This Week: Terminator and Atlantis Finales
Monday March 3, 2008
Thomas Dekker, Brian Austin Green, Lena Headey and Summer Glau in the season 1 finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Monday on Fox.
© Richard Foreman/Fox
CBS and the BBC have their hunky immortals (Mick St. John and Captain Jack Harkness, respectively), but Fox may just get a leg up on them with the smoldering, seen-it-all homicide detective John Amsterdam, who's 400 years old and doomed to roam the Earth until he finds his soulmate. New Amsterdam premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m., followed by a second episode Thursday and a third on Monday (its regular night, replacing Sarah Connor). Watch for this series to take its time building atmosphere as it offers glimpses of John's sprawling past; hopefully, it will build an audience as well.
On Friday, Stargate Atlantis brings its very uneven fourth season to a close with a time-sprawling spectacle, as Sheppard, returning to Atlantis to regroup after losing track of the kidnapped Teyla, finds sand instead of water and realizes he's thousands of years in the future. The promos promise David Hewlett in old age makeup, which is fun, but the real question is: in all those eons, did they solve the mystery of why the creators wrote out the indomitable Dr. Weir and then brought in Samantha Carter to do absolutely nothing for an entire season? Because for me as head-scratchers go that's right up there with Fermat's Last Theorem.
Other noteworthy sightings this week:
- On Jericho, Hawkins (Lennie James) hears he might be arrested by Major Beck (Esai Morales), despite their earlier rapprochement.
- Torchwood continues its three-episode guest stint with Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), Saturday on BBC America. This week the team is forced to team up with Weevils to save the Earth.
- This week's Smallville rerun is "Persona," with the always welcome Marc McClure as a Kryptonian scientist. Next week: A new episode, with guest star Sam Jones III (Pete Ross).
Comments
I can’t speak as to why the do nothing Dr. Weir was let go, but Amanda Tapping still had a year on her contract so they offered her SGA for a year and she took it.
Dr. Weir did more as ReplWeir than she did in all the previous Seasons combined.
Don’t forget that Higginson was herself a replacement as Weir for Jessica Steen, who was so terrific for two episodes in portraying the re-adjustment of a diplomatic life and facing down VP Kinsey. At the time, it was reported that the powers-that-be simply didn’t want yet another blond heroine - who’d be confused with Carter/Tapping! So if you have no series continuing for the latter, why NOT come full circle?
For me, Stargate Atlantis’ “The Last Man” episode this coming Friday will be the series and franchise FINALE. Beckett dumped (a clone doesn’t count in my book)for a hot blond with the character personality of a whining mouse. Weir dumped for a boring, has-been SG-1 character who, as you say, did nothing all through Season 4. Most of all has been the most appalling and disgraceful excuse for writing those pseudo franchise/show runners have dumped on this once great concept since they killed off Janet Fraser in SG-1’s Season 7.
On a happier note, the New Amsterdam pilot was very good and holds great promise. It’s equal to Moonlight, but with enough differences to make it interesting to me. Hopefully, Fox won’t be as stupid as they were with Firefly, John Doe and K-Ville. This is their last chance with me, so they’d better not blow it.
WAS Jessica Steen blond? Wow, I didn’t remember that! I was too busy watching her ACTING, which is what actors do!! How stupid do they think we are?! SF fans are very intelligent–not at ALL like the people who produce the shows! Ha! How could anyone possibly confuse the two of them?? It boggles the mind, which we have and they don’t! Tee-hee.
The reason Torri was written out of the show was because she was a terrific pain in the ass for the producers. It got to the point were she was throwing tantrums and threatening to quite when she didn’t get what she wanted, so they decided to off her. She was offered a place in season 5 but snubbed them, good riddance I say.