Comments | deinonychus_1: Thoughts about the character changes from S1 to S2 with reference to Connor's techie skills

deinonychus_1

Thoughts about the character changes from S1 to S2 with reference to Connor's techie skills

Feb 24, 2009 13:34

Recently I've been having some quite intersting discussions with Munchkinofdoom re the change between S1 and S2 with Connor, and the sudden appearance of his techie computer and engineering skills. Leaving aside how much you take canon at face value for the use of these skills (which myself and Munchkin do entirely disagree about), I've been ( Read more... )

discussion, ramblings, primeval

Comments 54

alyse February 24 2009, 19:06:47 UTC

It never really bothered me, to be honest. I agree that he had advanced software skills at least, because of the database he'd built from what looked like scratch. Also, he did say he'd been building it since he was 14, which does suggest a certain precociousness when it comes to tech ( ... )

deinonychus_1 February 24 2009, 19:21:31 UTC

Precocious is certainly one word for him. In the S1 behind the scenes extra, Andrew-Lee said that the producers/writers told him that Connor was supposed to be a genius, so that would go well with him actually developing all these skills, even from a young age ( ... )

lsellersfic February 24 2009, 20:08:12 UTC

I think you are spot on about all of this ( ... )

deinonychus_1 February 24 2009, 23:07:41 UTC

I really do wish they would sort out what they were doing with Abby. She's a great character, and in S1 they did seem to be setting her up with the animal skills, which is fair enough - they're dealing with real animals, they'd want an animal expert around. Then in S2 they just utterly failed to use those skills at all, so Abby just ended up being relegated to, as you say, a second rank combat character. I don't mind her being a combat type, but she obviously has a brain as well, so I'd like to see her using it a bit in her area of expertise. Again, as you point out, they need to have less emphasis on dangerous creatures for her to have the opportunity to do 'her thing ( ... )

reggietate February 25 2009, 09:08:48 UTC

As I mentioned to someone else, I don't think that the S2 characters really are 'different' to the S1 versions. True, there is a slightly different emphasis in skill areas, and cosmetic changes such as clothes and hair, but I still believe that for the most part they are the same characters with more or less the same background experiences as we saw them having in S1.

I believe it's been stated by AH that they are the same people with most of the same experiences, just slightly different (obviously, they cannot be one-hundred percent the same, since none of them knew Claudia, etc). But they're not meant to be substantially altered from the characters in S1 that we know and love.

deinonychus_1 February 25 2009, 13:20:12 UTC

cool, thanks for mentioning that, I'd not heard that the actual writers had said that. It's pretty much how I've always read the change, but unless they *show* that explicitly onscreen, then there's always going to be arguments about how how much was different in the S2 timeline prior to Cutter coming back from the Permian.

Thread 5

fredbassett February 24 2009, 20:35:02 UTC

Speaking personally, I never really saw any problem with the original geeky S1 Connor at all. Howver, I liked what I first thought was going to be a harder-edged S2 Connor (and I preferred the make-over he got), but then TFWIC kept turning him into the comic-relief again and making him do really fucking daft stuff, like abandoning, then shooting Abby ( ... )

deinonychus_1 February 24 2009, 23:14:13 UTC

It really is a shame about the sloppy writing on the show. As you say, it leaves the viewer wondering if they *meant* for there to be that subtle change in behaviour, or if they just cocked up the character continuity again and we should just ignore it.

I liked S1 Connor, but I prefer S2 Connor. In S2 there was more of a defined role, and like you I loved the harder, more confident edge, but they just couldn't resist turning him into the comic relief whenever they wanted a comedy moment, which led to some shockingly out-of-character behaviour in some places - the abandoning Abby and accidentally shooting her being prime examples. He's *in love* with her, for gods sake, he wouldn't just abandon her when she's unconscious and there are dangerous predators around. Sorry, mini-rant over.

munchkinofdoom February 25 2009, 04:28:08 UTC

Sorry, mini-rant over.

*seconds mini-rant*

I know I'm cherry-picking what bits of canon I want to use but, essentially, the way I prefer to write Connor is 2nd season edge and maturity with 1st season skills. *veg*

Connor is one of my preferred narrators, and I'm having a ball with Abby pov in S&S. Considering we're fanficcers and they aren't even our characters, yet we can write them consistantly without gutting them, how hard can it really be for TFWIC to actually get Connor and Abby right?! *ends own mini-rant*

reggietate February 25 2009, 09:05:21 UTC

Considering we're fanficcers and they aren't even our characters, yet we can write them consistantly without gutting them, how hard can it really be for TFWIC to actually get Connor and Abby right?! *ends own mini-rant*

IN part, I think, because we have fewer constraints. We aren't answerable to ratings, we don't have to juggle special effects or location shoots that go pear-shaped, or lose things in the editing room, and we don't have to squeeze everything into forty-five minutes. Sometimes, something has to give, and minor points of characterisation are probably the easiest to give up.

