Alright, this was supposed to be a live blog of the new Wachowski series Sense8, but as it turns out, it took a lot for me to watch three episodes. So here it is: the show sucks.
Look, I don’t want to get into if the Wachowskis have lost their touch or how it’s nearly as much of a mess as “Jupiter Ascending,” because I’m fairly sure there are people out there who have far more expertise in both those subjects than I. What I can tell you, watching this from the perspective of someone who is normally very easily entertained, is that the show has a lot of problems in the first three episodes, making it incredibly difficult to continue watching. Like for example:
1. Exposition
One of the most important things in any form of media is exposition and how to pace yourself with it. This series teases you with pieces of information, and then unloads a whole bunch of it at you at once. It’s f*cking maddening and hard to keep pace with. At the end of the first episode I had no idea what most of the characters’ names were. I could only identify them by profession or what’s worse, by sexual orientation, which by the way brings me to my next point…
2. Shock Value
There are a lot of shows that aren’t shy about sex, but in this case “Game of Thrones” feels like it’s PG-13 in comparison. I am by no means someone who is easily offended, but it felt like the first time we got to know anything about Nomi, it was to identify her as the “lesbian” character. In fact, her story is much more complex, which they illustrated beautifully later on. Something that makes me feel like the scene earlier was legitimately put there to shock the viewer and nothing else. There was a scene later on where sex was utilized well, illustrating the connection between sensates, and made more sense to me than the initial opening scene.
3. Cliffhanger Endings
Personally, if your series survives on nothing but really sharp cliffhangers, I want nothing to do with it. There’s ending an episode with questions, and there’s trying to make every episode feel like a season finale. It’s exhausting.
4. Philosophy
One of the traps the Wachowskis have always been guilty of is pushing what feels like personal philosophies through their writing or through the way a scene plays out. There are multiple scenes in which the characters are lost to whatever voice is being pushed out of them. Take for example, the DMT guy who literally explains the meaning of the first episode’s title to the audience. It doesn’t even feel like he’s talking to Riley and even worse, he’s throwing in pseudo-science mumbo jumbo to top it off. At some point with every conversation with this particular character, it doesn’t feel like he’s speaking at all. What’s worse is that it feels like the audience isn’t respected either, every philosophy spoken about in the show is explained to absolute death.
5. Cinematography
I actually have no complaints about this. As with every Wachowski production, the colors, lighting, and camera movements are precise and well done. If anything the show is worth watching for this alone.
There are more issues with this show I could point out. Every character falls into a stereotypical archetype, etc and so on. Frankly though, I’d rather spend my time re-watching Orange is the New Black and prepping for its return next week.
I’ve only watched the first 5 episodes so far, but I LOVE IT! Well-paced, with interesting (and beautiful) characters, fascinating ideas, and lovely visuals. I guess haters gonna hate.
Hi guys, sorry but what the f***ing (hell) is wrong with you? Obviously u did not understand it’s message?! I guess u are all talking out of the view of americans? I mean for me as someone, who lives in Germany, does make Sense8 totally sense!
I do not share the thoughts of Sara Parra.
What I personally would comment in the sence of “dislike” is the freedom of showing so badly hard sex! This is no go for me…
The whole show comes up like an picture, an oil painting of expressionism as the color of the films are or its lighting and camera movements. … just magnificant!
For more it is the first “show” which takes place at original Sets and it’s been shoot world-wide.
There is no existing show that comes up with it. …
Yes, I am a fan of SENSE8 and I love it.
In the last episode, the 12 one, your easily find matrix parts in the show… and the Wachowskis seem to find a way to “re-produce” Matrix on an other level. ….
This guys are geniuses!
the opening credits are better than the show ffs….and make as much sense, i cant even make it thru ep 3 either…. its a fail for me
I completely disagree with this review. You should know the Wachowschis. You should know what to expect and also you should expect that you will be seeing things that are unexpected. Lana Wachowschi is obviously going to put a lot of her influence into it. This review over analyzes what the story that is being told by nitpicking at things you’ve grown accustomed to in the big TV shows like GoT, BB, etc. This series is pure Straczynski and Wachowschi genius. It is art with a story behind it. And like art, it has to be appreciated without comparing it to other artists or genres. I don’t think the question here is, is the show good enough for general audiences? Maybe the question here is, are you the right person for this show?
“You should know the Wachowschis.” So if the viewer doesn’t, the show simply sucks.
