The Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles

[Synaptic Flow]

The Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles was much better than I expected...

and that has nothing to do with the bonus of being able to look at Summer Glau.

Thoughts?

[Monrozombi]

I'm probably the biggest Terminator fan I know so I was excited but nervous at the same time for this premiere.

I liked it a lot, I was surprised by it. I think the thing I like the most beside great Terminator action is the actress who plays Sarah Connor. whoever would be cast would have big shoes to fill since Linda Hamilton did such a great job.

My only concern is the main female Terminator. If the show is following the T2 mythology then all most Terminators coming off the assembly line would be the T-800 model. The T-1000 was a prototype so there wouldn't have been that many made. So I'm wondering why they choose a smaller model and I"m assuming its female for the sex appeal, but i'm not complaining on that aspect.

I'll be tuning into this weekly

[Synaptic Flow]

I'm happy to have another fan on my side for this. You know the "I hate it" comments are about to commence any moment now.

I didn't really think much about the Terminator model numbers. I figured they were going to be doing things a little differently, just to be... different.

I'm just glad that I exceeded my expectations.

[umainebearman]

Originally Posted by Monrozombi

I liked it a lot, I was surprised by it. I think the thing I like the most beside great Terminator action is the actress who plays Sarah Connor. whoever would be cast would have big shoes to fill since Linda Hamilton did such a great job.

Thats Lena Headey, the last thing worthwhile she was seen in was 300. She played Leonidas's wife.

I saw the pilot just after comic con when it hit the net and liked it alot. Luckily the writers turned in 13 scrips before the strike started up so at least they'll be a steady stream of episodes for a while. Now if I can just try and remember what night it comes on so I can catch it.

[chiprocks1]

Well, since there isnt much else on now, I decided to give it a shot (even though I swore I wouldnt because I AM the biggest fan of the series).

Having said that. It was as bad as I had feared. But then again, its nowhere near the level of the films. But then again, thats aa expectation that cant be met anyways.

Also, did anyone have a clue that Summer Glau's Terminator character name is "Cameron"? Clearly a nod to James.

Ya know, since Summer had a bit part on The Unit, maybe she can persuade Robert Patrick to make a cameo down the road.

[SilentBob]

Well for a series that could of had anything/everything go wrong with it. Did a pretty damn good job of keeping everything together and be enetertaining at the same time. I really enjoyed what i saw and will be more then willing to watch more of it when its on. Especially when you have nothing else to really watch

Originally Posted by umainebearman

Now if I can just try and remember what night it comes on so I can catch it.

Its regular night will now be Monday at 9pm after Prison Break

[thunderclap]

Didn't much care for it. While the actors tried it felt overacted and forced, especially the actress playing Sarah Connor.

Spoiler (Highlight or Triple Click to Read):

And why is Sarah Glau's terminator enrolled in high school?

That was a big "what the f...?" moment for me. It should have been much MUCH better than it ultimately was.

[Brikar99]

I was pleasantly surprised; my expectations were low, but the pilot had enough action and intrigue enough to keep me watching. I wasn't absolutely blown away by it, but it was entertaining enough.

I just hope it doesn't become as repetitive as the movies...

[Synaptic Flow]

Originally Posted by Brikar99

I was pleasantly surprised; my expectations were low, but the pilot had enough action and intrigue enough to keep me watching. I wasn't absolutely blown away by it, but it was entertaining enough.

I just hope it doesn't become as repetitive as the movies...

Well said, my friend.

[Titleist]

I said it before, but congratulations to Summer Glau, you finally found a role where your wooden acting HELPS you.

Sorry but this felt like one big 'meh' after another. And in fact in a lot of ways felt like betrayals to the character and mythos that made the first two great. I'm sure James Cameron has to be chapped that after Aliens and T2 he's had his movies sequeled by such mediocre crap, i.e Alien 3 & 4, and T3.

This is gonna be terminator of the week, pass on that. The big problem is that Hamilton decidedly DEFINED that character of Sarah Connor. And Lena Headey just doesn't feel like Connor, she's too restrained and soft. Hamilton played Sarah as this dehumanized machine herself, someone that was balancing between as cold as the machines that hunted her while still trying to retain the humanity as a mother. This just feels too soft in the new one. She's a sentinel, she wouldn't develop a relationship with a guy, she'd still be hunkered down no matter what.

My big problem is Cameron, sorry but I don't buy her as a terminator at all. Not for a second. This kung fu chick thing may appeal to the Charlie's Angel fans but it doesn't work for the mythos. She just doesn't carry herself like a terminator, that high school "tee hee, hi john" stuff was just lame. They're robots that barely pass for humans in a social sense, and it just kind of makes them seem goofy. The big thing that bugged me about these terminators in general is that they lose what made the first two movies great, which is brutal efficiency. Watch the first two movies, you realize that these machines don't pause, don't take the long way through a situations, they go from point A to point B as ruthlessly and quickly as possible. The "Class dismissed" line was so terrible for that reason. The pausing to get hit my the pickup truck, etc. These things don't stop for dramatic effect, they just get where they want to go, execute, and move on. That's what made them cool, there was no reasoning with them.

