Series 2/5, Great concept, questionable directing
Eight individuals across the world discover they can connect with each other telepathically and share both their senses and their knowledge, while an evil corporation is hunting them down. Sense8's elevator pitch sounds great, and with its unique blend of sci-fi, action and philosophy, the Wachowskis seem like a shoe-in.
So where does Sense8 go wrong? First and foremost, the pacing is atrocious. Each sensate has their own major character arc that is completely separate from the rest, because they all live in different locations in the world. This ranges from Kala's Bollywood romance to Sun's corporate embezzlement scandal to Lito's woes of a macho actor who's actually gay. These character subplots actually take up so much screentime they completely overshadow the main storyline. Not only does the plot of the sensates being hunted down have to compete with a whopping *eight* other story threads, it also ends up as the least developed one at that. The main villain's presence is hardly felt throughout the entire season and his notable appearances can be counted on one hand. This is a problem when the season adds up to 10 hours of screentime. Can there be such a thing as too much character backstory? Apparently, yes.
The result is an overly-ambitious show that doesn't ever feel like it's going anywhere. Most of the sensates have little interest in exploring their abilities because they simply have more pressing things going on in their lives, be it a career-ending blackmail attempt, the heist of the century or one of the many, many romantic subplots. This lack of moderation is made all the more poignant by the plethora of 'shared' moments, which just loses all of its impact after the umpteenth scene of pathos or joy. The same can be said of its shock value. To say there's a lot of graphic sex, nudity and birth scenes (9 in total) in this show would be an understatement. All in scenes that last longer than they really should. Less is most definitely more.
Despite a great season finale, I can't really recommend this. Season 2 seems well-positioned for a great start, but then again: the Wachowskis had a full 10 hours to tell the first chapter of their story, which only turned out to be a prologue. There's a reason why people wanted Bilbo to leave the damn house already.
Series I like the cocks!
I like it when a tv show or movie shows you a character’s dick. I don’t actually get any kick out of it, understand, I just appreciate it when the directors expects me to be an adult who can handle the sight of a bit of man meat. We are going through a special time in television dramas, in which seemingly every big genre show has to include borderline pornographic displays of violence and nudity, and yet there is always this puerile hand wringing about depicting willys, as though that would be too gay or something. Sense8 is a show that will obligingly show you nudity and dicks. And also gaping vaginas with babies coming out of them. Brilliant!
Clearly inspired by Cloud Atlas’s take on the interpersonal, Sense8 is the Wachowski's story about eight people who share the ability to sense whatever one another is doing, even if they are on opposite sides of the earth. The show is happy to explore every possible implication of this super power, whether it is a woman feeling the rain of Berlin whilst sunbathing in Mumbai, or a male actor feeling someone else's period pains, or an accidental orgy felt over five continents. It’s refreshing to see a sci-fi concept be so thoroughly explored.
Plot wise, the whole thing is schlock. Besides the superpower conceit, you have evil billionaire conspiracies with mind controlling villains, you have guys carrying bazookas, and regular impromptu martial arts battles. On a technical level, the show is vibrant and nicely put together. Being the Wachowskis, there has to be some decent fight choreography in there too. The 8 characters are all interesting and distinct, and in a primarily character driven show, that’s important.
Ultimately, Sense8 is something of a slow burner that takes a little too long to get to the meat of the story, and when it gets there, it is still this patently absurd action/thriller romp. But it is very pretty, very interesting, and very unusual - which are three very good reasons to give this show a try.
Series The Stranger in a Strange Land of our generation
Bear with me. I'm sure I've already pissed off a lot of science fiction nerds with that title alone. Stranger, by SF kingpin Robert A. Heinlein, is widely considered one of the best SF novels of all time, while Sense 8, directed by the Wachowski siblings, is a flawed production with a mixed critical reception.
So allow me to be the first to say that I don't consider Stranger a masterpiece. I consider it a flawed novel that had so many rough spots I couldn't make it entirely through my first reading. However, it had some important things to say about humanity, especially human sexuality. Although it suffers from Values Dissonance now due to its less-than-savory stances on homosexuality and female sexuality, it was Fair for Its Day in that it helped a whole generation of readers believe that human love, both physical and emotional, transcends the limitations of monogamy, marriage, and race, and is in fact something deeply spiritual. Sense 8 is this message improved upon, reminding us that love and empathy also transcends sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
If it seems like I'm talking about sex a lot in this review, well, there's a reason for that outside of me being a pervert. This is a very sexual show. In the first episode alone you get to see a lesbian using a rainbow-colored strap on to have sex with her transgender girlfriend, followed quickly by a scene where closeted gay actor Lito is seduced by an actress wearing a nun outfit. It's safe to say you don't want to recommend this show to, you know, that relative, and you most certainly don't want to watch this with your parents.
