Sarah Connor Chronicles Hiatus Projects
So way back in December, when Sarah Connor Chronicles went on hiatus for two months, I decided I needed some projects to get me through the time without it. I actually completed those projects quite a while ago, but keep forgetting to post about them. Since the show starts up again tonight, I figured I should write about them today. (Although if I'd done it earlier, I would have more to say in more detail. Consider this more in the way of a long overview.)
Project 1: The Wizard of Oz
I'd never read L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz before, although, of course, I've seen the Judy Garland movie version. Sarah Connor Chronicles references it fairly often, so I thought I would read it. I ended up getting The Annotated Wizard of Oz (1973 edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography by Michael Patrick Hearn from the library. The annotations were actually fairly interesting and often amusing (he spends a surprisingly large amount of time seriously considering the location of Oz), but I think I probably should have read the book without them first so I could really concentrate on the story. I think I remember more about the eighty-page introduction and the annotations than about the story itself. Amongst other things, the introduction includes a fascinating look at Baum's involvement in the early days of motion pictures that's certainly worth reading. It's also fascinating to note how much legwork Hearn had to have put into it that would be so much easier now with the internet.
The book holds up really well as a children's story, especially when you compare it to the story from the same era in the Denslow Appendix. (W. W. Denslow did the original illustrations for the book. Apparently there was later strife between him and Baum, and at various points, some of Denslow's Oz character illustrations were published with other stories written to go with them.) There's almost nothing that's confusing to modern ears, probably because most of the story takes place in the magical world of Oz.
I was also trying to make the analogy to the show, and it works in an interesting way. You would think John should be Dorothy, but he's not. In terms of experiences, Derek's Dorothy: he's the one who travels to a different world, and if you think of Jesse (or even Kyle) as his home, he does want to go home. Cameron's obviously the Tin Man: she's built without a heart, but she does learn to care and think of others (sort of, at least). Sarah's the Cowardly Lion: she started out not knowing what she's doing and she's scared to death, but she keeps going anyway. And John's the Scarecrow: he doesn't know anything/enough, and yet he's the leader and he's making choices and choosing strategies.
Project 2: Terminator Movies
It had been so long since I last saw the Terminator movies that I was having trouble tracking any conversation about Sarah Connor Chronicles that referenced the movies. The answer to this was obviously to watch the movies again. (I also wanted to rewatch them all before Terminator Salvation comes out in May.)
The Terminator had me laughing in the first few minutes because pretty much the first thing you see that's not just a place is the governor's naked ass. (Remember, I live in California.) Given my penchant for reading/surfing the internet while watching things, I actually found it hard to watch this movie because it's so dependent on visual imagery.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the one that relates most to Sarah Connor Chronicles - the show takes place after it, and I believe the powers that be have said it's supposed to follow from T2. I was amazed, watching it, at how well Lena Headey is playing Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor. Between the first two movies, Sarah toughens up a hell of a lot, and I could see the roots for Lena's Sarah in Linda's. I could also completely see Thomas Dekker's John in Edward Furlong's. (Aside the first: his voice keeps breaking, which is at once both kind of distracting and probably part of the point - he's a human being with all that comes along with that. Aside the second: I think of "douchebag" as a relatively recent insult, but John uses it in this, which is from 1991.)
One of the things I really appreciate about the first two movies are the special effects. I find myself annoyed with movies where the special effects are the point. In both of the first two Terminator movies, the special effects are secondary to the story, and they're kind of cheesy to modern eyes. I like the cheesiness. They're not afraid to make a movie that's a movie with some shooting lights added in to give you the sense of what the terminators are like.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines has kind of a bad rap, but I liked it when it came out, and I liked it again this time around. It doesn't really connect to Sarah Connor Chronicles - Cameron jumping them years ahead completely changes the timeline - but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching. The most relevant thing about T3 is that Arnie's Terminator says, "You only postponed it. Judgment Day is inevitable." This is what I've been saying all season, and where I hope the writers are really going with Sarah Connor Chronicles. I want them to take a middle path: Cameron is teaching John that robots can be allies, and Ellison and others are teaching Weaver and John Henry what it means to be human. It doesn't have to be robots vs. humans; metal and skin can work together to make a future they can all live in.
