Sarah Connor Chronicles: TV Series

[Quokka]

I wouldn't right it off just yet Gollum I'm a bit jaded on most TV series at the moment

[Culhwch]

Well, I saw it and was supremely unimpressed as well. It had the potential to be a good series, I think, but it just comes off as 'Terminator Lite'. I mean, the Sarah Connor in this barely resembles Sarah Connor as she was at the end of T2. There's no way that that Sarah Connor would make a stupid sentimental mistake like using the alias 'Reese', coupled with their actual first names. And it was just corny. I didn't understand the whole jumping forward in time thing either, except as Quok points out to conviently have it set now rather than then. My girlfriend and I just spent the entire hour making fun of it. Might be some value there. And I agree with you, Quokka, about the Terminatrix going from natural to robot in a heartbeat. Just not well... thought through, I think, on the whole.

[GOLLUM]

Originally Posted by Quokka

I wouldn't right it off just yet Gollum I'm a bit jaded on most TV series at the moment

My confidence is slipping with each new post....

[clovis-man]

Originally Posted by GOLLUM

My confidence is slipping with each new post....

The best way to judge is just to watch it. I know that may be hard in some locations around the world. But I (perhaps in the minority) think it is worthwhile.

I definitely think it is a mistake to judge this (mainstream network channel) series by our imprints of the motion picture Terminator series. We're not going to recapture Linda Hamilton or Arnie. So it makes more sense to me to just go with the story and characters as they unfold.

I like the introduction of characters which go beyond the simple Skynet versus the humans scenario, e.g., the tenacious FBI agent, Sarah's ex-boyfriend, additional humans & terminators on missions from the future, etc. I think it takes more concatenations in the plot to keep a TV series from going stale. So I'm willing to give it a chance. We're 5 episodes along now and I still find it interesting.

Jim

[MG1962]

Saw the opening episode here in Oz last night - 20 minutes in, I was pretty dazed, 40 mins, I was scanning to see what else was on

[Dave]

It is now showing on Virgin1 in the UK and I will give it a few episodes before I make a judgement.

I do agree about the "Reese" error, the corny lines and "Terminator action hero chip implant" and the jumping forward in Time, however at least there is some explanation for why they are in 2007 with a teenage John and no Judgement Day. I don't have a problem with this being a different Timeline. It does retcon T3, but if you can change the Timeline once and you can do it again and again. It just gets a little confusing, especially if there will be a T4 film in the other Timeline.

[Coolhand]

I think I'll join the general sense of "slightly underwhelmed" that most people seem to have been given by the series so far (Seen the first two eps on Virigin)

The SFX are nice, and the gunfights and terminator effects are groovy. There are massive unexplained plot holes (Just how did the decapitated T800 Endo-Skeleton from 1997 end up in a junk yard, for one thing? You seriously telling me that when they dug that thing out of the rubble, no one thought "hmm. Bit unusual, maybe I'd better call the FBI or something?")

Lenna Hensley is a pathetic Sarah Conner who wears makeup, cool clothes and has no muscles. Linda Hamilton's hard as nails, survialist, buffed up, slightly unhinged, one-handed-shotgun-rackin' Sarah would eat her for breakfast without even breaking a sweat. She probably the most dissapointing thing in this. By a mile.

The Terminator chick is quite endearing, and quite cute in a "learning to be human" kind of way.

John is a whiny twit, but then I guess he's supposed to be. As long as we see him start to become the Saviour of Mankind at some point, I'll put up with him.

The acting is a little odd in places, the dialouge bizzare.

But it does have a bit where a headless T800 tries to inconspicuous by shoving a decapitated human skull onto it's neck and strolling about with a motorbike helemt on. FANTASTIC!

I'll keep watching for now.

[rune]

Ive just started watching this, not sure what I think as yet, its OK but not that earth shattering

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by rune

Ive just started watching this, not sure what I think as yet, its OK but not that earth shattering

I think that's the problem with this one -- it started out with some good points, but overall quite weak; while definitely improving in various ways, that may have crippled it altogether. And the ways in which it is improving is in the ideas they're playing with, and in the various types of social commentary and the issues they're addressing (sometimes quite subtly, sometimes rather clumsily, and sometimes with a fair amount of humor).

It has the potential to be a really great series (though I was extremely dubious about the whole idea to begin with, and still remain somewhat so) -- but that very shaky beginning, coupled with the fact that it hasn't really stretched its wings yet with what virtues it has got, has me thinking it's probably not going to last. But I wish they'd at least have taken the chance and pulled out all the stops and gone for the meaty potential on different they've only hinted at so far. Might not have made it a success (though one never knows), but at least it would have been memorable....

[clovis-man]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

It has the potential to be a really great series (though I was extremely dubious about the whole idea to begin with, and still remain somewhat so) -- but that very shaky beginning, coupled with the fact that it hasn't really stretched its wings yet with what virtues it has got, has me thinking it's probably not going to last.

Well, the "suspense" will be over shortly. The two hour "season finale" happens next week. Then there will be the inevitable wait to see if it reappears in the future (sorta like Skynet).

Jim

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by clovis-man

Well, the "suspense" will be over shortly. The two hour "season finale" happens next week. Then there will be the inevitable wait to see if it reappears in the future (sorta like Skynet).

Jim

Well, despite my reservations, I rather hope they give it a little more room to breathe. As I noted, it has been growing, bit by bit, and the scripts seem to be more thoughtful (if still having some problems with periodic inconsistencies), so I'd like to see it realize its potential -- or at least close to....

[C Of K]

If you've seen episodes 6 & 7, I'm sure you can imagine a room full of terminators dancing ballet as battles rage outside.

Take note of the music playing in that prison house in episode 6. Compare it to the music the terminator is dancing to at the end of episode 7...

Disturbing thought, but a nice touch, I think.

[clovis-man]

Well, the "two hour season finale" is now over. I'll avoid spoilers for those who have yet to see it. It was not really a two hour episode. It was two back to back episodes. It felt like the end of the writers' strike created a need for this mid-season show to be wound up quickly in order to provide room for the return of the "regular" shows on Fox.

I've been faithfully following all the episodes with the concept in mind that a TV series must, of necessity, follow a different path than a motion picture. Continuity is an important factor and recurring themes and characters lend some semblance of stability to the story.

However, last night's sendoff left me feeling less committed to following the (supposed) return of the show next year. There has been a feel to the series that gravitates somewhere between The Fugitive and Ozzie and Harriet. Sarah is concerned that John have a "normal" upbringing. So we've got high school field trips and prom dates (don't ask). At least I didn't hear her say: "Ward, I'm worried about the Beaver."

But I can live with this. It's a network show, not an independent cable effort. So my expectations can be a little compromised and I'll still stay tuned. But in the finale(s), there were were plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. It served to give me cause to question the degree of "willing suspension of disbelief" I'm able to tolerate. Of course the final scenes deliberately left enough unanswered questions to coax viewers to look forward to next season. But is that enough? I'll hang in there for now. Beats the stink out of reality shows anyway.

Jim

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by clovis-man

Beats the stink out of reality shows anyway.

Ummm, a blank screen beats the stink out of reality shows....

[clovis-man]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

Ummm, a blank screen beats the stink out of reality shows....

Hmm. I guess that's damning with faint praise. Didn't mean to be quite that negative.

Jim