Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

[taraslove]

Is anybody else as excited as I am for this show?

[dlline]

I am cautiously optimistic.

But then there's this.

Might be fun.

[Alcy]

Yes, I agree with Diane, Lena Heady is hot, hot, hot!

I watched the pilot episode that was leaked online ages ago and it was good, I'll look forward to seeing the tweaked pilot, I hear that Lena has buffed up a little which she kinda needed to do given that Linda Hamilton was so toned. Although I had to laugh when I read that Lena practices a martial art called 'sitting on my arse.'

I was never a Firefly fan but Summer Glau is cute and talented so she is definitely watchable. Not too sure what to think of the guy that plays John, I'll reserve my judgement until I've seen him in a few more eppys.

[JustSkipIt]

I saw an extended music video/commercial for it this weekend and was totally stoked! I've got the Tivo set and am hoping it's better than the thoroughly disappointing Bionic Woman.

[seurat]

Haven't seen anything more than a preview and it still seems a better bet than Bionic Woman. I actually quite like Summer Glau, so I am looking forward to this. Lucky that they saved this one for mid-season because there isn't going to be much else to watch now that the writer's strike has gone on so long.

[taraslove]

Well, I won't say much because of spoilers, but I was pretty satisfied with the pilot. It's an interesting premise, and there have been a lot of shows that had quite a following with pilots far less interesting.

There's plenty of room to develop, and it's got great conflict going for it. I hope that it turns into a good show.

And who doesn't like Summer?

[gorn]

We watched this last night with mixed expectations. The previews looked kind of cheesy, but I'd heard it got good reviews. I had three really big concerns - 1) I wasn't sure "The Terminator" was the kind of story that would translate well to network TV (I was afraid it would be sanitized & dumbed-down), 2) Although I loved Linda Hamilton in both movies, her character seemed a little one-dimensional to carry her own series, 3) I thought that young girl-Terminator in the previews was a stupid idea.

Well, Mrs. Gorn & I really liked it, and my 3 big concerns turned out to be what I thought were the strongest parts of the show. First all, it didn't seem sanitized or dumbed-down at all; Mrs. Gorn was cringing at some of the more intense scenes. The violence was realistic & gritty. The story worked for me, too, and the woman playing Sarah was pretty good. No, she's not even a pimple on Linda Hamilton's rock-hard butt, but she doesn't try to be, either. She plays her own character, and I liked it. There's a vulnerability to her I like. Linda Hamilton's Sarah was tortured, but not vulnerable - she had become what she feared & hated the most, another Terminator. I don't think at any time I found myself comparing this new actress to Linda Hamilton; I was sold on her and the story right from the beginning.

The same cannot be said about the evil Terminator. Mrs. Gorn was scared of him, so he wasn't all bad, but to me he was no where near as imposing or threatening as Arnold. This new guy had an evil, pissed-off look on his face ... but what made the original Terminator so scary was his lack of emotion. You can fill-in your own Arnie joke there, but it was the perfect role for him. He was an awesome, relentless wrecking machine of death in that first movie!

The young girl-Terminator, the one I was so skeptical of, turned out to be the best part of the show for me. She was great. When she was fighting the Evil Terminator, he had this evil snarl on his face - a human snarl - but her face was expressionless. When I saw her, I could believe she was a robot ... as opposed to an actor trying to be as menacing as Arnold and not quite succeeding.

And yet, there's a human side to this robot, too. She's a new model of some sort, and it's interesting. It "feels" like there's more going on here, that there's more to it than just some writers who thought, "hey, let's make the new Terminator a pretty young girl!" You know that line Sarah has when she's being patched up, about how she's afraid she's going to lose her son? I have no idea where this story is going, but I think this is going to play a big part - this new Terminator might inspire him to live up to his destiny in a way his mother can't. If we're lucky, we might get into some interesting Asimov-like human/robot relationship ground. I don't know, but like taraslove said, there's a lot here to work with.

Looking forward to the next episode tonight.


Oh, I also really liked the red-isotope gun they used to blow that Evil Terminator to bits with. Blew him to BITS. Was it my imagination or did it look like his head went flying across the room? Ah, that's good TV!


edit: Whoa! Looks like I was right about that head ...

