I'm loving it.

The episode "White Bear" kept me awake for a while thinking, it really freaked me out. Perfect show for someone who likes their mind messed with and isn't into horror.

I love it, think it's one of the best things I've seen in a long time. Not to be one of those people who always contradicts, but I did feel the last two episodes (including white bear) were relatively weak compared to the first four, which I thought were absolutely phenomenal. The Entire History of You and The National Anthem were the standout episodes for me. I'm waiting to hear what ZK thought of it - she mentioned she was going to give it a try a few weeks ago.

disliked it. i've only watched a couple episodes, and stopped when i found myself wondering what kind of personality disorder it would take to create such a slime-fest of horror and disgusting. after that, i switched over to watching: an idiot abroad.

sorry, but quite honestly, from what i've seen, the production money would have been better spent elsewhere. i mean seriously, who does that? devoting their creative energy to something so dank and then having the nerve to toss it off as 'art'. sorry, imo, thumbsdown**.

** disclaimer for those who need one: THIS IS JUST THE OPINION OF A PERSON WHO IS POSTING ON A WEBSITE DEVOTED TO PRINCE, IN THE GENERAL DISCUSSION FORUM. NO NEED TO GET YOUR PANTIES IN A BUNCH IF YOU DISAGREE WITH MY OPINION. THANKS IN ADVANCE.

Is there any way to watch this series legally in the U.S other than on Netflix?

sexton said:

Is there any way to watch this series legally in the U.S other than on Netflix?

And in Canada we dont even get it on Netflix so I'd like to know this as well.

damosuzuki said:

XxAxX said:

When I saw that Charlie Brooker wrote these, it made total sense. "The entire history of you" and "White bear" are my favorites so far - just wrapped up season 2.

sexton said:

Is there any way to watch this series legally in the U.S other than on Netflix?

Don't worry if it becomes a run-away-hit in the UK we'll do our own version and you'll get to see it Fall 2016...America is too cheap to come up with Original scripted Dramas so "sampling" stuff from overseas is how we do it now..

JustErin said:

sexton said:

Is there any way to watch this series legally in the U.S other than on Netflix?

And in Canada we dont even get it on Netflix so I'd like to know this as well.

As far as I can tell it's only on Netflix USA as far as streaming sites go, but I think it's available for rent on itunes. I'm not sure it's on the Canadian version (can't look it up right this moment - i'm at work).

morningsong said:

XxAxX said:

disliked it. i've only watched a couple episodes, and stopped when i found myself wondering what kind of personality disorder it would take to create such a slime-fest of horror and disgusting. after that, i switched over to watching: an idiot abroad.

sorry, but quite honestly, from what i've seen, the production money would have been better spent elsewhere. i mean seriously, who does that? devoting their creative energy to something so dank and then having the nerve to toss it off as 'art'. sorry, imo, thumbsdown**.

** disclaimer for those who need one: THIS IS JUST THE OPINION OF A PERSON WHO IS POSTING ON A WEBSITE DEVOTED TO PRINCE, IN THE GENERAL DISCUSSION FORUM. NO NEED TO GET YOUR PANTIES IN A BUNCH IF YOU DISAGREE WITH MY OPINION. THANKS IN ADVANCE.

I surprised you didn't like. Maybe the 1st episode was a bit over the top a complete wt...time. I think I like it because its more about "demons" within as oppose to some outside monster.

I can definitely see someone having a negative reaction to the National Anthem. That's the most openly transgressive episode by far. I was actually going to tell ZK that if she didn't care for the first episode to give Entire History or Be Right Back a try before abandoning the show. National Anthem is really the only episode to me that really feels like a direct provocation that could be shocking or unpleasant. I think all the others ought to be right in the wheelhouse of people who like dystopian stories & twilight zone-ish plots updated for modern tech.

.

Since both you and Bitchier have named White Bear as a favourite, I’m going to give it another view tonight. I may have just suffered from diminishing returns at that point, having watched five consecutive episodes in a pretty short length of time.

morningsong said:

XxAxX said:

disliked it. i've only watched a couple episodes, and stopped when i found myself wondering what kind of personality disorder it would take to create such a slime-fest of horror and disgusting. after that, i switched over to watching: an idiot abroad.

sorry, but quite honestly, from what i've seen, the production money would have been better spent elsewhere. i mean seriously, who does that? devoting their creative energy to something so dank and then having the nerve to toss it off as 'art'. sorry, imo, thumbsdown**.

** disclaimer for those who need one: THIS IS JUST THE OPINION OF A PERSON WHO IS POSTING ON A WEBSITE DEVOTED TO PRINCE, IN THE GENERAL DISCUSSION FORUM. NO NEED TO GET YOUR PANTIES IN A BUNCH IF YOU DISAGREE WITH MY OPINION. THANKS IN ADVANCE.

