Television, BAGs, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I have written often about my love for television. There is nothing better than sitting down on a comfortable sofa in the waning hours of the night and putting on one of your favorite prime-time television dramas. The difficult thing to deal with is when you find that special show you love and it hangs on by a thread, at any moment, potentially getting axed by the network.

As I write this, stories are flying about Brian Austin Green having secured a role on the new CW project "Body Politic." BAG's involvement in this project is up for speculation. We are told it would be secondary to his role on "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles", which for me is the real issue here. It would be a tragedy to see him leave.

Currently, next to "Friday Night Lights", there is no better show on television than "T:TSCC". Its status has a lot to do with the storyline, acting, and performances by all those involved, but BAGs (adding an "s" b/c it rolls off the tongue better) seals the deal. His portrayal of Derek Reese, John Connor's uncle, is this show's saving grace. In my mind he is the best actor on television right now and no single actor does more for the show they are on than BAGs does for The Chronicles.

I can't imagine they would let him go. But, maybe what this really means is that The Chronicles are getting the axe. I can't believe that though, the show has revolutionized the whole Terminator franchise and has so seamlessly grafted itself into the mythos that any future projects about John Connor, without taking this series into account, would be bankrupt in my mind. Thomas Dekker picks up right where Edward Furlong left off. Maybe not as independent, but definitely as street smart and with more of the wisdom we expect from the savior of mankind.

Either way, fans need to brace themselves. T:TSCC without BAGs is a big mistake, but television without this show as part of the Friday Night Lineup is a tragedy. I have been there before. I have lived through the constant drama of 'Party of Five', the cancellation of 'Roswell' and the collapse of one of the WB's more entertaining shows 'Jack and Jill.' But nothing can prepare me for the emotional loss of T:TSCC.

In the most recent episode, "The Last Voyage of Jimmy Carter", there was a perfect example of what I mean. In the end after a brilliant interrogation scene between John and Jessie, he let's her go free which I take as an act of mercy, although he does condemn her to a life where she is forced to remember she killed Riley, John's flame. Jessie leaves and runs into Reese in a garage. After a brief discussion he makes this statement, "John Connor let you go. I'm not John Connor." What a brilliant line. It makes an irrevocable point that Reese and John are the perfect mirror images of one another. You have Reese, the veteran of the war against the machines, a perfect male mentor, with a wealth of knowledge to pass on and you have John, the hero to be, with an unspoiled goodness.

The truth is that this television show is a diamond in the rough. Sci-Fi generally turns many people off, and for viewership that isn't the name of the game. But, this show offers so much more than an imaginary look into the future. It tells a very human tale of faith and morality through the eyes of very strong characters who at times fail but mostly rise to the occasion through courage and commitment to an ideal greater than themselves. I hope the studio executives see it that way. And I hope that after they save this show, they do whatever it takes to keep Brian Austin Green a member of the cast.

Sources:

Korbi Ghosh, "Exclusive: Brian Austin Green lands part in The CW's 'Body Politic'", blog.zap2it.