Talk:Black Mirror: Bandersnatch/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: The Rambling Man (talk · contribs) 06:45, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Comments

" released by Netflix on 28 December 2018, its release.." repetitive.
I'm mildly dubious about the linking of Choose Your Own Adventure here, as it links to a specific brand of that type of book, and that's not the brand in question. I used to read adventure game books back in the 1980s but mine were from a different range altogether, the Fighting Fantasy version. I had them (and loved them) all. Ought we not be linking "adventure gamebook" instead?
- Yes, I had some Fighting Fantasy too and was obsessed with House of Hell in particular. We did actually call them "choose your own adventure" books, so perhaps Netflix's generic trademark argument has weight to it. I've changed the lead link to gamebook as that part is more of an overview, but kept "choose your own adventure" in the plot because that's specifically what Stefan says and it's relevant to the lawsuit. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
"the film shares its name with a video game of the same name planned for release by Imagine Software in 1984" probably worth noting this was in the real world.
- Now the film was named after a real video game planned for release by Imagine Software in 1984. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
"interactive film in May 2017, during which time Netflix had several interactive" repetitive.
"the fifth series delayed to June 2019." something feels like it's missing here, like "with the fifth series being delayed..." or "delaying the fifth.."?
"reception was mixed, with positive reception to the technical design of the film and negative reception to the story's characterisation. There was mixed reception" repetitive.
"average rankings in critics' lists of Black Mirror instalments by quality. It garnered" I think these could be merged, with "but", "however" etc because it's unusual for average films (by critics' thinking) to be nominated/awarded.
"There are... There are..." repetitive.
"endings, some of which are more concrete endings" repetitive.
" the game to video game" likewise.
Especially with "famous game creator " later in the same sentence.
"Otherwise, Stefan..." a little unclear, perhaps "Opting to reject the offer, Stefan.."
"gets increasingly complicated" -> "becomes more complex"?
" is mysteriously absent " I know what you mean, that the other characters don't know where he's gone, but "mysteriously" seems a little whimsical to me.
"who he learns about" -> "about whom he learns...."
"hen bury or chop up his father's body." just "the body" would be fine.
"Burying the body " Burying it.
(" but Stefan goes to prison shortly..." - it flashed past quickly, but I think the subheader in The Sun was something like "father found in 8-bits" which is brilliant).
- Yeah the Easter eggs throughout are top notch in this one. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Shouldn't you mention that Pearl is controlled by the viewer?
- Added The viewer chooses for her to throw tea over her computer or destroy it. We haven't mentioned that Stefan was given the same choice (possibly in all of the ways in which you can reach the Pearl ending?) but I'm tempted to leave that out for reasons of space. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
You link Netflix in Production section but it is mentioned in the Plot summary.
- And earlier in Format, where it's now linked. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
"over concerns over" jarring.
Jeff Minter is overlinked.
" to prep" prepare?
The Poulter/Twitter single-sentence para is a little out of place.
- Yeah it feels a bit out of place wherever it goes, but it got a surprisingly large amount of media attention (surprising to me at least). After splitting a paragraph under "Marketing and release" into two paragraphs and shuffling, it's now located there. I could also make it a standalone paragraph in that section, or as a last resort remove it entirely. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
"Some exterior scenes..." caption is a full sentence so needs a full stop.
" film that viewers could interact with" -> "film with which viewers could interact"
"violent material was cut from Bandersnatch, deemed to be violent" repetitive.
"released a 90-second trailer for Bandersnatch, establishing that the film would be released " likewise.
" was officially announced on 27 December 2018" you already said this in the previous para.
- Ah, there were lots of repetitions like this before I copyedited the article but I missed this one. Now There was much media speculation prior to the film's announcement. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Twitter is overlinked.
GIF is overlinked.
" how to come across an" -> "how to discover"?
"Later, Netflix reported that 94% of viewers were actively making choices" do you mean as opposed to just watching Brooker's default choice plot?
- Yeah, 6% not making any choices in the 10 second windows for whatever reasons. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" and "The Verge" are overlinked.
"summarily dismissed ... denied a summary dismissal" repetitive.
Could link trope (cinema).
The Hollywood Reporter is overlinked.
"Like previous episodes" this isn't an episode...
- Now a bit subtler, Like previous instalments of Black Mirror, Bandersnatch makes allusions to earlier episodes., but could also change the last "episodes" if it's misleading. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Metalhead, ZX Spectrum, IGN and The Independent are overlinked.
- Yeah and we mentioned that Slade directed "Metalhead" on the earlier linking so I've removed that too. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]
As is Indiewire, Observer and Rolling Stone.
In the lead you called them Primtime Emmys and in the awards section prose you just call them Emmys.
- Now both "Primetime". — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

That's all I have. I spent about two hours reliving various paths through the movie this morning, and sort of enjoyed it. It's mildly harrowing but still a good watch. Cheers. The Rambling Man (Stay indoors, stay safe!!!!) 13:37, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah I'm not a huge fan of this one, think the technical design is outstanding and there's lots of good details, but my view on the narrative is perhaps quite close to the critical consensus. The speedy review is much appreciated, think I've responded to everything. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 19:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Last thing, and this is picky, but note [a] is not referenced.... sorry... The Rambling Man (Stay indoors, stay safe!!!!) 20:11, 23 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Hopefully this is good enough, not much reporting on it because I think most reporters just don't own an unsupported platform to test it on. I won't link to a copyright violation but there's an upload of it on YouTube and it's quite funny actually—opens with a compilation of characters from earlier episodes saying "sorry" and then a message that you can't watch it on that device. Someone did put thought into making it. — Bilorv (Black Lives Matter) 20:45, 23 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Me telling you I'm sorry followed by that feels like a mini-Black Mirror moment. I'm more than happy this meets GA standards, and thus I'm promoting. As many times before, but only if you consider my reviews thorough enough, let me know if you nominate another Black Mirror episode. All the best. The Rambling Man (Stay indoors, stay safe!!!!) 20:53, 23 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]