Black Callister was one of the most acclaimed episodes of Black Mirror.
Black Mirror’s season 4 was pretty divisive among audiences even though it received rave reviews just like all the previous seasons. This series that was bought by Netflix after its second season is an anthology series that is set in near future or an alternate reality. Its focuses on our ever-increasing dependence on technology. The picture it paints, to put it simply, is bleak.
Fourth season of Black Mirror that had six episodes – most for any season that came before – had a few episodes that were universally liked and some that left fans divided. One thing is clear, though, that Black Mirror continues to scare us away from gadgets, though with a limited success.
Meanwhile, you can check out these featurettes that show behind the scenes of every episode of fourth season. It is really interesting to see how the makers constructed the sets, wrote the scripts, and how actors did their job. My favourite featurette is of USS Callister. Charlier Brooker, creator of Black Mirror, explains how he “always wanted to do an episode set in space.” It is an interesting look at how the episode, deemed to be the best in the season, was conceptualised and brought to life. Arkangel (parenting-gone-bad) featurette is also intriguing, especially listening to talented Jodie Foster talk about making the episode.
My personal favourite, Metalhead, was probably the least Black Mirror-like Black Mirror episode of the season. Charlie Brooker agrees. “I wanted to do something that was just visceral and unrelenting from the very start.” This does not look like the conception of a typical Black Mirror episode. Although there is the ‘Metalhead’ the unstoppable, high-tech killing machine but the episode is more focused on giving thumping action than any deep message. And I loved it.