David Bianculli

And when I say virtually anything, I mean that literally, because several episodes of Black Mirror involve virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other high-tech, borderline futuristic concerns. Black Mirror is our modern-day Twilight Zone, a much better and more consistent version of Rod Serling's classic series than the recent Jordan Peele reboot ever was.

And when I say virtually anything, I mean that literally, because several episodes of Black Mirror involve virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other high-tech, borderline futuristic concerns. Black Mirror is our modern-day Twilight Zone, a much better and more consistent version of Rod Serling's classic series than the recent Jordan Peele reboot ever was.

And when I say virtually anything, I mean that literally, because several episodes of Black Mirror involve virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and other high-tech, borderline futuristic concerns. Black Mirror is our modern-day Twilight Zone, a much better and more consistent version of Rod Serling's classic series than the recent Jordan Peele reboot ever was.

But it's also a modern callback to the 1960s series Outer Limits and to Kurt Vonnegut's stories adapted by Showtime Cable a generation ago. Charlie Brooker and his team love twist endings and nonconformist characters and new technology. But they also love old movies and television shows. And in this new season of Black Mirror, that's more apparent than ever.

But it's also a modern callback to the 1960s series Outer Limits and to Kurt Vonnegut's stories adapted by Showtime Cable a generation ago. Charlie Brooker and his team love twist endings and nonconformist characters and new technology. But they also love old movies and television shows. And in this new season of Black Mirror, that's more apparent than ever.

But it's also a modern callback to the 1960s series Outer Limits and to Kurt Vonnegut's stories adapted by Showtime Cable a generation ago. Charlie Brooker and his team love twist endings and nonconformist characters and new technology. But they also love old movies and television shows. And in this new season of Black Mirror, that's more apparent than ever.

There's one episode, Eulogy, in which Paul Giamatti plays a man who searches for clues in a series of photographs, like the photographer in Antonioni's classic 60s movie Blow Up. Except new technology allows Giamatti's character to step inside the photographs and explore them from within.

There's one episode, Eulogy, in which Paul Giamatti plays a man who searches for clues in a series of photographs, like the photographer in Antonioni's classic 60s movie Blow Up. Except new technology allows Giamatti's character to step inside the photographs and explore them from within.

There's one episode, Eulogy, in which Paul Giamatti plays a man who searches for clues in a series of photographs, like the photographer in Antonioni's classic 60s movie Blow Up. Except new technology allows Giamatti's character to step inside the photographs and explore them from within.

Similarly, in another episode, Hotel Reverie, Issa Rae plays a movie star who's cast in a remake of a vintage British film. Except, thanks to a sophisticated artificial intelligence program, she's inserted into the existing old movie to interact directly with those characters.

Similarly, in another episode, Hotel Reverie, Issa Rae plays a movie star who's cast in a remake of a vintage British film. Except, thanks to a sophisticated artificial intelligence program, she's inserted into the existing old movie to interact directly with those characters.

Similarly, in another episode, Hotel Reverie, Issa Rae plays a movie star who's cast in a remake of a vintage British film. Except, thanks to a sophisticated artificial intelligence program, she's inserted into the existing old movie to interact directly with those characters.

It's a new tech twist on the step-into-the-screen premise explored previously by Woody Allen in The Purple Rose of Cairo 40 years ago, and by Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr. more than 100 years ago.

It's a new tech twist on the step-into-the-screen premise explored previously by Woody Allen in The Purple Rose of Cairo 40 years ago, and by Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr. more than 100 years ago.

It's a new tech twist on the step-into-the-screen premise explored previously by Woody Allen in The Purple Rose of Cairo 40 years ago, and by Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr. more than 100 years ago.

And the first ever sequel to a Black Mirror episode arrives this season with a new chapter of USS Callister, a delightful yet chilling story about a computer programmer who creates his own artificial universe based on a TV series very, very much like the original Star Trek. But my favorite installment of this new season, Common People, doesn't draw from old movies or TV for inspiration.

And the first ever sequel to a Black Mirror episode arrives this season with a new chapter of USS Callister, a delightful yet chilling story about a computer programmer who creates his own artificial universe based on a TV series very, very much like the original Star Trek. But my favorite installment of this new season, Common People, doesn't draw from old movies or TV for inspiration.

And the first ever sequel to a Black Mirror episode arrives this season with a new chapter of USS Callister, a delightful yet chilling story about a computer programmer who creates his own artificial universe based on a TV series very, very much like the original Star Trek. But my favorite installment of this new season, Common People, doesn't draw from old movies or TV for inspiration.

Instead, it draws from our shared experiences in real life with real technology. Black Mirror has been around since 2011, and by now it's built up its own familiar technology and look. So when it sets a show in the near-present just a few years away, it doesn't have to keep reinventing the futuristic wheel.

Instead, it draws from our shared experiences in real life with real technology. Black Mirror has been around since 2011, and by now it's built up its own familiar technology and look. So when it sets a show in the near-present just a few years away, it doesn't have to keep reinventing the futuristic wheel.