[FunkyBeccaBecca]

i think Summer Glau is doing an incredible job with this role.

the episode that aired tonight had me getting lots of "River" vibes



also, is anyone else getting annoyed with the movie-inspired music that they keep milking during dramatic parts? its getting a little much...

[Hemiola]

Maybe I'm dense, but the plotline is already getting difficult for me to follow (I should mention that I am not/was never a fan of the original films).

Did I miss something? Who is the E.M.T. that John sneaks out to visit, and why is he so skittish around him? Is he of any importance at all??

As for the yummy Summer Glau, I couldn't help thinking all through the episode that one would think that the creators of this "model" would make her fully functional so that she could provide, um, relief for the boy's physical needs. That would have been really thoughful.

[gorn]

That guy was Sarah's fiance, who she ran out on at the beginning of the first episode. John seems to have really liked the guy and was hoping they'd finally settle down.

I've never seen Summer Glau before - I know you Firefly fans are gasping incredulously. I've actually never seen ANY of these actors before, but I'm the first to admit I'm quite out of touch. That said, I think they're all pretty good, particularly Summer Glau (what an interesting name). I was afraid John was just going to be a spoiled brat or a smart-ass whiz-kid with an attitude, but his character is thankfully written a little better than that. I liked the scene in the pilot where he was pleading with his mother to "make everything right," and then in last night's episode where he confronted his almost-step-dad.

As for Summer Glau's robot being "fully functional" ... I wouldn't be surprised to see that develop as the story goes on.

[JustSkipIt]

We watched both episodes and thought it was quite kick ass. We particularly compared it with the thoroughly boring and disappointing Bionic Woman. The women in this show are rough and tough. My favorite part was [spoiler]When they were getting the cash and guns from the other safe house, the robot got shocked so in leaving Sarah just tossed her out the window onto the roof of a car 4-5 stories down and then they climbed down, she woke up and they all ran. Very kick ass. [/spoiler]

[seurat]

I was really impressed as well. Loved the way Sarah regards the robot -strictly as a helpful machine- as opposed to the way John treats her. The scene where Sarah pushed her out the window was great, I think they can get a lot of mileage out of things like that. Maybe as the bot becomes more self-aware, which she no doubt will, they can get some humor our of her too. As mentioned, the fight scenes were really well done, and there were lots of little touches that we don't often see in tv shows because they are shot so fast. (My fave is probably when the bot imitates the gang girls slouch against the car.}

So yeah a definite winner for me. Too bad they don't have a full season in the can, I believe there are only nine or ten completed ep's.

[the hero factor]

I'm a big fan of the first two movies, so I was hoping it would be good, and so far, so good. I'm really liking it.

First off, I like Lena Headey as Sarah Connor. She could stand to put on a bit of weight, especially if it's muscle, but nonetheless, she's the eye-candy for me here. I also think she's the most interesting of the characters so far. I'd like to see her kick a bit more ass, though.

I tried watching Firefly, but didn't get into it, so I wasn't sure what to expect from Summer Glau. I like her. Her fight scenes are awesome, and she does a good job of playing robotic-blank. And I like the character's name, nice shout out to James Cameron, writer/director of the first two movies.

Thomas Dekker is pretty good, too, though he hasn't had much to do yet. John is a bit of a dumb-ass teenager, but I'm hoping we'll get to see him evolve into the man who is the savior of humanity.

I can't say I care for the cancer storyline it seems like we're gonna get. Eh, seems like it'll be too much melodrama, but we'll see.

I liked seeing Charley Dixon again in the second ep. And I like that, so far, his relevance is in connection with John. I really have no desire to see some lame triangle involving Sarah angsting over Charley being with his wife. Blergh. But if they keep it focused more on John missing the nearest thing he's ever had to a father figure, then Dean Winters can stick around.

I really appreciate how they use Cameron for humor without crossing into wacky-robot-hijinx territory. Sarah tossing her out the window was freakin' brilliant! And I love how they did it, with no big reaction shots or quippy punchlines. Just Sarah being all matter-of-fact about it, and John looking on all, "WTF, Mom?" Cameron mimicking the Ganggirl was cute and funny and well done, too. And the part later when Ganggirl was doing her make-up, and Sarah's brief, puzzled reaction, was great, too. Subtle. Keep this up, writers.

I thought the headless Terminator thing was kinda dumb. Especially since it looked like the head went through the time field without living flesh around it, which is shouldn't be able to do. But whatev, I'm pretty much gonna try not to nitpick too much.

