Sense8

Gosh.

I couldn't get through the first three minutes without gagging on the cinematic melodrama.

Opening shot, interior: A giant abandoned cathedral, pan down to a woman in a horror-movie gauzy white gown lying on a stone slab, experiencing some gushy awakening experience for far too many seconds.

What the heck? This looks like some kind of pubescent vampire fantasy. I wonder if the special 'misunderstood' pretty people also 'sparkle'?

Skipped forward, stopping at several points...

A shot of over-dramatic young people talking about life. A shot of gushy dancer types prancing by in full body flutter costumes, cutting to over-dramatic young people talking about life again.

Hmm.

No. This looks like an extended perfume advertisement with more emphasis on put-on drama and fashion esthetics than anything solid and interesting. Who the heck made this flowery crap?

What? The Wachowski Bros. made this??? Good grief!

Phooey. I might need to grit my teeth and give this another try.

But I never much cared for their leather fetishism. Can't we face reality without also having to pretend we're in some neo-goth night club? That mood is something I've always associated with lavishly indulgent narcissistic nihilism, no more real or helpful or soul-strengthening than any other aspect of the Matrix theater fashion magazine dress-up "coolness" projected onto our world.

But, to be fair, I only saw about 4 minutes worth.
 
I gave the first episode another look.

It's much better than I had first assumed from my scatter-shot initial impressions. I don't know why exactly I was so pre-disposed to disliking it; it was gut-level.

Though, there's a fair bit of drug use and gay propaganda baked into it. I'm not sure I have the patience to see what the whole point is.

Maybe they're working on easing populations into the idea of psychic connections, (well, obviously), but in ways which are sort of in tune with how things actually seem to work and which I can sort of relate to, (though everything I experience has a lot less cinematic ka-pow).

Interestingly, my initial reaction to the first Matrix film was very negative as well. That worries me a bit and I've not sorted out exactly what it is that caused that response. The stay-asleep/predator part of my mind getting angry, or something else?
 
skycsil said:
I definitely think the Wachowski read this forum!
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I have wondered about this!!

I'm going to check the show out tonight thanks for mentioning :)
 
Woodsman said:
Gosh.

I couldn't get through the first three minutes without gagging on the cinematic melodrama.

Opening shot, interior: A giant abandoned cathedral, pan down to a woman in a horror-movie gauzy white gown lying on a stone slab, experiencing some gushy awakening experience for far too many seconds.

What the heck? This looks like some kind of pubescent vampire fantasy. I wonder if the special 'misunderstood' pretty people also 'sparkle'?

Skipped forward, stopping at several points...

A shot of over-dramatic young people talking about life. A shot of gushy dancer types prancing by in full body flutter costumes, cutting to over-dramatic young people talking about life again.

Hmm.

No. This looks like an extended perfume advertisement with more emphasis on put-on drama and fashion esthetics than anything solid and interesting. Who the heck made this flowery crap?

What? The Wachowski Bros. made this??? Good grief!

Phooey. I might need to grit my teeth and give this another try.

But I never much cared for their leather fetishism. Can't we face reality without also having to pretend we're in some neo-goth night club? That mood is something I've always associated with lavishly indulgent narcissistic nihilism, no more real or helpful or soul-strengthening than any other aspect of the Matrix theater fashion magazine dress-up "coolness" projected onto our world.

But, to be fair, I only saw about 4 minutes worth.
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LOL I personally loved reading the above... You made very valid points... :D

Woodsman said:
Interestingly, my initial reaction to the first Matrix film was very negative as well. That worries me a bit and I've not sorted out exactly what it is that caused that response. The stay-asleep/predator part of my mind getting angry, or something else?
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I don't think it's anything to be worried about, just as long as you don't become an art snob who looks down upon the rabble...
 
The beginning is pretty confusing and not very interesting - I guess introducing 8 people in 8 different parts of the world has that effect. But later on, it gets excellent at times. Especially when they are helping each other with their particular skills.
 
Hi, I watched the first 3 episodes and was positive surprised about the outcome.
As woodsman on the beginning said it was little boring to get to the point, what is the movie about.
Later I was literally strike with the sex scenes, "a la Game of Trones" .
I will see how it develops in the next episodes.
 
