Black Mirror
I feel like more than anything I've seen, that's what the Twilight Zone would look like if it were done today. What are your thoughts?
shareAgreed. I always describe Black Mirror as a modern Twilight Zone and people immediately understand.
shareBlack Mirror is good, but it will never be The Twilight Zone.
shareI think "Black Mirror" would have been met with Serling's approval.
share@Modica, what do you mean it will never be The Twilight Zone?
shareI mean it will never surpass the greatness of the quality of stories. There are not many writers as great as Serling and that means Black Mirror will never be as great as The Twilight Zone. I like Black Mirror, but none of the best Black Mirror episodes are as good or as memorable as the best Twilight Zone episodes.
shareStrongly disagree. Most of the Twilight Zone episodes are very slow paced/dull due to the era they were created in. Black Mirror has had 50+ years to learn from film and develop more inventive stories that Twilight Zone could have never created. For comparison, the Kick The Can episode compared to Black Mirror's San Junipero. Way more interesting plot development in Black Mirror. It's a Good Life is another episode which could easily be compared to USS Callister. In both, there is a person given extreme control over other individuals but Black Mirror manages to create a more unique set of circumstances with far better acting.
Everything in today's TV and cinema has had the advantage of learning from previous creator's mistakes and shortcomings. Black Mirror has full well taken advantage of that and created a better product.
I disagree with you. I like a slow paced story. I find some of the Black Mirror stories very dull, while others are very good. We will never convince each other of anything different, because it is opinion and it can't be proven who is correct.
shareI’m with you, modica; and I’m tired of this generational bickering. It seems to be human nature for younger generations to want to find manifestations of “their” culture to be the best ever. It has to do with establishing an identity. As a young man, I rejected my parents’ love for jazz and embraced rock ‘n roll. Today, I love The Who and Sinatra equally. To cut this short: without ground-breakers like Serling’s VISIONARY Twilight Zone, there would be NO Black Mirror today. Period. No Twilight Zone? No
Sarah Conner, no John Conner, game over.
I tried Black Mirror once. Like it if you will. I found it contrived, manipulative, bereft of art, clunky. I’d say it’s perfect for someone “watching” while playing with his tablet. On the other hand, “To Serve Man” . . . .
I agree and that's been my experience watching Black Mirror. I can only bear watching it in a window open on my virtual desktop while doing other things because it's so hit and miss. Only sometimes do I get sucked into the story, which can then turn out to be very good.
Meanwhile I always found Twilight Zone compelling viewing.
But I also recognize why younger generations might see the Twilight Zone's Sci-fi as antiquated by metamodern conventions and prefer the post-postmodern updates that make Black Mirror a more accurate representation of art imitating life in the present.
Hey, I didn't know you were a Twilight Zone fan, Kane! :) It just so happens that TZ is my all-time favorite show. I've seen a few episodes of Black Mirror, and while I don't dislike it, TZ surpasses it head, shoulders and waistline as far as I'm concerned. It's much broader in scope than Black Mirror, more innovative, more intellectually challenging, and I would dare to say more haunting. Black Mirror disturbed me, but the concepts and twists didn't linger in my subconscious the way those of TZ did.
shareMy friend, I am older than dirt. As a boy, I took to The Twilight Zone like I did to MAD Magazine. I was, like, “Wow! This is Good!” And, yes, I did the same with Star Trek. Rod Serling had a connection with my home, Syracuse NY. He was matriculated at Syracuse University. I noticed that everyone from Syracuse who amounted to anything was always described as being “former Syracusan” as in football legend Jim
Brown or Rod Serling. So
I moved to Boston. “There’s a signpost up ahead! Our next stop is . . . The Twilight Zone.” Absent Serling/TZ, where the hell would we be today? Actually, if pressed, I will pick TZ over Trek, and never look back.
As an aside, R_Kane is one name, like Elvis or Cher. Kane is not my family name. My initials are RK, and I study and practice arcane things. There are poltroons here who dislike me (*imagine!*) who think (sort of) that they can talk TOUGH
by calling me Kane. Please call me R_Kane, because that is my chosen and sole cyberspace name. Thank you, Lovely.
I can fully understand why you took to it so quickly. It truly was a groundbreaking series, and remains to be a source of inspiration for many films and TV shows (e.g. The Sixth Sense). I caught it for the first time as a teenager. I was home alone (if I remember correctly), the house was dark, and I decided to occupy myself by watching some TV. I flipped to SyFy Channel, which was doing a TZ marathon, and instantly became engrossed in it. I stayed up half the night before finally turning the TV off. I already had an appreciation for older stuff, but I was thoroughly impressed by how well-written and edited the show was, how creative it was, and how well it tackled timeless themes. It’s a masterful work of art, one I never tire of. (I even have a TZ t-shirt with the show’s original intro printed on it. It’s one of my favorite articles of clothing.)
Oh, my bad! I apologize for that, my friend. I will definitely call you R_Kane going forward. :) (By the way, I think your cyber name is really clever.)