In 1999 the Wachowskis took the veil off of the late 20th century and showed us a Human lead rebellion against a sinister machine controlled future. In 2015 the Wachowskis are back and have teamed up with sci-fi legend J. Michael Straczynski to present a decidedly internal revolution.
The Premise of Sense8 is that Angelica, a powerful and gifted individual, (Daryl Hannah, Blade Runner, Kill Bill 1 and 2) has been hiding from some people that want her back. Angelica doesn't want to go with them and will do anything she can to prevent it, but before she does she sends out a vision of herself, presumably some sort of psychic distress call to specific individuals around the globe. She does this not to save herself, but to prepare and awaken them. Those individuals being the titular Sense8 or Sensates as they will be referred to in later episodes, begin having disturbingly realistic hallucinations, not only of Angelica but of sounds and visions from each others viewpoint.
Angelica thrusts her hand out and Jonas (Naveen Andrews, Lost, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland), the man she loves (or does she?) takes it and embraces her. When these sensates tap into this phenomenon, they don't just use telepathy akin to a sort of psychic cell phone call; they are in the same room for all intents and purposes. The theme here is connection and it is predominant. When the mysterious stranger leading angelica's pursuers contacts her, they are all in the same room together; all three! This has some exciting potential for dynamic interaction. Especially when you consider there will be eight of these adepts. There's more; music transfers through the connection, lust transfers. What these sensates see, hear, and feel; that moves to the other sensates and doesn't seem to be isolated to a single pair of them either. Again the connection theme is palpable here.
In trying to get a fix on what is going on one of the characters mentions that their shared experiences may be a result of Limbic resonance, anyone up on their organic chemistry and neuroscience will see some interesting implications here. DMT the chemical referenced here is quite real, and is indeed scientists are finding present in all living things. Far-out! However this might just be speculation as the actual mechanisms and the logistics for the ability have not been revealed yet.
The pacing is fast, you could even say it moves at the speed of thought and there is a lot to take in as each character is deeply rooted to the time and place that they are in and then suddenly, you're in another Sensate's world and that world could be British, Indian, African, American, and so on. Given the subject matter, that may be a good thing and should serve to propel the story along albeit at breakneck speed for some. The emotional resonance is also present here. There is a lot going on with each character and you generally get the impression that this show cares about its characters, and wants you to care about them even if it may seem like it's hitting you over the head with it from time to time. Sure, there is action. One of the Senates is a police officer, another is a cat burglar. Again lots of opportunities here. This show does fly its colors; `Truth, connection, transcendence'.
One star being a furtive project that feels like a good root canal should, and five being, the stuck landing of a young gymnast who is no longer hungry; who has `arrived'. This show rates Four stars.
