Commentary with a Co-Ed: Save the Sarah Connor Chronicles

by Ashley Gouveia

It’s around that time of year when all of us TV fanatics worry about our favorite shows getting the ax and being prematurely cancelled. Of course, the television shows that have 10 or 20 million viewers each week don’t have to panic. Instead, it’s the shows that have a strong following, but the numbers don’t display that loyalty.

My favorite “on the bubble” television show is Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. I thought this week would be a good time to beg, I mean, give my well-thought-out reasons, as to why this show has to have a third season. These all came to me while watching the season, now possibly, series finale. Are you listening Fox?

Reason #1: Who’s John Connor?
How could the show possibly end without us seeing what happens after John is transported to the future, post Judgment Day? Apparently, nobody has heard of him, and he is completely alone. Sarah decided to stay behind and let her son go without her to chase after John Henry. This plot could easily give the show runners material for a third season. What does John do now? Is he going to get back? Will he repeat the decisions that he knows his future self made?

Reason #2: OMG! BAG is back!
We had to watch Brian Austin Green’s Derek get blown away by a single shot to the head from a terminator and then his ashes being lowered into a grave. I thought the character I had grown to love was gone for good. But then in the last five minutes of the finale, Derek showed up alive and well in the future. Okay, we just got Derek back and they’re thinking of canceling the show. It can’t happen. We, the fans, need to see why Derek doesn’t know John. We also need to see how John is going to handle being around his dead uncle and father. That’s right! Kyle Reese is alive too. This is all just too good to pass up.

Reason #3: Is that Allison from Palmdale?
Not only were Derek and Kyle there to meet John in the future, but a girl who John assumed to be Cameron was there. I think we can confirm that the smiling girl who was pet friendly was not Cameron but Allison, the human who Cameron was created after. Oh, the possibilities. The fans need to see John’s interaction with Allison. This could be an amazing storyline that many John and Cameron fans have waited to see for some time now. Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau have amazing chemistry; it would just be a complete waste to miss the opportunity to explore this relationship.

Reason #4: Where is John Henry?
The last time we saw the oddly lovable and yet creepy terminator he was in a room alone with a knife-wielding Cameron. She gave him her chip and he teleported into the future. Why did Cameron give her chip? Will John Henry now have Cameron’s personality when John finds him? Is John Henry part of the resistance?

Reason #5: It’s one of the best written and acted shows on television.
If not because of all the amazing cliffhangers that need to be answered this show is one of the best out there. The whole cast always brings their A game and the writing is top notch. If any show deserves a second chance it’s this one. Plus, from a marketing standpoint the network would be foolish not to work the new Terminator movie angle. I’m sure the film will bring in new viewers. I think moving the show back to Monday night or another slot would bring up the ratings.

Those are only a few reasons why this show deserves a third season. Please FOX, don’t let another great show slip into the proverbial abyss of television shows that ended way before their time.

Commentary with a Co-Ed is a weekly column at Tube Talk new every Friday.

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Commentary with a Co-ed: Hooked on The Sarah Connor Chronicles

by Ashley Gouveia

I feel like I first heard about The Sarah Connor Chronicles so long ago and now I finally got to see it. I’m not a huge fan of the Terminator films. I couldn’t really tell you much about them, except for throwing out some catchy catchphrases and a flashback to the ride in Disneyland. But I’ve got to say that I loved it. It was fresh, exciting, and the two leading ladies kick butt!

Cameron, played by Summer Glau, is my favorite character. Granted, she’s a terminator/cyborg but she’s tough. Plus, she’s from the future! That’s another element that particularly peaked my interest in the show. Time travel is always interesting to me. When it’s done correctly it can take a show into a whole new direction that’s intriguing to the viewers. The time travel scene from the year 1999 to 2007 was great. I truly felt like I was watching a movie. Cameron also got to say the cool ‘come with me if you want to live’ line. How cool is that?

One reason I wanted to give this show a chance was because of Thomas Dekker, who played Zach on Heroes. I actually liked his character on that show. (Hey, he was better than West.) I wanted to see how he would handle a more important and main role. I’m happy to report that he passed with flying Terminator heads! That scene where he tells his mother that he can’t be the leader that he’s expected to be was heartbreaking. Dekker sold the ‘boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders’ brilliantly.

Not only do we have a tough cyborg girl, but we also get Sarah Connor herself. She had to be tough, if she wanted to protect her son from certain death. It’s been a while since we have had two leading women who are strong and can clearly take care of themselves on television. Even against psychotic killer robots.

The beginning and ending voiceovers given by Sarah are a great part of this series. I hope they don’t get rid of them. It’s fantastic how well they tie in to the actual themes of the episode. I think you all know I’m a sucker for a good voiceover. The pilot episode was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. So, what did you, my fellow viewers at home think of The Sarah Connor Chronicles? I’m hooked!

Commentary with a Co-Ed is a weekly column at Tube Talk new every Friday.

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