Connor's leaving Abby I would guess was a problem with the editing (they seem to have had a few glitches with that in the ep, like Stephen's disappearing rifle later on). The dialogue suggests a misunderstanding between him and the others as to who was supposed to looking after her, but it was edited somewhat awkwardly, giving more of an impression that he'd just dumped her.

Thread 6

steamshovelmama February 24 2009, 21:52:50 UTC

I absolutely agree about the retooling of the character - and I miss Connor the dino-geek, too. I don't have a problem with Connor-the-software expert - I always assumed that Connor was the ideas man behind *how* to create the ADD with assistance from experts in hardware. The point with Coonor is that I think he's supposed to have be one of these super smart people who can turn their hands to anything given a bit of time to study.

deinonychus_1 February 24 2009, 23:22:00 UTC

The point with Coonor is that I think he's supposed to have be one of these super smart people who can turn their hands to anything given a bit of time to study.Exactly. That's exactly my take on the character, especially after the comment in the S1 behind the scenes about him supposedly being a genius. It isn't necessarily realistic for him to be better or more knowledgeable than Cutter in an area that Cutter has been working in for years, but it *is* realistic for him to be extremely talented in a specific area, or in a related set of skills, which is very much how I see the computer/engineering stuff ( ... )

steamshovelmama February 25 2009, 07:32:17 UTC

It may be worth noting that, because of the magnetic nature of the anomalies, they may be breaking fairly new ground in terms of the engineering of things like the rover - there are, after all, commercially produced remote controlled robot cameras used by police/special forces all over the world.

The ADD itself wouldn't, I imagine, be a new concept - it's only something that detects magnetic sources/radio frequency sources. It perhaps taps into the satellite netowrk to locate the actual sites of the anomalies. If all this is simply a twist on technology we already have - the developing of new use, rather than new techniques - it's not unreasonable that Connor could be entrusted with over seeing the direction of the project.

deinonychus_1 February 25 2009, 08:23:23 UTC

Good points - he's not actually creating something brand new, he's just building something that modifies existing technology. For someone as smart as Connor clearly is, this probably shouldn't be too difficult ( ... )

Thread 7

reggietate February 24 2009, 22:34:21 UTC

I think to an extent his being a dino-geek made sense in series 1, because after all, he was Cutter's student, and presumably studying/interested in such things. So it would be logical for him to know a fair bit about them, and for him to show off these skills - Cutter is teaching him; he may know everything Connor knows and more, but he'll let Connor have some of that limelight in order to help in learn/refine his skills.

In series two he's presumably no longer a student, and they've toned down the geekery a little, though not entirely eliminated it - Cutter will still expect Connor to make a suggestion as to waht a creature or a habitat might be, still maintaining a certain amount of teacher-student relationship with him.

deinonychus_1 February 24 2009, 23:32:45 UTC

It's interesting that to some extent we saw more of the student/teacher dynamic in S2 when they were no longer at university than we did in S1 when they were. In S1 Cutter almost seems to see Connor as an annoyance, at least until 1.4 when he persuades him to stay after Tom dies. In S2 there seemed to be a lot more instances of Cutter directly encouraging Connor to think and work things out, such as when they first discover the radio interference in the shopping centre, and when Connor introduces the ADD in 2.3 Cutter is the one telling him to calm down and showing confidence while the others (Leek and Jenny) make jokes at Connor's expense ( ... )

reggietate February 24 2009, 23:51:39 UTC

deinonychus_1 February 25 2009, 00:06:54 UTC

I think this is partly because he knows Connor should be capable of better.... He may be hard on Connor in person, but he'll defend him to others.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with Cutter's feelings about Connor right there. Right from the start he saw Connor's potential, and knew he was capable of being an outstanding student if he applied himself to it, but was then constantly irritated by Connor's attitude.

Cutter's change in how he deals with Connor certainly does coincide with both his estrangement from Stephen, and Connor being the only one willing to believe him, so there's certainly an element of both those things coming into play in S2. The fact that Connor seemed to mature a bit in S2 probably helped a lot as well. Cutter is very much the tpye who wouldn't suffer fools, which is probably why S1 Connor rubbed him up the wrong way so much!