Watch Preview Of “USS Callister” – Black Mirror’s Homage to Star Trek

to Trek picked up seven nominations

The fourth season of Netflix’s dark Emmy-winning sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror includes a Star Trek homage titled “USS Callister” and today Netflix released a trailer for the episode.

The episode stars Fargo alums Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti, along with Westworld‘s Jimmi Simpson and Michaela Coel (Chewing Gum). It is directed by Toby Haynes (Doctor Who, Sherlock) and co-written by creator and executive producer Charlier Brooker with William Bridges.

“USS Callister” will be the fourth episode in the six episode season and will be 74-minutes long. Charlie Brooker talked to The Hollywood Reporter about how the episode is inspired by Trek:

“I used to be terrified in Star Trek, of the face of Balok, the scary alien face that used to show up in the end credits. It used to chill me to the core as a child.”

New key art poster for “USS Callister”

Here is how executive producer Annabel Jones described the episode to the Independent:

‘USS Callister’ is a space opera. The challenges of trying to create that world, and obviously getting to play with the genre, opened a whole new opportunity. But I think we’ve put a clever spin on it. It’s a romp – it’s big and ambitious with lots of CG. It’s an absolute visual feast and really high octane. There are obviously more unsettling, poignant and slightly more melancholic moments, but at the same time, it is a romp. It’s such a treat for a filmmaker to be making a film this epic.

Talking to THR Jones describes the episode as being about “tyranny and abuse of power.” Brooker added the story isn’t “explicitly about anything political in the real world” but still noted “all of that real world stuff tends to seep in.”

Publicity photo from Black Mirror “USS Callister”

Some Black Mirror fans have speculated that the “USS Callister” will actually be an in-universe episode of Sea of Tranquility, an effects-heavy sci-fiction show within the the show that was mentioned in season one’s “The National Anthem” and season three’s “Nosedive.” Will this be a loving “Galaxy Quest”-style send up or a damning critique with a horrible twist? Given that it’s Black Mirror, probably the latter.

Netflix has not yet announced a release date for season four Black Mirror beyond saying before the end of 2018. Some reports suggest it will actually be released by the end of this year and there may be a hint from the official Black Mirror twitter account which has recently liked a number of posts dated December 29th of previous years, suggesting they may release on December 29, 2017.

 

21 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

It already looks better than The Orville lol

I didn’t want to come across as a troll, but damn that’s exactly what I thought!

Galaxy Quest: The TV Episode. I’m in!!

Still more canon than STD

That’s a low bar to meet. Slash fan fiction is more canon than STD.

Uhm…Discovery is a Star Trek TV show, and is part of the Star Trek canon. This is just an homage.

Yeah, Mark Porter saying something that is either wrong and he knows it and is being ignorant or he really doesnt understand. In which case, google is your friend.

It is a web show. Does that count as canon?

What a well thought out and intelligent comment to make. You must be so proud.

I love to watch “fans” squirm over Discovery. It’s canon, it’s Star Trek. These silly comments will never change that. :)

I hope you mean *some* “fans.” Many of us lifelong Trekkies are fully aboard with ‘Discovery’! Best ‘Star Trek’ in 20 years.

Semantics. For you, it’s “Star Trek” because someone who owns the rights has named it as such. However, many fans do not consider a thing to be ‘Trek-worthy simply because of the name. Fans have a vision for what ‘Trek is to them, and it takes much more than a name to fulfill this. For these fans, stories, intent, and visuals would have to be canon.

Mark: After you were dropped on your head as a child, did the doctors happen to use the words “concussion” or “cranial damage?”

This show is always top notch in terms of writing and production, and I doubt this episode will be any different. Very much looking forward to it.

And taking the high road here, I’ll refrain from making fun of either DSC or Orville while doing so.

Production quality look very high. I’m impressed with what I saw.

This is a revenge for the chapter “Majority Rules” of The Orville? ;)

This looks very much like something that was a good idea before Discovery and The Orville came along and then someone was a bit late in realizing it’s redundant. But we’ll see, hopefully there will be a good Black Mirror twist to it, that they’re keeping secret, something that wouldn’t fly on either of those shows.

From what I’ve read, it goes into much darker, decidedly “Black Mirror”-esque, territory than either DISC or Orville would ever touch.

Curious what the twist is.

Just another example of the lasting impact Star Trek has had on creatives.

Looks like over the top silliness to me. I mean it’s a parody clearly and that can be fun — but come on guys some of those tropes aren’t even trek related.