When critics heard that Charlie Brooker had become a father there was talk of him becoming more sentimental. Going soft. That certainly doesn’t seem to be the case if the seasonal, sinister and sour Black Mirror: White Christmas is any guide.
At times while watching this it almost feels as if he is more poisonous, more nasty and, in particular, more cynical than ever about the potential for technology to take us over and screw us up.
White Christmas consists of three stories linked together by Mad Men’s Jon Hamm and co-starring Rafe Spall. Beyond The Joke was given access to a preview copy on condition that it did not reveal any spoilers, so we can’t go into too much detail. The first tale involves a potential (mis)use for a type of wi-fi communication device. The second story involves hi-tech cloning. The third story, in which we visit the very near future (no hover-cars, it looks like today, but that may just be budget constraints) where people can “block” each other in real-life, is, well, particularly vicious as well as all-too-believable.
Brooker has compared this portmanteau programme to the Simpsons’ anthology episodes, but there are certainly less laughs here than in the cartoons. In fact there is so little to smile at I’m not even sure I should be reviewing this on a comedy website. Brooker may have a track record for humour but he has filleted out all the gags here and gone for a decided acidic view of the way the world is heading.
These beautifully acted, ugly stories remind me less of Matt Groening and more of the old horror film compilations in which Peter Cushing and a group of bewhiskered 1960s character actors would find themselves trapped somewhere together, in a lift or on a train, for instance. As their yarns panned out it became apparent that they were not together by accident…
The copy of the programme I was sent came with a note that said things might change before transmission. Is this advance copy a playful prank on the part of Brooker and they are all going to have cheery, seasonal Richard Curtis endings instead? Somehow I doubt it. Rest assured that while this latest instalment of Black Mirror may not give you nightmares, it may well make you shudder from now on whenever you hear Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day.
Black Mirror: White Christmas, C4, 9pm, December 16.