No. That was my response to the article writer who already knew of the Wachowschis. And then had a lot to say about the show pretty detailing things that the Wachos do. If anyone coming into the series doesn’t know their work/style/philosophy then they’re.not coming in with a lot of expectations or reserves. But they may be coming in with bad reviews like this one. I’m saying anyone these days can get a blog, write a mediocre article and become a “critic”.
I was a Wachowski fan, I like their movies no matter how cheesy they can be, but this show just seriously ticked me off. Like WTF.
I know the Wachowskis, and because of this, that’s why I think the show is bad. It’s poorly written, poorly acted, a lot of stuff felt extremely forced, especially the LGBT stuff. Then, there’s all the stuff that the Wachowskis do, which the reviewer talks about that make it even worse.
Literally, knowing the Wachowskis gives you an expectation for all the pseudo-philosophical garbage their stuff (sans The Matrix and Speed Racer) is known for, and that’s bad! The expectations of the Wachowskis is specifically that things will LOOK really pretty, but if it’s written by them it will be full of poor writing, bad acting, and that philosophical tripe. The fact that they met both the good and bad expectations is saying something – they have not learned since Matrix Revolutions.
A good way to tell if any random person’s tastes are to be trusted vis-a-vis television/popular culture, is if they try to sell you on this pile of shit that’s shaped like a tv show, or not.
The reviews may not be great but I love it. 90 on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.2 on IMDB. I agree.
i haven’t seen it but if all of what this review says is true, and I believe the writer for what it’s worth, this show looks really, really, bad. And to qualify watching a show just on its visuals is to have a really low standard for entertainment…this show seems to be like lost through and through only instead of an island that connects them, its their collective mind power ( and to actually cast a former actor of lost to the cast??!!? c’mon!!)…as a regular reader of both dc comics, marvel comics, and a whole ton of sci fi, fantasy and dark fantasy, (and for the record, the watchkoski’s ripped off the invisables comic and then re worked it as the matrix for anyone who cares, I just wish they found something equally as obscure and cool to rip off from rather than make original crap), this movie seems really bland both in drama and in its fantastical elements. And while imbd and rotten tomatoes may have given it a rather high score, i feel that whoever did so has low standards and just really wants to love it despite it reeking of bad quality.
you… haven’t seen it. why would you post such a long comment if you… haven’t seen it.
Show sucks.
Thanks for clearing that up. Care to explain your comment?
Yeah. Dream sequences suck and half the show is dream sequences. Bad acting, bad dialog, snore-worthy premise (“gee wow, we see what other people are doing!!!!”). Lots of shock value stuff throw in for … shock value.
Watched the first episode and that’s it. Maybe it gets better?
I Agree, I really wanted it to be good but it sucks
After reading through your review, I noticed that each point was based on vague personal opinions. You mentioned many problems with the show such as how they only give you small pieces of information then unload large portions on you all at once, or how it is too hard to follow the story line or character names. Many of these arguments could also be made for great shows in the past like LOST. I for one happen to love the amount of detail put into the show, and I actually make an effort to follow the plot. Sure, it might not be the type of show you can mindlessly watch while performing other activities, but some people happen to like that. I absolutely love the show so far.
Agreed along with many: 90 on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.2 on IMDB.
Exactly what I was thinking. It may be a complicated show, but I happen to enjoy that.
complicated does not equal quality..and the supposed villain of the show, an evil organization that tracks them down, sounds soo corny and cliched…not very well thought out AT ALL…its obvious that most people with true taste don’t read grapic novels or good fiction in general because there is faaaar superior fictional being spun better than this.
Uh, RT has it at 67% and dropping. The more critics that see it, the more they hate it.
Critics have it at 67 which is actually not bad for critics for a TV show.
if this were a school homework assignment and you did the math percentage wise, that would mean it’s graded in the “d” letter grade range…
Prediction: 3 seasons min. IMDB is still over 90
Also now 8.4 on IMBD. Audience score has risen from 90 to 91 on RT. I can see that you’re sceptical (snob?) For audience opinion and that’s cool but I’ll make a prediction: it’ll get at least 3 seasons.
So you need critics to review your shows for you? Critics are overrated. They are people just like me and you with their own biases. And again, this show isn’t for everyone. I agree with Emma. I had no trouble following the plot or the info “given all at once”. I’ll just say it again. This show is not for the general TV show audiences.
I’m not the one that brought up the Rotten Tomatoes score, I only corrected it. I can’t tell you what shows to like, I can only tell you that you require very little if this is one of them.
That’s like pretending to know what my criteria for what shows I like.