The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Mar. 5th, 2008 02:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakSo now I have another Fox show with a renewal to fret about. Let's forget dangerous precedents for the moment, though, and celebrate a splendid first season. Unspoilery, I can say that what impressed me most and hit my narrative kinks is the ensembleness of it all. This show has a knack for a) giving its regulars interesting personalities and interesting relationships with each other (instead of, you know, relying on the audience having vague fond memories of the movies), b) making its non-regular, guest star characters memorable, using them well and giving them also interesting relationships with the regulars, and c) choosing ambiguity over predictability several times over.
Really, I can think of just one nitpick, one scene and storytelling choice which annoyed me and rubbed me the wrong way, and that was Sarah ordering Cameron to depose guard guy in a landmine area in the episode when they were rescuing John. The show consistently showed Sarah trying to save human life whenever possible, I know, but let me tell you, deposing someone in a mined area isn't sparing his life, it's gratitiously cruel, and even worse, I think we were supposed to find it funny, with the man in question yelling "you can't do that" after them. It jarred completly with the rest of the season and seemed a relic for a punchline-action-film, and I kept thinking of photos showing people torn apart by landmines.
That said: I loved pretty much everything else. First of all, it was an inspired choice to make the Terminator among the core three female instead of male. The idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a good guy kept me from waching T2 for the longest time, but even that aside, Cameron's outside being a young woman (since the question of gender is related to the question of soul and sentience, more about that in a moment) meant that from the start, we had what is very rare in tv shows, still, two female regulars interacting with each other in an important and crucial way.
Secondly, inspired use of the backstory without just being repetitive. Sarah's encounters with Theresa Dyson (more female interaction, btw) made sure we didn't just take people sacrificing themselves for granted and laid the ground for Sarah wanting to save Andy from dying like Theresa's husband did. Sarah's time locked up as insane was used in an inspired way to both push teh story forward and to develop Agent Ellison further. And of course, the big one: the late Kyle Reese, whose existence in the backstory isn't just alluded to but used via Derek Reese, culminating in one of the most touching scenes in the finale.
Thirdly: did I mention the ambiguity? Most prominently in Cameron and Derek Reese, but not exclusive to them. Both the scripts and Summer Glau kept walking a tight rope with Cameron; the audience was never allowed to forget that Cameron is scary as hell, and not human, with one of the outstanding scenes in this regard being achieved via understatement. Cameron simply walking away from the ballerina and her brother, leaving them to be killed, not because she hates them or out of malice, simply because saving them isn't her mission. On the other hand, the audience also gets to see Cameron being curious, struggling to understand emotional concepts like grief, attachment or comfort. But none of these scenes are presented in a cozy "awww, isn't the little robot adorable" way, on the contrary. When Cameron tries to understand grief, when she does seem to feel something about killing, it's not about dead humans. Her writing a letter to a dead entity because that is what John has explained to her their classmates did about the suicidee in order to grieve comes directly after she killed another Terminator; you get the impression that killing her own kind is starting to get to her. When Cameron tries to understand passion, instinct, it comes along with a voice over from Sarah telling us that if machines are able to make that step to dreaming, to doing non-useful things, then humanity is done for, as we and a stunned and horrified Derek Reese see Cameron dance, for no reason at all. And in the last but one episode, there are two scenes between her and John which manage to be both touching and creepy to the extreme. Early on, they're watching footage of "Vick", the Terminator Cameron has killed, Vick interacting with his human wife, his hand cradling her face. "That is effective," says Cameron. "What he did. She liked that." John protests that it is wrong, because it's part of a deception. (And before the episode is over, the audience and Sarah get to see that the wife was indeed disposed of when she was no longer of use.) Later in the same episode, Cameron lets John take the chip containing her identity take out of her skull, and that is already played both tender and chilling, but when he reinserts the chip once their mission is completed, he cradles her face with the same movement "Vick" used earlier in the footage before hastily withdrawing his hand before she snaps to consciousness again.
