The Waldo Moment
| "The Waldo Moment" | |
|---|---|
| Black Mirror episode | |
| Episode no. |
Series 2 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Bryn Higgins |
| Written by | Charlie Brooker |
| Original air date | 25 February 2013 |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"The Waldo Moment", starring Daniel Rigby, Chloe Pirrie, Jason Flemyng, and Tobias Menzies, is the third episode of the second series of Black Mirror. It was written by series creator Charlie Brooker and first aired on Channel 4 on 25 February 2013.
The episode originated in an idea for Nathan Barley, an earlier TV project co-written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris.
Jamie Salter (Daniel Rigby) is a failed comedian who performs the voice and movements (via a remote manipulator called a Waldo) of a blue cartoon bear named Waldo, who interviews politicians and other authority figures. The interviewees are fooled into thinking the Waldo interviews are for a children's TV program, when they're actually for a late-night, topical comedy show. Waldo the bear is extremely popular with the British public, and a pilot for his own series is commissioned. Despite the character's success, Jamie is depressed and unsatisfied with his life.
During a brainstorming session for the Waldo pilot, producer Jack Napier (Jason Flemyng), who owns the rights to Waldo, jokingly suggests that Waldo should compete against real politicians in an upcoming by-election in the town of Stentonford, so he can stand against one of his past interviewees, Conservative candidate Liam Monroe (Tobias Menzies). Jamie reluctantly agrees, worried about entering the world of politics. The production company head off on a campaign trail, projecting Waldo onto a screen on the side of a van and driving to wherever Monroe is campaigning, so Waldo can publicly humiliate him. During the campaign, Jamie meets Gwendolyn Harris (Chloe Pirrie), the by-election's Labour candidate who, despite having no chance of winning, is entering the by-election to further her own political career. Jamie and Gwendolyn sleep together, but afterwards Gwendolyn is warned by her campaign manager to keep away from Jamie during the campaign. Jamie can't understand why she is avoiding him and develops a disdain for career politicians.
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