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Straczynski/Wachowski Sense8 on Netflix


SpaceChampion

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I think it was expected since the pilot that characters would die, since other sensate clusters are being killed off to extend the powers of the main villain.  So it's more likely Bae Doona's character was killed off, rather than the actress quit the show.  As such, that's an unfortunate spoiler.

I haven't seen cancellation rumour from any credible source, just random blogs.  I can't take these seriously.

Lilly W. taking a break from the production was known from the beginning of the season, I don't see anything to panic about over that.  I assume she'll be back for the following season.

The reception for the show has been great both among fans and critics.  No way is ANY show going to be cancelled over minors things like internal strife.

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13 minutes ago, Pliskin said:

The reception wasn't great at all. It was... polarizing to say it nicely.

But yeah, that spoiler is not nice at all. Whoever leaked this should be canned.

It was polarizing because critics only saw the first 3-4 episodes. Once critics saw the full show, some of them wrote reviews backtracking on their original thoughts.

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Just had a look on the web for news on season 2 and there is nothing good to hear. Lots of rumours about season 2 being canned for a variety of reasons including;

There is definitely some kind of organised trolling and misinformation campign going on about the show, originating from some of the Christian entertainment websites. Why, I'm not sure. Maybe they hate the progressive and humanistic nature of the show? It is bizarre.

Season 2 will have finished shooting now. It's possible it won't be renewed for Season 3, but we'll definitely get the next one.

As for its popularity, it's definitely not had the profile (and probably viewings) of the Marvel shows, House of Cards or Orange in the New Black, but it's not completely obscure either.

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It's a shame we don't hear much from JMS. I still feel he's a major (if not the major) factor in the show.

You won't hear much from JMS. He kept the real reasons that Michael O'Hare left Babylon 5 secret for 20 years, there's not much chance he'll clarify the behind-the-scenes-drama. Not to mention the other times he did comment on such drama, he sometimes ended up getting the wrong end of the stick and making things worse. So we'll hear nothing from him, I suspect.

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It was polarizing because critics only saw the first 3-4 episodes. Once critics saw the full show, some of them wrote reviews backtracking on their original thoughts.

Yup. The full-season reviews were positively rapturous.. It's certainly my favourite Netflix show to date, a bit ahead of Jessica Jones. But damn, those first 3-4 episodes are hard to love. The tonal shifts are also, I suspect, really hard to get a handle on for a lot of people.

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Sense8 is probably the closest Netflix has gotten to something like Deadwood or SFU - something that may not be getting the ratings, but gets incredibly large critical acclaim and gets people to buy Netflix just for it. And that, ultimately, is what Netflix loves - shows that specifically get people to subscribe for that show alone.

I don't think that there's any real griping from Netflix about it. 

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Some good points especially from Wert regarding a lot of the news/discussion from christian websites. I guess we can all hazard a guess why they might want the show cancelled/sow negative news about it - they have so many reasons to pick from.

I never even considered the Doona Bae thing could be a spoiler - that's really shit if it's been inadvertently leaked.

1 hour ago, Kalbear said:

Sense8 is probably the closest Netflix has gotten to something like Deadwood or SFU - something that may not be getting the ratings, but gets incredibly large critical acclaim and gets people to buy Netflix just for it. And that, ultimately, is what Netflix loves - shows that specifically get people to subscribe for that show alone.

I don't think that there's any real griping from Netflix about it. 

It's their most distinct show too in terms of being genuinely different. It's also probably the most inclusive show thanks to the set up. I'm sure that counts for a lot. I'm surprised at how many of my friends, who don't watch TV, loved season 1. If anything I think it's a show that's probably worth running for a few years and watch the fanbase grow. Although they do need to keep the talents locked in where the story requires it.

I can't see them not showing something that's almost finished filming. There was even a rumour of a xmas special floating around.

I also feel like JMS is downplayed in his role in the show. I'm sure a lot of it is him plot wise but it may be that the Wachowskis throw ideas and he makes stories out of it. I know he only recently had a new type of eye surgery that corrected his vision. He was virtually blind for the last few years and could only work on screens where the font was huge. This clearly slowed down his writing but it may also have made him absent from the set and press releases. Hopefully we'll hear more from him now that he's back to strength?