I am quite taken by this series. There is so much going on, but it is done very well, IMO. I usually do not like movies/shows that focus on multiple people because they all generally are not able to dig very deep into the personalities and histories of the characters, but this one is different. The writing is phenomenal, the acting is great, and the idea and mystery behind it is fascinating. I highly recommend it.

I do think that there is too much gratuitous sex, I mean, come on guys, really?? One of the opening scenes is of lesbian sex and then showing their 'leavings'. That was a bit much. But the show seems to have moved past most of the gratuity into more relative character and plot building by episodes 4 & 5 (there are still some instances, but they seem more pivotal to the plot).

It is very moving the way the characters are able to use each one's own special talents to help themselves through their difficulties, even though they don't even understand what is going on yet. And, the scene where they are all singing "What's Going On" was absolutely beautiful. It brought a tear to my eye. It reminded me of singing my heart out at a karaoke fest with friends and loved ones doing the same. I just wanted to get up and dance and sing with the characters :)
Come to think of it, "What's Going On" by 4 Non Blondes would make an exceptional karaoke song! :P
 
CNS said:
I am quite taken by this series. There is so much going on, but it is done very well, IMO. I usually do not like movies/shows that focus on multiple people because they all generally are not able to dig very deep into the personalities and histories of the characters, but this one is different. The writing is phenomenal, the acting is great, and the idea and mystery behind it is fascinating. I highly recommend it.

I do think that there is too much gratuitous sex, I mean, come on guys, really?? One of the opening scenes is of lesbian sex and then showing their 'leavings'. That was a bit much. But the show seems to have moved past most of the gratuity into more relative character and plot building by episodes 4 & 5 (there are still some instances, but they seem more pivotal to the plot).

It is very moving the way the characters are able to use each one's own special talents to help themselves through their difficulties, even though they don't even understand what is going on yet. And, the scene where they are all singing "What's Going On" was absolutely beautiful. It brought a tear to my eye. It reminded me of singing my heart out at a karaoke fest with friends and loved ones doing the same. I just wanted to get up and dance and sing with the characters :)
Come to think of it, "What's Going On" by 4 Non Blondes would make an exceptional karaoke song! :P
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Well I thought that beginning was deliberately slow to get into the difficulties in the protagonists lives, like guilt, shame, self doubt etc. Also knowing what the Wachowski's were trying to do with their first outing in to tv storytelling, & the subject matter, I expected it so I wasn't really bored by it. I must be the only one to be a bit thrown with the amount of vibrant colours (like the opening credits) in the show, I'm usually expecting some dark sombre tones from them LOL. I've read comments saying that the multi-character thing has been done better by plenty of other shows. I'm assuming that these refer to some super hero story or... Game of Thrones.

Also I'm not bothered by the sex in that show either. It's set in fictional medieval times & there's a lot of brothels with all sorts of pathological types interacting with supposed protagonists with funny dialogue.

Back to sense8. I found it moving for sure. The sex was too much in places especially when they had an "overload" which had my brain temporarily scrambled thinking of just minding my own business, then suddenly experiencing multiple couples "ecstasy." But it did steadily move on from it thankfully.

The "talent hijacking" of other cluster members is the obvious hook which worked better towards the end of the series. I do think that that "Dr whispers" character is a little overpowered. He's got some Medusa-like powers which doesn't bode well for any future encounters. I must admit, I was singing along with the "What's Going On" part too! I think the show displayed a lot of empathy. In the end, it seems that those who stuck with the show, whilst not really understanding it, were pleased with it & wanted more. I'm interested to see the progression of this show (especially as towards the end one character practically says that the world is run by psychopaths!) & the writers say they have 5 seasons of the story (not necessarily the script) "in our heads." I would recommend it for those that can get past the initial episodic "sex-athon."
 
I watched the first episode last night and found it quite interesting.

I also noticed how each of the main characters had friends/ colleagues that were acting as enemies/agents of the matrix.
For example the police man who's partner was taking the micky out of him for having the visions. And the blonde girl who's friends ended up being very dodgy and getting her involved in the drug killing.
It reminded me of the idea of OP's how they are inserted in people's lives, more so when they are seeking...
 
