Black Mirror, “U.S.S. Callister”, Review!

Black Mirror is a British show which is a sci fi version of Twilight Zone’s anthology of stories.  The programme was created by Charlie Booker who wrote the sitcom Nathan Barley (2005) for Channel 4. Black Mirror airs on Channel 4 and currently streams on Netflix. Season Four of Black Mirror started with “U.S.S. Callister”, a tribute and Black Mirror-twist of Star Trek. The episode was written by William Bridges and Charlie Brooker.  We see the spaceship floating like a Star Trek ship, it is like a white manta ray with a yellow screen at the bow. Heroic music plays as the doors swoosh open revealing Captain Daly.  He is played by Jesse Plemons whom I recognize from Battleship (2012).  He is given an update by Lieutenant Walton (Jimmi Simpson).  Jimmi Simpson is William in Westworld, but I recognize him as Joshua Speed in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012).  The report is of a ship appearing in front of them, it is a green ship, that Dudani (Paul G. Raymond) identifies as a Gorgon Dreadnought.  The bridge looks like a Star Trek bridge with a hexagonal screen in front, captain’s chair, and stations for the crew.  

Captain Daly checks on the shields from Tulsa (Milanka Brooks), a blue-skinned alien woman with red hair.  The captain gives the order for Helmsman Packer (Osy Ikhile) to use thrusters to engage Valdack.  Valdack’s ship fires on them, sparks, and a tilting of the bridge.  Lieutenant Lowry (Michaela Coel) with Uhura-style hair opens communications with Valdack.  The crew panics, but Captain Daly has Kirk-like bravado.  He has the idea of traveling to the asteroid gas cluster, a mashing of two scientific terms. Walton worries and Daly tells him to act like a Space Fleet officer.  Captain Daly has turned the ship on Valdack and he has Tulaska charge photon bolts, a silly space weapon name.  The Dreadnought has it’s shields down and Captain Daly has Valdack (Billy Magnussen) on screen.  He has a white eye and dresses like a rocker.  Daly asks for the return of the plasmorthian crystal.  The captain gives the order to destroy Valdack’s ship.  Walton goes on his knees to apologize to the captain for doubting him.  Dudani reports that Valdack is in an escape pod.  The captain lets Valdack escape, Walton leads a cheer for him, and then he kisses Lowry and Tulsa.  The ship leaves for another adventure. This is a fun parody of Star Trek like Galaxy Quest (1999) and The Orville series.  

We get an elevator opening on the thirteenth floor in the real world with a somber looking Robert Daly with glasses.  He shyly makes his way to get to his company, Callister Inc., and greets an unresponsive administrative assistant, Elena (Brooks) without alien make-up, checking her cell phone.  There is a screen showing the bridge of the spaceship as an immersive game world, Infinity.  He says to Elena that his pass doesn’t work and she checks him in.  He passes gamers sitting with the white eyes indicating they are in the game world.  Nate Packer (Ikhile) greets Robert who asks him to make some coffee.  He passes Shania Lowry who is on her phone and stumbles looking at her.  Robert has tripped on a gym bag left out by an employee (Magnussen).  He passes by the office of James Walton (Simpson), CEO of Callister Inc., who is busy with a call. He enters his office with Chief Technological Officer on the door.  We had a virtual reality, the Holodeck, but it does not improve the life of socially awkward Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz).  New employee, Nanette Cole, introduces herself to Robert, played by Cristin Miloti who was in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother.  She checks out his collection of Space Fleet, which is now on Netflix, nice nod.  She gets the name of the ship, U.S.S. Callister, and Robert shyly notes he named the company after it.  Nanette sees a poster of the mini-skirted blue alien (like Tulsa).  James enters to chastise Robert over not having the update ready by the weekend.  He sees Nanette and takes her on a tour.  It is obvious that Robert has not gained confidence from the Infinity game.   

