Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
I watched James Cameron’s Terminator movie when I was eleven years old and it immediately became one of my favorite films. It was my first exposure to the concept of paradox (a recurring theme in my life) and the first sci-fi idea that I really had to sit around and think about. The second film only added to the mythology of the universe and while I didn’t love the third movie I at least respected what the writers accomplished at the end of it. If you consider the five Terminator-related novels and all of the Dark Horse Terminator comics that I’ve read it’s easy to tell how invested I am in this particular science fiction universe. In fact, I’m practically required to watch the Sarah Connor Chronicles. I have to say though; they’re making it difficult for me to continue watching.
The episodes all seem to be constructed independently from each other and the lack of any real direction for the characters impairs my enjoyment and creates a somewhat disjointed viewing experience. I hate to mention this again, but the writing is a bit Smallville-ian for my taste. They introduce a new threat or issue in each episode and resolve it before the end, so that they start again from almost the exact same place in the next show. I think part of the reason is that they’re using characters that can’t have any kind of real character arc, but they really need some sort of plan if they want to keep me interested. And if they can’t keep a huge fan like me interested I can’t imagine the series having much of a future. However it plays out, there are still the McG Terminator films with Christian Bale coming out, so I guess there’s that.
[edit: On September 29th Jenna Wortham from Wired asked, "What Can Save The Sarah Connor Chronicles?" Here's my answer: Better writing, consisting of some kind of overall goal or plan for the series and preferably some kind of arc for the characters. And not being in the same timeslot as Chuck couldn't hurt.] -edit 10-01-08
