Although there's often no rhyme or reason behind cable-television's scheduling, they saw fit to grace us with a brand-new episode of Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles again last night.Overall, this show is brimming with potential. Last night's surprisingly low-key victory for John and Sarah Conner (and their loyal, foxy Terminator pal) promised a pot-boiling plotline that could wind up very satisfying.
Unfortunately the writing continues to be atrocious - with characters acting randomly and stupidly. The Connors themselves are needlessly reckless at one moment, then reticent to 'draw attention to themselves' by saving innocent lives (like the suicidal student in the previous episode.) Hardly the stuff of the future leaders of mankind.
Additionally, huge liberties are being taken with established Terminator-lore - making the character's baffling actions even more inexplicable.
It's a pity that the writers manage to wrangle the complex plots into manageable scripts, but trip over the foundations of characterization and dialogue (which should be the easier part of the equation.) It's just lazy writing and spoils what promises to be a ground-breaking sci-fi drama.
We can only hope things improve. Since the FOX network has axed much more promising shows in the past (like Joss Whedon's breathtaking Firefly) the stakes are high and I'm not convinced the current Terminator team is capable of pulling it off.
1 comment:
Yeah, it's not perfect, nor nearly as good as Firefly. But I've enjoyed it immensely so far (Terminator coolness + Lena Headey + Summer Glau = Monday night schwing-tacular).
Here's hoping the writers iron this one out a bit more as they go along.
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