USS Callister [Black Mirror S04E01] - Spoilers

[CapnZapp]

It was excellent!

Spoiler

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Not a BM regular so any opinions are strictly from the Star Trek spoof of things. (Please imagine rimshots after each of these and don't take them seriously)

For once, a Star Trek episode with believable technobabble

Liked the ending - it was portrayed as "happy", but still, they were trapped in the MMO game? (At least I assume they can kill themselves off if they tire of playing?)

The first part, when Plemons was meant to be pitied, was an accurate documentary on the workplace atmosphere of tech startups

Shame about the miniskirts, but I refuse to believe you can't trade for them in a major MMO like that

It would be cool if they contacted their "real" selves. I imagine Miloti would want to explain what she made her real self do, and assure her her pics are safe.

A spin-off where Miloti is the captain would, needless to say, be awesome. I imagine having a "real" bridge crew would give you a serious edge compared to all the "regular" players playing solo?
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Edit: Saw the Spoilers rules thread but can't find how to tag a title? Edit: Using the tag in-post for the moment. Edit: Both tags.

 

[CapnZapp]

Random observations:

* Lol how the spider banged her head
* Lol how Miloti held out her hands in a "defensive position" before realizing "wtf am I doing"
* lol when she lured him out on the away mission she ran the "correct way" for female staff - with her hands angled outwards palms down - she must have seen one Star Trek episode after all
* lol how the black guy and gal immediately looked toward each other when they got their "junk" back
* lol how everybody started to call Miloti Captain and she just "Nanette is enough". Her confident smile as they ventured out where no man (that isn't just a game avatar) has gone was 1000% Star Trek


I LOVED the way the ep mirrored a real Star Trek episode. They even got to technobabble themselves to the solution in the end, in a believable way no less!!!

* lol the way this just adds one more "evil captain" to the already respectable list of evil Star Trek captains
* talk about mindfrakkery - I wished I got to see how they got the "real" Nanette to do her ninja stealth break-in. OTOH when I consider how much of "Captain material" she turned out to be, I guess I'm not surprised...

 

[RangerWickett]

On the flip side, this was an episode about rogue AI that managed to break out of their system and into the wild.

I really hope next season there's an episode where they figure out how to get real-Nanette to give them access to more processing power and internet access so they can start having influence in reality. I don't think their personalities are likely to lead to an AI apocalypse, but they might screw with something.

 

[Ryujin]

On the flip side, this was an episode about rogue AI that managed to break out of their system and into the wild.

I really hope next season there's an episode where they figure out how to get real-Nanette to give them access to more processing power and internet access so they can start having influence in reality. I don't think their personalities are likely to lead to an AI apocalypse, but they might screw with something.

I don't know. I think that this might be the perfect example of why an AI might not go nuts against the real world. An infinite procedurally generated universe based on adventure, trade, and exploration? You would have to be a pretty damned malicious and evil person to need more than that, in my opinion.

 

[CapnZapp]

The interesting question is: what would you or I do in her position?

The fact I know I'm a clone and live in a virtual universe wouldn't matter, assuming 1) I realize there's no point thinking about "escape" (since I have no flesh and blood, and since I'm already out there) and, of course, 2) that the game is infinitely better realized than any game to date (it sure seemed like the simulation was meant to be so damn life-like you thought it was real)

As I read it, when they ended with her confident smile, they just accelerated the story, skipping all the phases in-between right to acceptance and "let's live this universe!"

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[CapnZapp]

An infinite procedurally generated universe based on adventure, trade, and exploration?

While impressive, that list still lacks the most basic human drive.

No, not sex per se. Procreation. Children.

Wonder if Callister Inc had implemented "little" avatars...

Building a legacy is perhaps the one feature no game thus far has thought about (mainly because no game is meant to run forever or do more than make money here and now)...



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[Ryujin]

While impressive, that list still lacks the most basic human drive.

No, not sex per se. Procreation. Children.

Wonder if Callister Inc had implemented "little" avatars...

Building a legacy is perhaps the one feature no game thus far has thought about (mainly because no game is meant to run forever or do more than make money here and now)...

I don't think that we can make that assumption. After all, the... um, 'mod' in question was one of the non standard changes made by the captain/Daly. Given how advanced the game was and the fact that it was an infinite, procedurally generated universe, procreation is still a possibility and immortality is not a given.,

 

[CapnZapp]

Just re-watched this most excellent piece of television!

Really wish more people would be interested in discussing it from a Star Trek angle...

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[Hussar]

Just re-watched this most excellent piece of television!

Really wish more people would be interested in discussing it from a Star Trek angle...

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

Sorry, tried to watch it. Fell asleep ten minutes in. Twice.

Our tastes are very, very different. This was very much not to my tastes. I found it trite and pretty cliche to be honest. Hrm, the brains of the tech company is a socially inept nerd who loses himself in online fantasy because he cannot actually interact with real people in the real world.

Yeah, that's a stereotype that I thought had died years ago.

 

[Ryujin]

Sorry, tried to watch it. Fell asleep ten minutes in. Twice.

Our tastes are very, very different. This was very much not to my tastes. I found it trite and pretty cliche to be honest. Hrm, the brains of the tech company is a socially inept nerd who loses himself in online fantasy because he cannot actually interact with real people in the real world.

Yeah, that's a stereotype that I thought had died years ago.

If you look at it from that angle then sure, it's going to be a little trite. However, in this case it's a bit more complex. He's not just losing himself in an online world. He's actively imprisoning and enslaving real people, by way of stealing their "virtual souls", and forcing them to do his bidding. While not what we would call alive, these people have all of the thoughts and desires of physical humans. To me, that takes it a step further.