I haven't seen the special episode White Christmas yet but I heard good things about it).
I really love this show, and I would highly recommend it! In fact, it is the sole reason I am contemplating getting Netflix after exams.
Because it's an anthology series, you can watch it in any order, but I would recommend watching The National Anthem first, as it's a good pilot and introduction into the series. Then you can just watch the good episodes (see below, where I rank them in my order of preference).
So, without further ado...
A on AV Club
Princess Susannah, a Diana-esque beloved Royal member, has been kidnapped, but there is no ransom fee. Instead, the terrorist asks for one simple request: the Prime Minister must have sex with a pig. Oh, and the ordeal is to be broadcasted live on national television.
What a fun and interesting introduction to this series. The reason I think it should be watched first is not because it's the best, but because it's the only episode that could actually take place tomorrow, whereas all the other episodes are quite futuristic and almost seem to be in alternate universes. This is pretty grounded in reality; the characters seem real, their logic and rationality seems real, and these are things that could actually happen (and maybe they have; who knows).
The Rest, from Best to Worst:
A- on AV Club
Martha's husband Ash dies in a car accident the day after they move into a cottage house. Devastated by this loss, she decides to try out a new service that allows people to communicate with their deceased beloveds, which works through analysing online videos and communications written, spoken and recorded by the deceased. She quickly starts to rely on it, but soon discovers that it's not completely able to fill the void which her husband has left.
I really loved this episode. Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter, About Time, Ex-Machina, and a whole heap more) was fantastic as a creepy artificial intelligence that could turn on or off 'his' emotions, while Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter from the Marvel Cinematic Universe) gave a fantastic performance as the grieving widow who is begrudgingly using this service. The writing and the premise of this episode is very very intriguing, and it has some pretty great themes in it too, meaning it will be hard to stop watching.
A- on AV Club
In the not-so-distant future, humans can record every single thing they see and hear, resulting in reliable memories that can be rewinded, played over and over for your enjoyment or analysis, and even just to remember a person's name. Yet while it's definitely convenient, is it actually good for us?
I love the concept of this; I've always thought about how cool it would be to be able to take photos with my eyes, or record sightseeing adventures, or even replay conversations in order to win arguments over who said what. But this episode was a great reminder that technology may not always be a good thing. I think it related to me a lot because I have a tendency to obsess over all my mistakes and all my flaws, and I realised that if I had this technology, I would never be happy.
Robert Downey Jr. also appears to love the episode, and he has bought the rights to make it into a film some time.
The only thing I disliked about this is the ending. Without giving away any spoilers I think the ending kind of detracts from the ultimate lesson.
But what I thought was a really great idea (and a really sad one at that) was the couple having sex while replaying the past memories of a great sexual experience. That was pretty heartbreaking.
B+ on AV Club
Elizabeth awakes with no memory of the events that led her here, and with no recollection of who she is. She soon becomes targeted and chased, yet no one seems to be helping her. Instead, they watch and even film her distress. She soon discovers that a transmission has turned everyone into technologically-submissive zombies. She, being immune, is being hunted. She attempts to switch off the transmission, but soon finds out that it's not as straightforward as she thought.
This was really intriguing at the start, and at the end it becomes a heartbreaking story. I won't say much since the ending is quite unexpected, but it makes you understand society's values, while still being disgusted by them.
A on AV Club
A slave-like economy exists where people cycle on bikes to power the city, with merits being rewarded for every revolution you cycle. These merits can be used to purchase food, toothpaste, and... that's pretty much it. But if you save up your merits, you may be able to buy your freedom in the form of a talent show entrance.
This is a really sad depiction of a dystopian future, and it's presented really well. It's a bit longer, at just over 60 minutes, but it does really well to show us the monotony of the slaves' lives. I found this concept really interesting and unique, and I loved the ending, which is pretty clever, despite leaving you with a sense of hopelessness.
C+ on AV Club
Jamie is a comedian who provides the voice of Waldo, a satirical cartoon character who starts off mocking politicians. It starts off as innocent fun, however as Waldo gains more and more success with audiences, higher-ups decide that Waldo should run for the election himself, and it all starts to get a bit too over-the-top for Jamie.
The other episodes are a bit tough to arrange in order of preference, but this one was easy. I didn't really like this episode at all, and I wouldn't recommend it (even if Waldo is actually Donald Trump). It all felt too unrealistic, even though it's one of the most realistic episodes of the entire TV show (bar The National Anthem). The writing was bad, the pacing was bad, the ending was bad, just everything was bad. Don't watch it.
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