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Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Cameron: "Come with me if you want to live."

Like pretty much every sci-fi fan waiting out the writers' strike, I was glued to my set Sunday and Monday nights watching the two-part premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

I'm not going to make an overarching prediction at this early date, but it definitely held my interest, and I'm really looking forward to next week's. I like the cast -- Lena Headey's Sarah and Thomas Dekker's John are both believable and charismatic, and those are two very difficult, iconic sci-fi roles. Summer Glau (Cameron the cyborg) was in Firefly and did an amazing job in the movie Serenity, so you can guess how I feel about her.

If I do have a complaint, it's that there was way too much action and not enough story in the first two hours. Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day have always been favorite movies of mine, but not so much because of their outstanding action sequences. What I always found intriguing were the time travel elements and the efforts to avert the coming apocalypse while still preserving the future savior of the human race, just in case. So I did like the clever way they moved the story from 1999 to 2007. They also added many homages and references to the original movies: Sarah's incarceration in a mental institution, her friend Enrique, the previous cyborgs, and so on.

I liked whatever Summer Glau is, too, and I like that we don't know exactly what she is. Yet. Each incarnation of the Terminator story has involved a new type of cyborg. Summer Glau's "Cameron Phillips" (is that her permanent name? and is it an homage to James Cameron?) is very smart, she heals, and interestingly enough, she even eats. How was she made? What can she do? Is she capable of emotion? Will young John fall in love with her?

Most importantly, can The Sarah Connor Chronicles keep from turning into a one-hour chase show every week? We have several strong characters in an unusual situation; I want drama and character development, not just cyborgs crashing through walls. Well, okay, maybe there can be some cyborg-crashing. But come on. Story, people! I want it. And I want it now.

Because, let's face it. There's practically nothing else to watch right now.
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

4 comments:

  1. I think the older John is in love with her (or how would she know so much about him), and I'm totally hooked on the show. Call me geeky!

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  2. To be honest, i was a bit disapointed, maybe it will get better on the next few episodes.

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  3. Hi Billie,

    SCC has just started over here in the UK on Virgin 1, so I watched with some anticipation the season premiere, and enjoyed it very much. I was wondering, will you be reviewing the series on billiedoux.com?

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  4. Hey, Paul:

    At this point, I just can't take on another currently running show. It's likely that I will have to either postpone putting up reviews for something or even drop a couple of shows. Or quit my job and stay home and write full time. But I can't afford to do that. :)

    So I guess the short answer is no. Not because I don't want to, but because I simply can't take on any more.

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