Is anyone else a little let down by the much-hyped (and much-watched) debut of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles that aired on Fox this past Sunday and Monday?
The series, which follows the tough-as-nails character played by Linda Hamilton in the first two Terminator movies, debuted Schwarzenegger big last Sunday after the Giants-Cowboys playoff game. The next night, though, it tumbled more than 44 percent. That is fairly typical for any debut, but there are other factors that might turn off fans of the movies faster than Arnie can say, “I’ll be back.”
For one thing, Sarah’s son, John, tells us at the beginning of T3 that things have been pretty quiet for him and his mom since the events of T2. Not so on the show, which has Sarah (now played by Lena Heady, pictured, left) and John (Thomas Dekker, pictured, center) running for their lives from more Terminators with the help of friendly Terminator Cameron, played by the wooden Summer Glau (pictured, right). Cameron handily whisks the three forward in time to 2007 with her time machine even though we are told in the movies that they can only travel backwards. At one point, there is a semi-tender moment between John and Cameron that made me wonder if I was watching a twisted new sci-fi take on Dawson’s Creek. Somewhere, Terminator writer-director James Cameron is snickering a little.
Ultimately, the show will live or die by how well people accept Heady in the titular role. Hamilton’s Sarah Connor is one of the toughest female characters in movie history—a weathered, pumped warrior woman who will try to take down anyone or anything threatening her son who she knows will grow up to become mankind’s last hope in a post-apocalyptic world. Heady is lovely but doesn’t convey the pain this character has been through, her desperation, or her borderline psychotic state like Hamilton did. Despite some decent special effects and a frenetic pace, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be marked for, er, termination unless audiences believe that Sarah has lived through absolute hell and is ready to raise it.
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Comments on this entry:
I thought The SC Chronicles turned out pretty well. Both women are well chosen for their parts as well as for being quite attractive and the guy is a much better John than Edward Fulrong (I really wish they had chosen someone else for John in T2). I thought the show would be ridiculous (bad) but was pleasantly surprised by the end on Monday. It’s hard for a series like this to get started, but I think that they did alright and deserve a chance to stretch their legs. I for one will be tuning in next Monday to see how things progress.