Please join us for an in-depth discussion of polar bears, the sounds produced in S&M dungeons, and the failure of many men to express their emotions in healthy ways. The latest episode of the “Low Key” podcast is about the “Black Mirror” episode “Striking Vipers,” and you can listen on Spotify or right here.
This episode features our first-ever guests, and they’re kind of great. We snagged a few minutes with “Black Mirror” executive producers Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones. They tell us how they cast Anthony Mackie and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in the lead roles, and how Nicole Behari’s scene at the restaurant blew everyone’s mind. Brooker also tells us how playing “Tekken” used to make his home sound like an S&M dungeon, and how that helped inspire “Striking Vipers.”
That comes at the 4:11 mark. A few other highlights:
-My co-hosts, Aaron Lanton and Keith Dennie, recount their days as “Fight Night” competitors, and Aaron downplays his “Street Fighter” abilities (10-minute mark)
-Why the creators of the “Striking Vipers” game allow a certain thing to happen between players (18:54 and 28:35)
-Why a joke about a polar bear might be the key to understanding the whole episode (41:02)
-Whether Brooker succeeded in writing across cultural lines (44:30)
-The five best “Black Mirror” episodes (56:25)
We hope you like it. I also recommend this post by Phil Owen about why the designers of “Striking Vipers” (the video game, not the episode) would allow certain things to happen the way they do. Both Aaron and Phil bring up a curious situation surrounded “Grand Theft Auto.”
