#but please watch other shows

[purplecowbell]

Black Mirror: A Boring Twilight Zone

When I tell people I love The Twilight Zone, both the original series and the reboot, the first thing out of their mouths is, “You should check out Black Mirror.” I suppress a cringe, thank them for their recommendation, and then never follow through. I don’t because I’ve already tried it, and I don’t think it compares.

I understand why people keep comparing Black Mirror to The Twilight Zone; it’s certainly a more contemporary perspective on issues (at least if you ignore the more recent reboots like many people seem to do), but the actual core of the shows, how and why they depict their speculative worlds, are very different. I apologize for using an insulting title to the Black Mirror fans, but for someone who’s looking for The Twilight Zone, it just does not scratch the right itch for me.

In The Twilight Zone, the writers cover a wide variety of topics. They explore mob mentality, our perception of aliens, and “the other.” They explore tragic stories of luck and ignorant selfishness, and praise heroic stories with martyrs and rebels. My favorite types of Twilight Zone episodes are ones in which there’s no strong message, just Rod Sterling shows up at the end with, “Well, wasn’t that crazy?” There was one episode (“A World of His Own”) where a playwright had a god-like ability to create people and destroyed his old wife to make a new one, and when Rod Sterling starts to narrate at the end, the author interrupts to destroy Rod Sterling. But The Twilight Zone also isn’t afraid of covering serious issues, whether cynical or optimistic, individual or societal. The show can jump from an episode about the mentality of witch hunts and colonization (“Will the Real Martian Stand Up?”) to one about the value of education against tyrannies and the importance of heroic public acts (“The Obsolete Man”). This wide range of diversity allows The Twilight Zone to cover an entire spectrum of imagination and the human condition, whether silly or profound. When The Twilight Zone comments on societal ills (which Black Mirror is famous for), it pressures you slightly on what was already there and asks, “Do you really want this to get worse?” Black Mirror, on the other hand, crushes you with the framework of structural problems without relent.

Black Mirror focuses on the problems of technology, and a focus is fine; it allows you to really get into the granular details. But unfortunately (for The Twilight Zone fans) the exploration of technology is through a singular cynical lens. Every single story is, without fail, a dystopia, for both those who “deserve” it and those who don’t. Some people have argued that this consistency makes Black Mirror intrinsically better, but I don’t read or watch anthologies for repetition. The characters are less “characters” and more cogs in the machine that happen to be human-shaped. No story satisfyingly breaks from the horrific status quo, and the show usually depicts a snapshot of people that could be happening an infinite number of times in other places of the world. Many times the story ends on just the note: “And then everything continues.” The only episodes that I felt were deviations from this were “The Waldo Moment,” “Nosedive,” and “USS Callister.” These are the only episodes where either the characters felt like they mattered (The Waldo Moment), where the ending showed some upside to deviation from the system (Nosedive) or a combination of the two (USS Callister). The emotional spectrum of the characters ranges from black, to gray, to brown, to artificial-happy-yellow. For a show set in the 21st century, its characters are sometimes more black and white than the Twilight Zone in the 1960s. But that’s not a sin; you’re not supposed to worry about complex characters in the anthology episode format. The lack of complexity does, however, clash with the episode length. Most episodes last around an hour, frequently longer, and watching the same emotional shades in the same episode over and over again without disruption for an hour is like watching paint dry. The problem here isn’t all of what I listed; these are mostly personal preferences that some may enjoy. The problem is that even with these qualities and differences, Black Mirror is still being recommended to Twilight Zone fans.

Just because a work of media is of the same format (speculative anthology) does not mean it satisfies the same itch. If someone watched The Twilight Zone for the dystopian episodes like “The Obsolete Man,” or “It’s a Good Life,” or warnings of technology like “The Lateness of the Hour,” (which is a hilarious episode to take as a serious critique against technology), then the connection between Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone is natural to them. But The Twilight Zone had more episodes than those three. Ask 100 different Twilight Zone fans which episode stands out the most to them, and you’ll probably get 50 different answers (I’m not going to pretend some episodes aren’t more popular than others). Ask 100 Black Mirror fans which episode stands out the most, and they’ll probably say, “The one where a politician has sex with a pig.” Black Mirror has two tools at its disposal: shock value and contemporary despair. I have no interest in being bludgeoned to death with either of these.

