¾ This is a British anthology series, which started in 2011, but I didn't get a chance to start watching it until 2025. It consists of various genres, from episode to episode, but it's mostly science fiction. I don't think I could possibly give the series one overall rating, so I'll rate each episode individually.
Series One
tek's rating: just ugh
1. "The National Anthem": A duchess named Susannah (often referred to as "princess") is kidnapped, and she is forced to read a statement that her abductor will kill her at 4 o'clock, unless the Prime Minister, Michael Callow... has sex with a pig on live TV. The recording of the statement is distributed online, so the public becomes aware of it, and eventually the news networks start talking about it, as well. The situation becomes known around the world. The government tries everything within its power to find the princess before the deadline, but they fail. I won't reveal how the story ends, I'll just say the whole thing is pretty fucked up, including the eventual reveal of the reason all this was happening. The episode made me question whether I even wanted to continue with the series. But I suppose I will.
tek's rating: ¾
2. "Fifteen Million Merits": A man named Bing (Daniel Kaluuya) lives in a dystopian society where most people apparently have to ride exercise cycles to generate electricity, for which they are paid "merits" that they spend on all their necessities plus entertainment shows, and it also costs merits to skip advertisements. One day he hears a woman named Abi singing in the restroom, and believes she would be good enough to win a talent competition called "Hot Shot". So he buys her a ticket to apply for the show, which costs him most of his merits (fifteen million, most of which he inherited when his brother died). The judges like Abi's singing, but say they already have too many singers. However, they want her to instead become a porn star for them. After that, Bing comes up with a plan of his own, but I don't want to spoil the details. I'll just say that the future envisioned by this episode doesn't seem so farfetched, and it's definitely disturbing. Not in the same way the previous episode was disturbing, but disturbing on a much larger scale.
tek's rating: I don't know how to rate this.
3. "The Entire History of You": People have devices implanted in their necks called "grains", which allow them to replay (or "redo") all of their memories, either in their eyes or on a screen. A man named Liam becomes obsessed with the idea that his wife, Ffion (Jodie Whittaker) has had an affair with a man named Jonas. Redo's play an integral part in the story, in many ways. I don't want to get into it in detail. I'll just say I found the episode terribly painful to watch.
Series Two
1. "Be Right Back": There's this couple, Martha (Hayley Atwell) and Ash (Domhnall Gleeson). One day Ash dies, leaving Martha distraught. A friend signs her up, against her will, for a service that collects all of Ash's online data to create a sort of chatbot that responds to Martha more or less how Ash would have. At first Martha is very much against this, but after she discovers she's pregnant, she gives it a try. It starts out with just typing, but after she provides private things like videos of Ash, the AI is able to talk to her in his voice, on the phone. Later, she orders a synthetic body that takes on Ash's appearance. She tries to get used to having "him" around, and for awhile things go well. But eventually she realizes there's not enough of Ash in the AI. I won't say how it ends, but I'm sure I've seen things like this before. I can't think of specific examples off the top of my head, so I can't say how this compares to anything else with a similar story, but... it was okay. I did feel for Martha, I guess. But the story was just okay.
tek's rating: WTF?
2. "White Bear": A woman wakes up with amnesia, and while trying to learn who she is, she finds that no one will talk to her, they just film her with their phones. Soon, a masked man with a shotgun begins shooting at her and chasing her. After awhile, she meets a woman named Jem, who helps her escape. Jem tells her that some time ago, there was a signal on TV and mobile phones that turned most people into passive onlookers, while other people who weren't affected realized they could do whatever they wanted without consequences, and some took to hunting other unaffected people. Jem wants to go south to destroy a transmitter at a place called White Bear, and drags the amnesiac along with her. I can't reveal any more of the plot, as I don't want to spoil the major twist that eventually happens. Apparently the episode was generally pretty well received by critics and audiences, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. I certainly don't know how to rate it. I definitely found the plot twist interesting, and the moral implications thought-provoking. But I really can't decide what I think about it all. So, all I can say is the episode is pretty twisted, but that's often true of this show.