A fan of the Nintendo franchise has brought together two concepts in such an astonishingly real way that it is hard to believe that no one had thought of it before.
If you are one of those who for a while believed that there were only 150 Pokémon (with the doubt of whether Mew really existed), this is of interest to you. Surely over the years you’ve seen all kinds of drawings of the saga in video games, anime and even musical theater, from those that propose new evolutions and creatures to those that you would never recognize having looked for. Now, a fan of the Nintendo franchise has brought two concepts together in a way that is so astoundingly real that it’s hard to believe no one would have thought of it before.
For those of you who know nothing about ‘Pokémon‘ but want to understand the meme, suffice it to say that Geodude has the number 74 and can be obtained in all games except Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Purple. It is a stone with two arms on its sides and, of course, it is rock-type. In fact, the original Pokédex said of it that “It appears in plains and mountains. Resembling rocks, people trip over them or step on them.” It also has two evolutions: Graveler and Golem.
It is one of the most beloved and easily recognizable Pokémon, and perhaps that is why user DT Saranya has decided to share on Reddit his latest great creation: a Geodude with the face of The Rock. Dwayne Johnson is a regular in memes of all kinds, and the truth is that the montage is so perfect that not even the most perfect artificial intelligence would have been able to match it.
Comments to the post have added that “It’s not a Geodude, it’s a Rock”, “This drawing has changed the hierarchy of the Pokémon fanart universe” (in reference to the failed ‘Black Adam’ tagline), “I’m simultaneously thinking ‘But why’ and ‘Yes, so it is'” or “The most Rock-type Rock-type in the world.” What’s clear is that after you pull out your Pokéball, it will become family.
Ghosted, the film by Ana de Armas and Chris Evans, has become the best premiere on Apple TV+… but the critics have made it fatal.
Apple TV+ is pulling out all the stops to become one of the world’s leading streaming platforms. The competition is complex: it must beat Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney Plus and many others that are emerging. However, they seem to be on the right track.
With Ted Lasso, the platform’s icon par excellence, Apple TV+has managed to carve a niche for itself in many homes around the world. In addition, other high quality bets such as Severance, Servant or Encerrado con el diablo make it one of the most successful VOD services today. And, to continue climbing to more, they have just released Ghosted, a film that has managed to become the most watched debut in its history.
Starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, Ghosted tells the story of Cole, a worldly man who falls hopelessly in love with the mysterious Sadie, who leads a double life as a secret agent. Before a second date can arise, and after going through some very ugly ghosting, the two embark on an international adventure to save the world.
The biggest Apple TV+ premiere
According to data aggregator Samba TV, picked up by theDeadlineportal, the Dexter Fletcher-directed film has attracted 328,500 viewers in the first two days since its airing on the platform. The data comes from a panel of 3.1 million SmartTV households that tuned in to the film for at least one minute.
Samba TV’s research panel is balanced and weighted with the U.S. census (about 112 million) by age, gender, ethnicity and household income. Comparing Ghosted’s data with that of other films on the platform, the Chris Evans and Ana de Armas film takes the crown.
Ghosted is followed by Finch (Nov. 5, 2021) with 228,500 viewers, Spirited (Nov. 18, 2022) with 174,000 , Tetris (March 31, 2023) with 88,000 and My Mind & Me (Nov. 4, 2022) with 78,100.
Of course, having a comedy-action movie – a successful formula that Netflix has bet on time and time again – with two of today’s most followed actors, has been a great success for the platform. But is this the best strategy for Apple TV+ to follow? I have my reservations.
Critics slam Ghosted
Despite its success with the public, or at least with people interested in seeing it, the film has turned out to be a nonsense that critics have fearlessly vilified. On Rotten Tomatoes it fails with 28% positive reviews -59% from the public, far from a good score-. On IMDb it has a 5’8 out of 10. And on Filmaffinity it has a 4’8.
This makes it clear that, as good as Apple TV+ and Dexter Fletcher’s intentions are, the film is far from the average quality of the platform’s audiovisual products. As was the case at the beginning of Netflix, good series are mixed with mediocre movies… and while this can make the platform grow in terms of audience, it can also kill its good reputation.
Many of the reviews point to its attempts at funny cameos that don’t work. Others focus on the implausible story, although only the chemistry between Evans and De Armas saves it a little. Still others speak of the artificiality behind every scene; at times it feels more like a B-movie than a serious film.
While Ghosted has worked for Apple TV+, the diatribe is now up in the air as to which way to go for this platform that can still almost be considered a baby. If they decide to continue betting on quality, as is the case with their series, it may end up being the best alternative to high-end products such as HBO Max.
But if, on the other hand, they go for blockbusters to attract a lot of people without seeing too much of what lies behind them, they may take the opposite path. That is to say, they could end up having repercussions on the bad reputation that Netflix or Amazon Prime Video already have in terms of quality. They will have to choose very carefully so as not to end up with The Rings of Power or The Witcher.