The reactions of everyone to Cameron are all somewhat different, which makes sense because all of them come from a different background: Sarah distrusts her, but without the passionate hate Derek shows; she keeps Cameron at arms' length but has no problem using her. Basically, Cameron is a weapon to her that's not completely safe to use but essential, nonetheless. She does not notice Cameron's baby steps to sentience yet, but I don't they'd suprise her once she does find out, either. John, who as opposed to his mother and Derek got his first impressions of an AI in a positive way, starts relating to Cameron as a person early on, though he tries to remember she's a machine, takes her questions about human concepts seriously (and answers them), and by the end of the season has started to keep secrets with her. Despite the parallel gesture mentioned above, I think he's primarly starting to see her as a sister, and the show certainly plays up the pseudo-siblings angle. Derek, who comes from a world where it's not paranoia because every machine really is out to get you, who has seen slaughter and who has very likely been brainwashed at some point, just plain hates her very existence. And yet of all of them, Derek is the most like Cameron; the showdown in the alley in the final episode gains some of its breathless suspense from the fact that the viewer thinks Derek would be entirely capable of killing a child. Like Cameron, he occasionally lies to the Connors (about killing Andy, and possibly other things, too), but like Cameron, so far protecting them has been shown to be what's most important to him. Both Derek and Cameron have been shown to disagree with decisions Sarah makes, but they both obey her anyway, accepting her leadership. She has at various times threatened to kill them both if they cross the line she has drawn for them, and they both respond in a pragmatic, accepting way.
Something I always liked about Sarah was that she doesn't start out as an action heroine, that she's a believable Everywoman at the start of her journey: a waitress who has no idea of how to handle a weapon, no fighting skills. She transforms herself by sheer will power and love for her son. But what a tv show can show better than a film because there is more time is that her past keeps being present for her and that struggle to be both, a warrior and a human being, is ongoing. I already mentioned the encounters with Theresa Dyson and her determination to find a way not to kill Andy. I also loved the way the show used her former boyfriend Charlie, making it believable both that Sarah once was in love with him - in as much as she lets herself be in love - and that she made good of her determination to keep him out of her life. Their conversation after Charlie operated on Derek was played just right: two people who once did care for each other but who both moved on with their lives. Lastly, Sarah saving Ellison was the most inspired turnaraund of an iconic film image and of an art icon, given that Doctor Silverman earlier compares the Terminator reaching out his hand to Sarah in T2 with God reaching out to awake Adam as depicted by Michaelangelo; Sarah reaching out her hand to Ellison puts her in the position of saviour and creator both.
Speaking of Special Agent James Ellison: hooray for clever, reasonable detectives at cross purpose with Our Heroes (at least initially and through the majority of the season) who aren't evil, stupid or dead by the end of the season. Ellison's pursuit of Sarah and the truth, his piercing together the puzzle never stopped being interesting despite the fact the audience knew more than he did all the time (which is no small feat - usually if the audience knows more than a character, it just wants the character to get there already), and the show fleshed him out nicely. Now that Simpson is dead, I want him to be partnered with Audrey in a Heroes crossover. Pretty please? (Also, if a Terminator kills Sylar during said crossover, I would not mind at all.)
Lastly: on the one hand, not much of a cliffhanger, given that we know an explosion can't kill a Terminator. But on the other, it probably does mean Cameron will be sans skin for a while. Since there is no way they're going to let go of Summer Glau, I expect moral dilemma and John and Sarah arguing about the use of just the technology they're trying to prevent to give Cameron her human semblance back. Also, I guess John will implant Cameron's chip on his computer in the meantime without telling Sarah, let alone Derek, who presumably will try to let exploded robots stay exploded. Also, I hope for someone to bring up whether Cameron's appearance is or isn't a part of her identity - i.e. can a chip be male or female? Who made the decision to give Cameron a female appearance? If Cameron could choose gender, would it even matter to her? If it does, is this another step to sentience?
Really, I can think of just one nitpick, one scene and storytelling choice which annoyed me and rubbed me the wrong way, and that was Sarah ordering Cameron to depose guard guy in a landmine area in the episode when they were rescuing John. The show consistently showed Sarah trying to save human life whenever possible, I know, but let me tell you, deposing someone in a mined area isn't sparing his life, it's gratitiously cruel, and even worse, I think we were supposed to find it funny, with the man in question yelling "you can't do that" after them. It jarred completly with the rest of the season and seemed a relic for a punchline-action-film, and I kept thinking of photos showing people torn apart by landmines.
That said: I loved pretty much everything else. First of all, it was an inspired choice to make the Terminator among the core three female instead of male. The idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a good guy kept me from waching T2 for the longest time, but even that aside, Cameron's outside being a young woman (since the question of gender is related to the question of soul and sentience, more about that in a moment) meant that from the start, we had what is very rare in tv shows, still, two female regulars interacting with each other in an important and crucial way.
Secondly, inspired use of the backstory without just being repetitive. Sarah's encounters with Theresa Dyson (more female interaction, btw) made sure we didn't just take people sacrificing themselves for granted and laid the ground for Sarah wanting to save Andy from dying like Theresa's husband did. Sarah's time locked up as insane was used in an inspired way to both push teh story forward and to develop Agent Ellison further. And of course, the big one: the late Kyle Reese, whose existence in the backstory isn't just alluded to but used via Derek Reese, culminating in one of the most touching scenes in the finale.
