For those who love Star Trek, there’s a fantastic episode that feels like a classic from the original series, but with a clever new edge. Star Trek first aired in 1966, following the adventures of the USS Enterprise crew and its iconic Captain James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner) as they explored the galaxy. The show’s success led to a series of movies starting in 1979, multiple spin-off shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation (which began in 1987), and many other series that either imitated or paid tribute to the original, such as the recent show The Orville.
Eight years ago, a fantastic anthology series aired an episode that any Star Trek fan needed to see.
U.S.S. Callister is a Perfect TV Episode for Star Trek Fans
Black Mirror is a series of standalone stories, much like The Twilight Zone, but it explores anxieties about technology. Each episode examines how technological advancements could have frightening consequences, including the negative effects of social media, the blurring of reality, the decline of personal relationships, the use of technology for control and punishment, and people’s desire to dominate others. The episode “USS Callister” from Season 4 brilliantly combined several of these themes with a loving tribute to Star Trek.
Released on December 29, 2017, this 76-minute episode features Jesse Plemons as Robert Daly, a co-founder of a virtual reality online game. Robert feels unappreciated by his colleagues and mistreated by them, so he decides to create his own game. In this new game, he uses his coworkers’ DNA to create characters based on them. The game is essentially a version of Star Trek (referred to as Space Fleet within the episode), with Robert playing the captain and his coworkers as the crew.
I was completely hooked when things took a turn – Robert started using the DNA of a new crew member, Nanette, to bring her into the game itself! And she was brilliant, managing to convince everyone else to turn against the captain. The whole story is so layered and clever. Robert seems to be pulling all the strings, forcing the characters to act how he wants, but it’s so much more than that. They know they’re based on real people, and they seem to have genuine free will, even while trapped in his game. It’s a really fascinating paradox.
This game is unique because it borrows the aesthetic of Star Trek, but subverts expectations by featuring a captain who is controlling, excessively critical, and prone to retaliating against the crew when he feels undermined. While it visually resembles Star Trek, it misses the mark on the show’s core values and themes.
U.S.S. Callister Was Very Different for Black Mirror
This episode of Black Mirror stands out from the rest of the series, largely because of its clear admiration for Star Trek. However, instead of being inspired by Star Trek, the story actually retells a classic episode of The Twilight Zone called “It’s a Good Life.” That episode features Billy Mumy as Anthony Fremont, a six-year-old with powerful psychic abilities. He uses these powers to control everyone and everything around him, forcing them to obey his every whim and punishing those who don’t.
The show Black Mirror puts a modern spin on a classic tale by featuring an adult who behaves like a child and uses a video game to get revenge on anyone he perceives as a threat. Initially, Robert appears to be the one being bullied at work, but it quickly becomes clear that he’s actually the aggressor. The episode explores how power can be misused to torment others and highlights a man’s inflated sense of self-importance and delicate ego, which lead him to attack anyone who challenges his authority.
As a big fan of both Black Mirror and classic sci-fi, I was really intrigued by this episode. At first, it seemed like it was playfully teasing Star Trek, but actually, it showed a lot of appreciation for the original series. What it really reminded me of was a blend of the Star Trek episode “It’s a Good Life” and Harlan Ellison’s incredibly dark story, “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” – that really chilling tale of an all-powerful AI torturing the last humans. But here’s the twist: unlike those stories, the people being tormented actually manage to fight back and escape. It was a surprisingly empowering take on that kind of bleak premise.
While many Black Mirror episodes end on a bleak note, “USS Callister” stands out with its positive resolution. The episode was widely praised for bucking the trend and delivering satisfying justice to the villain. It’s not only a treat for Star Trek enthusiasts, but also considered one of the strongest science fiction stories in the entire series.
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2025-12-29 22:42