I say that having only viewed two of their specials now but the details are below concerning my opinion of their episode White Christmas:
Aside from the interactive novelty that was Bandersnatch, this was the first Black Mirror episode I’ve ever tackled. I realize many will be shocked at this declaration and even more will be APPALLED at my rating of White Christmas. Some may have thought the premiere of Season 7 (which many on Letterboxd have already viewed) was the reason why I signed up for Netflix again; actually, it’s for an action film later in the month. As for my first Black Mirror, I went with “highly rated on Letterboxd & sounds interesting for my tastes” rather than attempting to Google to discover the presumably large number of pieces out there devoted to “What Black Mirror episode should you view first if you’re a newbie?”
Well, admittedly this isn’t a regular episode of the show; instead it’s a special designed as a horror anthology. That said, if the style and tone of the regular episodes are anything like White Christmas, then count me out. Jon Hamm and Rafe Spall are two characters in a shack somewhere who tell each other stories about their lives. Turns out, both are rather despicable characters but that wasn’t my only issue.
The first segment-involving a dude with autism who needed a lot of help in social situations-was weird yet darkly humorous. What an unfortunate turn with a thoroughly unpleasant second segment, which didn’t even make much sense either. The overlong third segment and how “edgelord try-hard” it was just left me angry, then the wraparound segment concluded… if it wasn’t for Harry attempting to score at a Christmas party, White Christmas would receive a bottom of the barrel rating!
Honestly, what IS the appeal? If the regular episodes are just as unpleasant, insufferable and just dumb as White Christmas, I’m not even going to waste my precious time. Yes, it’s not fair to completely disregard the show without viewing a regular proper episode only telling a single, standalone story. That point duly noted, White Christmas was such a turnoff, there is no rush to give the show a second chance.
Oh, and to sound even more salty & sew more seeds of discord, I consider Christmas yet another horrid example of a horror anthology from the 21st century. I’ve tackled almost a dozen of those in the past quarter-century; the only one not bad is the awesome Trick ‘r Treat. Otherwise, they are miserable in comparison to the anthologies from the 90’s and before. Not all of those were successes but many are at least fun and some are quality pieces of entertainment. Perhaps one day I’ll find another good example from this century…
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