Thirdly: did I mention the ambiguity? Most prominently in Cameron and Derek Reese, but not exclusive to them. Both the scripts and Summer Glau kept walking a tight rope with Cameron; the audience was never allowed to forget that Cameron is scary as hell, and not human, with one of the outstanding scenes in this regard being achieved via understatement. Cameron simply walking away from the ballerina and her brother, leaving them to be killed, not because she hates them or out of malice, simply because saving them isn't her mission. On the other hand, the audience also gets to see Cameron being curious, struggling to understand emotional concepts like grief, attachment or comfort. But none of these scenes are presented in a cozy "awww, isn't the little robot adorable" way, on the contrary. When Cameron tries to understand grief, when she does seem to feel something about killing, it's not about dead humans. Her writing a letter to a dead entity because that is what John has explained to her their classmates did about the suicidee in order to grieve comes directly after she killed another Terminator; you get the impression that killing her own kind is starting to get to her. When Cameron tries to understand passion, instinct, it comes along with a voice over from Sarah telling us that if machines are able to make that step to dreaming, to doing non-useful things, then humanity is done for, as we and a stunned and horrified Derek Reese see Cameron dance, for no reason at all. And in the last but one episode, there are two scenes between her and John which manage to be both touching and creepy to the extreme. Early on, they're watching footage of "Vick", the Terminator Cameron has killed, Vick interacting with his human wife, his hand cradling her face. "That is effective," says Cameron. "What he did. She liked that." John protests that it is wrong, because it's part of a deception. (And before the episode is over, the audience and Sarah get to see that the wife was indeed disposed of when she was no longer of use.) Later in the same episode, Cameron lets John take the chip containing her identity take out of her skull, and that is already played both tender and chilling, but when he reinserts the chip once their mission is completed, he cradles her face with the same movement "Vick" used earlier in the footage before hastily withdrawing his hand before she snaps to consciousness again.
The reactions of everyone to Cameron are all somewhat different, which makes sense because all of them come from a different background: Sarah distrusts her, but without the passionate hate Derek shows; she keeps Cameron at arms' length but has no problem using her. Basically, Cameron is a weapon to her that's not completely safe to use but essential, nonetheless. She does not notice Cameron's baby steps to sentience yet, but I don't they'd suprise her once she does find out, either. John, who as opposed to his mother and Derek got his first impressions of an AI in a positive way, starts relating to Cameron as a person early on, though he tries to remember she's a machine, takes her questions about human concepts seriously (and answers them), and by the end of the season has started to keep secrets with her. Despite the parallel gesture mentioned above, I think he's primarly starting to see her as a sister, and the show certainly plays up the pseudo-siblings angle. Derek, who comes from a world where it's not paranoia because every machine really is out to get you, who has seen slaughter and who has very likely been brainwashed at some point, just plain hates her very existence. And yet of all of them, Derek is the most like Cameron; the showdown in the alley in the final episode gains some of its breathless suspense from the fact that the viewer thinks Derek would be entirely capable of killing a child. Like Cameron, he occasionally lies to the Connors (about killing Andy, and possibly other things, too), but like Cameron, so far protecting them has been shown to be what's most important to him. Both Derek and Cameron have been shown to disagree with decisions Sarah makes, but they both obey her anyway, accepting her leadership. She has at various times threatened to kill them both if they cross the line she has drawn for them, and they both respond in a pragmatic, accepting way.
Something I always liked about Sarah was that she doesn't start out as an action heroine, that she's a believable Everywoman at the start of her journey: a waitress who has no idea of how to handle a weapon, no fighting skills. She transforms herself by sheer will power and love for her son. But what a tv show can show better than a film because there is more time is that her past keeps being present for her and that struggle to be both, a warrior and a human being, is ongoing. I already mentioned the encounters with Theresa Dyson and her determination to find a way not to kill Andy. I also loved the way the show used her former boyfriend Charlie, making it believable both that Sarah once was in love with him - in as much as she lets herself be in love - and that she made good of her determination to keep him out of her life. Their conversation after Charlie operated on Derek was played just right: two people who once did care for each other but who both moved on with their lives. Lastly, Sarah saving Ellison was the most inspired turnaraund of an iconic film image and of an art icon, given that Doctor Silverman earlier compares the Terminator reaching out his hand to Sarah in T2 with God reaching out to awake Adam as depicted by Michaelangelo; Sarah reaching out her hand to Ellison puts her in the position of saviour and creator both.