How badass was Sarah throwing her stolen motorcycle at Termie? That rocked!

I really liked Sarah and Cameron's conversation about killing people, with Sarah hoping to be able to order (or have John order) her not to do it, and Cam shutting that down. Nice callback to T2. And I liked the payoff, Cam killing Enrique, even though she wasn't 100% sure he had turned.

And boy, I do go on. I'm pretty jazzed about this show. And it's nice to be watching new TV. I haven't been interested in watching something as it aired in quite a while. Since season one of Joan of Arcadia, in fact.

[Culzean]

Just watched episode #3. I'm still loving this series but I gotta ask - how is it that Cameron forgot how to act human? She did a good job when she first met John.

[werewolf123]

Culzean: She did a hard re-boot at the safe door and some of her data was corrupted.

[seurat]

I didn't like this ep as much, but it was still pretty decent. Not much action and I much prefer the show when it follows John and Cameron than when Sarah is by herself. Still, I loved a few things, the whole freak discussion was great, as was " the metal plate in her head " I was a little disappointed that they didn't do more with the story of the distraught and finally suicidal student, but perhaps they'll follow up with that. Hopefully the pace will pick up next time, and we'll get to see more of John and Cameron at school. I did like his resigned line after their first day that he thought it went pretty well since he was still alive and she hadn't killed anybody.

[JustSkipIt]

I would agree that I didn't like this week's episode as well as the first two but it wasn't bad. I hadn't noticed how like Linda Hamilton (in T2, not 1)'s body Lena Headley has. The first (dream) scene really showed her to be thin and fit which I hadn't really expected so much. I enjoyed the storyline with her feeling out the old intern but the kids going to school was disappointing. I'll agree that it seemed like Cameron had more human-like behavior in the first two but now she seemed very confused. She needs to watch some TV like Darrel Hannah in Splash or something. The suicide story didn't go anywhere and I wonder if it will. I had thought that there would be a bad terminator each week or two but it seems this one will be following them around. Nice touch with the 4 year old fingerprints. Hmmm.

[gorn]

Isn't it a little early in the season for re-runs? It was fun to see the pilot again, but I'm really looking forward to that next episode ...

[seurat]

Gorn, I think they just bailed on burning a new ep because of your State of the Union speech. Under normal circumstances they might have gone ahead with a new ep anyway, but since the writer's strike has limited the number of ep's they have, they decided to hold it back and rerun the premiere. They only have a half dozen or so more ep's available and they will still run out in March. I missed it too though, nothing much to watch last night. (Needless to say, you couldn't pay me enough to make me watch Bush blather on.) At least there's a new House tonight.

[JustSkipIt]

This week: the highlight was Sarah Connor wailing on that guy. I mean she hit him harder (or so it looked) than I ever saw the Bionic woman doing back when we were still watching the new one. I liked the idea of Cameron stealing the single bar of colton too. Is she going to hide it somewhere so someone can build her?

[Hemiola]

Although I was never a big fan of the films (as I mentioned in my post above), I am watching this series so far with interest and enjoyment.

It seems to me that its principal virtue is action: indeed I would say that we are being treated to the kind of action sequences that one normally expects to see only in movies. I guess the technology must be improving or else the stunt people are doing a simply incredible job!

As for the most recent episode, man, that kid must have talcum powder for brains. No rational person would have thought to sneak back into the plant with no back-up. If this is to be typical of his behavior, keeping him alive to "save the future" is going to be quite an undertaking.

[LestatDraconus]

I've been caught up in the hype of it finally coming to free-tv but it also will most likely anger me if James Cameron isn't at the helm or in someway involved with the production.

Small bonus: Summer Glau and my Whedon Fanboyism coming in to give me a little hope, but time will tell.

I absolutely hated T3 with a passion and I desperately hope this won't be a complete crap fest.


EDIT: Watched the first episode tonight, kinda loved it though it could be all bad later on. I am surprised by the end bit, shadows of Sliders perhaps? Or just that one episode? Either way, it's definitely got me all hyped up.

[seurat]

I'm still consistently enjoying this show, and finding all kinds of reasons to keep watching. Summer Glau being reason number one. And she did have my fave line of the night "I call 9 mm." lol, truly. Hope they can keep us this quality, and that they get to shoot a few more ep's now that the strike is finally over.

