Redstick SF

Good Television? TERMINATED!

There are some shows that, just by watching the 2 min trailer, you know…you just know that (1) they would only air on Fox, and (2) it will be cancelled before March.

But late 2007/ early 2008 is a strange time for television. The writer’s strike seems to be going on longer than television viewers expected, and since the major networks aren’t bold/crazy/stupid/spiteful enough yet to show only hastily constructed reality shows, other shows, perhaps originally thought too risky/stupid/boring are getting their shot.

Case in point: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. A television series based on the Terminator films.

I hate, and I mean hate, this idea for a couple of reasons.

1. This series establishes, once and for all, that John Connor, despite being the last savior of the human race and protector of blah ba blah…is the ultimate momma’s boy.

One of the (few) reasons that the Terminator 3 wasn’t a total trainwreck was that they moved past Linda Hamilton, past Sarah Connor, and let John FINALLY tell his own story. The story more or less worked because we finally got to see a glimpse of John’s progression to this leader that he is eventually to become.

Bringing the series back to Sarah Connor makes the emphasis all Freudian and weird. This guy seriously can’t get from out under momma. It’s just creepy.

2. Summer Glau, of Firefly fame, is in this series as John Connor’s love interest. I know everyone wants to cry about what an amazing series Firefly supposedly was…and then pat themselves on the back for being so smart, but Summer Glau was a major part of what was wrong with that show. Her performances were just strange.

She strikes me as that really artsy chick you knew in high school that, while attractive, was way, way too into the latest drama class production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. And drew unicorns on her notebooks, natch.

3. It looks to be ANOTHER series about sci-fi girl power. I’m not really sure how we got to this point, but it looks like television screenwriters are equating a renegotiation of gender roles with bone-crushing round-house kicks to the face. This one only ups the ante. Not only is Sarah Connor the gun wielding badass we remember from the films, but Summer Glau’s character is…wait for it…a good/ reprogramed terminator sent back from the future to protect John. You knew she had to be, right? She just can’t be the normal love interest.

There it is. I’ve thrown down the gauntlet. I defy Summer Glau to be convincing in a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. Bet she can’t do it without having to be a karate expert/secret agent/ weird conglomeration of mysticism and martial arts ala the Fifth Element.

Seriously, tell me this girl didn’t have a unicorn trapper keeper and wear strange colored scarfs year round that she made herself.

4. It’s on Fox, how good could it be? The Terminator movies were some of the most expensive ever made. It’s frightening to think how awful this will look on a television show’s, a FOX television show’s budget.

The early verdict? Wouldn’t be surprised if this one gets terminated before it airs. God, let’s hope so.

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