Speaking of Special Agent James Ellison: hooray for clever, reasonable detectives at cross purpose with Our Heroes (at least initially and through the majority of the season) who aren't evil, stupid or dead by the end of the season. Ellison's pursuit of Sarah and the truth, his piercing together the puzzle never stopped being interesting despite the fact the audience knew more than he did all the time (which is no small feat - usually if the audience knows more than a character, it just wants the character to get there already), and the show fleshed him out nicely. Now that Simpson is dead, I want him to be partnered with Audrey in a Heroes crossover. Pretty please? (Also, if a Terminator kills Sylar during said crossover, I would not mind at all.)
Lastly: on the one hand, not much of a cliffhanger, given that we know an explosion can't kill a Terminator. But on the other, it probably does mean Cameron will be sans skin for a while. Since there is no way they're going to let go of Summer Glau, I expect moral dilemma and John and Sarah arguing about the use of just the technology they're trying to prevent to give Cameron her human semblance back. Also, I guess John will implant Cameron's chip on his computer in the meantime without telling Sarah, let alone Derek, who presumably will try to let exploded robots stay exploded. Also, I hope for someone to bring up whether Cameron's appearance is or isn't a part of her identity - i.e. can a chip be male or female? Who made the decision to give Cameron a female appearance? If Cameron could choose gender, would it even matter to her? If it does, is this another step to sentience?
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 02:40 pm (UTC)Sarkissian's daughter. She says her daddy's in the cafe when Sarah asks post-shooting, and Sarkissian turns out to be the guy who stopped Sarah and Cameron in the first netcafe scene so Sarah could pay him the admission fee. The man whose head Sarah slammed into the counter and who hit the button under the counter so fake-Sarkissian in the back of the cafe knew she was coming. Although I think Sarkissian couldn't know just who was going to be in the jeep when the ignition would be turned on (thereby setting off the bomb, I thought) - it was happenstance that it was Cameron and not John and Sarah, who were talking about going out for dinner.
Since fake-Sarkissian is dead, does the real Sarkissian know Cameron's not human? Given that we saw the back rooms have CCTV, he might have footage of Cameron busting through that wall, which could lead to interesting plot developments if the show doesn't get canceled.
Apparently a few of the subplots from this season were cut out for lack of time - a lot of the school-based stuff was barely developed, but enough to be intriguing. I mean, what was going on with the graffiti? Was the counsellor having an affair with the suicide girl, and did Cameron realise this as she seemed to?
The counselor was having an affair with Jordan, yeah. I recall that one of the photographs he was looking at during Cameron's visit was of a door with a yellow bra hanging from the doorknob; the door was completely painted over in white except for the letters IDAN - as in "guidance" counselor. (Someone on the TWOP forums was the first to point this out.) I thought Cameron did realize what had happened, although Summer Glau's acting in that scene was uncanny enough either way. Great acting, though I have to wonder at how fast the counselor accepted Sarah's "tornado" explanation, since Cameron's behavior was noticeably left of human-normal there.
The minefield scene just doesn't compute - I suppose it's theoretically possible he could retrace Cameron's steps out of the field, but it's extremely unlikely a live minefield in the U.S. wouldn't be under some heavy fencing and protection in the first place. And the only way it even remotely makes sense in terms of character is if Sarah figured the open field was already clear and left him there to make him sweat, considering that as of the season finale, we're still in a place where Sarah supposedly hasn't killed anyone on purpose yet. Even then... the minefield's not a good way to resolve that loose plot end. It's practically on par with the blood type non-science, a mistake that could have easily been avoided if the show had consulted anyone.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 04:35 pm (UTC)Yup. They don't, in fact, have live minefields in the US, so far as I know. There's no training-related reason to do it. There are former live-fire training ranges with unexploded ordnance on them, and those are either cleaned up or under serious security to prevent anyone coming onto them. (Although there is an urban legend about some guy and his new 4WD and an open range in South Carolina...) My suspenders-of-disbelief broke at that scene: such a field doesn't exist, and if it did, you certainly couldn't just drive right up to it.
And the only way it even remotely makes sense in terms of character is if Sarah figured the open field was already clear and left him there to make him sweat
Which is still a fairly awful fate, if the guy honestly thinks he's going to die with every step he takes. And it's supposed to be a closed military base, so presumably nobody's coming by to rescue him anytime soon.
I try to pretend that scene didn't happen, frankly.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 04:46 pm (UTC)Heh. We can go shopping for new suspenders-of-disbelief together. Although it wouldn't be worth it for that scene.
Which is still a fairly awful fate, if the guy honestly thinks he's going to die with every step he takes. And it's supposed to be a closed military base, so presumably nobody's coming by to rescue him anytime soon.
I try to pretend that scene didn't happen, frankly.
Me too.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 06:25 pm (UTC)