I ask that Black Mirror fans try to understand their relationship with the genre. Just because The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror are the most popular shows in said genre does not mean they share additional similarities. I also ask that they understand that Black Mirror is not an objective upgrade from The Twilight Zone just because Black Mirror’s differences are more enjoyable for them. I suggest that fans of both shows watch other series to better understand what would actually be relevant to recommend, instead of just suggesting one show to fans of the other. Shows like American Horror Story, The Outer Limits, Solos, and Love Death & Robots might really scratch an itch you didn’t even know you had.

#black mirror #the twilight zone #twilight zone #anthology tv shows #sci fi #science fiction #media criticism #tv show review #Again #sorry to black mirror fans #but please watch other shows #or at least check them out

[datchidatchi]

They are EVERYTHING. 💥💥💥

(original meme)

#total drama #tdi #tdi courtney #tdi duncan #duncney #fanart #after 16 years I FINALLY got to finish watching watching tdi #I moved countries smack dab in the middle of S1 and CN wasn't available in my country BUT NOW??? #I find out there's like 5 seasons and other stuff???? litterally in heaven right now #good show good fucken show #doodle #oh and If anyone remembers the og art meme please shoot me link i can't find it anymore

[fivefeetfangirl]

I'm not kidding when I say this Hollywood strike is the perfect opportunity for a non-english show to become super popular and then inspire other non-english countries to make their own versions

#ive been feeling nostalgic for skam lately 😩😭 #but i know skam og got so popular because of the time it was made #theyve tried to make other shows like it but none got as popular as skam although some have gotten pretty close (everybody go watch #rådebank 🔫) #anyways non-english folks please rec shows!!! 🥺 #wga strike

[gabario64]

HH Fan: "I'm finally realizing what a terrible show this is and what a monster Viv is but I still feel a sunken cost and feel like I have to keep watching it..."

#hazbin hotel critical #vivziepop critical #anti vivziepop #find another show!!! #just stop watching!!! #there are so many other shows that deserve more support PLEASE

[nicolethered]

I have a new favorite bit of Shuli lore

#the other two #wanda sykes #helene yorke #shuli kucerac #brooke dubek #chasedreams #chase dubek #please watch this show it’s so good

[thisiswhereikeepdcthings]

Bernard is the one who handles the spiders. Tim can handle many things, but spiders is not one of them

He can’t handle them *well.*

He, of course, protests this statement. C4 and swords stolen from his brother are perfectly acceptable solutions, Bernard

#tim drake #bernard dowd #I’m totally picturing a Bernard that doesn’t yet know their identities #he just sees Tim show up with a sword in one hand and c4 in the other #where’d you get that? he asks #Tim: I borrowed it from damian and Jason #Bernard: #Bernard: yeah okay #Tim accidentally mentions something about the council of spiders #Bernard: I don’t think spiders have a council #oh just you wait Bernie boy #Tim’s going to give your little conspiracy theory heart everything it could ever desire #now I want bernard to find out pretty much everything especially the league of assassins and Ra’s al ghul #but then come to the absolutely wrong-est conclusions possible #Ra’s would have a conniption #Tim would think it was hilarious #Bruce would ask Tim to please stop antagonizing the league of assassins #Tim would flip him off but Bruce put in his token protest so he’s done his duty #Jason would volunteer his services in the continuing antagonizatikn efforts #Steph would be watching all of this with popcorn #sorry I got way off track #I too do not care for spiders and feel like explosions are a valid strategy

[arohuacheng]

listen hi yeah it's me. i know nobody else is sitting around thinking about the significance of shi wudu trusting pei ming to take care of shi qingxuan after he was gone. but i'm thinking about it.