I surprised you didn't like. Maybe the 1st episode was a bit over the top a complete wt...time. I think I like it because its more about "demons" within as oppose to some outside monster.

sorry i was mean up there. i always enjoy your threads and now i've gone and ranted on one.

but really. i felt like i had been tricked into watching something vile. there was absolutely no point to that first episode, aside from planting forever in my brain the image of a prime minister fucking a pig.

animal abuse isn't entertainment, nor is pig fucking. moreover, the writers even TELL us what they're after when midway through one character says" it doesn't matter if he goes through with it, we've all seen him doing it in our heads by now".

there was no real conclusion, the kidnapper is not brought to justice, the story does not resolve and we are all left with the mental reek of that image.

i know. i'm an old fart, and somewhat traditional in my views. please forgive my grumpy rant. i will return to the Hobbit, which ends happily and wherein no pigs are treated as they should not be.

damosuzuki said:

morningsong said:

XxAxX said: I surprised you didn't like. Maybe the 1st episode was a bit over the top a complete wt...time. I think I like it because its more about "demons" within as oppose to some outside monster.

I can definitely see someone having a negative reaction to the National Anthem. That's the most openly transgressive episode by far. I was actually going to tell ZK that if she didn't care for the first episode to give Entire History or Be Right Back a try before abandoning the show. National Anthem is really the only episode to me that really feels like a direct provocation that could be shocking or unpleasant. I think all the others ought to be right in the wheelhouse of people who like dystopian stories & twilight zone-ish plots updated for modern tech.

.

Since both you and Bitchier have named White Bear as a favourite, I’m going to give it another view tonight. I may have just suffered from diminishing returns at that point, having watched five consecutive episodes in a pretty short length of time.

i may give it another try, since a lot of you seem to like it, and i do enjoy edgy stuff. but 'the national anthem' just didn't impress me in a good way. there are times when i just wonder to meself 'but WHY would i want to look into that deep, dark oozing crack in the ground there, when the sun is shining lovely overhead?'

XxAxX said:

morningsong said:

XxAxX said: I surprised you didn't like. Maybe the 1st episode was a bit over the top a complete wt...time. I think I like it because its more about "demons" within as oppose to some outside monster.

sorry i was mean up there. i always enjoy your threads and now i've gone and ranted on one.

but really. i felt like i had been tricked into watching something vile. there was absolutely no point to that first episode, aside from planting forever in my brain the image of a prime minister fucking a pig.

animal abuse isn't entertainment, nor is pig fucking. moreover, the writers even TELL us what they're after when midway through one character says" it doesn't matter if he goes through with it, we've all seen him doing it in our heads by now".

there was no real conclusion, the kidnapper is not brought to justice, the story does not resolve and we are all left with the mental reek of that image.

i know. i'm an old fart, and somewhat traditional in my views. please forgive my grumpy rant. i will return to the Hobbit, which ends happily and wherein no pigs are treated as they should not be.

We're into spoiler territory, but since you've brought it up, i will respond by saying that I'm a vegetarian, someone who is very conscious of animal abuse, and have been very influenced by Peter Singer's writings on these things, so I completely undertsand where you're coming from on that particular point.

.

That said, I personally have no issue with a fictional depiction of a guy fucking a pig in the service of telling a story (a story that I do think made points, and made me laugh out loud in a shocked 'i can't believe i'm seeing this' kind of way). I again can completely get someone when they do take issue, and see no fault in that - we're all allowed our preferences. My concerns are with the non-fictional sows spending almost their entire lives in gestation crates and stuff like that - that's what motivates my own behaviors. When we're in the fictional world, however, I am a complete misanthrope and there's not too much that will cross my own threshold. I've watched Salo more than once.

[Edited 1/1/15 5:29am]

thank you^. i'm concerned about animal rights in this world of ours and am feeling maybe hyper aware of moral issues connected with what's being sold as 'entertainment' to an unsuspecting public these days; it's good to know you share those concerns. perhaps i should try watching another episode. i kind of hate to trust my imagination to that particular bunch of writers, but i'll try to give them another chance.

episode 2: fifteen million merits: after failing to impress the judges on a singing competition show, a woman must either perofrm degrading acts or return to a slave-like existence. (pass!)

episode 3: the entire history of you: in the near future, everyone has access to a memory implant that records everything humans do, see and hear. maybe this one

[Edited 1/1/15 5:52am]

OOPS. SPOILER ALERT

hmm. S2E1 - be right back. this one was a little less dark than S1E1 and, far more interesting than shining a bright light on the act of buggering a captive beast.

focusing on the feedback between humankind and developing artificial intelligence, the show brings out the 'what if?' of a (for lack of a better term) therapy robot and its place in the life of a pregnant woman whose lover died in a crash. can a robot take the place of her lost love?

although this episode was more palatable than the one which grossed me out, i found it distressing to see that our protagonist ended up kind of hating and abusing the AI unit she'd brought into her life. not much of a happy ending, locked up in the attic like that.

i enjoyed watching bicentennial man with robin williams, which explores the same topic, but was sort of .. happier. maybe i'm just stuck on cheese, but Black Mirror seems a bit depressing so far. perhaps i need to check out other episodes..