Puede que una década después de la última entrega los jugones quieran probar otras cosas.
Podemos estar esperando ‘Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’, ‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’ o ‘Spider-man 2’ como agua de mayo, pero todos sabemos cuál es el juego que va a copar más titulares desde el momento en que se anuncie de forma oficial: ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’. Después de que su quinta parte vendiera 175 millones de copias dando un beneficio de 6.000 millones de dólares a Rockstar, parece que la productora está mimando cada detalle para que nadie se quede con las ganas. Y sin embargo… puede que una década después de la última entrega los jugones quieran probar otras cosas.
Dos años después de que ‘San Andreas’ revolucionara la industria, ‘Saints Row’ se lanzó a la venta como un simple clon. Una copia a mano alzada y no con papel cebolla, pero copia al fin y al cabo. Sin embargo, introducía un tema que ‘GTA’ abandonaría en sus siguientes entregas: la pertenencia a una banda. Mientras que la saga de Rockstar trataba la historia de un lobo solitario metido en un mundo criminal (por gusto o por salvar el pellejo), la de THQ tenía otro enfoque.
A partir de ‘Saints Row 3’ las cosas cambiaron sobremanera. Y es que, de repente, explotó la locura, la comedia, las situaciones inverosímiles, el ambiente más festivo. Mientras que en ‘GTA V’ veíamos una historia de crimen y venganza oscura y sin redención (que no le importó a nadie), en ‘Saints Row IV’ tu personaje, el mismo que en los juegos anteriores, conseguía superpoderes, se convertía en el presidente de los Estados Unidos y tenía que parar un ataque alien. Lo mismito, vamos.
Y por si te quedabas corto, ‘Saint Row: Gat out of hell’, su DLC, te permitía jugar con dos miembros de la banda mientras trataban de rescatar a su jefe del Infierno después de que Satán le secuestrara. Y ojo, nadie está diciendo que ‘GTA’ tenga que convertirse en un absurdo repleto de locuras dejando de lado su ADN, pero, para ser sinceros, a lo largo de ‘GTA Online’ también ha cambiado lo suficiente como para preguntarnos… Realmente, ¿qué es ‘GTA’?
¿Tiene personalidad propia ‘GTA’?
Aún poco sabemos de ‘GTA VI’, pero ante la recepción del modo historia de la quinta parte (espectacular en lo jugable, increíble en lo gráfico, decepcionante en lo narrativo), que, de hecho, ni siquiera ha lanzado un DLC, es posible que el equipo esté mirando más lo que hace la comunidad en el modo online para ajustar uno de los juegos más esperados de la década hasta el límite.
Dicho de otra manera: ni tan serio y apocado como viene siendo habitual, ni tan cómico y loco como en ‘Saints Row’. La idea de volver a jugar como un lobo solitario, teniendo la posibilidad de unirse a una banda, se hace ya repetitiva: al fin y al cabo, en el juego de Deep Silver la pertenencia a un grupo sirve para ver una evolución real y unos personajes que evolucionan juego a juego, creando conexión con el espectador. Si en un ‘GTA’ no funcionan, no hay nada que te haga volver a ellos.
Quizá no hay que abandonar la historia del criminal solitario que se enfrenta a los peces gordos, pero sí darle más profundidad, permitir que el jugador haga locuras si es lo que quiere… O darle la oportunidad de tener más contacto con otros personajes secundarios. ‘GTA’ pavimentó el camino para el triunfo de ‘Saints Row’, pero ahora puede que cambien las tornas: Rockstar ha creado dos juegos totalmente diferentes en uno mismo, y volver a la sobriedad de su historia cuando han acostumbrado al público a la sinvergonzonería del modo online puede ser una pastilla difícil de tragar.
Eh, montemos una banda
El camino que se abre delante de Rockstar no es fácil de seguir y está repleto de bifurcaciones para entender qué es realmente su saga estrella una década después de su última aparición. Incluso franquicias míticas como ‘Zelda’ se han ido adaptando poco a poco a los gustos de la gente para encontrar un nuevo ADN (de mazmorreo a mundo abierto) y la repetición constante, por muy espectacular que sea, solo va a dar lugar a, tarde o temprano, el abandono de los gamers.
Todo lo que sube no tiene por qué bajar, pero Rockstar necesita, quizá, echar un vistazo a esos mal llamados “clones” y ver si lo que proponen tiene sentido más allá de los coches, las pistolas, los tiroteos y todo lo que hace a ‘GTA’ la franquicia millonaria que es. Es un ejercicio de abandono del ego, pero puede dar lugar a aquello con lo que todos los desarrolladores de videojuegos sueñan: una nueva entrega que sepa a lo mismo de siempre pero tenga las suficientes novedades como para querer volver a pasar por caja otra vez. Y otra. Y otra más.
