Charlie Brooker worked with Chris Morris on the single series of the fairly disappointing sit-com Nathan Barley and clearly got some pointers from Morris on how to push irreverent black comedy to the limits of public acceptability.

Morris’s spoof documentary series ,Brass Eye, divided audiences as to whether it was audacious satire or a shameful example of bad taste. Channel 4’s mini-series Black Mirror, scripted by Brooker, promises to have the same effect.

Part one of the three-part series, National Anthem, is described as a “twisted parable for the twitter age”. It suggests that the social networks have not only made the ‘breaking news’ of public service TV irrelevant but have the power to humiliate public figures in an unprecedented fashion – “This is virgin territory – there is no playbook” says one of the Prime Minister’s advisors when they discuss how to react to the demands of a man who has kidnapped a member of the royal family.

A video of this Princess (Susannah) shows her pleading for her life and reading a prepared statement which says that she will be released only if the PM has sex with a pig live on TV. The fact that this video is released on You Tube means that any hope of a lid being put on the tape are hopeless – “Fucking Internet!” the PM curses.

It presents the grim consequences of society’s insatiable appetite for spectacle and controversy. One blog gives a spoiler-free review of the show which seems ironic as (in the spirit of the drama) tweeters, bloggers and newspapers have already given their verdict without troubling too much about giving away the plot.

I’ll resist a blow-by-blow account here, suffice to say that the dénouement is enough to give David Cameron nightmares.

As with Chris Morris’s best stuff, Brooker’s drama left me with the uncomfortable sense of being complicit in the sordid events but I’ll still be watching the next two shows in the series to see if they can equal the squirm factor of the first instalment .

Related links:
The Dark Side Of Gadget Addiction (Charlie Brookner – The Guardian)
Strange Days – blog review (with spoilers)