Ever since I finished the last episode of The 4400, I have been searching for some more good sci fi tv to watch. Not wishing to rewatch Star Trek shows just yet and being too early for return of the summer shows like The Last Ship and Falling Skies, I was lost. I’m happy that the two aforementioned shows will be airing soon. I can’t wait, actually. It will be the last season of Falling Skies and I want to see how things are resolved. Hopefully, there’s a happy ending, the aliens will be dispelled, and the humans can start to rebuild their world. As to The Last Ship, I was very unhappy with the season closer. I couldn’t believe that a ship of seasoned Navy sailors would allow their ship to be taken by civilians. Disbelief looms large. The only reason I’m thinking of tuning back in is because the previews of the first episode looks like they may be retaking their ship. Let’s hope so. Otherwise, it’s a disgrace to the U.S. Navy.
So, what have I been doing in the meantime? Watching a lot of documentaries (science instead of science fiction). But also, I discovered a couple of new Netflix programs released this year. The first of these shows is entitled Sense8 and is advertised as being from the creators of The Matrix and Babylon 5. Well, I liked both of those so I decided to give it a try.
The first episode begins with a woman on a pedestal writhing in agony, having visions, then shooting herself. It was interesting, but not knowing the woman, I had no particular empathy or interest in her, other than wanting to know who she was or what exactly was happening to her. Then, we start to see other people around the world in their everyday lives, some mundane, others criminal. But the thing about these people is that they are having visions of the other people’s lives, and they seem to be connected through the suicidal woman.
While on the surface this might seem interesting, I found that splitting the first episode among the eight different psychics diluted it too much, so that I didn’t get enough of any one person to feel really involved. Also, there didn’t seem to be much of a plot except for what each of these different people was doing, in other words, no through plot to connect them other than their visions. I expected them to come together somehow, for the viewer to find out something about the first woman and what was happening, or at least, for someone to raise the question. There was nothing.
There were 12 episodes of Sense8 produced, and since I don’t like to make a judgment on just one episode, I will watch more. Hopefully, it will get better and start to more sense.
The other show I watched was Between. It is the story of a small town called Pretty Lake, where a strange disease is striking down people 22 years of age and older. It seems to me like a cross between The Stand, Logan’s Run, and The Dome (this last because of a quarantine fence erected around the town). This show includes action and dramatic situations. One or two of the actors are overly dramatic, but I’ll overlook that. It has intrigued me enough that I want to see more. Unfortunately, there are only 5 episodes of this show, so I’ll probably be disappointed when I get to the end. But at least it’s something to occupy my time for now.
I will keep you informed about all of these shows, old and new. Happy viewing!