There is no better plan for the weekend than to see Headless Chickens, the latest HBO Max series starring Hugo Silva and Óscar Casas.
Eternal hatred of modern soccer. Ever since the beautiful game began to become more of a festival of branding, scams, lawyer wrangling and the home of bookmakers, this slogan has been sounded ever louder on pitches around the world. But if you want to see the extent to which the spirit of soccer that was so much advocated during the 20th century has been sullied, there’s nothing better than a look at the new HBO series Max: Headless Chickens.
Starring Hugo Silva, the Spanish sex symbol who has proven with series such as The Ministry of Time, Brigada Costa del Sol or Nasdrovia to be much more than a pretty face, Pollos sin cabeza is the platform’s latest Spanish bet.
The darker side of soccer
The series follows Alberto Martín Ruiz “Beto”, a former soccer player turned player manager who seeks to set up on his own through his own agency. Beto’s odyssey is no small one: he must run an agency full of stars -with all the bad things that this entails- while keeping his unstable personal life in balance.
Everything explodes when his girlfriend, Sonia, the only one who knows him and can help him move on, leaves him. In addition, his star player leaves the agency, so Beto is left with his ass in the air and having to overcome a situation in which speculation, backroom deals and betrayal are the order of the day.
Created by Pablo Tébar and Jorge Valdano Sáenz -son of ex-football player and ex-coach Jorge Valdano-, the series is a humorous satire taken to the extreme, but in which the seams of this industry, so vilified as soccer is, can be seen. Undoubtedly, HBO Max’s bet wants to secure the shot with soccer fans… and everything seems to point to the fact that it will succeed.
Find out who would be the new Breaking Bad actors in a possible reboot according to ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion.
Breaking Bad has become the series of reference for several generations. The fiction starringBryan Cranston and Aaron Paul marked the golden age of the series, and there is still no other series that has surpassed it in prestige. However, we are now in the midst of an era of remakes, reboots and new adaptations, so we wondered what a new version of Breaking Bad would be like.
As we have done with Star Wars, Game of Thrones or The Avengers, we have made use of Artificial Intelligence to come up with this hypothetical remake. The human mind has less and less to envy to these tools -although it still has a long way to go-, so we asked ChatGPT what would be the perfect casting for the series… with somewhat strange results.
We then ran these results through the Stable Diffusion tool, and their creations were… terrifying. At the end of the post we can imagine what the new actors would look like in their respective roles. But I think it will make you want to appreciate the original casting more than anything else.
The ideal actors for a Breaking Bad remake according to ChatGPT
The first thing we have done is to ask ChatGPT which actors he imagines in the leading roles. We reproduce the conversation below. We have detailed what we want concretely so that the OpenAI tool is not lost… and their proposals are on another level from what the series was. Although this is not necessarily for the better.
Obviously, we have not been able to put all the cast, but we have been able to put most of the important characters. The conversation was as follows:
Create the perfect casting for a Breaking Bad remake, without repeating the original actors. I need the perfect actors for: Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Skyler White, Walter “Flynn” White Jr, Hank Schrader, Marie Schrader, Gustavo “Gus” Fring, Saul Goodman, Michael “Mike” Ehrmantraut, Ted Beneke, Steven Gomez, Gretchen schwartz, Elliott Schwartz, Jane Margolis, Tuco Salamanca.
Sure! Here is my ideal casting for a Breaking Bad remake without repeating the original actors:
Walter White: Christian Bale
Jesse Pinkman: Tom Hardy
Skyler White: Emily Blunt
Walter “flynn” White Jr.: Finn Wolfhard
Hank Schrader: Michael Shannon
Marie Schrader: Sarah Paulson
Gustavo “Gus” Fring: Javier Bardem
Saul Goodman: John Turturro
Michael “Mike” ermantraut: Liam Neeson
Ted Beneke: John Krasinski
Steven Gomez: Oscar Isaac
Gretchen Schwartz: Tilda Swinton
Elliott Schwartz: Jude Law
Jane Margolis: Zendaya
Tuco Salamanca: Diego Luna
I hope you like my selection!
Creating the casting of The Hunger Games series with AI
We then ran ChatGPT’s recommended cast throughStable Diffusion to see how these actors would look in their respective roles. However, the result has been as disastrous as The Hunger Games. We’re certainly going to have a hard time imagining the series with these actors.
A decade after the last installment, gamers may want to try other things.
We may be waiting for ‘Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’, ‘Assassin’s Creed Mirage’ or ‘Spider-man 2’ as if we were waiting for May, but we all know which game is going to make headlines from the moment it is officially announced: ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’. After its fifth part sold 175 million copies giving a profit of 6 billion dollars to Rockstar, it seems that the producer is pampering every detail so that no one is left wanting. And yet… a decade after the last installment, gamers may want to try something else.