Project 1: The Wizard of Oz
I'd never read L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz before, although, of course, I've seen the Judy Garland movie version. Sarah Connor Chronicles references it fairly often, so I thought I would read it. I ended up getting The Annotated Wizard of Oz (1973 edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography by Michael Patrick Hearn from the library. The annotations were actually fairly interesting and often amusing (he spends a surprisingly large amount of time seriously considering the location of Oz), but I think I probably should have read the book without them first so I could really concentrate on the story. I think I remember more about the eighty-page introduction and the annotations than about the story itself. Amongst other things, the introduction includes a fascinating look at Baum's involvement in the early days of motion pictures that's certainly worth reading. It's also fascinating to note how much legwork Hearn had to have put into it that would be so much easier now with the internet.
The book holds up really well as a children's story, especially when you compare it to the story from the same era in the Denslow Appendix. (W. W. Denslow did the original illustrations for the book. Apparently there was later strife between him and Baum, and at various points, some of Denslow's Oz character illustrations were published with other stories written to go with them.) There's almost nothing that's confusing to modern ears, probably because most of the story takes place in the magical world of Oz.
I was also trying to make the analogy to the show, and it works in an interesting way. You would think John should be Dorothy, but he's not. In terms of experiences, Derek's Dorothy: he's the one who travels to a different world, and if you think of Jesse (or even Kyle) as his home, he does want to go home. Cameron's obviously the Tin Man: she's built without a heart, but she does learn to care and think of others (sort of, at least). Sarah's the Cowardly Lion: she started out not knowing what she's doing and she's scared to death, but she keeps going anyway. And John's the Scarecrow: he doesn't know anything/enough, and yet he's the leader and he's making choices and choosing strategies.
Project 2: Terminator Movies
It had been so long since I last saw the Terminator movies that I was having trouble tracking any conversation about Sarah Connor Chronicles that referenced the movies. The answer to this was obviously to watch the movies again. (I also wanted to rewatch them all before Terminator Salvation comes out in May.)
The Terminator had me laughing in the first few minutes because pretty much the first thing you see that's not just a place is the governor's naked ass. (Remember, I live in California.) Given my penchant for reading/surfing the internet while watching things, I actually found it hard to watch this movie because it's so dependent on visual imagery.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the one that relates most to Sarah Connor Chronicles - the show takes place after it, and I believe the powers that be have said it's supposed to follow from T2. I was amazed, watching it, at how well Lena Headey is playing Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor. Between the first two movies, Sarah toughens up a hell of a lot, and I could see the roots for Lena's Sarah in Linda's. I could also completely see Thomas Dekker's John in Edward Furlong's. (Aside the first: his voice keeps breaking, which is at once both kind of distracting and probably part of the point - he's a human being with all that comes along with that. Aside the second: I think of "douchebag" as a relatively recent insult, but John uses it in this, which is from 1991.)
One of the things I really appreciate about the first two movies are the special effects. I find myself annoyed with movies where the special effects are the point. In both of the first two Terminator movies, the special effects are secondary to the story, and they're kind of cheesy to modern eyes. I like the cheesiness. They're not afraid to make a movie that's a movie with some shooting lights added in to give you the sense of what the terminators are like.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines has kind of a bad rap, but I liked it when it came out, and I liked it again this time around. It doesn't really connect to Sarah Connor Chronicles - Cameron jumping them years ahead completely changes the timeline - but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching. The most relevant thing about T3 is that Arnie's Terminator says, "You only postponed it. Judgment Day is inevitable." This is what I've been saying all season, and where I hope the writers are really going with Sarah Connor Chronicles. I want them to take a middle path: Cameron is teaching John that robots can be allies, and Ellison and others are teaching Weaver and John Henry what it means to be human. It doesn't have to be robots vs. humans; metal and skin can work together to make a future they can all live in.