[Culzean]

So Cameron has taken a bar of colton and what appeared to be a micro-processor-brain-thingy. Hmmm....

Don't suppose she's going to build herself a little girlfriend?

[gorn]

I tivo'd this week's episode but haven't seen it yet. Mrs. Gorn caught it live, though, and said it was pretty good. She said it was kind of difficult to follow (language barrier here), so she wants to watch it again when I do so I can explain everything. Some people hate this, but I rather enjoy it. Makes for a fun evening.

Anyway, at the risk of spoilers to those even later than I am, I really liked that scene at the end of the previous week's episode where Cameron was writing the letter. I didn't get it right away, but she was writing to that other Terminator she "killed" (ripped the chip out of his head). I thought that was an interesting touch.

I'm really enjoying this show. Best thing I've seen on TV in years.

[Gatito Grande]

More than just how GREAT this show is . . . is that they've made it look so easy to write/direct/act a great show!

GG Which of course now means that mo'fo' FOX will cancel it? Out

Maybe the Governator has some pull? Whatever it takes!

[seurat]

I was under the impression that this show was pretty safe for next season. Now you've got me worrying again.

Last couple of ep's have been quite good, but I won't go into detail now in case some of you not caught up. Too bad that next week is the season finale, I guess I'll have to go back to watching dvd's.

[Paint the Sky]

This starts tonight on telly in the uk. Virgin 1are showing it at 10pm GMT, and on the strength of what I've read here I'm going to give it a go.

There is real dearth of good sci-fi at the moment, so I hope this will fill that gap in my viewing schedule.

ETA - I think this was the second episode, silly me, even so, I picked up what was happening from the re-cap.

From first veiwing it seems to be a cut above most of the stuff on a the moment.

The action sequences are nicely done, quite a cinematic feel about them. The cast look good too. Lena Headly, thats her from Imagine you and me, isn't it? She plays Sarah Connor well, although it is hard not to compare her with Linda Hamlton.

The terminator, did she have a name? The scene at the gang-house as she mimicked the gang girls actions, the 'cool' lean on the car, was quite amusing.

I think I'll stick with one.

[seurat]

Show is back. Good start to the season I thought. Still love Cameron, and great to see Shirley Manson, that was some inspired casting. Her song in the beginning too I think. Yay for having something to watch besides sports on tv again.

[the hero factor]

I greatly enjoyed the premiere. Some nice call backs to T2.

and great to see Shirley Manson, that was some inspired casting. Her song in the beginning too I think.

Yup, it's called "Samson and Delilah," same as the episode. Apparently it's a cover of a jazz standard or something.

I hope Manson is around for a while. I liked her. She's hot, and I like the accent. I didn't know she was gonna be a T-1000, but I'm pretty happy about that for two reasons:

1. Now I can hope for a Cameron vs. Catherine smackdown. All of the Terminators Cameron has gone up against so far have been guys, and I could really go in for a good girlfight.

2. It makes her line about Babylon much better. "It's from the Bible." No shit, really? It seemed like something that would be thrown in there to make sure the audience got it, but the show usually doesn't treat us like idiots, so the line just seemed really dumb and bugged me. Knowing that she's a Terminator, though, fixes that. Because they tend to be rather literal and have a knack for stating the glaringly obvious. In fact, I've managed to convince myself that was the purpose of the line; it was the writers's way of giving us a subtle hint that something is NOT RIGHT with Catherine, thereby better earning the urinal reveal at the end.

Or it's entirely possible I'm overthinking this.

I liked Charley and Derek driving around in the ambulance. And I really appreciated Derek's very moderate amount of screentime. Keep this up, writers, and I may actually start to like the character. Although maybe not if he continues to style his hair with shoe polish. Seriously, was his hair that black and plastic-y last season? It was kinda distracting in this episode.

And speaking of hair, yay for John cutting his. Watching him walk around with his hair in his eyes all the time made me want to smack him.

I loved Ellison apologizing to DeadActorGuy. He didn't deserve to die, and he doesn't deserve to take the fall for the deaths of those agents, and it was good to see that acknowledged. Very nice moment.

And I liked getting more of a motivation for Chromartie leaving Ellison alive. He thinks maybe Ellison will lead him to the Connors.

I miss Sarah's voiceover at the beginning, and her narration during. And I hope she wears a tanktop again soon.