Temporal Jumpstart Mistabishi
Science fiction is on the menu this week. We're talking about the new Friday night line up of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Joss Whedon's new project Dollhouse. I'm not going to bother talking about how putting these shows on Friday is not only insulting to science fiction fans (yes, we know we don't have lives and we don't go out on the weekends, thanks for reminding us) but also a death knell for these two ratings-challenged shows. Moreover, I won't mention that Whedon's previous much celebrated show that was cancelled prematurely due to low ratings after only being on for one season, Firefly was given the same Friday night timeslot. I've already made my peace with the fact that neither show will be renewed for the next season.
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One of the criticisms I've heard of Terminator is the choice of Lena Headey as Sarah Connor. I totally understand. Linda Hamilton left some mighty big shoes to fill and Headey is not nearly as tough-looking or menacing as Hamilton could be. My only justification for accepting Headey as Sarah Connor comes from the plot of the show. If you're not familiar with, it won't spoil anything to tell you that in the pilot episode, a high school aged John Connor and Sarah Connor jump forward a few years in time to avoid certain death. In Terminator 3, we learn that Sarah Connor died of cancer, and that's the time that they land in. So thanks to temporal mechanics, the John and Sarah of Terminator 2, veer into an alternate timeline, negating the events of Terminator 3 and creating a whole new ball of string theory. What?
Basically, the character Sarah Connor in the TV show is a different person than the one in the movies. So, I say, cut her a break. She's had different experiences and different stimuli to affect her character. Also, it's a TV show and despite it not having the same cast as the movies, it's good and shit blows up, sometimes (although still not as often as I would prefer).
I don't have much to say about Dollhouse that can't be summed up by this comic strip. Suffice to say Dollhouse is off to a really slow start. Billed as Alias 2.0, it really just hasn't cashed in on it's very strong premise. Take The Island and mix in elements of Alias and Charlies Angels and you potentially have a great show. However, at this point the only thing that is keeping me watching after last week's episode (Stage Fright) is Whedon's track record with Firefly. Firefly was a great show, but I recall that it took a good 4 or 5 episodes before the show found it's groove and really started to take off. So, I will wait patiently and hope that Dollhouse gets a jumpstart soon.
Lastly, I can't help but sneak a little technology in to the post this week. Here's the video for 'Printer Jam' from drum 'n' bass maestro Mistabishi's new album Drop:
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