Um, this is classified as an action show, right?
For the second straight week, an hour passed in which the overall story arc – assuming there is one – was pushed forward a few inches, tops. Catherine Weaver reaches out to Agent Ellison in the hopes of seducing him into working for the dark side. That’s pretty much all that happened in the grand scheme of things. The rest of the hour was taken up by an attempt by Cromartie to lure Sarah and Derek out into Nowheresville while he attempts to take out John back in the city. Oh, and John once again put his life in jeopardy, this time to hang out with Riley. We understand that it must be hard for a teenager to be so deathly serious all the time, but damn, man, you’re the last hope of mankind. Cowboy up, punk.
Back to this whole story arc thing – do the producers even have a plan? They have to, right? Otherwise, they don’t get the green light to go on…right? Still, after watching tonight’s awesome season premiere of “Heroes,” and sifting through the dozens of story lines they unveiled, this show, by comparison, is moving like the turtle that Matt Parkman thought was talking to him in the desert. Are budgetary issues preventing them from a) adding new cast members to expand the story, or b) throwing in some splashy action sequences? Heck, this week’s episode didn’t even include a flash-forward to some post-apocalyptic wasteland. Instead it was all dark, crowded warehouses and the Santa Monica pier. Wheeee.
God love Busy Phillips, though, and that ridiculously fake pregnant belly she’s sporting. She’s the only member of the cast who’s allowed to show any personality these days. Which, of course, means that Cromartie will kill her in two weeks.
I’m still thinking of when “Sarah” (Cromartie) called John and said to meet her and to shut off his phone. Did John truly find nothing suspicious about that call after everything he’s seen and been through? Yes, Sarah is a bit laconic, but Cromartie’s impression of her was catatonic. And the request to shut off his phone…that didn’t set off any alarms? There are times when it looks like John wants to be killed. Good thing he has Cameron watching his sorry butt.
Cameron actually had the episode’s best line, when she said something to him in the church about him becoming a concern. John assumed she meant Sarah and Derek. “Not them,” she said. Is John Connor, leader of the future resistance, under some secret probationary evaluation years from now? It was the most tantalizing piece of “intel” this episode gave us. Like I said, they’re inching the story along, as if they have all the time in the world to tell it. A couple more episodes like this, and they might find themselves splitting time with “Hole in the Wall.” At least that show delivers what it advertises, and probably costs a fraction of what “Terminator” costs.
