Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!
Kyle’s Choice
Overnight last night, Netflix released the fifth season of the anthology series Black Mirror. Unfortunately, since we got the choose-your-own-adventure Bandersnatch film at the end of December, this season is just three episodes. This season’s first story, “Striking Vipers,†finds estranged friends Danny (Anthony Mackie, Avengers: Endgame) & Karl (Yaha Abdul-Mateen II, The Get Down) reuniting over a Mortal Combat-like video game they used to play a lot while in college. The latest version of the game includes an immersive VR experience, and Danny’s growing obsession with the game starts to affect his relationship with his wife Theo (Nicole Beharie, Sleepy Hollow). The second story, “Smithereens,†finds a rideshare driver’s (Andrew Scott, Sherlock) day spiraling out of control as he desperately seeks an audience with social media tech mogul Billy Bauer (Topher Grace, The Hot Zone). The episode also stars Damson Idris (Snowfall) as a young man who gets pulled into the events. The final episode, “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,†follows lonely teenagers Rachel (Angourie Rice) and Jack (Madison Davenport, Sharp Objects), who move to a new town after their mother passes away. Thanks to technology, Rachel is able to form a connection to her pop star idol, Ashley O (Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana). However, Ashley’s glamorous life isn’t all it appears to be.
Writer Charlie Brooker continues to provide fully fleshed-out, thought-provoking stories centered around technology. He shows how it can be both beneficial in our lives but can also turn into a destructive force as things can quickly go overboard. I thought these three stories got progressively better as I made my way through the season. All of these stories pose scenarios where technology could potentially take over our relationships or replace people in our lives. The producers have assembled a wonderful cast. Andrew Scott’s performance in the second episode is excellent, and the third episode shows a very different side of Miley Cyrus – this is definitely not Hannah Montana! The third episode was easily my favorite, as it has some really fun comedic moments as the story really comes together in the final act.
The thing that’s nice about Black Mirror is that all of the episode are separate, so you can jump in at any story if the plot sounds interesting or if it features some actors you enjoy. This is definitely one of my favorite Netflix shows. Charlie Brooker does an excellent job of coming up with these interesting and thought-provoking stories that shine a light on how technology could impact the human condition.
Don’t forget to check it out now on Netflix.
I’ll also be watching/recording The Amazing Race and Archer.
Jump with us to see else we think you should watch.
Phoebe’s Choice
With only 8 episodes a season of late, Archer has to dive into the plot quickly or the story would never get told. Mother, now a disembodied AI, woke Archer from cryogenic slumber during a deep-space flight, to pick the leftovers from a ship that had been scavenged by pirates. He botched the docking, which woke the rest of the crew, giving us a chance to meet the new incarnations of the rest of the old ISIS crew. Krieger was a synthetic human reminiscent of Bishop from Aliens, & Pam was an androgynous rock creature, kind of like a gray version of The Thing; everyone else was a normal human, with Lana being Archer’s ex-wife & co-owner of the ship.
An argument ensued at the site of the docking, and before they boarded, Bort the Garj phased through the wall and ran into their ship screaming in terror. He was like a little slippery version of Slimer, with two legs and no arms. Fast on his tail was a handful of space pirates who shot into their ship till Krieger got the blast-door closed. They took off and fled the scene but didn’t go too far. They all confronted Bort, who calmly ate their off-brand breakfast cereal and said he’s quite the big deal on his home moon. He offered a million-dollar reward to take him there, which of course riled up the crew. When they made their first hyperspace jump, we saw they were followed by a small fleet of pirate fighter ships. Carol got on a small fighter ship to blast the heck out of the fleet, and we saw she was an ace pilot in this reality. So they got through to the moon, only to be taken prisoner by Barry-6, a version of Archer’s old cyborg nemesis.
The more this show changes the more it stays the same, right? But to wonderful effect. As has been tradition for this show, they re-do the opening credits to match the current motif, and the production value of just the credits give it crazy re-watch value. I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best (truncated) seasons yet. It is great to have the gang back together as a team, even if they are in a far-off galaxy in Archer: 1999.
On tonight’s episode, “Happy Borthday,†the crew provides entertainment for Bort while Barry-6 tries to crack Archer’s safe.
To see what entertainment the crew provides for Bort tonight on FXX at 10/9c.
