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katiescho741's review against another edition
5.0
This book is such a great read! It's interviews with various people involved with the show: writers, directors, actors, make-up artists, set designers. There's so much interesting information in this book about the thought process, and inspirations and some insights into discarded ideas. There's also lots about development of ideas and how some episodes arrive fully formed and some are tweaked until they are just right.
The book is chronological by episode so you can see the growth of the shows popularity and how things changed when Netflix took over....they went from filming cheaply in a disused army base to filming in coastal towns in South Africa.
If you're a huge fan of Black Mirror like I am, you need to read this book!
The book is chronological by episode so you can see the growth of the shows popularity and how things changed when Netflix took over....they went from filming cheaply in a disused army base to filming in coastal towns in South Africa.
If you're a huge fan of Black Mirror like I am, you need to read this book!
endpaper's review against another edition
3.0
Love the show but the book was mot was I was expecting, it was interesting but read more like a minimal commentary on the episodes. Not as in depth as I would have liked.
samanthashelby's review against another edition
3.0
This is an interesting book with lots of great trivia about the first four seasons of Black Mirror. But the Mutual Admiration Society of the writers, actors and producers constantly gushing over each other got tedious by the end.
ffictionist's review against another edition
2.0
Way more superficial than I expected it to be, but fairly interesting when it comes to breaking down their references and decisions behind the scenes. Doesn’t cover the last season.
trudilibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
This is a must, MUST read -- must own actually -- for any fan of Black Mirror. Review to come!
dja777's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of interesting background information for fans of the show.
readingnookreviews's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this right when it came out and then put off reading it for forever because I skimmed through the pages and thought “this just looks like the transcript of an interview, how boring!” Oh how wrong I was. I loved learning about each episode and the accompanying behind-the-scenes stories! So many previous concepts and ideas and issues they faced, it was all fascinating! The photos included just added to the whole experience and were a beautiful addition. If you love black mirror and wanted to know the origin story of the show and each episode, this is a must-read!
earlapvaldez's review against another edition
5.0
Simply amazed at how Charlie Brooker and his team were able to conceptualize and turn the problem of technology into an opportunity.
Certainly not to be missed is the huge list of Black Mirror influences and references! Certainly added to my To-Watch and To-Read Lists in life.
Certainly not to be missed is the huge list of Black Mirror influences and references! Certainly added to my To-Watch and To-Read Lists in life.
fiendfull's review against another edition
4.0
Inside Black Mirror is, unsurprisingly, the story of TV series Black Mirror, told in oral history fashion by its creators, directors and actors amongst others. Due to the anthology format of the series, the book goes through each episode individually, with relevant people's comments and discussion, and it is all held together by the voices of Charlie Brooker (creator, writer, executive producer etc) and Annabel Jones (co-show runner and executive producer). The writing is combined with stills and design images, which form a useful way of remembering key elements of the wildly differing episodes whilst reading the book.
TV tie-in books can be a bit naff. The sort of thing that make an easy gift. However, this one is less naff. Basically, it is very interesting, an in-depth look at both the process of creating an anthology show and fighting to get further series made, and how the cast and crew managed to actualise the weirdness that is Black Mirror. Brooker's comments on the ideas and how plot lines evolved are particularly good, showing how much editing, rethinking, collaboration, and being forced by circumstance can make amazing narrative elements. It's also worthwhile to read about the issues with getting Channel 4 to keep making episodes, for something that so notably moved to Netflix. Naturally, the book can veer towards self-congratulatory (all these famous actors wanting to be in it, oh look at the Emmys we won, etc, etc), but is kept from going too far due to Brooker's trademark self-deprecation and the banter between him and Jones, who are longtime collaborators.
Seeing as the world has "gone a bit 'Black Mirror'" (as Brooker says in the book), it's nice to remember that the series is created as an entertaining art form, playing with genres and characters, rather than a collection of predictions we should all be worrying about.
TV tie-in books can be a bit naff. The sort of thing that make an easy gift. However, this one is less naff. Basically, it is very interesting, an in-depth look at both the process of creating an anthology show and fighting to get further series made, and how the cast and crew managed to actualise the weirdness that is Black Mirror. Brooker's comments on the ideas and how plot lines evolved are particularly good, showing how much editing, rethinking, collaboration, and being forced by circumstance can make amazing narrative elements. It's also worthwhile to read about the issues with getting Channel 4 to keep making episodes, for something that so notably moved to Netflix. Naturally, the book can veer towards self-congratulatory (all these famous actors wanting to be in it, oh look at the Emmys we won, etc, etc), but is kept from going too far due to Brooker's trademark self-deprecation and the banter between him and Jones, who are longtime collaborators.
Seeing as the world has "gone a bit 'Black Mirror'" (as Brooker says in the book), it's nice to remember that the series is created as an entertaining art form, playing with genres and characters, rather than a collection of predictions we should all be worrying about.