EXPLAINED: What does Bergerac have to do with Black Mirror?

Wednesday 21 June 2023

The sixth series of the Emmy-award winning show Black Mirror was released on Netflix this week, and viewers of the second episode entitled ‘Loch Henry’ were treated to references to Jersey-set 80s crime show Bergerac.

In the episode, directed by Sam Miller and written by Charlie Brooker, documentary filmmaker Davis explains to his American girlfriend that Bergerac is an "old TV show" his mother loved and she has dozens of episodes recorded on VHS tapes.

“Mum had a crush on John Nettles, the guy who played Bergerac," Davis says. "She used to say he had a nice bum."

As Davis and his girlfriend research the true crime documentary they are making about an historical local serial killer, they unearth some deeply unsettling truths.

While the repeated appearance of Bergerac in a particularly grim episode of an international and widely appraised mystery-thriller show might seem out of place, it has more to do with the events of the episode than at first seems...

What is Bergerac?

Created by producer Robert Banks Stewart, the show premiered on BBC in October 1981 and ran for nine seasons, finally ending after a special Christmas episode in December 1991.

At the height of its popularity, it attracted an audience of nearly 15 million viewers.

Several news sites, such as Entertainment Weekly, had to reassure answer-hungry viewers of Black Mirror that Bergerac was, indeed, a real show.

It's about, as the news site summarised, "a policeman and recovering alcoholic who lives on the photogenic island of Jersey, a self-governing British dependent situated off the coast of France."

Yes, but what's it doing in 'Loch Henry'?

According to film critic website Den of Geek, the John Nettles-starring crime show is a "perfect" reference for the episode.

Not only is it a "cultural shorthand for tweeness", Den of Geek's Louisa Mellor said, but "its cosy crime genre makes an apt contrast with today's true crime documentaries" – which the episode interrogates.

The real contents of Davis's mother's supposedly harmless Bergerac VHS tapes is aptly the major twist of the episode...

Referencing Bergerac also addresses the ethics of making true crime documentaries, exploring our attraction to the darkest and most depraved real-life stories.

Entertainment Weekly further claims: "Brooker is commenting on how televisual habits have changed over past few decades, as audiences have gotten accustomed to, and now demand, seemingly ever more outre material."

However, there could also be other reasons for the choice of Bergerac, which only a Jersey viewer might pick up on...

The episode, which is set in a rural Scottish community, focuses on the impact of a declining tourism industry and comments on the nature of isolated or small communities: two themes which might ring a bell for Islanders.

For anyone who has seen the episode, let's just hope that Jersey does not bear too many similarities to 'Loch Henry'...

Isn't there a re-boot in the works?

Pictured: Brian Constantine, CEO of Westward Studios and Executive Producer for the Bergerac reboot.

News of an updated version of the popular island drama was first announced in February 2019.

While there is much speculation online, it seems we might never truly know the reason for the episode's references to Bergerac – but the hunt for answers is always the pull of mystery-thriller Black Mirror, so it seems somewhat appropriate.