Robert goes to talk to Dudani (Raymond) about the update and he is distracted by Nanette and James, so he approves of tweeks that would add ten days.  He heads back to his apartment and goes to his home system attaching a device to his temple.  Captain Daly enters the bridge angry that Walton has not found Valdack.  He chokes and lifts him up, then insults and screams the crew.  Captain Daly exits the game.  The next day, Robert sees Nanette, then Dudani tells him that the ETA is December 24th due to the updates he approved.  Robert agrees, then Nanette offers to make a coffee for him.  Shania talks to Nanette, Robert overhears them, and she warns her that he stares at everyone. Nanette gives Robert his coffee, he stares at her drinking the coffee, then after everyone has left work, takes her coffee lid into a plastic bag.  At his apartment, he takes a swab of her DNA from the lid, then places the lid in the bag into his refrigerator.  Then, he activates the program that assimilates her DNA, it will complete the process in 16 hours, we get Robert as a tyrant and obsessive person. Robert returns to Callister and James storms in with the Christmas Eve completion of the update.  The assimilation bar is near completion and he stares at Nanette at work. 

Black Mirror - “U.S.S. Callister” - photo: Jonathan Prime/Netflix. 

Callister Nanette wakes up, in Space Fleet mini-skirt, and the door slides open.  She looks out a window where we get a pullback to see she is on the U.S.S. Callister.  The bridge crew explains that she is in Daly’s own version of Infinity.  Lowry explains that they are all copies taken from their real life DNA for petty reasons.  It reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode, “Five Characters in Search of an Exit” (1961).  Characters that function outside of player awareness was seen in Tron (1982).  Callister Nanette wants to escape as Captain Daly enters the game, she is transmatted to the bridge.  The transmat is the Time Lord transportation used in Doctor Who.   He introduces Science Officer Nanette and tells her to take her post.  She refuses so he extends his hand and her face is removed Neo-style.  Callister Nanette chokes with no mouth and he forces her to submit.  Lowry whispers to her to hit any button, “they are all the same”, and gets a reading from a planet, Rannoch B.  Iain Rannoch is the character name in the “White Bear” (2013) episode, there is also another character, Victoria Skillane, whose last name is a planet in this episode. Captain Daly has a group along with Callister Nanette transported to the surface.  He has detected the plasmorthian crystal.  Callister Nanette wants Helmsman Packer to shoot the captain, but he explains that the gun doesn’t work.  The accents and overacting by the characters is funny.  

On the top of a cliff, is Valdack with a plasma grenade launcher, and he sends his Archnajax. It is a hideous, insectoid creature that roars at them.  He pauses the game when he gets a signal that his pizza has arrived.  We see Robert disconnect from Infinity and run to get the pizza passing a model of the Archnajax.  Walton goes to talk to the Archnajax he calls Gillian.  Lowry explains that she was in marketing and the captain transformed her when she wasn’t cooperating.  Captain Daly returns to the game, distracts Valdack, and shoots him so he falls.  The Archnajax scurries away. Valdack pleads for the captain to kill him, but he says that it is not the Space Fleet way.  He is taken to the brig and the villain whimpers.  The crew celebrates and Captain Daly tries to kiss Callister Nanette, she slaps him, and he gives mercy instead of transforming her.  Then, he exits the game, and Lowry explains that the captain can only kiss them. Walton pulls down his pants to show that their private parts are blanked out in the program. He stomps off and Callister Nanette asks Dudani about the omnicorder. It connects to the outside world so Robert can hear the pizza calls.  Callister Nanette hacks into the ship’s computer and is able to pull up a message screen.  Her plan is the start of freedom from Daly’s oppressive Infinity world. She finds a wormhole that is the update patch. If she can outthink Daly, using the real world Nanette, this could lead to a world that looks like J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. Hell hath no fury like a Science Officer scorned.      

Four Omnicorders out of Five! 

#BlackMirror, #USSCallister, #NanetteCole, #CristinMiloti