Two years after ‘San Andreas’ revolutionized the industry, ‘Saints Row’ was released as a simple clone. A freehand copy and not with onion paper, but a copy nonetheless. However, it introduced a theme that ‘GTA’ would abandon in its following installments: gang membership. While Rockstar’s saga dealt with the story of a lone wolf in a criminal world (for fun or to save his skin), THQ’s had another approach.
From ‘Saints Row 3’ onwards, things changed a lot. Suddenly, madness, comedy, implausible situations, and a more festive atmosphere exploded. While in ‘GTA V’ we saw a story of dark crime and revenge without redemption (which nobody cared about), in ‘Saints Row IV’ your character, the same as in the previous games, got superpowers, became the president of the United States and had to stop an alien attack. The same thing, come on.
And if that wasn’t enough, ‘Saint Row: Gat out of hell’, its DLC, allowed you to play with two members of the gang as they tried to rescue their boss from Hell after Satan kidnapped him. And mind you, no one is saying that ‘GTA’ has to become an absurdity full of craziness leaving aside its DNA, but, to be honest, over the course of ‘GTA Online‘ it has also changed enough to ask ourselves… Really, what is ‘GTA’?
Does ‘GTA’ have its own personality?
We still know little about ‘GTA VI’, but given the reception of the story mode of the fifth part (spectacular in gameplay, incredible in graphics, disappointing in narrative), which, in fact, has not even released a DLC, it is possible that the team is looking more at what the community does in the online mode to adjust one of the most anticipated games of the decade to the limit.
In other words: neither as serious and demure as usual, nor as comical and crazy as in ‘Saints Row’. The idea of returning to play as a lone wolf, having the possibility of joining a gang, is already repetitive: after all, in Deep Silver’s game, belonging to a group serves to see a real evolution and characters that evolve game by game, creating a connection with the viewer. If they don’t work in a ‘GTA‘, there’s nothing to bring you back to them.
Maybe we shouldn’t abandon the story of the lone criminal taking on the big shots, but we should give it more depth, allow the player to do crazy things if that’s what he wants… Or give him the opportunity to have more contact with other secondary characters. GTA’ paved the way for the triumph of ‘Saints Row’, but now the tables may turn: Rockstar has created two totally different games in one, and returning to the sobriety of its story when they have accustomed the public to the shamelessness of the online mode can be a hard pill to swallow.
Hey, let’s start a band
The road ahead for Rockstar is not easy to follow and is full of bifurcations to understand what its flagship saga really is a decade after its last appearance. Even mythical franchises like ‘Zelda‘ have gradually adapted to people’s tastes to find a new DNA (from dungeon crawling to open world) and constant repetition, no matter how spectacular, is only going to result in, sooner or later, abandonment by gamers.
Everything that goes up doesn’t have to come down, but Rockstar needs, perhaps, to take a look at those misnamed “clones” and see if what they propose makes sense beyond the cars, guns, shootouts and everything that makes ‘GTA’ the million-dollar franchise that it is. It’s an exercise in ego abandonment, but it may lead to what all game developers dream of: a new installment that tastes like the same old thing but has enough new features to make you want to go back to checkout again. And another one. And another one.
Setting up and using this feature is very easy and can make all the difference when it comes to recovering a device.
You’re about to leave home, but suddenly, you can’t find your iPhone. Is it in your coat pocket? Or maybe under the sofa cushions? To avoid those moments of uncertainty, Apple offers us the Find My iPhone feature, a tool that allows you to locate your device and protect it in case of loss or theft. Let’s see how to configure and use this function so that we never again have to play hide and seek with the iPhone.
With a long list of commands available and the possibility of creating the ones we want, it is a function to take into account.
Voice control on your iPhone is an accessibility feature designed to facilitate the use of the device and make it more accessible for people with certain interaction difficulties. With this feature, we can control our phone using voice commands, allowing us to navigate through applications, adjust settings and perform various actions without touching the screen.
Activating voice control on an iPhone is very simple. The exact steps to follow are as follows:
We open the Settings app on our iPhone or iPad.
Go to Accessibility.
Tap on Voice Control.
*Tap on *Set up “Voice Control “*.
A download of the content necessary to use the functionality will start. When finished, a microphone will appear in the status bar to show that the device is listening to us.
Useful voice commands to control your iPhone
Once Voice Control is activated, you can perform actions in the same way as if you were touching the screen. Something as simple as saying “swipe down” or “long press on the Phone app” are just a few examples, but there are many more:
“Go to [app name]”: opens a specific app. For example, “Go to Safari” will open the web browser.
“Scroll up/down”: scrolls the screen up or down.
