Fifteen Million Merits 

In a world where people's lives consist of riding exercise bikes to gain credits, Bing tries to help a woman get on to a singing competition show.

Director:

Euros Lyn

Writers:

Charlie Brooker, Konnie Huq (as Kanak Huq)

Stars:

Daniel Kaluuya, Jessica Brown Findlay, Rupert Everett

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Kaluuya	...	Bingham 'Bing' Madsen
Jessica Brown Findlay	...	Abi Khan
Rupert Everett	...	Judge Hope
Julia Davis	...	Judge Charity
Ashley Thomas	...	Judge Wraith
Paul Popplewell	...	Dustin
Isabella Laughland	...	Swift
David Fynn	...	Oliver
Colin Michael Carmichael	...	Kai (as Colin Carmichael)
Hannah John-Kamen	...	Selma Telse
Kerrie Hayes	...	Glee
Eugene O'Hare	...	Hammond
Jaimi Barbakoff	...	Anna
Merce Ribot	...	Big Shot Registration Lady
Matthew Burgess	...	Botherguts Host

Storyline

In this alternate, future reality, Bing and thousands of others must ride exercise bikes for hours a day to earn "merits", credits that can be used to purchase basic necessities as well as novelty items. They are surrounded by televisions playing mindless entertainment all day long, including TV shows that mock the odd overweight citizen who cannot work, a lot of pornography...and a talent show similar to the real-world Got Talent franchise. When Bing meets, Abi, a woman with a talent for singing, he believes she can win the competition and earn a better life. However, after he makes sacrifice upon sacrifice to get her to the show, she is degraded and harassed by the judges and audience, who offer her a choice: start a career in pornography...or go back to being a slave. Her choice inspires a revelation in Bing, who begins to see the cruel injustice of the world in which he lives, and he is determined to change it...no matter what the cost.

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Plot Keywords:

human powered electrical generator | exercise bicycle | apple | watching pornography | playing a video game | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the second in the running order, this was the first episode to be written.

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Goofs

At 13:35 when Bing washes his hands in the bathroom his merit counter initially shows 15,142,745. Instead of counting down from this value it immediately jumps up to 15,142,755 and proceeds on a programmed sequence to count back down to its starting value.

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Quotes

Bing: I liked your singing the other day.
Abi: I was trying to sing so no one could hear me pee.

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Crazy Credits

Merce Ribot was wrongly credited as "'Big Shot' Registration Lady" (it should say 'Hot Shot').

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Connections

Featured in Jeremy Vine: Episode #2.175 (2019)

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Soundtracks

Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)
Written by Irma Thomas
Performed by Irma Thomas
Also performed by Jessica Brown Findlay

User Reviews

What was that?

Whatever it was, it nearly made me suffocate with holding my breath.

You know that feeling you get, that almost nausea, that exhilarating terror when you take the plunge over a roller-coaster loop, that feeling of stretching out a finger to barely touch something transcendental, that white blank feeling you get when you've hit ground zero and the truth is there, almost there...

No?

I've had that feeling before. I almost can't quite remember when, just that the enormity of feeling something like that couldn't possibly be contained in a memory.

This makes no sense, does it?

I don't know - but tell me you didn't feel something rare when you watched Bing nearly commit cultural, political and physical suicide on that stage. I've never seen anything that's managed to depress and stimulate me at once. I've never seen anything that raw and human. Not for a long time.

Watch it?

And transcribe the end speech. I would have that tattOOED.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 December 2011 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zeppotron, Channel 4 Television Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD