The unspoken power of Touch

MANILA, Philippines - What if fate is a formula? What if coincidence is calculation? What if our lives are part of a pattern?

Along the lines of these thought-provoking questions is a glimpse of what to expect from Solar Entertainment’s newest series Touch. Both Jack TV and Chase showcase the series which first aired in the US last Jan. 25. The story revolves around the life of a single father (Martin Bohm) who is struggling to raise his son (Jake). The latter possesses some uncanny abilities. The eerie kid who is also mute, has the special ability to see the future. He also has the gift of deciphering the complex nature of the thing called fate.

This could remind us of the Freudian principle claiming that “there are no accidents.” Everything that happens in the world has an actual meaning behind it. Imagine the link among random things such as lost cellphones, the number 318, tattooed fingers, a lottery combination, a street address, a particular floor, a flight of stairs and perhaps even the tragic 9/11 event.

Quite clearly, those things are just a medley of mundane things. But from the inexplicable intuitive powers of the 11-year-old Jake, all those things are certainly not random — and that they actually have a connection to each other. As it appears, Martin’s son is a genius in the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical ratio which pertains to patterns that are repeated in nature, like a spiral of a shell, the curve in the sea waves or even in the segments of a pineapple.

Improbable? Illusory? Think. And then, think again.

Or just allow the imaginative vision of Tim Kring to awe you once more. He is the brains behind Heroes, the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi drama series. The screenwriter teams up with Francis Lawrence, a film and music video director who has won a Grammy and multiple VMA awards.

Touch is topbilled by Kiefer Sutherland (24, Mirrors and the Sentinel) who stars as Martin Bohm, the struggling father who is trying to connect with his mute son. It would be interesting to see how the Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning actor would fare as he portrays a role strikingly different from his Jack Bauer character. David Mazouz (Mike and Molly and Private Practice), meanwhile, takes on the role of Jake. A great burden lies on the young actor as he has to communicate with the audience while being mute and emotionally-challenged. GuguMbatha-Raw (As You Like It) is Clea Hopkins, a social worker who was sent to evaluate Jake’s well-being. Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon and Mandela) plays a more crucial role as Arthur Teller, an expert on children who possess special gifts.

Touch airs on Chase and Jack TV. Chase is available on free TV via Beam TV Ch. 31, Ch. 84 on SkyCable and Ch. 96 on Destiny Cable. Jack TV, on the other hand, is available on SkyCable Ch. 51, Cable Link Ch. 57 and Destiny Cable Ch. 30.