Looking Into a BLACK MIRROR

Article first published as BLACK MIRROR Review on Seat42F.

This Friday, Netflix will premiere season three of BLACK MIRROR. You haven’t heard of the show? Well, that may not be surprising because the first two seasons were made and aired in the UK instead of the United States. However, Netflix outbid the British network than ran the show previously, and the new batch about to hit will be exclusive world-wide to the streaming service (with years one and two already available on the platform as well).

BLACK MIRROR is an anthology series with a technological bend. Each installment (there were seven prior to season three, and there will be six new ones this week) has its own cast, characters, setting, plot, and even reality. The stories are generally science-fiction in nature, with a look at how technology could possibly screw up the world in the future. It basically casts a ‘black mirror’ on our current society. It’s sort of like a Twilight Zone with a focused hook.

Lest you think the show is completely bleak dark, as the title indicates, the third season begins with a much less depressing narrative in “San Junipero.” Yorkie (Mackenzie Davis, Halt and Catch Fire) is a nerdy girl in the 1980s who enjoys video games. She is at a club that mixes dancing with arcade machines and meets Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Touch), a bisexual “cool kid” who encourages Yorkie to find her courage and step outside her comfort zone.

Now, if you’re wondering how the series I described above does an episode like I just mentioned, given that the 1980s is the past, not the future, all I’ll say is that the hints are there from the start, and the twist is pretty cool.

But without giving anything else away, I was very impressed with the hour. It was incredibly cohesive and well thought-out. I get that it’s easier to do that with a self-contained episode than with an ongoing series, but much thought clearly went into how to tie things together and telegraph the later scenes without being obvious about it. Add in a retro, sexy, engaging vibe and a pair of talented actresses with authentic, compelling performances, and I came out of “San Junipero” with the desire to watch every episode of BLACK MIRROR available, which I’ll definitely be doing over the next few weeks.

Admittedly, I sampled that episode only last night and have not gotten to watch a second installment yet. Still, I feel I can recommend this series unequivocally. I also don’t see how any fans of the original runs could possibly complain about the continuation because, even though I don’t have the prior viewing experience to compare it to, this is really good, and far better than most anthologies I’ve watched. (Plus the show is still made by many of the same people.) If the other five episodes come anywhere near to this level of quality, it’s bound to be a very strong season, and to make things even sweeter, a fourth season has already been ordered.

Looking at its Wikipedia page, it looks like BLACK MIRROR gives us plenty to look forward to. While earlier episodes include the likes of Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hayler Atwell (Agent Carter), Domhnall Gleeson (The Revenant), and Rory Kinnear (Penny Dreadful), among the upcoming cast members are the equally good Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones), Michael Kelly (House of Cards), and Cherry Jones (24). So you can’t say BLACK MIRROR doesn’t attract talent. The fact that these people want to get on board after other installments have come out reinforces the idea that this a show to watch.

All six season three episodes of BLACK MIRROR will be released this Friday on Netflix.

Boardwalk Empire is pretty good...

     HBO spent $65 millions dollars on Boardwalk Empire. Yes, that's right. Sixty-five million on a television series! They actually built the entire boardwalk of the title from scratch in Brooklyn, and worked hard to ensure that every detail of the show is authentic to the 1920s, when the story takes place. Although parts of it are fictional (the main character's last name is Thompson, while the real-life man who ran the boardwalk had the last name Johnson), much about Boardwalk Empire rings very true. And the production values paid off, as the sets, costumes, and scenery are fantastic.

     Sadly, however, I can only call the series pretty good. In the pilot, the plot meanders along, and much of the screen time doesn't advance the action. The dialogue is fun, but not much is memorably quotable. Steve Buscemi does a fair job in the primary role, and proves he can handle a television show. I know it's about time that he got top billing. Yet, I couldn't help but feel something was lacking. It could have been better. Reviewers who have seen more than one episode have suggested that perhaps Martin Scorsese, who directed the pilot, is better at directing the big screen than the small, and future episodes with other directors flow better. I hope so, because this show has a lot riding on it, and I do want it to succeed.

     I hope my opening didn't scare you off from BE. There is much that is laudable, besides the setting. Buscemi plays Nucky Thompson, the treasurer who runs things on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As the series begins, Prohibition has just begun, but Nucky is keeping the libations flowing liberally. He is also facing a bit of a crisis, as the world modernizes and he is a little slow to change with it.

     The biggest threat to Nucky is his loyal but ambitious driver, Jimmy Darmody, played excellently by Michael Pitt (Dawson's Creek). This week, Jimmy helped a very young Al Capone (Stephen Graham) topple the balance of power in Chicago. He gave a cut of his dealings to Nucky, but angered plenty of other people.

     The third apparent star of the show is Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting) as Margaret, a love interest for Nucky. Clearly there is some deeper attraction for Nucky, something to do with his childhood and babies, that brings him closer to the pregnant Margaret, but his fascination with her continues after she loses the baby. Now that Nucky got rid of her abusive husband, I'm interested to see how the relationship develops.

     Boardwalk Empire has eleven more episodes in the can, and will air Sunday nights at 9pm on HBO. 

Article first published as Boardwalk Empire Is Pretty Good on Blogcritics.