12

In the British anthology series Black Mirror, the season 3 episode, San Junipero, features a nostalgic 80's-inspired reality with a lot of references to many things characteristically and/or pop-culturally 80's. The two main characters spend a good chunk during the first part of the story, getting to know each other at a bar or nightclub called, Tucker's.

exterior

interior

Now maybe Tucker's is just a pun on 'being tucked away', but I was wondering if the name Tuckers was in any other way significant possibly referencing something specific like film, a character, arcade game, a place from the 1980's?

Improve this question
9
  • 1
    Good Q, love the ep and wish I had an answer that won't rely on a few unsubstantiated guesses. – Walt Oct 20 '17 at 17:39
  • I totally would love to here your guesses--if you feel so inclined, would be cool to drop some ideas in the comments!? – Darth Locke Oct 20 '17 at 17:53
  • 10
    OK, well, the in-universe reason for the name is probably that the VR company that created this realm is TCKR Systems; This is somewhat supported by the fact that one of the songs in the soundtrack is called 'Property Of Tucker Systems'. – Walt Oct 20 '17 at 18:04
  • 5
    But the out of universe reason is a bit of a stretch, and not very interesting: Brooker did work with a producer called Dan Tucker in a couple of projects about interactive games; Tucker seems to be somewhat of a VR expert. But I can't find Brooker even mentioning Dan anywhere. And as for it being a reference for something else, I'm stumped. – Walt Oct 20 '17 at 18:06
  • Cool! Thanks for taking the time--I had not thought to look at the SDTK! And didn't know that about Dan Tucker either. I'm curious to research what some of those projects were! :) PS: I love the episode too! – Darth Locke Oct 20 '17 at 18:15
3

It probably references the name of the VR company that stores their consciousnesses at the end.

In this clip, you can see from an exterior shot showing a sign that the name of the VR company is TCKR. "Tucker's" is probably an extension of that.

In terms of 1980's culture, there is a 1988 movie called "Tucker: the Man and His Dream," a biopic about a 1940s automobile manufacturer. Probably a stretch that it references that. There was also a country singer in the 1980s named Tanya Tucker, though the episode's decidedly non-country soundtrack probably rules that out as a source of inspiration as well.

Improve this answer
3

ruffdove's answer is likely correct that, within the episode's scope, the bar's name is a reference to San Junipero's company's name. But there is more going on here than just that. "Tucker" is a commonly used name in the Black Mirror universe.

  • Playtest - TCKR Systems is mentioned in an article about putting nostalgia in a game.
  • San Junipero - TCKR Systems runs the San Junipero project.
  • Metalhead - Logo seen on a van
  • Black Museum - Most of the stories revolve around TCKR Systems' technologies.
  • Bandersnatch - The company is called Tuckersoft
  • Striking Vipers - TCKR Systems developed the VR technology for the game being played.

Wiki with references to TCKR in many episodes. Second link with more.

While Black Mirror is obviously light on the continuity, since it's an anthology series, there's an implied thread here:

  • Company Tuckersoft, in the 1980s, created Bandersnatch
  • Company Callister Inc, in the future, makes a VR-style game using the technology seen in San Junipero. It is revealed that this technology is new and unfamiliar to people
  • Company TCKR Systems, in the further future, is the company behind San Junipero and similar VR-device experiences. Here, people are commonly aware of the technology.

Given that Callister Inc is creating a video game (of sorts) like Tuckersoft did, and lies at the basis of the VR technology that TCKR Systems later uses. There seems to be a clear progressions here, where the development of games leads to VR technology which in turn leads to non-gaming-related usages of the VR tech.

I'm surprised Callister Inc was not named after something "Tuckery", though since this is the advent of the "white knob" VR technology, it may not have been planned to be such a recurring feature initially.

According to this Reddit comment, "Tucker" is a censoring of the word "Fucker", which Charlie Brooker (the creator of Black Mirror) wanted to name companies in the Black Mirror universe, but wasn't allowed for obvious reasons.

I cannot find further corroboration of this claim, but I have seen several appearances of Charlie Brooker in interviews etc. and I would say it fits with his general attitude. I consider this plausible but not proven.

Improve this answer
2
  • Doff chapeau. Outstanding answer. – ruffdove Jan 28 at 0:33
  • @Walt also mentions Ruffdove's answer in the comments, meaning he beat everyone there, but he never made it an answer. I did 1+ Ruffdove straight away, but was just waiting a few days to see if other answers or contradictions arose, before I checked it off. – Darth Locke Jan 28 at 14:23

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .