skygiants | (no subject)

I spent this past week catching up on Sarah Connor Chronicles before the new half-season starts, as I swore to myself I would do. (Making time to watch 13 40-minute long episodes: surprisingly difficult. Um, not that I did all of that this week.)

Anyway, I have opinions! Spoilery opinions! SUPER DEEP opinions that people should talk to me about that I am placing here!

1. The respective actors playing Sarah Connor and James Ellison have RIDICULOUS amounts of chemistry. It saddens me that they do not actually get to interact more often.

2. I like Riley. I sort of wish Riley didn't have future backstory angst and secrecy, because I initially liked Riley in the same way I liked Cameron's prom date from the first season (who I still wish hadn't disappeared during the strike) - i.e., as a viewer stand-in, the Ordinary Person Caught Up In All The Crazy. Also it was nice watching someone be cheerful onscreen.

3. FLAPPER TERMINATORS ARE THE BEST THING EVER.

4. I almost always find the actors of the week interesting, and I sort of wish they were not all so reliably episodic; I want more long-term interpersonal relationship development!

5. With the exception of the diamond fence whose main characteristics were a.) being greedy, sneaky, scheming, and eventually dead, and b.) spouting Torah and wearing a yarmulke and a sign that said "HI I AM JEWISH." That made me pretty uncomfortable. (Ditto the yakuza storyline, at first, but I am mollified by the fact that I am pretty sure the whole yakuza aspect was entirely made up? Which counts as a stereotype subversion I think!)

6. I do not actually find Derek or John all that interesting. I would find Derek more interesting if he spent more time actually interacting with the Connors and developing the wacky family dynamic; I would find John more interesting if he stopped being broody. Yes, I understand that it is totally believable for him to brood and complain all over the place, but let's face it, he does not have the hair or the forehead to pull it off. (Speaking of hair: Lena Headey is amazingly gorgeous, but her hair bothers me. Hairbrushes are not the enemy, Sarah! You can get non-metal ones!)

7. Terminator behavior is weird, fascinating, and often inconsistent, and I always enjoy the Terminator Comedy Hour. Also I really hope Terminator-Raised Savannah either grows up to become, like, the leader of Skynet, or gets kidnapped by Ellison and becomes his adopted daughter.

8. I don't really have an opinion on Jesse yet except that Australian accents are fun to listen to.

9. They did a 'six months later' from present time! Does that mean that we are actually six months later in the storyline? TIMELINES CONFUSE ME.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

life-on-queen.livejournal.com

Surfing by to say ITA about Sarah/James - ridiculous amounts of chemistry. And now that they've decided that Sarah and Derek can't be allowed to play nicely, I'm missing that sparky chemistry in my TSCC - and Riley.

Riley's story is interesting but I liked her better when I thought she was a Real Girl instead of messed-up future!war refugee. Interesting move on the writers' part. Not sure how it will play.

From:

skygiants

Welcome, surfer! :D

Man, it is so crazy! They basically have one scene where they talk face to face, and I spent the whole scene going 'WHY DOES THIS NOT HAPPEN MORE OFTEN why aren't they making out yet'. (I did not wish for Sarah and Derek to make out, but I do very much miss them hanging out together and having arguments over going into people's rooms uninvited and using each other's toothbrush.)

Yeah, usually I am all about the culture clash of the messed-up-refugee dealing with a completely different civilization, and I can see why they thought that was an interesting story, but - the thing is that everyone in SCC is living in basically a messed-up-refugee mindset on a slant to normal civilization. And I miss Riley being a contrast to that, I guess.

From:

bodldops.livejournal.com

Completely (or at least sorta) unrelated: What is the deal about the writers stealing Doctor #9's line whole and dropping it down into a fight scene?

*has only seen the ad, with that line*

*had to watch it again, just to be sure I remembered it right*

*whut*

From:

skygiants

- I don't remember which line! Which horrifies me, because I sort of believe I should have all of Nine's utterances burned on my brain (oh Christopher Eccleston, you are still mourned.) Remind me?

From:

ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com

Hello hello! I see you liked The Intuitionist and your observations about it were the same as mine, so we have that in common! And now SCC.

1. I agree! I have wanted Sarah Connor / James Ellison for ages. And neither the show nor the fans, apparently, are going to give it to me. There's hardly any fic out there about Ellison, anyway. With respect to your comment, I do not want Sarah and Derek to make out either, and I too miss their arguments and Sarah throwing away her toothbrush after Derek uses it. Hee!

