'Black'ish: USS Callister (Black Mirror)

At last, I cover the Episode that got all of the attention when the first Trailer was released.  How does it stand up on its own?  Let's see...

The USS Callister is a big part of Space Fleet, an Agency that saves the day and stops villains.

The attention to detail and homages here are great.  They don't miss much.

 However, it is not real.

No, it is the Game Mod of a big MMORPG created in part by this man.  He made himself the 'Kirk,' since, well, wouldn't you?

A new Worker shows up and she seems friendly.  She looks up to the often-stepped-on- man.

As such, he steals her DNA and puts a Digital Copy of her in his Mod.  Naturally.

Will the adventure in Space Fleet be enjoyable or is there a dark underbelly to this?

Obviously, no more SPOILERS.  See it for yourself.  The End.

This is...really good.  Right off the bat, they hook you with the spot-on homage/parody of original series Star Trek.  They then drop the main Plot onto you and see so much more.  What seems like a fun game turns out to be a bit of a power fantasy.  Is this one dark?  Yes.  Is this one dark by Black Mirror standards?  Not so much.  Given how much bleak stuff happened in the previous Season 4 Episode, the fact that most of this gets wrapped up neatly is nice.  There are winners and losers still- obviously.  What this one does well is to match the style and tone, while also making it its own.  While I really like The Orville, it is very much just a well-made copy/homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation.  It does its thing well, but doesn't change much.  This one is more a twisted mirror look at what the Series could be- double pun intended.  Is this super-original if you know much about Science-Fiction Novels?  No.  It is darn good though and definitely makes the most of what Black Mirror could and should be.  It is good enough to already inspire a bit of Fan Art too...

Next time, do I step back again to Season 3 or move forward with Season 4?  One way to find out.  See you then...