Thoughts about the character changes from S1 to S2 with reference to Connor's techie skills

[deinonychus_1]

Recently I've been having some quite intersting discussions with Munchkinofdoom re the change between S1 and S2 with Connor, and the sudden appearance of his techie computer and engineering skills. Leaving aside how much you take canon at face value for the use of these skills (which myself and Munchkin do entirely disagree about), I've been thinking about the reasons behind the changes, and why they were so radical.

In S1 Connor was largely just a dino-geek, and with his database he was clearly set up to be the character that provided information about the creatures and the time periods. However, I have a feeling that the writers dropped a bit of a clanger, because that role, to a great extent, was already taken by Cutter, who is clearly the star of the show, and Connor's knowledge merely duplicates Cutter's, and Cutter is also better at it.  See, for example, 1.2, where Cutter got trapped in the underground and without him the others had to resort to consulting Connor and his database to identify the arthropleurid. On emerging from the underground, Cutter himself then demonstates that he has come to exactly the same conclusions re the identification, without any reference to Connor or his database - he simply knew it. It could be taken as bad editing, or if you chose to take canon at face value it can also be taken as an example that Cutter is simply better and knows more than Connor - not surprising considering one is a professor and the other his student.

The problem here is that in ensemble shows, it generally works better if each team member has something different to bring to the mix. Okay, certain things, such as action and fighting, tend to be across the board to some extent (although there are usually a couple of specialist characters in the actions roles - see Ryan and Stephen), but in terms of skills and knowledge there's usually a bit more of a distribution, with very little overlap or duplication. This then gives the opportunity for episodes where each individual member of the team can shine in their own unique area. Hence the problem with Connor. In S1 he had nothing unique to bring to the team. Anything he could do, Cutter could do better, so Connor was fequently just used as the comic relief character.

It has been said in interviews that the writers to some extent used the timeline shift in S2 to re-work the characters a little, and to rectify where things didn't quite work in S1. I suspect they realised what they had done with the duplication of skills, and that was why they made such a radical change to Connor. They expanded and extraploated from the database that we saw in S1, and gave him previously unseen computer/electronics/enginering skills, and at the same time they subtly shuffled the dino-geekery to one side. This kills two birds with one stone - it gives Connor a skill set that is unique to him, and it stops him stealing any of the limelight from Cutter, the star of the show, when it comes to palaeontological info-dumping.

It will be interesting to see what they do in S3, given the rumours of the potential... absence... of Cutter in S3 and beyond, and whether or not they quietly shuffle Connor back in to the role of dino-geek, should the position become vacant.

Now all they need to do is give Abby some decent opportunities to use her animal skills and we will all be happy.
 
These are just my thoughts, and I thought it would be interesting to throw them out for discussion. What do you guys think?

Comments

[telperion-15.livejournal.com]

I think if they want to shuffle Connor back towards dino-geek in S3, there is still some precedence for doing that. I don't think that aspect of his character was completely absent in S2 - didn't Stephen and/or Cutter ask him about what they could expect to see in the Silurian in 2.05 (although admittedly he was wrong about the 'bug sized' bugs!)? So there's still some aspect of the dino database there.

In some ways I was a bit sad that Connor lost his dino-geekiness in S2. You make a good point about the duplication of skills/knowledge with Cutter in S1, but I liked Connor as dino geek character! *g* And actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure I ever really saw it as duplication of skills. Connor's database seems to have info about all sorts of prehistoric creatures in - an amount of data that Cutter could never carry round in his head. I always saw Connor as more backup to Cutter in the knowledge stakes, rather than a competitor. Cutter would have his theory about what the creature/era was, and Connor would confirm it with more details from the database.

[joereaves.livejournal.com]

Plus while Cutter did know about the millipedes, it should be remembered that he *isn't* a palaeontologist. He's an evolutionary zoologist. His expertise shouldn't be confined to prehistoric creatures and because of that he shouldn't know everything there is to know about them. His specific area of expertise is evolution and specifically the things that don't fit Darwinian theories. Like that fish in the first ep.

So Connor's dinogeekiness isn't a direct duplication.

[deinonychus-1.livejournal.com]

it should be remembered that he *isn't* a palaeontologist. He's an evolutionary zoologist. His expertise shouldn't be confined to prehistoric creatures and because of that he shouldn't know everything there is to know about them.

The trouble with that is that it doesn't fit with what we see on screen. To all intents and purposes, what Cutter comes across as onscreen *is* a palaeontologist. He has never yet misidentified a creature or time period. And just as a random question, what is the difference btween an 'evolutionary zoologist' and a 'palaeontologist'? I know a palaeontologist studies fossils of past animal life, so what's the actual distinction? I kind of always wished that they would jst call him a palaeontologist on the show and be done with it.

Cutter, of course, has the get-out clause that he is the star of the show and he is never wrong and always has the right information to hand, at least when it comes to the creatures. So while Connor may not be a direct duplication, when he does try to provide backup in that area, he can never do anything more or better than Cutter.

[joereaves.livejournal.com]

Well a palaeontologist studies prehistoric life through the physical remains, kind of like an archaeologist studies human life through its remains. An evolutionary zoologist is a zoologist (ie someone who studies any animal life), but focussing on evolution, which depending on his specialism could be purely modern animals. A palaeontologist certainly wouldn't be on any kind of expedition where they'd be tracking panthers for example, but Nick has been. There would be some crossover between the two disciplines like there is between history and archaeology (although less crossover I would think since there isn't any history that can't utilise archaeology), but they're different.

Honestly Cutter shouldn't have the amount of knowledge he seems to. I would think his knowledge should be more general (ie it's a raptor of some kind rather than it's 'specific species of raptor'). It's slightly sloppy writing in always giving him the answers when they should come from Connor more often.

[deinonychus-1.livejournal.com]

To some extent Cutter does suffer from the Daniel Jackson effect - apparently knowing everything about every time period for whaever is relevant that week. It goes with the territory of being the star of the show, however unrealistic.

I think again this is why they moved Connor away from being just a Cutter clone, because in that situation there was no way that Connor could ever shine at anything with Cutter being who he is.

[deinonychus-1.livejournal.com]

I liked Connor the dino-geek as well! He always seemed to bouncy and enthusiastic about it. But I was thinking this afternoon after I posted this, and When you actually list the occasions when either Cutter or Connor have indentified creatures, Cutter always tends to be right, and Connor frequently turns out to be wrong, or at least only partly right. In 1.2 he ws right about the creature, but wrong about the 'mostly harmless' (although he did come up with the goods when he remembered they were burrowers and found the tunnel later). 2.5, as you say, there was the Silurian business, when he was wrong about the size of the bugs.

They certainly weren't in competition with each other, skill-wise, but I think it was simply a case that Connor needed something that was 'his' rather than just being a lesser version of Cutter. But he does do a decent job as backup for those occasions when Cutter isn't around.