2. I totally called Riley being a refugee from the future almost as soon as she was introduced. Probably because she had jumped into the spot left by Cheri, who I initially thought would be a future-refugee.

3. I liked the '20s terminator but I didn't find the actual '20s people convincing.

4. Yeah, Sarah needs a friend who'll actually stick around and not die. A friend who's a woman! She's so isolated, especially this season.

5. I hated the use of the diamond fence character so much I stopped watching the show and only started catching up again a couple of weeks ago. Malignant stereotyping, argh!

6. I don't find Derek or John very interesting either. I always find their foreheads (and Sarah's) amusing, though! They're remarkably high foreheads! Also, nice job casting/hairstyling so that the shape of Derek's forehead closely resembles that of John's.

7. I hope Ellison kidnaps Savannah and she becomes his adopted daughter! What a great idea.

8. I'm really interested in Jesse, but wary about how her characterization is walking the Asian temptress / Mati Hari line. She seems pretty cold, but in the Charlie Fisher episode I believed she feels something for Derek; I'd be surprised if it was all manipulation. I like the idea that she's genuinely dedicated to a greater-good mission to save humanity, mainly because the other possibilities take us back to untrustworthy-Asian stereotype.

9. Confusing!

From:

skygiants

So we do! *beams* Hi! (And yay, The Intuitionist! I see you have a quote from John Henry Days on your profile too, which is on my list to read at some point.)

1. I have to admit I was slightly biased in that regard already because

shati (who got me into the show) is all about the Ellison-love and also Sarah/Ellison. But but! The chemistry! It is ridiculous! (It also helps that they are the two most consistently reasonable and interesting characters on the show. Um, hallucinations aside . . .)

2. It totally makes sense, but I did not call it at all, I think mostly because she started out so chipper and chipper-ness is not a quality I associate with future-refugees. On the other hand, there really isn't another good reason why a sane, cheerful high schooler would go hang out with John Connor, That Sketchy Kid Who Sits By Himself And Broods, so . . .

3. Yeah, but fortunately they did not have to do anything except stand around looking drunk, so there was not much room to suspend disbelief!

4. Yeah really! I miss the days when she used to hang out with Casey, too. (Kacey? However you spell pregnant-neighbor's-name.)

5. It wasn't enough to turn me off completely, but . . . I think it would not have been super-hard to have had at least one other Jewish character over the course of the whole show who was not a walking stereotype. Even in LA. :(

6. That is true! And I don't know if you saw last night's episode, but if you did, [spoiler casting] also resembles John so much it's creepy.

7. HE WOULD BE THE BEST DAD EVER.

8. Me too! This is what I hope for her - like, I find her pretty interesting so far, and as long as there's a fair amount of interesting and mostly-well-aimed complexity in her motivations, I'll be happy. But I don't think we really know enough about her for me to make a call on that yet.

9. Very. :( Six months is a big deal when the apocalypse is coming in four years!

From:

ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com

1. That makes all of five people I know of now who're pro-Sarah/Ellison! Our numbers must rise! ... hee.

It also helps that they are the two most consistently reasonable and interesting characters on the show. Um, hallucinations aside . . .

I totally agree, esp. re: hallucinations, heh.

2. On the other hand, there really isn't another good reason why a sane, cheerful high schooler would go hang out with John Connor, That Sketchy Kid Who Sits By Himself And Broods, so . . .

Ahaha TRUE.

3. Also true!

4. I miss Kacy too!

5. I think it would not have been super-hard to have had at least one other Jewish character over the course of the whole show who was not a walking stereotype. Even in LA. :(

Yeah. I know a Jewish person who lives in L.A. and I don't live anywhere near there! She is pretty much evil-free and also alive!

6. I caught up to that episode and YES WOW.

7. I find her pretty interesting so far, and as long as there's a fair amount of interesting and mostly-well-aimed complexity in her motivations, I'll be happy. But I don't think we really know enough about her for me to make a call on that yet.

I'm with you on all that, yeah!

8. Six months is a big deal when the apocalypse is coming in four years!

I totally forgot it was supposed to be in four years! Is there a possibility that got moved around due to what's already being changed in the timeline(s)? I'm a few episodes behind again...