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. Continue reading