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Sense8 is probably the closest Netflix has gotten to something like Deadwood or SFU - something that may not be getting the ratings, but gets incredibly large critical acclaim and gets people to buy Netflix just for it. And that, ultimately, is what Netflix loves - shows that specifically get people to subscribe for that show alone.

I don't think that there's any real griping from Netflix about it. 

It looks like there was some griping, as there was an unusual delay before they renewed it. I think it was solely down to the cost: Sense8 is by some considerable margin the most expensive show on Netflix's roster (possibly excepting House of Cards, but if HoC is higher that'll solely be down to the cast fees, not the actual production fees). It's budget must completely dwarf something like Luke Cage or Orange is the New Black.

I think that's probably the reason for Netflix's hesitancy, plus the fact it didn't pick up the blanket coverage a lot of their other shows have. However, I think there's a very good chance that Season 2 will get a lot more coverage now people have more of a handle on it.

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I also feel like JMS is downplayed in his role in the show. I'm sure a lot of it is him plot wise but it may be that the Wachowskis throw ideas and he makes stories out of it. I know he only recently had a new type of eye surgery that corrected his vision. He was virtually blind for the last few years and could only work on screens where the font was huge. This clearly slowed down his writing but it may also have made him absent from the set and press releases. Hopefully we'll hear more from him now that he's back to strength?

According to JMS, he and the Wachowskis worked up the basic idea of a show based on human connection and empathy together. However, I think the inspiration was the telepath storyline in Babylon 5, which showed that JMS was exploring many of the same themes 20 years ago. The Wachowskis were also clearly inspired by Cloud Atlas which had some of the same notions going on. So they welded the two concepts together.

What I think made the show fly is that JMS is great at plot, structure and worldbuilding, which the Wachowskis suck at, and the Wachowskis are great at atmosphere, framing a shot and action, which JMS isn't so hot on. I think a lot of it is also down to JMS being a better writer: his dialogue is more naturalistic in Sense8 than in Babylon 5 and certainly the humour is much stronger in Sense8: the 4 Non Blondes moment had me in stitches, and there's several other really great comedy beats in the show.

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2 hours ago, SpaceChampion said:

I think there are still filming actually.

Today:

And Bae Doona is still there.  As far as I can tell on the first day at every location the production posts a photo onto facebook & instagram to mark it for the fans.

Negatory, they wrapped on 20 September. The Sense8pics twitter account (which isn't the official one) has just been posting pictures from all over the production.

 

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Typing in sense8 season 2 to Google brings up these rumours and they all seem to originate from sites like ParentHerald. There *may* be little nuggets of truth in there somewhere but I generally just ignore these websites as misinformed or entirely speculative.

As to the Christmas episode thing, I mentioned that based on a tweet from Jamie but I can't find anything more about that online (and looking back I didn't link the tweet either, damn). 

 

Eta: here it is https://mobile.twitter.com/MsJamieClayton/status/725718377063288832 assuming it's not actually confirmed though

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The thing I love about this show is that of all eight main characters, as incredibly flawed as they all are, as people.... I love all eight of them.... There isn't one storyline that I care for less than the others... even some of the ancillary characters like Aminita, Hernando, and Daniela are all loveable.... and dare I say that this is the underlying message of the show.... so in this regard, I think they do a great job

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Season 1 was an uterly unique experience for me in terms of a TV show (or movie for that matter). It was the way I connected to it on such a raw emotional level, it was doing something very different to anything else I've seen and I really hope it can keep that up and keep getting renewed. I possibly already said this in the thread last year, but they managed to make me long for the sensate connection in a way I can't understand it like someone who has never experienced love could long for experiencing it when witnessing it from the outside. Its global production is expensive, but it also sets it apart from anything else critically in that sense as well so that has to be worth something to Netflix. I really do see it as the first of a new style of TV, even if its not a completely new medium.

