The candidates standing for election. From left to right: Labour Candidate Gwendolyn Harris (Chloe Pirrie); Liberal Democrat candidate Conor Simpson (James Lance); Conservative candidate Liam Monroe (Tobias Menzies); animated blue bear Waldo; Waldo operator Jamie (Daniel Rigby); producer Tamsin (Christina Chong).
Episode no.
Series 2 Episode 3
Directed by
Bryn Higgins
Written by
Charlie Brooker
Original air date
25 February 2013 (2013-02-25)
Running time
44 minutes
Guest appearances
Daniel Rigby as Jamie Salter
Chloe Pirrie as Gwendolyn Harris
Jason Flemyng as Jack Napier
Tobias Menzies as Liam Monroe
Christina Chong as Tamsin
James Lance as Conor Simpson
Ed Gaughan as Shaun
Pip Torrens as Philip Crane
David Ajala as Jeff Carter
Michael Shaeffer as Roy
Episode chronology
← Previous "White Bear"
Next → "White Christmas"
List of episodes
"The Waldo Moment" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction anthology television series Black Mirror. It was written by series creator and showrunner Charlie Brooker and directed by Bryn Higgins, and first aired on Channel 4 on 25 February 2013. The episode originated in an idea for Nathan Barley, an earlier TV show by Brooker and Chris Morris.
The episode tells the story of Jamie Salter (Daniel Rigby), an unhappy comedian who plays a blue animated bear called Waldo in a satirical television programme. After a politician he interviewed—Liam Monroe (Tobias Menzies)—enters a by-election to become member of parliament, Waldo stands as a candidate. Meanwhile, Jamie and another candidate Gwendolyn Harris (Chloe Pirrie) develop feelings for each other. Waldo's popularity continues to rise, but Jamie becomes increasingly discontented with the role he is playing.
The episode is in contrast to other Black Mirror episodes with its contemporary setting; it explores public distrust of politicians. Initially based in part on the politician and future British prime minister Boris Johnson, the character of Waldo was widely compared to business magnate Donald Trump following his successful 2016 campaign to become President of the United States. The episode was considered by critics to be very poor in comparison to other Black Mirror episodes, with criticisms made of its reliance on tropes and its ending. The characters of Waldo and Jamie received mixed reception.
"TheWaldoMoment" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction anthology television series Black Mirror. It was written by...
Peace, the 2015 film Youth, the 2015 film Blood Cells and "TheWaldoMoment", a 2013 episode of Black Mirror. In 2015 she also co-starred in the Academy...
as the captain of the fictional HMS Bedford, the 2001 film To End All Wars, and voicework for Valiant. In 2013, Torrens appeared in "TheWaldoMoment",...
Porter in the crime drama Strike (2017) and Diana Mitford in the sixth series of Peaky Blinders (2022), both on BBC One. Her films include We Are the Freaks...
References". HWD. Retrieved 21 May 2019. "Black Mirror series 2 episode 3: TheWaldoMoment spoiler-filled review". Den of Geek. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 21...
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist,...
Comprehensive. Her mother was involved in the flour-bombing of the 1970 Miss World contest, the story of which is the subject of the 2020 film Misbehaviour. After...
her siblings were the only mixed-race children attending the local school. Chong started dancing at the age of four and attended the Sutcliffe School of...
2013). "Black Mirror series 2 episode 3: TheWaldoMoment spoiler-filled review". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved...
political reporter for The Washington Post, compared the 2016 Donald Trump political campaign to "TheWaldoMoment", a 2013 episode of the Black Mirror TV series;...
with the girls". On stage, Ajala has performed in Nation, A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Hamlet, and as Jim Brown in the European...
appeared in the series before, in "The National Anthem" and "TheWaldoMoment". As in "The National Anthem", a character is blackmailed into immoral acts...
told the BBC. "From the time I fancied a girl who played Dorothy in the school production of The Wizard of Oz. I auditioned for the role of the scarecrow...
attempts suicide in jail. Waldo of "TheWaldoMoment" is seen as a laptop sticker. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, which gave the episode an average score...
Detective Charlie Waldo returns to Los Angeles to investigate the murder of actor Alistair Pinch‘s wife. Initially unwilling to take the case, he agrees...
his leading role as Eric Morecambe in the 2011 BBC television film Eric and Ernie. He recently appeared in the Disney+ show Renegade Nell in 2024. Rigby...
O'Brien: The Best of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog featuring select Triumph appearances from Late Night.[citation needed] Ed the Sock TheWaldoMoment "Triumph...
University Press, pp. 75-88, ISBN 9789048528295. Littmann, Greg (2019), "TheWaldoMoment and Political Discourse: What's Wrong with Disrespect in Politics?"...
as "Longcross" in the BBC political-thriller television series Bodyguard (2018), Sergeant Yelland in the BBC mystery thriller The ABC Murders (2018)...
episode 2 (The Lying Detective) of the BBC TV series Sherlock, much in the same key. Scenes in series 2 episode 3 (TheWaldoMoment) of the Channel 4 TV...
was the bass & vocals of the band for the show The Rock-afire Explosion before it re-branded to Chuck E. Cheese's. Bing Dwen Dwen, the mascot of the 2022...
political reporter for The Washington Post, compared the 2016 Donald Trump political campaign to TheWaldoMoment, a 2013 episode of the Black Mirror TV series;...
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