Black Mirror - Reflections on True Crime

Charlie Brooker’s pastiche in Loch Henry serves to reinforce the importance of the documentary staple in popular culture but also its serious societal value, argues FirstLook’s Will Hanrahan.

Charlie Brooker apparently hails from the same village Boris Johnson and Carrie have made their multi-million-pound home – Brightwell-cum-Sotwell. This corner of Oxfordshire is central casting for an episode of Midsomer Murders. Leafy lanes, country pubs and men in lycra struggling by on super-expensive bikes that the average TV researcher can only dream of affording.

For Boris and Charlie, buying a super-bike would not be a problem. If ever Charlie returns home and bumps into the former fibber-in-chief, he might compare notes across a range of interest areas. Both have worked in print and broadcast, and both plough their own, unique furrows.

Much has been written and said about Charlie - mostly admiring of his slightly left-field observations and versatility. He can present, lampoon on different platforms, write and direct. Being fair, the guy puts in a shift. I’m a huge fan, as I might have said I had bumped into him at an awards ceremony (see Black Mirror: Loch Henry for why that line works).