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Sarah Connor Chronicles — Why It Died

brumgrunt writes "Sarah Connor was a non-populist, meditative, complex piece of television on a smash-bang, show-me-the-ratings kind of network. The two were never going to get on. Plus: how the Terminator name proved more hindrance than aid."

12 of 834 comments (clear)

  1. Complex? Non-populist? Meditative? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh, you mean dull. Or as Homer Simpson would say:

    B-o-o-r-i-n-n-g.

  2. more plausible by fermion · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A simpler explanation is that this show was just another attempt to increase the profits of the terminator franchise. I suspect that given the number of people involved, and the number of people that had to be paid off to gain the rights to the characters, ideas, and franchise made the show too expensive. p It seems to me that the same show could have been made with new characters at a lower cost. I am sure the network thought the fact that this was terminator meant that more people would watch it and they would recover the additional costs. Obviously they were wrong.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    1. Re:more plausible by WindowlessView · · Score: 5, Insightful

      terminator franchise

      Maybe the problem is with the franchise. It seems so-last-decade. Reality is so much more interesting than silver liquid robots from the future.

      I could never accept that in the two seasons barely any mention was made of the forces that are really behind robotic and large database development. It was as if DARPA, the defense industry, the "war on terror", the growth of domestic surveillance, insatiable corporate data aggregation, battlefield robots and drones in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc., didn't exist. The series had ample opportunities to be relevant and insightful about human psychology, social trends and politics. But it wasn't.

      --
      Leave the gun, take the cannolis.
  3. Re:The babe from Firefly? by Nursie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This.

    Jewel Staite is hot...

    Never did watch this Terminator series. To be honest I'm getting bored of the whole series model. The idea these days seems to be to start off as many subplots as possible and then take care never to resolve anything so that there's always room for another season. Then you string it out for as long as you can until you get cancelled. If you're lucky you get a really rushed ending in two episodes that clumsily attempts to tie up the storyline. Quite often not though.

  4. "Non-Populist, Meditative, Complex" by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Which is to say, "Elitist, Slow-Moving, Muddled."

    Never watched the show, but thanks for the tip; you've told me all I need to know to stay away from the torrents and DVDs.

  5. Re:The babe from Firefly? by pzs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Quite.

    I wasn't always a fan of Babylon 5, but you have to admire the coherency of the plot. Straczynski designed the plot for the first 4 seasons before he even started making the first. He even made forward references to future seasons in the first.

    Place this in stark contrast to Lost, where it's clear that there is no long term game plan and they're just trying to keep people guessing for as long as possible. What's the point in guessing if there isn't, and never has been, an answer?

  6. You never watched did you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anyone who actually watched the show would know the plot was not like that.

    It wasn't some Kung-Fu the Legend Continues. It had a very complex plot with many main characters. Outstanding writing, acting, suspense, and plot development made this the best show on television.

  7. Re:going out on a limb, here ... by Richard_at_work · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I've seen every episode, and I still say the show sucked, but thats my opinion and it differs from yours.

  8. Re:Here, I'll summarize. by Golddess · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It doesn't even try to kill his grandparents.

    Considering the explanation in Terminator about why the Terminator killed those other Sarah Connors, I don't believe Skynet would have even known where to begin with trying to kill John's grandparents. And anyone who knows timetravel knows you don't just go back and kill everything in sight. Skynet could end up ensuring that it never gets created.

    --
    "I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
  9. Re:Complex? Non-populist? Meditative? by Loco3KGT · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not sure why this got marked as 'troll'. He's absolutely right. I love me some sci fi TV, but this show was best watched in Fast Forward on my DVR.

    It wasn't complex. It wasn't meditative. It wasn't non-populist either. It was crappy, though.

    Just because something has a shoddy storyline that barely pieces together doesn't mean that it's complex or meditative.

    --
    Blessed be he who reads this post, Cursed be he who tells my boss.
  10. Re:The Real Answer by whisper_jeff · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Frasier? Seriously? You're blaming the end of Frasier on reality TV? Really? It didn't have anything to do with the fact that the show had an ELEVEN year run? It wasn't about the fact that the show ran its course, as all shows do? It died because of reality TV? Seriously?

    I understand your basic point and actually agree with it in large part. Reality TV has changed the way networks view TV but to say that a show which had an exceptionally long run on TV ended because of reality TV rather than it just being the natural course of things is actually hurting your point rather than reinforcing it.

  11. Re:The babe from Firefly? by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What that tells me about Lost is that they do a good job of managing their prop inventory.

    I think it is likely they just mine earlier episodes for visual and (ahem) "plot" elements and then drop a subsequent reference or explanation to them in later. No foresight or planning required.