“Touch [item name]”: touches an item on the screen, such as a button or link.
“Swipe left/right”: swipe the screen left or right, useful for switching between open pages or applications in the app selector.
“Set volume to [percentage]”: change the device volume to the percentage you specify.
“Enable/Disable [feature name]”: to enable or disable a specific feature, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.
“Lock screen”: to turn off the device screen.
And the list could go on. All available commands can be explored in the “Voice Control” settings, under the “Customize commands” section. Also, something to keep very much in mind, is that we can turn Voice Control on and off via Siri. A simple “Hey Siri, turn Voice Control on/off” will take care of it, so there is no need to touch the device at any time.
Customize voice control on your iPhone
One of the advantages of voice control on the iPhone is its ability to customize commands according to one’s preferences and needs. To do this, here are the steps to follow:
We open the Settings app on our iPhone or iPad.
Go to Accessibility.
Tap on Voice Control.
Go to Customize commands.
Tap on Create new command.
Enter the phrase to pronounce.
We choose the action we want to do as Insert text, Execute custom gesture or Execute shortcut.
Choose the application in which you want the new command to be available or leave Any to make it available in the whole system.
When finished, tap Save.
Once we have created custom commands, we can use them in the same way as the default commands. This allows us to tailor voice control to our specific preferences and needs, making it even easier to use the iPhone.
Voice control is a really powerful tool when it comes to facilitating the use of the device for people with difficulties in doing so. Beyond that, it’s easy for everyone to get something out of it, especially in situations where we can’t touch the screenfor whatever reason. With a long list of commands available and the ability to create the ones we want, it’s a feature to consider.
What are the best episodes of Black Mirror? Find out in our list where we order them all from worst to best.
Black Mirror is back. After a three-year hiatus necessary after the quality of the series declined, Netflix’s fiction is about to return. Once again, Charlie Brooker is in charge of the scripts, and the cast is full of stars such as Aaron Paul, Michael Cera, Kate Mara or Salma Hayek.
Undoubtedly, the return of Black Mirror with its sixth season is one of the most anticipated premieres of the year. But, while we wait for its return, we can always recover the anthology series through its best episodes. And, how could it be otherwise, we leave you with our selection of all the episodes of the series ordered from worst to best.
The list is completely subjective, so next to each title I’ve left the corresponding IMDb rating, so you can also get closer to what the general audience thinks. Of course, don’t expect much difference… the top is very clear.
23. The Science of Killing (3×05)
IMDb rating: 7.5
Synopsis: Stripe and Raiman are two soldiers who must protect the inhabitants of a village from the invasion of savage mutants. Technologically they have an advantage, but they don’t know if it will be enough to survive.
Despite not having a very low score, this episode is, for my taste, the one that most departs from the tone of Black Mirror. The final twist is predictable, the warlike tone does not fit very well with what it wants to tell and, in addition, it does not give you time to connect with the characters. The narrative is rushed and the pace is too frenetic. Undoubtedly, it seems to me the one that is more out of what Charlie Brooker’s series represents.
22. Striking Vipers (1×05)
IMDb rating: 69
Synopsis: When Danny and Karl, two old college friends, meet again in a virtual reality game, their nightly games will have unexpected consequences.
I’m still not quite clear what they wanted to tell with this episode: is it a stale metaphor about homosexuality? Because it certainly seems like it. Although it wants to play with the usual Black Mirror tone, Striking Vipers gets lost in a thesis that it fails to defend at any time. It generates much more repulsion than intrigue and, of course, than reflection.
21. Metal head (5×04)
IMDb rating: 6.6
Synopsis: In an abandoned warehouse, scavengers in search of supplies encounter an implacable enemy. If they want to survive, they must escape through an inhospitable wasteland.
I fully support the stylistic exercise attempted with this episode, but it just ends up being a little thriller that doesn’t invite any possible reflection. In a series like Love, Death & Robots maybe it would make some sense, but to see evil robots in black and white I don’t put on Black Mirror.
20. The Waldo Moment (3×02)
IMDb rating: 6.6
Synopsis: Jamie Salter is a washed-up comedian who becomes the voice of Waldo, an anarchic animated character on a typical late night comedy show. Salter’s life spirals out of control when, frustrated by the world of politics, blue bear Waldo becomes a strong candidate in the upcoming election.
One of the most embarrassing episodes ofBlack Mirror. Although in the second season it still retained the critical and satirical spirit about contemporary society, in this episode it got out of hand. The premise did not look bad, but the development went down a path that no one cared about.
19. Arkangel (2×04)
IMDb rating: 7.3
Synopsis: Worried Marie would do anything to protect her 4-year-old daughter. When a sophisticated clinic creates a device that, when implanted in the brain, guarantees this protection, Marie does not hesitate to access this service. Thanks to an app, the mother will be able to monitor her daughter at any time.