I have been watching this and I must say I'm really enjoying the concepts being presented, some of the ideas.."brothers by choice not blood" "I am we" "lambic resonance", the way the control system kicks in to prevent things from happening, these have all really clicked!

the sex stuff to me is like.."meh... It's TV" it's like the love story of Jupiter Ascending, it was the least important thing in a movie (almost inconsequential) that presented life on earth as part of an industry of beings who are just as greedy and manipulative as our own 3D leaders are, but I have also been thinking that, maybe they're trying to kill the taboo of it, in real life sex is everywhere and is also an aspect that influences our interactions with others, maybe a bit over the top but I sort of just don't pay attention to it, I don't think it makes the show any worse, but that's only my opinion.

If you're sensitive to explicit sexual scenes, this series might make you uncomfortable.

Overall the underlying message has been extremely interesting!

Alejo
 
We finished this series last night and really enjoyed it! Yea the sex scenes were a bit much at times but the show kept getting better with each episode IMO. My thoughts are pretty much in line with CNS and others. It reminded me of the network/forum which was very refreshing especially sense it wasn't all fun and games AND if the members of the cluster didn't practice some form of strategic enclosure they would open themselves up to some awkward yet comical experiences while they 'visited' each other. Lol.

****spoiler****
For me the scene that almost made me cry was when 'van dam' was remembering when he had to surrender his little sister to a children's home because they were struggling to survive.

P.S. I too think the Mr. Whispers guy is overpowered. Really? They will probably have to balance that out by somehow allowing the cluster to start mental blocking or something along those lines. Overall great show.
 
I've started watching this series as well, and agree with several of the comments above. The sex aspect is pretty in-your-face in the beginning (I'm on the fifth episode), but you can't say that they haven't shown nearly every possible gender combination. I find Nomi's character a bit annoying, only because I feel that she gets a bit of special treatment in the writing, possibly because she's a semi-autobiographical reference to Lana Wachowski's life and experience. I also wonder to what degree the Wachowskis are consciously aware of the depth of some of the concepts they explore, and to what extent they may just be really good 'receivers'.

One thing I noticed were a couple of roundabout references to Lost, i.e. the casting of Naveen Andrews and the creation of another Korean character named Sun Paek (백선). I don't know if that's intentional or not (Paek is a very common Korean surname), but Lost was another ambitious multi-character show that seemed to give hints about how reality really works 'behind the curtain'.
 
Shijing said:
The sex aspect is pretty in-your-face in the beginning (I'm on the fifth episode), but you can't say that they haven't shown nearly every possible gender combination.
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You might skip episode 6, it's just one of those "WTH am I watching" moments.

Spoiler:

Wasn't impressed by the series. It's very slow, and whenever there is a gap in the "script", it's something like: Hey, we still need ten minutes of footage, let's throw some transdimensional orgy there.
The impression I got was that the whole season was an introduction to the next season. It only becomes a little interesting towards the latest episodes where some of the characters deal with their past and share about their own lives as way to help the others.
One interesting thing is how the DJ girl, not having dealt with past traumas, puts the whole group in danger. She was the secretive one who didn't share about herself. The evil professor, acting as a mind virus predator is interesting too. We don't know anything about him or his motivations. However, the characters of the "cluster", since they are just being born to their new reality, not knowing the extant and limitations of their new abilities, are like new babies born into a new world, easy preys to that predator. It takes only their collective effort, and sharing different bits of knowledge from their respective lives, to overcome the danger.
The series would have been a good movie if the good moments here and there where condensed and the whole superfluous nonsense was thrown out.
OSIT
 
I watched the first 30 minutes tonight and will continue at another time. A show that takes time to get into I think and didn't have the patience this evening. I cut out after the first sex scene :zzz: . I'm also tired of all the sex that's thrown into everything these days, yawn. Its right up there with long boring car chases. Fast forward if you can.

This is what caught my attention in what I watched.

One thing I noticed were a couple of roundabout references to Lost, i.e. the casting of Naveen Andrews and the creation of another Korean character named Sun Paek (백선). I don't know if that's intentional or not (Paek is a very common Korean surname), but Lost was another ambitious multi-character show that seemed to give hints about how reality really works 'behind the curtain'
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A few actors from Lost are back and it was good to see then since I loved that show. Definitely made a connection for me in some obscure way.
 
mkrnhr said:
You might skip episode 6, it's just one of those "WTH am I watching" moments.
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Thanks for the heads-up, mkrnhr -- given how they've been pushing the envelope already up until episode 5, I can only imagine. If I do decide to watch it, I'll brace myself :shock:
 
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