Rise of Anthologies

Do The Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories and Alfred Hitchcock Presents ring any bells? These are some of the anthologies that I can remember watching on television. While compilations of short stories are not uncommon in literature, these collections are rather rare when it comes to television compared to the billions of series out there. I wouldn’t have thought any more of them had it not been for Netflix. I’ve spent half of my recent Netflix moments watching Black Mirror. Just a week ago, I’ve discovered another anthology of (mostly) animated shorts called Love, Death + Robots.

Both Black Mirror and Love, Death + Robots tell stories that are just as unique and artistic as the older anthologies. However, as society becomes more open in this Information Age, the contents are much more mature. The stories can be controversial and taboo in more conservative countries. Even the following trailer for Love, Death + Robots comes with a mature content warning!

For better or worse, new unrelated stories and new actors come with each episode. Sometimes they are great, sometimes mediocre and sometimes downright terrible. Every person’s mileage varies because it comes down to personal preferences but I'm sure everyone will welcome a breath of fresh air from long-running serials that will leave you suffocating with a cliffhanger at the end of a season.

I’ve completed the first series (3 episodes) and the first episode of the fifth series (also 3 episodes) of Black Mirror (you can find the list of the episodes on Wikipedia. The anthology uses mature themes to emphasise the consequences of (misusing) technology. Hence, the title Black Mirror which actually means the blank TV/monitor screen when it’s turned off.

For example, the first episode tells the tale of humanity’s focus on television. The British Prime Minister was to perform sexual intercourse on a pig on live television in exchange for the release of a kidnapped princess. She was already released before the PM was due to start broadcasting but nobody noticed because they were all glued to the television.

Meanwhile, other worthwhile anthologies that are currently on TV are The Twilight Zone reboot which is on CBS All Access and Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories is on Apple TV+ streaming service. Enjoy!