Rather than being a bad episode, it looks like a filler episode of Black Mirror. Yes, the premise is interesting, but both its execution and development fits more like a Saturday afternoon TV movie than an episode of a great series. Very forgettable.
18. Crocodile (3×04)
IMDb rating: 7.3
Synopsis: In a near future where personal memories are no longer entirely private, Mia must keep an unspeakable secret.
This episode is flawed in several ways. First, of resembling one of the best of the series: Your whole story (1×03). Secondly, of having a tone too dark and with images somewhat taken out of context for Black Mirror fans. And thirdly, of being seen, as with the previous one, as one more filler episode. It does not invite too much reflection, so it does not fulfill the main function of the series. The main character is sublime, though.
17. Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too (3×05)
IMDb rating: 6.1
Synopsis: A lonely teenage girl becomes obsessed with a robot doll based on her pop idol, Ashley O, just as the real Ashley’s life begins to fall apart.
This is the episode with the worst grade of the whole series. Not for nothing, it is an episode almost more similar to Toy Story than to Black Mirror, and it barely innovates in its execution. However, I have to admit that Miley Cyrus‘ performance and its spirit of adventure without major pretensions makes me hold it in higher esteem than others that were thought to be more revolutionary.
16. Añicos (2×05)
IMDb rating: 7.5
Synopsis: A VTC driver causes an international crisis when he kidnaps an employee of a social networking company in London.
The best episodes of Black Mirror are not always the greatest: there are some that, with very little, manage to place themselves at the top of the ranking. This one, I imagine, tried to be one of those: an episode that invites you to reflect through a quasi-anecdote. But the VTC theme was already sufficiently hackneyed when it appeared, and no one was too surprised… beyond Andrew Scott’s unbeatable performance.
15. Black Museum (6×04)
IMDb rating: 8.6
Synopsis: A young woman discovers a museum in the middle of the highway that contains supposedly authentic criminological objects… and offers a disturbing main attraction.
It’s the third highest-rated episode of the series, tied with San Junipero (3×04). And, let’s see, no doubt its little stories within the episode are quite engaging. However, I can’t help but not fall for the monotony in this episode’s narrative, which reminds me more of a Simpsons compilation episode than an actual Black Mirror story.
14. National hatred (3×06)
IMDb rating: 8.5
Synopsis: In a London of the future, detective Karin Parke and Blue, her expert partner in new technologies, investigate a series of mysterious deaths with a sinister connection to social networks.
Similarly to the previous one, it’s a critically acclaimed episode that doesn’t quite convince me. It works as a detective thriller, but isn’t Black Mirror something more than that? Beyond the reflection that addresses the social networks, it does not seem to have much to do with the spirit of the series, besides not wanting to innovate the least in its thesis.
13. 15 million merits (1×02)
IMDb rating: 8
Synopsis: Bing Mandsen lives, like everyone around him, producing energy by pedaling all day in exchange for points (merits) with which to subsist. In the midst of this anodyne life, one day he meets Abi Khan, a young woman he hears singing in the bathroom. Convinced that, through music, Abi can make a difference, Bing gives her all his savings to enter a reality talent show.
It is not one of the most memorable episodes of the first season, but it made it clear that Black Mirror could take all possible forms, and the most exaggerated satire was also part of its tone. Undoubtedly, it is a curious exercise that, despite not becoming memorable, invites you to reflection.
12. White bear (2×02)
IMDb rating: 8
Synopsis: Toni wakes up one day with amnesia and when she goes out into the street everyone starts recording her using their smartphones. Without knowing what is happening to her, she soon discovers that she is trapped in a place from which she cannot escape.
White Bear is one of the most memorable episodes, and it manages to unsettle the viewer for most of the episode. However, it stakes everything on a final twist that isn’t exactly thoughtful or revealing either. In short: it’s much better directed than written.
11. Bandersnatch
IMDb rating: 7.1
Synopsis: In 1984, a young programmer tries to adapt a chaotic fantasy novel into a video game. A hallucinating challenge that will lead him to question the reality around him. This is an interactive film in which the viewer can make decisions that change the course of the story.
Bandersnatch is a powerful exercise that marked an era at the time and served as a precedent for a unique format. For that alone it deserves to be in the top. However, its narrative did not manage to catch as much as others, and having to remain an open story, its thesis paled quite a bit.
10. USS Callister (4×01)
IMDb rating: 8.3
Synopsis: Robert Daly is a co-founder of a popular video game who resents the lack of recognition of his position by his co-workers. Acting as the captain of the spaceship USS Callister, Daly orders his co-workers around and bends them to his will. When Daly brings newly hired Nanette Cole into his game, she encourages the other copies to rebel against Daly.