[Edited 1/1/15 7:11am]

all right, i admit i was wrong. this show explores topics grimmer than those i like, but it's very inventive. it takes a close up look at our darker selves and the developing tech which will either help us or ultimately bring about our downfall eh.

damosuzuki said:

damosuzuki said:

morningsong said:

XxAxX said: I surprised you didn't like. Maybe the 1st episode was a bit over the top a complete wt...time. I think I like it because its more about "demons" within as oppose to some outside monster.

I can definitely see someone having a negative reaction to the National Anthem. That's the most openly transgressive episode by far. I was actually going to tell ZK that if she didn't care for the first episode to give Entire History or Be Right Back a try before abandoning the show. National Anthem is really the only episode to me that really feels like a direct provocation that could be shocking or unpleasant. I think all the others ought to be right in the wheelhouse of people who like dystopian stories & twilight zone-ish plots updated for modern tech.

.

Since both you and Bitchier have named White Bear as a favourite, I’m going to give it another view tonight. I may have just suffered from diminishing returns at that point, having watched five consecutive episodes in a pretty short length of time.

I think the reason that one stood out so much is because it created a complete 180 in my emotional state. At first it made me feel sympathetic then I just got bored because I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on and it just kept going, then you get the unexpected hit and then it had 100% of my attention. For me that one messed with my sense of right and wrong the most, because I could empathized with everybody thought process, but then I had to deal with my own personal lines. And no animals were involved, even though I think this was the crueliest.

I think I like Fifteen Million Merits, and Be Right Back as close seconds. Fifteen Million Merits, seemed to have an under current message beyond the obvious ones, and Be Right Back seemed to give a more realistic surprise, I was so happy it didn't go the direction I thought it was going, and really what was she suppose to do with a dumb (and what I think would be a normal) decision, I didn't have a solution given the information.

[Edited 1/2/15 11:07am]

damosuzuki said:

JustErin said:

And in Canada we dont even get it on Netflix so I'd like to know this as well.

As far as I can tell it's only on Netflix USA as far as streaming sites go, but I think it's available for rent on itunes. I'm not sure it's on the Canadian version (can't look it up right this moment - i'm at work).

I couldn't find it on U.S. iTunes either. Netflix seems to have an exclusive here until BBC America decides to air it. If I'm really desperate, I suppose I can always buy an overpriced import DVD and then sell it when I'm finished.

All I see is it's on DirecTV. But I don't know how current that is.

Chancellor said:

sexton said:

Is there any way to watch this series legally in the U.S other than on Netflix?

Don't worry if it becomes a run-away-hit in the UK we'll do our own version and you'll get to see it Fall 2016...America is too cheap to come up with Original scripted Dramas so "sampling" stuff from overseas is how we do it now..

SPOILER (I guess)


From what I've seen, a lot of the stuff would have to be re-written, well Waldo would and definitely National Anthem, there's no comparison for that kind of public sentiment.

morningsong said:

Chancellor said:

Don't worry if it becomes a run-away-hit in the UK we'll do our own version and you'll get to see it Fall 2016...America is too cheap to come up with Original scripted Dramas so "sampling" stuff from overseas is how we do it now..

SPOILER (I guess)


From what I've seen, a lot of the stuff would have to be re-written, well Waldo would and definitely National Anthem, there's no comparison for that kind of public sentiment.

Robert Downey's production company is trying to make a hollywood film of 'the entire history of you.' I think that could work really well.

^ the movie final cut starring robin williams uses the exact same plot device quite well. robin williams stars as a 'cutter' someone who lives in a world where everyone has memory chips implanted into their brains. as a cutter, he edits people's digitally stored memories for viewing/showing at their own funerals. he comes across something questionable in the archives of one of his clients and the story goes on from there. the movie is really interesting.

sexton said:

Is there any way to watch this series legally in the U.S other than on Netflix?

it's on youtube.

damosuzuki said:

morningsong said:

SPOILER (I guess)


From what I've seen, a lot of the stuff would have to be re-written, well Waldo would and definitely National Anthem, there's no comparison for that kind of public sentiment.

Robert Downey's production company is trying to make a hollywood film of 'the entire history of you.' I think that could work really well.

I liked that one very much