Sense8

I really enjoyed the pilot episode. I didn't find it disorienting because of the number of characters but, rather, due to the cutting technique they used. It works though because the characters themselves are confused. As you said, it shows a lot of potential.

I was just thinking about starting a thread! My husband and I binge-watched it over the weekend. It took some time for some of the characters to win us over (there's one in particular that we never ended up liking), and the plot is all but non-existent until the last third, but the characters and storylines we did like, plus the mystery elements kept us hooked. It also tries to sell some of the more cerebral aspects too hard. It's not that it takes itself too seriously, there's some humor and it's great, but I don't know, it seems like some of the monologues are supposed to come across as a lot more profound than they actually are? That said, I think the premise is awesome, and it's made even better by having a diverse cast to really capitalize on the possibilities.

It's not perfect, but it's very ambitious and I respect what it's trying to do. I hope it gets some traction.

I am a few episodes in and enjoying it. A bit more full frontal nudity than I was expecting!

It's on our list. I think after what I read in this thread I will give it a go!

Isn't this the show written by JMS of B5?

if so, he loves a good monologue for sure.

Yep. It's him and the Wachowskis, so we had a feeling it was going to be both philosophical and action-y. I wouldn't say it's action-packed since there's a lot of sitting around and ruminating, but we thought all of the action sequences were great.

We binged it over two days. What mainly kept us going was the burning question "When is something going to happen?"

I found the overall story interesting but the glacial pacing really had me frustrated on several occasions. (The fact that they had the nerve to film so many scenes in slo-mo was a real slap in the face!) And of course, Bjork had to be the Damsel in distress because what exactly does she bring to the cluster anyway? 'My special power is I smoke hash and play records!' I suppose the contributions of the Mexican heartthrob and the Nairobi van driver could also be questioned, even if the writers did manage to shoehorn them into the climax.

Even with his questionable contributions, Lito's lapdance was a highlight. And Capheus was the most engaging character.

I'll definitely watch S2, but I'm not longing for it to get here.

Yeah, we never liked Riley. I get that's she's profoundly depressed because Tragic Incident, but I kept waiting for her to do something other than drugs and listening to music. But no. Even when she's talking with the other sensates, she doesn't contribute much to the conversation.

We had to stretch ourselves to believe that Lito's skill is basically Awesome Bluff Checks, but it's so awesome when it happens that we found ourselves not minding its limited applications.

Capheus is one of our favorites. Again, limited applications for his skill set, but he's SUCH A NICE GUY. He doesn't link up with someone just to vent his problems. He's always got something encouraging to say to THEM. He's easily got the best attitude.

Dreity said:

Capheus is one of our favorites. Again, limited applications for his skill set, but he's SUCH A NICE GUY. He doesn't link up with someone just to vent his problems. He's always got something encouraging to say to THEM. He's easily got the best attitude.

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Yes, they should have figured some way for Riley to at least help the others figure things out while they were "visiting".

My favorite scene--other than the lapdance and the cluster-orgy, which, let's face it, were really pandering--was Nomi's escape from her girlfriend's mother's apartment. When Will and Sun and Capheus were helping her. That should have been the template for all the body-swapping action scenes: Will explaining exactly how they were about to handcuff her and Sun saying "Stay calm..." I was on the edge of my seat.

Seen episode 1, I'll try episode 2, but I'm not overly excited.

JohnnyGottaKeyboard said:

Yes, they should have figured some way for Riley to at least help the others figure things out while they were "visiting".

My favorite scene--other than the lapdance and the cluster-orgy, which, let's face it, were really pandering--was Nomi's escape from her girlfriend's mother's apartment. When Will and Sun and Capheus were helping her. That should have been the template for all the body-swapping action scenes: Will explaining exactly how they were about to handcuff her and Sun saying "Stay calm..." I was on the edge of my seat.

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Oh my gosh, yes. That was an awesome, awesome scene.

"I don't know how to drive!"

"I do. *grins*"

Dreity said:

Oh my gosh, yes. That was an awesome, awesome scene.

"I don't know how to drive!"

"I do. *grins*"

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I might have had a whiff of that at the end of episode three, when Capheus beats the living shit out of the muggers.

I'm gonna watch the rest of it.

I think we just finished episode 9. It feels really uneven, but overall I am having a good time.

There was one episode that was just sort of milquetoast until the climax, which felt forced by the style and format they're going for. I think it was the one that ends in the car chase. But overall this show is slow, slow building.

Just finished watching the season.

I guess tv has finally caught up to science fiction novels of sixty years ago. I know Straczynski is an Alfred Bester fan; the story has obvious echoes of The Demolished Man, but also strongly reminds one of Sturgeon's More Than Human.

The antagonist character Whispers has used the aliases Dr. Matheson and Dr. Ellison; I wonder if we'll get Dr. van Vogt, maybe Dr. Silverberg? They've also written significant novels dealing with relevant subjects (though the best short story about telepathy I know of, "Journey's End", was by Poul Anderson).

There's some stupid tv-type writing (like it being ridiculously easy to get somebody out of a supposedly secure medical facility; or being able to have a shootout and blow up a car with a LAWS rocket in Berlin without any interference from the police; or people with vital information being needlessly cryptic instead of just clearly explaining things; or computer hacking being almost magical).

Either Straczynski or the fight choreographer must genuinely be a fan of Conan the Barbarian; some actions by Sun in the big machete-related fight scene directly mirror actions of Sandahl Bergman's character in that movie.

Plenty of bad science, of course, some of it central to the premise. But one expects that.

As with the Wachoswkis' grossly overrated The Matrix, there's way too much emphasis on shootouts and fistfights, which are entertaining but unimaginative. But still, overall, I found it engrossing.

I just finished episode 3 here. I didn't watch the trailer until AFTER I saw episode 3 (and the trailer pretty much explains the pieces I'm missing). But, I was cool up until then. The characters were super captivating.

Love seeing Martha from Dr. Who and Matt from SGU.

I'm totally invested now and will definitely watch through to the end of the season.

Van DAMN indeed! I always like to put my money on the skinny chicks.

CrastersBabies said:

...Matt from SGU.

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Wait. Which character/actor was in SGU?

I was completely hooked on this season, slow burn/bad science & security aside. I want to go back and watch just for the fight scenes. And the music was captivating. Wish there was a soundtrack at iTunes, but alas, it doesn't seem so.

Matt! LINK
of Matt and Chloe

CrastersBabies said:

Matt! LINK
of Matt and Chloe

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Aaaaaah! No wonder I liked Will automatically. Thanks!

Yeah! I've seen the actor in a few other things and always liked him. His character was one of my favorites in Sense8 because he was actively trying to work things out.