I've been a bit busy lately, but I thought I'd pass on this tidbit about a favorite television series of this blogger, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Courtesy of Peter Chattaway's FilmChatBlog, here's an interesting tidbit from Comic Con (which was in Entertainment Weekly):In season 2, say the producers, the universe has been expanded, and the core group we met last spring will be rubbing shoulders with the real world. We'll see the Connor family crumble, and what that stress does to a mom — even as Skynet continues to evolve. Some of the actors — Dekker and Headey, especially — may be directing some of the show's online content going forward, and they're writing Richard T. Jones' Christian faith into the show as part of Agent Ellison's character.Like Chattaway, I find this last item extremely interesting while maintaining a bit of cautionary distance. I've found a lot of content and text in this series that has brought God talk into open spaces, and the last episode of the series got fairly overt in this arena. I'm not sure exactly where they are going with this, but I do find it fascinating that actor Richard Jones, who is a self-professing Christian, seems to be having (or, at least, will have) some input into the presence of the some of the more overt aspects of Christian elements in the series, even if it is limited to Ellis' faith. While the series has the whole messiah/savior theme already built into it from the film franchise (and I must admit I do love the whole angle of watching that theme unfold from Sarah's point of view), the more overtly or direct Christian elements have included a scene with Ellis apparently in a Christian church at a Bible study as well as a discussion with another character about the similarities between the apocalyptic tales of those who have come from the Terminator-future and the concept of a biblical apocalypse. While I admit that the whole apocalyptic aspect tends to make me a bit wary as I'm one of those who's come to think things won't necessarily play out the way dispensational eschatology lays it out (which this series seems to nudge towards), this aspect does lead to some interesting contemplations--like the idea that other folks apart from those inside the realm of believers might also have an inkling as to the truth of how things may come to pass. I can't help but think of how those ancient Eastern folks knew of Jesus' birth and how to find him.
The apocalyptic aspect aside, Ellis could be an interesting addition to the cadre of characters who profess a Christian faith on television (though whether he'll make BeliefNet's Top 10 list is yet to be determined, heh--and I echo one of the commenters: why isn't Shepherd Book on that list?!). At any rate, it will be interesting to see if and what kind of influence Jones has on his character and the series. And, apparently, we'll get the chance to find out in September, when the series debuts its second season. If you want a taste of the new season, check out the promo below, which has some of that savior/messiah language going on (hat tip to TerminatorChronicles):
(Image: Fox) ttsccctgy
