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TV Review: The Sarah Conner Chronicles


David Nutter has seen better days.

He's my favorite director and although you might not know him by name, I'm sure you know him by his work. He directed the pilots for Roswell, Dark Angel, Smallville and Supernatural. His latest venture iss the two-part premiere for The Sarah Conner Chronicles that aired Sunday and tonight. I missed the beginning 15 minutes of the first installment but what I watched lacked Nutter's usual cinematic feel. The premiere wasn't bad but it wasn't exceptionally good either. And I don't believe that Nutter should get all the blame.

Lena Headey (Sarah Conner) is no Linda Hamilton, and I'm sure I'm not the first or the last person to say that, but I think that will work to her advantage in the long run. Headey has a toughness to her, but yet we sense the vulnerability in her eyes with subtle expressions that offer us a window into her struggles and make us care for her character. And in TV, we really need to care about the characters. That's what keeps us coming back every week. Sarah's voice overs are a nice touch, reminiscent of Dark Angel, but without the same spunk. I hope the show keeps that component and builds upon it.

Thomas Dekker (John Conner) is a nice replacement for the role of the soon-to-be leader of the future. He carries over his misfit role from Heroes but he has yet to do anything that has wowed me with his acting ability. Even so, I'm not counting him out, as his character develops he could end up really impressing me so we'll see what comes our way.


Summer Glau (Cameron a.k.a. The Female Terminator) is the one part of the show that really worries me. I'm just not buying her role as their protector. Sometimes her face is so blank, but not in a good way. Arnold Schwarzenegger's blank emotionless stare is classic, Robert Partick's metallic glance was deadly, and even Kristanna Loken's stare was wicked cool in T3, but Glau doesn't have that flare. And some of her action sequences are unbelievable. I keep wishing that somehow she would magically get the same kick-butt vibrancy that Jessica Alba had in Dark Angel or Kate Beckinsale had in Underworld. But it never happens. On the other hand, I do look forward to a romantic storyline that might emerge from her and John's relationship. That could be very interesting.

All in all, this show is not stellar but it's promising.

9 comments:

Felicia said...

I've got to agree. I liked it but there is definitely some room for improvement. And I really didn't like how wimpy John Connor was portrayed.

Karen said...

I'm guessing their goal is to start John off more "wimpy" but then pump him up so we can see how his character evolves into leader. That way the transformation will be more stark.

Thanks for stopping by!

jimmy paravane said...

I think they should let Summer bring some of that River Tam charm to the role. "You take care of me, Simon. You've always taken care of me. My turn. " such creepy goodness. (grin)
I'm betting there's a revalation of a much more human "t-4"ness coming out in later episodes. Something "she's john's love, in the future"ish...

Karen said...

John and Summer are definitely going to have some sparks flying at some point; I don't see how they could avoid it.

Thanks for commenting.

Unknown said...

it was ok, i saw the first couple of shows, but it hasnt held me like Heroes held me in season 1. Great blog you got going here, Im a Campus Crusade employee and your jesus anime article drew me initially to your blog. Wanted to see what you had to say about it. Keep it in prayer, we have a great team working on it and it looks to be really promising. Blessings to you, keep it real sis

Karen said...

Yeah, it's definately not Heroes. Thanks for stopping by!

Howard said...

The Joy of all the Terminator material is the backdrop of a predestination paradox. The new SCC's are enjoying playing within the bounds of what's preceeded them (Movies 1-3) and no doubt what is planned in Christian Bale's appearance as John Connor in T4, and I think this has much to with the continuing involvement and influence of Mario Kassar. I've enjoyed pretty much the whole Terminator experience, and the SCC's are certainly adding well to the concept.

Karen said...

Welcome Howard! You've made some good comments. I'm very curious to see how the SCC's develops in its second season and how it the upcoming Bale movie will interpret this tale.

Anonymous said...

Karen.

What's wrong with you.

Summer Glau was easily the best part of this show.

After the age of 10 most small children understand god doesn't exist. "Jesus" never existed either. Grow up.