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The "cloud Atlas mixed with an unused B5 telepath story" sums the shows structure/plot quite well. I also think you're right in the Wachowski/JMS team-up appearing to play to their stengths and downplaying their weaknesses.

8 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Typing in sense8 season 2 to Google brings up these rumours and they all seem to originate from sites like ParentHerald. There *may* be little nuggets of truth in there somewhere but I generally just ignore these websites as misinformed or entirely speculative.

As to the Christmas episode thing, I mentioned that based on a tweet from Jamie but I can't find anything more about that online (and looking back I didn't link the tweet either, damn). 

 

Eta: here it is https://mobile.twitter.com/MsJamieClayton/status/725718377063288832 assuming it's not actually confirmed though

I agree - I won't be paying attention to them anymore. Although the risk is when others talk about their rumours. I guess this is when well-trusted sites are best stuck to.

I'm wondering if the Christmas special may have simply being a short of the sensates enjoying christmas? That could have been a lot of fun. Have them opening presents and/or singing a song. With the production being delayed it may seem misplaced given how season one ended and was over a period of time that didn't cover xmas. Maybe next year? Or Maybe they'll go for the "it's christmas, don't think about it too much" approach?

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1 hour ago, SpaceChampion said:

Is it really a Xmas special?  I got the impression it's just the season premiere, then for some reason waiting a few weeks later to drop the rest of the season.

Jamie Clayton literally said it's ep 1.

I'd take episode 1. Seems odd for binge release shows. I was thinking it might be akin to marco polo last xmas

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18 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Man, they always look so happy.

I was reading through cast interviews. The cast pointed out that there is one central character in each location and that person and the characters that directly interact with them have shitloads to do. The rest of the cast then appears intermittently through connections, but they have a lot of time off, during which they go partying and sight-seeing together. That's why they love the job and also why they formed such a close bond.

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20 hours ago, red snow said:

I also feel like JMS is downplayed in his role in the show. I'm sure a lot of it is him plot wise but it may be that the Wachowskis throw ideas and he makes stories out of it. I know he only recently had a new type of eye surgery that corrected his vision. He was virtually blind for the last few years and could only work on screens where the font was huge. This clearly slowed down his writing but it may also have made him absent from the set and press releases. Hopefully we'll hear more from him now that he's back to strength?

To my recollection, JMS has said he had much more limited involvement in season 2. I can't recall exactly where I saw it, but as I recall he basically indicated that he had been more hands-on because the Wachowskis were new to TV and wanted his advice as a former showrunner, but that Lana felt more than able of handling it for season 2.

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54 minutes ago, Ran said:

 

To my recollection, JMS has said he had much more limited involvement in season 2. I can't recall exactly where I saw it, but as I recall he basically indicated that he had been more hands-on because the Wachowskis were new to TV and wanted his advice as a former showrunner, but that Lana felt more than able of handling it for season 2.

That's very disappointing. I'm on the fence on whether I'll continue or not. Recasting a main character midseason is frustrating enough, and if JMS didn't have much to do with the second season... looking back, the last thing by the Wachowskis that I really liked was V for Vendetta - in 2006.

Season one of this was just okay (and I think I like it less the further away from its release we get - the ridiculous length of time between seasons bothers me too), and I was hoping for a similar one to two jump in quality as Babylon 5 had. But if JMS didn't work much on it coupled with my lack of faith in the Wachowskis, I think it's more likely that I don't watch season two than I do.

 

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JMS wrote every episode of season 2.  I believe Ran was referring to directing and producing duties regarding his limited involvement.  I don't see why you'd abandon the show for that.

According to imdb season two is 10 episodes, two shorter than season one, but season one was originally 10 episodes but they asked Netflix for the extra money to make it 12 because they shot so much for it.  I don't recall it seeming stretched out like Marvel Netflix shows, so it was probably a good thing.

So perhaps any Netflix complaints about the cost was regarding any question over whether it would be 10 or 12 episodes this year too.

Now regarding Aml's departure, my understanding is his scenes will be confined to the Xmas episode, whatever it is.  So perhaps the recasting is the motivation for separating it from the rest of the season.

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