Season 4 rose as one of the most interesting with this episode that did not look like anything Black Mirror had done so far and yet it fit perfectly with the series. A twisted and fun episode until the end, although at times somewhat predictable and Manichean.
9. Plummeting (3×01)
IMDb rating: 8.3
Synopsis: Lacie works in an office and lives in a seemingly ideal world where every human interaction, no matter how small, is evaluated on social networks, and where the obsession with having a good public image predominates. Her school friend Naomi is very well positioned in the social elite, and Lacie is desperate to join her.
Here we are fans of Bryce Dallas Howard, and without a doubt her charisma makes this chapter go from being an almost anecdotal one to one of the most interesting of Black Mirror. It’s an extreme satire, just like 15 Million Merits, but it works perfectly in relation to our connection to social media.
8. Playtest (3×02)
IMDb rating: 8.1
Synopsis: Cooper is an American globetrotter in search of great emotions who arrives in Great Britain, where he has a relationship with Sonja. Once there, he will try a video game as advanced as it is terrifying, and from which he will not be able to escape easily.
The bad vibe that Black Mirror manages to convey can be summed up in this episode. It is disturbing, suffocating and creepy to the limits, and it has a wonderful execution. Its narrative, however, loses a bit in pursuit of form, and that’s why it doesn’t make it into the top of the series.
7. I’ll be right back (2×01)
IMDb rating: 8
Synopsis: Martha’s boyfriend, Ash, is involved in a car accident and dies instantly. To cope with the grief of this loss, Martha decides to use a technological novelty that allows her to be with her boyfriend again… or as close to him as possible.
This episode is one of those that defined the spirit of Black Mirror, and undoubtedly managed to grab the audience through the keys of what the series would entail: technological advances, threats and the danger of the future. Its tragedy taken to melodrama makes it pale a bit, but it has aged memorably.
6. The national anthem (1×01)
IMDb rating: 7.7
Synopsis: When the young and beloved Princess Susannah is kidnapped, Prime Minister Michael Callow is faced with a difficult and delicate situation. In order to set her free, the kidnapper demands that the prime minister have sex with a pig and be broadcast live.
It made our hair stand on end back in the day and made it clear that Black Mirror was not going to be a series to be taken lightly. Undoubtedly, this raw episode without the slightest hint of complacency caused many of us to squirm at the time. Even today it continues to serve as inspiration for many stories and debates.
5. Shut Up and Dance (3×03)
IMDb rating: 8.4
Synopsis: Kenny is a shy 19-year-old who is forced to collaborate against his will with a very suspicious character, Hector, after falling into a trap. The lives of the two will be in the hands of completely unknown people.
With the same rawness and simplicity as The National Anthem, this chapter became, without a doubt, the real heir to 1×01. A story that disturbs by its reality and turns your stomach until you want to vomit. If you empathize with the protagonist, you’re lost.
4. Your complete story (1×03)
IMDb rating: 8.5
Synopsis: Set in an alternate reality in which humanity can access technology that records everything it sees and hears. You can erase a memory or go back to it, but is this a good thing…? The story introduces us to Liam, a young lawyer who begins to suspect that his wife Ffion is having a much more intense relationship with Jonas than he thought.
The culmination of the first season is a chapter that continues to be seen as one of the most indisputable of the entire series. Its thriller-like pulse, its reflection on something realistic that at some point we may have and its backstory about love makes it one of the best chapters in all of Black Mirror. For many, in fact, it is the best.
3. White Christmas (2×04)
IMDb rating: 9.1
Synopsis: Matt Trent and Joe Potter are spending a few days in a remote location in the middle of a snow-blighted wilderness. On Christmas Day, Matt prepares the traditional Christmas meal, while the song “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” plays on the radio. Then, a strange impulse pushes Matt to explain to Joe the reason he discovered the remote place where they are now, a subject they had never discussed in the five years they have been there. Although Joe has some doubts, Matt doesn’t hesitate to state his reasons.
The highest rated episode in all of IMDb is this Christmas special that sums up the magic of Black Mirror. It’s a very small story and one that hinges on a twist at the end…but what a twist. John Hamm and Rafe Spall keep the tension going from the first to the last minute, with two of the best performances of the series. It could replace A Christmas Carol as the quintessential new Christmas story.
2. Hang the DJ (4×04)
IMDb rating: 8.7
Synopsis: When Frank and Amy meet through a dating program that puts an expiration date on relationships, they soon begin to question the logic of the system.
In the top-2 I leave the two most beautiful and hopeful chapters of all Black Mirror. Maybe I’m a romantic or maybe Charlie Brooker learned, as the series progressed, that not every story had to have a bad ending for people to reflect on his metaphors. In this case it is the ultimate love story through a dating app… who would have a love like that!
