Ginia Bellafonte devoted considerable ink to exploring the religious dimensions of Fox’s “Sarah Connor Chronicles” on the front page of this Sunday’s New York Times fall television section. About to head into its third episode of season two tonight (Monday), Bellafonte describes SCC as bleak, with a “story [that] is set up along faith-versus-science paradigms, and the hope is that science will lose.” She writes of season two’s direction:
“The sense of evangelicism is ramped up this season. In the premiere, two weeks ago, John was essentially born again. On his birthday he rid himself of his slacker jacket and shaved his head, committing himself more fully to his mission. In the event that we might miss the religious implication, John did this in the rectory of a church, where he and his family were hiding from an Armenian killer. His good-cyborg bodyguard, Cameron (Summer Glau), a pretty but soulless machine, stared at a crucifix and asked Sarah if she believed in the resurrection; the assumption here was that only faith can really humanize.”
Interesting and deep as this all sounds, I still can’t decide if the series if worth a weekly hour of my attention. It’s mostly run, run, run from the cyborgs, try to shoot the cyborgs before they inevitably shoot you. What do you think? Anyone out there actually watching this show and have a comment?
posted September 22, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Oh, it’s so not run, run, run. They actually go head-on against the machines trying to change destiny. If you were a character on the show and you would’ve been told machines from the future are here trying to kill the future saviour of mankind before the world will blow up…wouldn’t you cuddle up in the foetus-position? This is the most interesting show I’ve come across in a long time and I’m gonna enjoy the ride. Finally something different.
posted September 22, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Oh, you’re definitely missing out. There’s a deep level of character development on this show that I haven’t seen in quite a while. And the premise isn’t bleak, it’s hopeful (hope that the future will be better). And it’s about testing that hope, testing that faith, all in the face of something that doesn’t care – that is full of neither love nor hate…nothing. How do you fight nothing? Definitely give it a go, m’friend. I think you’ll be surprised.
posted September 23, 2008 at 11:50 am
Do you actually watch the show? I’m not sure how anyone who does can summarize the rather complex underpinnings of the Terminator mythology with “run from the cyborgs”. It’s… quite a bit more than that.
posted September 23, 2008 at 12:59 pm
cooking a fanatastic tvshow:
-some backgroundstory, which is big (ooh i loved the terminator movies, okay i also loved die hard (bruce willis rocks)but also these movies, watching them over and over again)
-great cast(they are great, even if some people talking about an emokid, c’mon an emo;-) so funny let me guess, just heard the word didn´t know what it means but, “hey everybody is saying it”- funeral for a friend are emo), they are good, like it
- making me love! nice eil and sarcastic jokes, that´s so fudging great!
“and somewhere a cop is bleeding in the alley”, “I´m going to kill the bird before it flys away”
- nice terminators and I´m not only talking about dear summer glau!
- good storyboard, not lame not going all crazy
so i love it, i love terminator, wished i could be one, slamming this neighbours right through the wall (really pi$$ing me off right now) sorry!!!
posted September 23, 2008 at 1:10 pm
The show isn’t about running… it’s about being told that you’re going to do something big but before you become who you’re destined to be a lot of bad things are going to happen.
It’s about faith and being able to believe something so incredible and out there that it couldn’t possibly be true. Machines from the future? Time travel?
The point of the series is that the main characters know that Judgement Day (in this case an AI blowing up the world) will happen and the fact that they want to stop the war that ends with 3+ billion dead from ever happening. It’s about the people around them being forced to come to the conclusion that, perhaps, believing that robots from the future are here isn’t such a stretch of the imagination after all.
Through Agent Ellison, Charlie, and even Cromartie the religious themes are starting to shine through. Let’s not forget the paradoxal birth of John and the other themes expressed.
It’s not just RUNRUNRUN. As cameron puts it in the pilot (one of two runrun eps not counting last nights) “you want to stop skynet? Stop running” Not a direct quote but you get the point.
It’s really worth watching. There are only 9 episodes in the first season (you can rent it or buy it for the cost of one movie about 22 dollars), it takes place after T2 but you don’t need a whole lot of back story in the terminator universe although that helps. The character development is phenomenal and the acting is very good. It’s also about growing up (for John) and having to face a destiny that you’ve known about all your life, while simultaneously trying to change it and make the world better.
posted September 23, 2008 at 2:49 pm
It’s really quite good. There is a decent amount of action, which is good, but this is strengthened by the strong character development and deep themes. John Connor is struggling with excepting the mantle of savior. The main FBI agent is a Christian (a “man of the book” as he puts it). And very underplayed is the development of the female terminator Cameron, as she learns about us, how to dance, contemplates the resurrection, and may become more human.
posted October 3, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Love, love, love this show! Waiting to see how the religious black agent gets treated. He’s the X-Files-Mulder equivalent here. The 9/29/08 episode was particularly well done, where Cameron’s origins are revealed in bits throughout the show.