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.

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Freeze Frame: Smallville

The set-up: Lex Luthor makes a clone of his deceased brother Julian in a misguided attempt to create the kinship he always longed for. But his plan backfires.

"If you want to play God, remember His greatest gift: Freewill. Let me live my life."

~Julian, as said to Lex in the episode Gemini

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Artist Spotlight: Rachel A. Marks

("Disarmed")

Rachel A. Marks has emerged as one of my favorite upcoming Christian artists. Her work is based in the fantasy genre. She draws pixies, mermaids and other mystic creatures. She has been published in the online Christian speculative fiction 'zines The Sword Review and Dragons, Knights, and Angels.

I especially enjoyed her use of gray and black in the above painting. The hair strands are beautifully placed and the green eyes and mascara are nicely detailed.

In a few years time, as Marks refines her style you just might see a picture like this on the cover of the latest Christian sci-fi hit.

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Christian Author Featured on SciFi.com

Jeffrey Overstreet, author of Auralia's Colors, is featured in a short article on The SciFi Channel's news site: SciFi Wire. He talks about the inspiration behind his debut novel and his plans for the next book in the series.

I've been an avid reader of his blog Looking Closer for about a year now and I read his movie reviews over at Christianity Today. He has interesting and thought-provoking perspectives on films. His commentary on The Golden Compass is a prime example. Sometimes I agree with him, sometimes I don't but that's what makes reviews fun. Overstreet has definitely emerged as one of my favorite Christian film critics.

Things like this give me hope for the Christian sci-fi/fantasy genre. Quality writing by Christian writers can rise to the top and influence our society, one sci-fi lovin' fan at time.

Congrats Jeffrey! And keep up the good work!!!

(Hat tip to SF Signal)

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Katherine, Come Back!

Anyone else want Katherine Heigl to return to Sci-Fi?

I knew she was going to be a big star back when she played Isabel Evans on Roswell. Her portrayal of a teen alien was top-notch.

Now that she's won an Emmy and Knocked Up the box office I hope she doesn't forget her humble sci-fi roots. I remember when Roswell fans across the country united and sent thousands of hot sauce bottles to TV executives pleading with them to keep Roswell on for another season. Those were the good ol' days.

So what movie would be perfect for Ms. Heigl?

That's easy...anything with Will Smith in it. We all know he's bound to save the world again. Whether it's from aliens, robots, zombies or something just as menacing. Mr. "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" can pack the theaters with plenty of sci-fi lovin' fans.

I can imagine Heigl being Smith's snarky partner in some futuristic cop drama. They can't stand each other. She plays it wild and he likes following the rules. (Think of an X-Files Mulder/Scully dynamic). Maybe they're on a distant planet keeping the peace between humans and cyborgs when something goes wrong and they're the only ones who can make it right.

Or something like that.

Here's to hoping that Heigl gets a kick-butt SF role.

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DVDs (Not Diamonds) are girl's best friend

The X-Files Complete Collector's Edition is out on DVD just in time for the Christmas season. And if you're a TV series collector like me then here's something else you can add to your wish list.

It's become somewhat of a tradition in my family for my siblings and I to buy each other new seasons of our favorite shows. Last year my little sister got me Smallville season four and this year I got her Golden Girls season one for her birthday.

Here's to hoping you get your favorite TV show or better yet GIVE it someone special.

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Book Review: Faith Awakened

I wish Faith Awakened was a song. At least that way I could bare getting through it. Bad songs only take up 2-3 minutes of your time. But bad novels, they're not as kind.

I've tried reading this novel more than once but it's always the same thing: it's bland. I've lost count of how many times I've stopped and started, hoping that somehow the next time I opened the book that the story would captivate me. I even skipped around to different sections, reasoning that maybe the first few chapters started off slow. But by the time I got to chapter 21 and there was still no flare, I knew this book wasn't going to light my fire.

And I really wanted to like this book. When I first heard about the concept I was intrigued. But all that excitement faded when I got the business of actually reading it.

Faith Awakened by Grace Bridges tells the story of two young women in a futuristic dystopian Ireland trying to find true meaning and purpose amidst a highly-restrictive government (think China and Afghanistan under Taliban reign times 100). Doesn't that sound interesting??? If only the delivery of the story lived up to its premise.

The story starts with a prologue but I advise skipping over that and chapter 1 and jumping straight into "chapter 2: Introducing Mariah" which is where the story should have began. It's the first time the words on the page have a real pulse and engage you. You get a sense of Mariah's spunky personality through her diary-like rundown of what went wrong in the world. This book could have been stellar if it was as vibrant as this chapter and if we could have seen the events that took place instead of being described what happened. I want that novel!!! I wanted more of Mariah's "toughness" to shine through, to lead us through this futuristic world in disarray.

Even though Faith Awakened didn't put the steam in my cappuccino, some die-hard fans of Christian Sci-Fi might find it appealing. Like LeVar Burton said on Reading Rainbow: "But...you don't have to take my word for it".

I give it 2 unawakened stars out of 5.

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Sue Dent's Trailer

Sue Dent is not your typical Christian author. But that's good. Take a look at a trailer spotlighting the woman behind a new breed of Christian fiction.



For more info visit www.neverceese.com

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Manga

I wrote a post about the Christian manga trend over at Speculative Faith, so head over there and check it out. Leave some comments. Browse around. Whatever. You know the drill.

Oh, and here's a drawing I found by a Christian manga artist:


Back to Innocence by *PsychoAnn on deviantART

I think it's cute.

Well, that's it for now. Keep it sci-fi.

-SolShine7

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Smallville: Lights, Camera, Action

Oh-my-gosh!!! Tonight's episode of Smallville was superb.

Christina Milian was looking totally fab as Rachel, an A-List actress, coming to town for a film shoot. She and Clark had some sparks flying when they "read through her lines". Watch out Lana!

There was some major foreshadowing going on through the storyline of Warrior Angel as to what is going to happen to Clark and his gang. We all know that Lana is going to get killed off at some point, this just served as a little reminder to enjoy the Clana days while we can.

Other coolness involved Clark getting a red cape as a gift from Rachel. The last scene when it blew in the wind as Clark walked back to the barn was pure sweetness. The director gets mad kudos for that.

And the BIGGEST scene of the night was when the Warrior Angel fanfreak threw Lana off the high-rise and Clark plunged off the building to save her. The look in Lana's eyes said it all: "Whoa!"

A guy like Clark can save me anytime.

So what where your thoughts on it all???

Oh--and check out The CW website to enter a contest to be the vlogger of the month.

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Zoe Saldana Goes Sci-Fi

There aren't many things that I like about Star Trek besides Patrick Stewart as Captain Piccard, Seven of Nine and the Borg. Other than that I'm so not a Trekkie. But this makes me happy: Zoe Saldana is cast in the upcoming Star Trek movie as Nyota Uhura. I'll probably end up seeing this movie in theatres just because she's in it. I've followed most of her work since Drumline and I'd really like to see her turn into a major A-List star because Hollywood needs more diversity!

Hat tip to Andrew @ Star Trek Buzz Blog.

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