1. San Junipero (3×04)
IMDb rating: 8.6
Synopsis: California, 1987. San Junipero is a fun vacation destination full of sun, surf and sex. Yorkie and Kelly are two girls who have just arrived, hoping that their stay will bring them fun and some change in their lives. Crowds of young people are having fun dancing in the trendy discos. But for some of the visitors to San Junipero, midnight is an important hour when something happens.
I couldn’t not place San Junipero as the best story in Black Mirror. Although I admit that I wasn’t crazy about it at the time, it’s the episode I’ve returned to again and again and again when it comes to watching the series, recommending it or being inspired by it. It’s a beautiful story that, in turn, has nothing to envy to the classic thrillers of the series. The most memorable and creative of all the episodes.
Legacy games have been with us for a decade, turning board games into a kind of video game in which each decision matters and each game is different from the previous one.
You know how to play a board game, even if it’s Parcheesi or Goose, right? You pick up your chips, roll the dice, move, throw cards, play against your friends or family and, in the end, one of you wins (unless it’s cooperative). The game goes back in the box and the next time everything is repeated in an impossible groundhog day… Or maybe not. Legacy games have been with us for a decade now, turning board games into a sort of video games in which every decision matters and every game is different from the previous one.
In 1998, a board game specialist named Rob Daviau joined Hasbro as a writer of Trivial Pursuit (yes, that job exists) and Taboo questions. A year later he was designing his own games, albeit as simple as ‘Monopoly Looney Tunes’ or ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. One day, while devising new versions of ‘Risk’ he thought of a sort of inside joke about the latter: Why do the ‘Cluedo’ killers keep getting invited back again and again?
Or to put it another way: the players don’t start from scratch, but the game does. If video games can save the game and always keep going until the end, why couldn’t it happen in board games? He soon thought of a complex system of envelopes, surprises, increasing rules and a game that would evolve according to the player’s decisions, which he called “legacy”. And the first one he wanted to try was, paradoxically, ‘Cluedo’. It did not go ahead because Hasbro forbade it.
It was 2008 and he himself tells what happened: “They looked at me like I was crazy, so I thought ‘Well, maybe it’s a crazy idea’ and I put it aside”. However, the concept stayed in the heads of his superiors, and soon after they sent him to make a perpetual version of ‘Risk’ in which players had to do things unthinkable until then: scratch the board, break cards or write on them knowing that they would never use them again after the campaign, as if it were a game of ‘Dungeons & Dragons‘. In 2011, ‘Risk Legacy’ was released after a year and a half of development. It was a smash hit in the gamers’ field, although for Hasbro it was nothing more than a side note.
Pandemic (but without masks)
After leaving Hasbro, his next legacy game was not long in coming, and this one would change the market forever. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1′ is the usual ‘Pandemic’ but with changes after each month. It starts being easy to overcome and little by little it starts to get more complicated with variations of the virus impossible to cure, zombie infections, easier to get infected and cities that are marked for life. Twelve (or 24) games, depending on your skill and luck, will lead you to victory… or disaster.
It was easy for Daviau to choose ‘Pandemic’. When the creators proposed it to him by e-mail, his answer was, at size 150, “YES”. Pandemic Legacy’ is a much more complex game than the original and the decisions you have to make (save one city at the risk of being far away from another when the virus explodes?) will make you sweat. A must-have after which came the madness: everyone wanted their legacy.
From ‘Ultimate Werewolf’ to ‘Machi Koro’, ‘Vampire: The Masquerade’ or the ‘Jurassic Park‘ saga itself, there have been few games that could resist a good legacy version. Obviously, it doesn’t always work well, and some, like Daviau’s own ‘SeaFall’, didn’t quite make the grade. Fortunately, if you are interested in this variation with which you can finally feel that board games have entered a new dynamic, pay attention, because we are going to recommend you the best ones.
Don’t let them pass you by
If you know anything about the world, no matter how little, you know that ‘Gloomhaven’ is a sacred cow. A sacred cow with a box that literally weighs ten kilos, but that contains an exciting campaign that will bring you back to the best role-playing with an easy to understand game style (depending on the attention you are willing to pay) and that assures you dozens of adventures. If you want something even more accessible but equally fabulous, you have ‘Gloomhaven: Maw of the Lion’. You’re welcome.
Another marvel is ‘Clank! Legacy’, in which every game will change and literally every decision will be vital to get to the end. In addition, it has a much more complex story than ‘Pandemic Legacy’ and is more familiar than ‘Gloomhaven‘, making it a perfect start to the adventure.
And what about those with small children? Well, they can also give theirs with a zombie adventure between kids: ‘Zombie kidz evolution’ and ‘Zombie teenz evolution’ will keep the progress from one game to another. Like a role-playing campaign, but without the need for infinite character sheets. This is the future of board games, after all, or did you think it was all going to be ‘Monopoly‘ and ‘Catan’?
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