‘Black Mirror’ Star Cristin Milioti on Fighting the Man and the ‘Red F-ing Line’ in ‘USS Callister’
“Like, this woman refusing to go down. I just, I loved it,” Milioti tells TheWrap of her character’s struggle
Jennifer Maas | December 30, 2017 @ 3:54 PM
Last Updated: December 30, 2017 @ 5:47 PM
Netflix
(Spoiler alert: Do not read on unless you’ve watched “Black Mirror” Season 4 episode “USS Callister.”)
At practically the last minute, “Black Mirror” Season 4 gave viewers what is easily a contender for the best — and timeliest — line of dialogue in 2017: “Stealing my p—y is a red f—ing line!”
That gem was delivered by Cristin Milioti, star of Season 4’s “USS Callister,” a brutal deconstruction of toxic masculinity, workplace sexual harassment and cyber-bullying wrapped inside a sincere homage to “Star Trek.”
“Like, this woman refusing to go down. I just, I loved it. I thought it was so wildly creative,” Milioti tells TheWrap.
“Callister” takes place in a virtual reality game based on an in-universe “Star Trek”-esque TV series called “Space Fleet.” But the titular ship’s crew are actually the cloned consciousnesses of several co-workers being held captive by resentful company executive Daly (Jesse Plemons), who serves as their “captain.” This includes Milioti’s character, Nanette.
“In the real world she has to do so many things that women are brought up with,” Milioti tells TheWrap. “Her boss pats her on her lower back and it couldn’t be more timely to be coming out right now. So she’s put in this situation and won’t back down. And she’s way more of a tiger than you think. What’s amazing about how [“Black Mirror” creators] Charlie [Brooker] and Annabel [Jones] write is you can underestimate people and first impressions aren’t what they seem.”
“It’s also sad, because I don’t know how a man would respond to that in the workplace,” Milioti adds. “I had to interpret that it was completely terrifying and that she already puts up with a lot in the workplace. There just seems to be this light air of people thinking she’s this sweet cute little thing. And she’s a magnificent coder.”
In “Callister,” Daly traps Nanette and others at the company he feels have wronged him, including his business partner Walton (Jimmi Simpson), inside the simulation — actually a closed-off portion of a massively multiplayer online game — by copying their DNA to create exact digital replicas for him to toy with. This is not something Nanette will let stand, especially after she discovers Daly has eliminated the characters’ genitalia inside the game, leading to the line above that has since become one of the season’s most-talked about moments.
“I think it’s like when she’s in such a state of emergency from the moment she steps into that world and she’s fighting for her life,” Milioti says. “She’s never going to see her family again, she is never going to see the people she loves. She’s trapped there. She can either keep fighting or give up. And she keeps fighting. And when the episode ends, she’s the captain.”
Milioti also has a strong take on the plot point in “Callister” where her character’s “virtual self” blackmails her real world self (a badass coder) with her own naked selfies as part of a plan to free the digital consciousnesses from captivity. Though the threat of a release of very private photos isn’t an ideal scenario for a woman, Milioti says it felt okay, because her character is in charge here. “So if she has to hurt herself, she’s in control.”
“She knows about a weakness that she has and that’s awful, but she needs to get the job done,” Milioti says. “She becomes the captain, even if it’s at her own expense. And it’s weird too, cause she needs to have faith in herself. She doesn’t know if she can commit a felony. She comes into her own in this way, in this ‘virtual’ world. She knows, ‘I have this within me now. The me on the outside may not know that. But she will commit a felony.’ It was so risky, but it worked.”
“Black Mirror” Season 4 is available for streaming on Netflix as of Dec. 29.
'Striking Vipers' to 'San Junipero': Every 'Black Mirror' Episode Ranked, From Good to Mind-Blowing (Photos)
With the arrival of "Striking Vipers," "Smithereens" and “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” it's time to re-rank every episode of "Black Mirror," going back to the first episode, "National Anthem." There are no bad "Black Mirror" episodes, so we ranked them from good to mind-blowing.
Netflix
23. Season 2, Episode 3: "The Waldo Moment"
Many have made the now-trite observation that this episode, about a cartoon bear who insults his way into higher office, predicted the rise of Donald Trump. OK. This episode does a good job of again showing that we bend too easily before the loud and obnoxious. But "Black Mirror" usually has more novel things to say.
Netflix
22. Season 3, Episode 6: "Hated in the Nation"
It's disappointing that "Black Mirror" Season 3 -- one of the best TV seasons ever -- ended with a story that feels a little like "Sharknado." Great acting, though, and it can be taken as a friendly reminder not to cancel people over tweets.
Netflix
21. Season 5, Episode 2: "Smithereens"
Topher Grace's lovely performance as a tech guru who hates beeps, bloops and push notifications as much as you do saves this from being a pretty run-of-the-mill hostage drama. But it is a "Black Mirror" episode that could happen right now, in the present day, and we always like when the show pulls that off.
20. Season 2, Episode 2: "White Bear"
Sure, this one's scary, but it's just scary. There's some "Purge"-quality social commentary here, and that's nice. But "Black Mirror" is usually smarter. ("Black Mirror" creator Charlie Brooker seems pleased with this episode, though: "Bandersnatch" calls back to it aggressively.)
Netflix
19. Season 3, Episode 2: "Playtest"
This episode relies too much on typical scares to be among our favorites. The sudden turn into real-life horror is more affecting than the haunted house scenes.
18. Season 5, Episode 3: “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too”
This feels like the umpteenth episode of "Black Mirror" in which someone's digital soul becomes trapped outside his or her body. This time the victim is pop star Ashley (Miley Cyrus! We like her), who ends up inside a robot toy owned by one of her adoring fans. A caper to reunite mind and body ensues, making this one of the funniest episodes of "Black Mirror." It feels deliberately light, and it's charming, but nothing about it will haunt you except Ashley's cheery take on a Nine Inch Nails classic.