#screenshots to follow. i need to cry maybe #<— SCREENSHOTS FOLLOWED. GO LOOK IN THE REBLOGS. I NEED PEOPLE TO SEE MY THESIS STATEMENT #YOU CAN REBLOG THIS POST BY ITSELF! THAT'S FINE! #BUT IT WAS NOT ORIGINALLY INTENDED AS A PEISHUI THING. I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO SEE MY OTHER POINT #ABOUT PEI MING BEING AN OLDER BROTHER FIGURE TO SHI QINGXUAN. #JUST GO LOOK AT MY SCREENSHOTS... PLEASE... #kissing u have a good day everybody #talking #pei ming #shi wudu #shi qingxuan #tgcf #tian guan ci fu #tgcf spoilers #i guess? i mean like. if people are fr just watching the show and not reading the book.

[magistralucis]

@absolut--kurant!

#ryzhik dove #new developments in the garden pigeon flock! 😳😳😳 hello!!! #please note the perfectly white pigeon at the center... he is VERY new he only showed up like three days ago!!! #(fairly sure it's a he because he inflates his chest and chases others) #we've no idea whether he was born into this flock or joined from elsewhere #i personally think he might be a escapee from a loft or wedding release... but he does have a patch of brown on his tail #and he stays close to ryzhik dove which does make me wonder 🤔🤔🤔 #it's just... like with penka dove ryzhik's children and his children's children appear to have lighter plumage with each generation #have we diluted down from pure cocoa/coffee to latte to 95% cream this year?! 🤣🤣🤣 #only the flock knows i suppose) #idk if he will stick around but will keep watching for him. if he's remained after a few months i think i shall name him :D #that's the update. everyone is ok here i hope you are well too #💖💖💖💖💖 #dove #pigeon #birds #cute

[idascurrentobsession]

So I finished 1670 like 10 minutes ago…

#maciej might actually make me think about something other than good omens for at least a couple of days #and i have never wanted to know polish so bad before #now i sort of get how people felt about swedish after watching young royals #and also this show is genius and i laughed out loud several times every episode #both the writing and the acting was great #it kind of has an ofmd feel to it #please watch it #1670 maciej #1670 #1670 netflix

[itsthemink]

#nathan fielder #please watch his new show: #the rehearsal #you may also know him from his other hit tv series: #nathan for you

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

gotham is such a great show when you have an adhd like there's so many story arcs and characters and your mind can jump from one to another at the speed of light. delightful

#gotham is so chaotic and my brain makes happy noises and also i guess i won't be able to watch other shows after it bc #gotham is really brilliantly chaotic and i think my brain wouldn't be as much pleased with other shows #gotham #gotham fox #yes this show may be stupid but my brain is stupid too so #perfect match for real

[sadiecoocoo]

Ultimate Spider-Man has no straight explanation

#he basically said that he and mj both agreed that they were not into each other on the FIRST EPISODE of the show #and then said that he loved harry in the very next sentence #and then proceeded to get abt five boyfriends and counting throughout the entire show #I’m trying to hard to convince everyone to watch it #please I beg of thee #there needs to be more fan content #ultimate spider man #peter parker #parksborn #spideynova #spideyfist #spideypool #spiderman

[pics-pizza-peace]

The Real Ghostbusters Pony Cosplays

#pizza's ponies #if they seem a lil off it's because i haven't been able to watch the show for reference recently #i didn't look up anyone's eye colors and only half-watched like 4 episodes when i still had earbuds #gifset #gonna have to wait for new ones to continue watching #crossover ponies #the real ghostbusters #ghostbusters #mlp #ponytown #pixel cosplay #peter venkman #egon spengler #winston zeddemore #janine melnitz #ray stantz #might attempt ghost ponies sometime as well #cartoon ponies #please don't repost without credit/permission #other outfits & characters & plush toy ghost design possibilities coming soon

[eternal-moss]

When people continually whitewash my favourite characters.

[ID: A black and white, rough digital drawing of someone sitting at a desk and clutching their head in their hands. End ID.]