And yes it suffers flaws, flaws very similar to the flaws found in Stranger. The writing can be lackluster, the characters can become over abundant and stale, and a lot of the time, when something erotic isn't happening, the characters sit around and engage in some Navel-Gazing. But ultimately, I think Sense 8 is worth watching. In the end it has a very positive and uplifting message about the unity of humanity and the transcendence of love and empathy. This is best exemplified in a scene in episode 4 where the Sensates all join together in a beautifully done scene to sing "What's Up" by 4 Non-Blondes. And who couldn't love something like that?
Series What works, /works/.
Sense8's hardly been on for a week and it's already gotten some pretty polarizing reviews. I can see why — the pacing is slow, the exposition is vague when it comes (which isn't often) and keeping track of the Loads and Loads of Characters is hard work (I had to keep the Wikipedia page open in order to do so). It doesn't help that the show wants you to get to know its eight somewhat stereotypical protagonists before the plot gets rolling, which takes around the first 4 episodes. I can say pretty confidently that it's not a show for everyone.
But the loads of characters become a strength as the show finds its footing — Sense8 is extremely character-driven, and the character work is its main strength. You find yourself starting to root for them and cheer every occasion where they step in for one another as their bond strengthens. Yes, the characters are stereotypical, but they're far more fleshed out than that, and all of them clearly grow over the first season. (It's also one of the most diverse series out there right now, which is a bonus.)
The visuals are also a treat, the viewer's treated to vibrant images of each sensate's city. The supporting cast pulls its weight too — the villains are aptly mysterious and pose real threats and the protagonists' social circles have their on Ensemble Darkhorses.
It's definitely flawed — the dialogue can come off as trite and clunky (except for Lito's, where it's justified), some of the clustermates aren't as developed or spotlighted compared to the others, certain characters had clunky characterization, and the whole thing sets out to be global in mindset but still reeks of white male perspective note , but it's nothing that can't be fixed in future seasons when the show has a better grip on itself.
And what works works astoundingly well. In that, it's reminiscent of the Wachowskis' Cloud Atlas — the storylines are a mess at first, but near the end it turned into a soaring celebration of humanity and what we could accomplish together.
Series Season 2
Sense8 is back, After a compelling, if slightly ridiculous first season. I don't recall a damn thing about what happened before, and there doesn't seem to be any kind of recap. What I do remember is that there are 8 protagonists ("sensates") who can share their consciousness between one another for no reason. I also remember there being a villain called Whispers, another sensate who works for an evil organisation and wants to kill the heroes for some reason. I've finished season 2 and I'm still not sure what that reason is. I also haven't figured out why the heroes don't just kill him, considering they kill dozens of other people throughout the show, and it would solve most of their problems if they off the one guy who can track them down and torture them to death.
The story is the weakest point of Sense8. It has to juggle eight distinct stories at once, and whilst it does that fairly well, it has a habit of going completely bananas. One thread ends with a Korean kickboxer in her underpants, chasing her murdering brother across town on a motorbike whilst using a length of rebar as a lance. It makes for good action, but how we got to that point is complete nonsense. Then there is the meta-plot, which suggests of a secret war between evil secret labs and the sensates (who now see themselves as a separate species from humans, despite that not being how taxonomy works). The show can be a little too self-serious, in comparison to the daft premise and gonzo action. As a consequence, it tends to get very hammy, such as in one scene where two sensates are having a fist fight; the Wackowski sisters thought it would look cool and dramatic to have 12 other characters standing in the room, all reacting to each punch in synchronisation. It doesn't. There is a bit of promise when troublesome new "clusters" of sensates are introduced, lead by a megalomaniac, Italian sex bomb, but sadly this arc appears to have been reserved for a third season which we will probably never get to see.
Sense8 still looks a treat though, with lavish settings and an eye for big, dramatic spaces. The fight scenes themselves are also (for the most part) well choreographed, and must cost a goddamn fortune to make. I'm in two minds about whether to recommend the second season. If you really enjoyed the first, you'll get plenty out of the second and then be stranded on a cliff hanger that will never be resolved. If you were largely indifferent, there probably isn't enough here to justify your time.