17. Season 2, Episode 1: "Be Right Back"
We recommend this episode, and all the ones that follow, with zero reservations. Starring Hayley Atwell and Domhnall Gleeson, "Be Right Back" is another look at the qualities that make us us.
Netflix
16. Season 4, Episode 2: "Arkangel"
This episode has the best setup of any "Black Mirror," and seems poised to launch a savage critique of over-parenting. But it doesn't escalate as much as we expected it to, and can't quite live up to its brilliant concept.
15. Season 1, Episode 2: "Fifteen Million Merits"
This twist on "American Idol"-style mobs is gorgeously acted by Jessica Brown Findlay and a pre-"Get Out" Daniel Kaluuya, and their chemistry helps sell familiar lessons about literal cycles of exploitation. We think about this episode every time we ride an exercise bike, which probably isn't often enough.
Netflix
14. Season 1, Episode 1: "National Anthem"
This mean little story feels all the meaner because it's so easy to imagine it happening in real life. It's a perfect first episode, because there's no better test of whether "Black Mirror" is for you.
Netflix
13. Season 4, Episode 6: "Black Museum"
“Black Museum” references every past episode in the anthology, but the ruthlessness with which it merges three vignettes into one nasty story. Letitia Wright and Douglas Hodge counter the ugliness with some beautiful acting.
12. Season 4, Episode 5: Metalhead
Hey, Alexa: Is this episode just a stripped-down survival story? Or a grim warning that our reliance on Amazon is a slippery slope into Terminator dogs chasing us down across a hellscape Earth? Just asking.
11. Season 4, Episode 3: "Crocodile"
If Alfred Hitchcock had done a "Black Mirror" episode, it would go pretty much like this. A frosty blonde antihero (Andrea Riseborough) tries to outsmart a relentless insurance adjuster. A rodent gets involved.
10. Season 2, Episode 4: "White Christmas"
If you're dreaming of a black Christmas, this showcase for madman Jon Hamm combines two imaginary technologies -- one of which allows you to "block" people in real life -- to tell one of grayest stories ever told. Sentiment-free, it's the most "Black Mirror" episode of "Black Mirror."
Netflix
9. Season 4, Episode 4: "Hang the DJ"
Boy and girl meet cute in The System, which is designed to find “true matches.” If you and your better half are fighting over complicated wedding plans and too-high expectations, stop and watch this episode and remember you don't owe anything to anyone but each other.
"Hang the DJ" is probably the sweetest episode of "Black Mirror," and is therefore not our favorite.
8. Season 3, Episode 3: "Shut Up and Dance"
No episode of "Black Mirror" will leave you feeling worse about humanity than this one. The ultimate prank is on you. Oh, also? It could happen. Similar things have already happened.
Netflix
7. Season 4, Episode 1: USS Callister
This one makes the Top 5 on sweep and ambition alone. And it's one of many episodes that remind us to never let anyone make a digital copy of your soul. Stars Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti should be in everything.
6. Standalone movie: "Bandersnatch"
By far the most ambitious "Black Mirror," "Bandersnatch" does something never before attempted in serious drama, using the "Choose Your Own Adventure" format to ask provocative questions about free will and power. Part film, part video game, it's incredibly impressive, and builds a complicated, stunning alternate-reality 1984 that we're still navigating. The one flaw is that the lack of a consistent narrative makes it hard to completely engage with the characters.
Netflix
5. Season 3, Episode 1: "Nosedive"
This is the episode that probably hits closest to home: We think about it every time we get in a Lyft or consider writing a negative Yelp review. The Bryce Dallas Howard story is a perfect sendup of our obsession with social-media approval. As soon as it ended we tweeted how much we loved it, then waited to see if anyone would retweet us, and... why didn't they? What's wrong with them? What's wrong with us?
Netflix
4. Season 5, Episode 1: "Striking Vipers"
One of the best written and acted episodes, with an especially good turn by Nicole Beharie as a woman trying to figure out what's wrong in her marriage. What's wrong is very hard to explain, but it revolves around a video game obsession shared by her husband (Anthony Mackie) and his former roommate (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). This is one of the scariest episodes of "Black Mirror," because the fear of a relationship disintegrating is so well-grounded. But there's also a beautiful resolution.
3. Episode 3, Season 5: "Men Against Fire"
We don't say this lightly: This episodes stands alongside "All Quiet on the Western Front" and "Full Metal Jacket" as one of the best stories about how war really works. (Even though the speech about how most soldiers don't fire their weapons might be totally wrong.)
Netflix
2. Season 3, Episode 4: "San Junipero"
No other story better captures the 1980s' pulsing mix of hope, heartache, cruelty and perfect pop music. It's another episode that could have been a Best Picture, and it may be the best single episode of television at capturing raw emotion. (It also feels joyously defiant that this story of colorblind LGBT love was filmed in South Africa, a former bastion of government-mandated bigotry.)
Netflix
1. Season 1, Episode 3: "The Entire History of You"
If you've ever been in a relationship with anyone who's been in another relationship, this one will crush you. Should life be lived, or remembered? And can you separate the living from the remembering? We think of this episode every time our memories fail us -- or serve us much too well.
Netflix
1 of 24
There are no bad episodes of “Black Mirror,” but only one of the new episodes is among the best
With the arrival of "Striking Vipers," "Smithereens" and “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” it's time to re-rank every episode of "Black Mirror," going back to the first episode, "National Anthem." There are no bad "Black Mirror" episodes, so we ranked them from good to mind-blowing.
Netflix
Netflix
