Niall’s virtual diary archives – Wednesday 5th August 2015

Wednesday 5th August 2015: 4.51am. Just finished watching #sense8  season 1. It's definitely not my cup of tea, but I recognise a new sci-fi genre when I see one even though it took me till episode 10 out of 12 for the lightbulb to switch on: my best apposition for it would be "emotional sci-fi", like Battlestar Galactica (2004) with which it shares a very great deal, except not as crap and not as self-contradictory a load of rubbish as Galactica which was total crap after season 2.

I take my hat off to John Michael Straczynski (#Babylon5) and the Wachowski's ( #Matrix ) for coming up with something which I've never seen before: emotional sci fi done not brutal nor awful nor trivial nor jingoistic, and which in JMS's case is his second time participating in the launch of a new sci-fi TV genre, and I only hope Netflix has the sense not to cancel this before it gets going.

As much as it isn't my cup of tea and I find it quite irritatingly puke inducing and annoying and irritating to watch, I think I'll be there for the second season. Sense8 is probably the greatest leap forward in sci-fi since #Farscape which in turn was the greatest leap forward since Babylon 5 (with a respectful nod to #StargateSG1 which was a trooper by not becoming awful despite ten seasons of nothing particularly innovative), and I don't say that lightly.

I do personally wish it was more along my personal taste in sci-fi, but hey I'll take what I can get: Sense8 is what Battlestar Galactica (2005) was afraid of venturing into, and was crap rubbish as a result after the second season. Thanks, I hope, to JMS's steadying hand, I would anticipate no problem in going as far as is needed in Sense8 if given enough seasons. And that is why I will be watching, as much as I dislike "emotional sci-fi".

In the end, you'd rather watch something which is great but not your personal taste rather than watching a waste of your time. Art is art, even if not to your personal liking!