Black Mirror’s USS Callister

Space, the final frontier. This episode’s mission: to boldly go where no episode has gone before. Into the virtual world that isn’t so virtual. This week on Black Mirror Friday, Shannon and Fadra are discussing USS Callister, episode one of Season 4.

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Spoilers ahead!

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USS Callister Discussion

Synopsis: By day, Robert Daly is an under-appreciated co-founder and CTO of a tech-entertainment company. He is mostly brushed aside, even mocked, by his co-workers. But at home, he finds a way to shine in his own private cinematic universe that’s based on a Star Trek-like TV show he watched as a child.

Robert covertly appropriates the DNA of his co-workers and uses it to create digital copies of them to play characters in his virtual reality video game. He is the commander of a starship exploring new worlds, and his crew must comply to his every wish.

This episode earned eight Emmy nominations. Join us as we discuss the characters, the story, the ending (there might be more to it than you realize!), and the actors (there’s a Breaking Bad connection!)

A Look in the Mirror

In this segment we look at the technology and how far we might be from seeing it in reality.

We’ve seen technology similar to this in Striking Vipers, San Junipero, and even White Christmas, but the idea of cloning a person’s DNA without their permission has not been addressed before by Black Mirror.

We discuss if this might be possible, and – in a virtual game setting – if it’s even really necessary.

Our Reflection

We’re rating every episode to help you decide which are must-sees, good to watch, or could be skipped.

Shannon: Good to watch
Fadra: Good to watch, but must-see if you’re a big Star Trek fan.

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