^thank you @describe-things

#This is mainly about Noé Archiviste. But also I will not forget what some people did to Simon Petrikov either when I was watching f&c #I’m so desperate for drawings of them. But for the love of God，is it that difficult? Somehow every other hexadecimal of their #Character design is exactly on model other than their skin. Just. . #OH YEAH I FORGOT KAEYA. FFS. Somehow it’s always the K**luc-ers that always do it. Which makes sense because they disregard his entire char #And with the new influx of atla fans people have been whitewashing Katara too! And I mean drawings of the original show too #probably delete later #And no one seems to have any problems with it? Especially if it’s sexualised art *talking more about Kaeya & Noé here. #People who whitewash the few (and when I say few I literally mean 5/82 playable characters) darker genshin characters. Actually fuck off #If I see ‘it’s just my art style’ or ‘it’s just the lighting’ *every other colour than the skin hasn’t been lightened in the slightest* #One more time-i’m going to explode #Oh and while I’m on this topic! Fuck Bochum for whitewashing literally the entire starlight express cast! Electra being the first ever #non binary character in musical theatre while also being played by black actors. And then Bochum happened. #When was the last time Pearl or Rusty had actors who weren’t white? Literally the last character who hasn’t been replaced is Momma/Poppa. #And being black is so integral to their character and music. You quite physically couldn’t #I really really hope the casting for the London performance this year is like the 1984 cast again. Please.

[midnight-mismanagement]

Sir Pentious and Vox Similarities

- Pathetic

- Inventors/Innovators of their respective technologies

- Simultaneously ahead of their times and yet still old school in some facets

- Rely on support (P - eggs and hotel, V - Voxtek staff, Vees)

- Do not do well in direct confrontation, rely on inventions and support

- Have a “base” to conduct ranged operations (P - aircraft thing, V - gamer screen room)

- Looked up to/admired someone, wanted to be their equal (P to Vees, V to Alastor)

- Got brutally rejected

- While Pentious’ support system paved the way for him to be a better person, Vox probably got worse, who knows

- Hypnotism powers

- Will change themselves to please or appeal to others to be accepted (P will spy to please Vees, then reform to please hotel peeps, V will present differently to please audiences, etc)

- Visual motifs (P is covered in eyes, V’s head is a literal visual medium and has eyes everywhere with his drones and cameras)

- Need(ed) to be seen as a nemesis to Alastor (P obvs past tense), pick fights they can’t win unprovoked (V was more of a verbal battle but still lost rip)

- similar drip

- top hats

- bow ties

- I’m sure I’ve missed some stuff

Is this anything

#coincidentally they are both my top faves in the show #I will happily admit to liking pentious #and guiltily admit to liking vox #but #they have similar flavours #okay #hazbin hotel #sir pentious #hazbin hotel vox #my 2am brain #hope we get more vox and alastor backstory in s2 #think vox’s rejection to pentious was some kind of parallel #to alastor’a rejection to vox #something something we will never be equals #sir pentious and vox both have a crippling need to please #and while one works on improving to meet the expectations of their friends #the other over-compensates through fragmenting his personality into multiple different roles #to appeal to wide audiences in order to keep attention and engagement #also they both watch others?? #pentious apparently watches people while they sleep #vox is self-explanatory #focused outside of themselves

[the-gayest-tree-you-ever-did-see]

i know theres like. three people who actually have disney+ on this site but if you have disney+, please please please leave ms marvel running. i dont care if you dont want to watch it, if you hate it, if you cant stand the difference between the comics and the show, etc etc i DONT care. but this is the first time a ginormous corporation has allowed this extent of representation of desi kids, and desi SUPERHEROES at that, with a majority brown and other cast, crew, and production members of color, and we have GOT to show them that we want this. YES at the sake of benefitting disney YES at the sake of giving them money. if you can do it, do it. if only for this. if only so the first time i see any semblance of myself on screen will not be the last.

#i am BEGGING #i do not CARE what your opinions are i just care that people know we WANT to see brown rep in media #please please please #PLEASE rb this #ms marvel #marvel #ms marvel tv #the tree speaks #disney #i want more people to see this but idk if it would be okay to tag other fandoms as well #whatever i dont care this is important #loki #wandavision #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #moon knight #obi wan kenobi #hawkeye #what if #< if you watched any of those shows please leave ms marvel running too #or watch it if you can that would be so so much better