Month: June 2019

Black Mirror, as a television show, has taken the world by storm. Starting off as a eerily constructed dystopian anthology on Channel 4, the show is now one of the most popular Netflix properties. So, you can only imagine everyone’s excitement upon learning that the show would be returning to our screens with a fifth season. A fifth season that arguably recalls the show’s humble beginnings on British television. Unlike the previous two Netflix commissioned seasons, this one is only made up of three episodes, each one playing out like a well-made short film.

Having now watched the first three episodes of Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone redux, I have to say that the show is beginning to feel a little bit like de-ja-vu. 

The first three episodes all seem to follow the basic narrative structure. A character discovers that they possess some kind of reality altering ability, they then exploit that ability for either good or bad effect. In the case of the first two episodes, these abilities were used in negative ways, with both main characters (who are both male) eventually meeting their own sticky ends. So it is admittedly refreshing to see this formula being presented from the opposite way, with a female main character using her ability for acts of good. As this is the basic premise of the show’s third episode ‘Replay’ – which may be the best episode I have seen so far.

For a while it seemed that Marvel literally dominated everything. Not only were there movies ruling the cinema and global box office, but their tv shows were also taking over every channel and streaming service.

I for one was happy with this, especially when it comes to the Netflix shows. In many ways, the four Marvel shows we got on the site were the beginning of their own little Marvel Universe, with the release of The Defenders, symbolising the television equivalent of The Avengers. But with the kickstart of Disney’s own online streaming service, it appeared that there was no longer any interest in keeping these shows afloat. In the space of only a month, we saw the cancellation of all four shows – with Jessica Jones being the last to bid farewell.