Review: Black Mirror – Season 4, USS Callister, Netflix

 

Typical. You wait ages for an anthology series of twisted one-offs and then two come along at the same time. Inside No. 9 kicks off on BBC2 on January 2 but before then the entire boxed set of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror has just come out on Netflix. You'd better clear those diaries for some serious viewing through your fingers.

Having binge-watched the first three episodes of Black Mirror, however, it would be fair to say that the comedy quotient is pretty low. There is plenty of murder but not a lot of mirth. The nearest thing to a comedy is the opening instalment, USS Callister, which, on the surface at least, initially looks like a wry spoof of the original Star Trek, full of ridiculous heroics and featuring a lead actor, Jesse Piemons, who looks like a cross between William Shatner and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

There is an obligatory twist of course which takes this way beyond mere Galaxy Quest parody. The space adventures take place in a virtual world created and ruled over by Robert Daly (also Piemons) who is a bullied uber-geek in reality so has to compensate and get his revenge with a spot of secret cloning (or something) in his downtime. When office newbie Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti) finds herself trapped in his little world, she is determined to escape and save the day.

There is a little light sadism but compared to the mood of the other dystopian episodes this one does feel like it has its tongue edging firmly towards its cheek, right down to the fact that the virtual alter egos of Daly's colleagues - including Shania, played by Chewing Gum's Michaela Cole – have no genitals, as they reveal Ken & Barbie-style in one comic moment,

Of course, this being Brooker the ending still leaves a slightly sour taste in your mouth. But at least you are allowed to smile too. Having also watched the episodes Arkangel – about futurist surveillance techniques – and Crocodile – about how one accident results in a brutal domino effect – there aren't many opportunities for laughs there at all, making USS Callister something of a gentle nursery slope for those new to Charlie Brooker's warped world.

Black Mirror: Series 4 is now available on netflix.com

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