Again it wasn't bad, but this just doesn't feel like part of that same universe as the first two movies, which is such a letdown. And just feels like more scrapping of the bottom of the barrel for ideas.

[limacharliewhiskey]

I really enjoyed the pilot episode. It exceeded my tempered expectations, and I look forward to watching the 8 remaining episodes that were completed before the strike.

The biggest surprise that I liked was how they were going to explain the timeline of these events where it looked like everything was going to take place in the late 1990s, and so all the cars and vehicles and technology were going to have to look like it was the 1990s. The time jump to the current time was unexpected, and pretty cool, I thought.

I've been a Lena Headey fan since I saw her in that Jungle Book remake in the mid 1990s with Jason Scott Lee, so I've always been eager to see her in more American movies.

Titleist, I'm OK with how she's playing the Sarah Connor role because that is where Linda Hamilton took the character at the end of T2. It seems like you think Headey should be playing the character more like Linda Hamilton did in the middle of T2, when she went on her quest to kill Miles Dyson. To me, she should be playing the character a bit softer and more compassionate because of John's relationship with the Arnold Terminator in T2.

Also, keep in mind that Sarah and John thought they had changed the future and averted the war with the machines. T3 hasn't happened yet, where John learns that the war with the machines is inevitable and it will happen. Of course, this TV series now seems to mess up the events of T3, but I don't mind much.

My main concern is whether future episodes will seem repetitious with the bad guy Terminator chasing them in every episode, or will there be different mixes of stories? I'm not really sure which would be best for the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pilot, and look forward to tonight's episode eagerly.

[Monrozombi]

Originally Posted by limacharliewhiskey

I really enjoyed the pilot episode. It exceeded my tempered expectations, and I look forward to watching the 8 remaining episodes that were completed before the strike.

The biggest surprise that I liked was how they were going to explain the timeline of these events where it looked like everything was going to take place in the late 1990s, and so all the cars and vehicles and technology were going to have to look like it was the 1990s. The time jump to the current time was unexpected, and pretty cool, I thought.

I've been a Lena Headey fan since I saw her in that Jungle Book remake in the mid 1990s with Jason Scott Lee, so I've always been eager to see her in more American movies.

Titleist, I'm OK with how she's playing the Sarah Connor role because that is where Linda Hamilton took the character at the end of T2. It seems like you think Headey should be playing the character more like Linda Hamilton did in the middle of T2, when she went on her quest to kill Miles Dyson. To me, she should be playing the character a bit softer and more compassionate because of John's relationship with the Arnold Terminator in T2.

Also, keep in mind that Sarah and John thought they had changed the future and averted the war with the machines. T3 hasn't happened yet, where John learns that the war with the machines is inevitable and it will happen. Of course, this TV series now seems to mess up the events of T3, but I don't mind much.

My main concern is whether future episodes will seem repetitious with the bad guy Terminator chasing them in every episode, or will there be different mixes of stories? I'm not really sure which would be best for the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pilot, and look forward to tonight's episode eagerly.

well it looks like the episode tonight has

Spoiler (Highlight or Triple Click to Read):

resistance fighters from the future as well, so maybe it won't be a terminator of the week but other skynet/rebel fighters trying to stop/change the future as well

[limacharliewhiskey]

Ratings were boffo for last night's episode. How much of it was carry-over from the football game, I'm not sure, but the Cowboy-Giants game had stellar 21.6/33 numbers, which are American Idol-like numbers, maybe even better.

Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles had 11.1/16 ratings, which I think makes it in line with other hits this fall, like Samantha Who and Private Practice, probably the two biggest new shows this season. For Fox to put up numbers like this on any new show is great.

It will be interesting to see who continues to watch on Mondays, which will be its regular time slot, with Prison Break as the lead-in.

[iluvalex]

O lawdy, I found Chronicles extremely lethargic and lacking in any kind of interest. I started to read a book while it was on and was still able to keep up with the story. I completely agree with Titleist observations. I can see I will not make any effort trying to catch this. Chronicles reminds me of the old Kung Fu series. I would watch the whole hour show for the minute or two of Kwai Chang Caine kick-ass action. Sorry but I don’t believe for a second that little girl is a terminator.

[tazer floyd]

So, I haven't watched the Terminator movies in a while, but can a terminator endoskeleton really walk around without a head? That seemed kind of odd to me.

Plus, in the first episode, when they showed the first bad terminator's computer accessing info on Sarah, they showed him in the background seemingly waking up from a nap. At least, it looked like he was laying down, and then "woke up". Why the hell would a terminator need to wake up? They don't sleep. That was established in T2, when Arnie stood guard in the gas station overnight.

Anyway, it's a decent show. Summer Glau is cool and hot and all that, so I'll still watch (especially since rumor has it that Garret Dillahunt is joining the cast in a future episode).

[chiprocks1]

What I have a problem with is that "Cameron" is able to Smile and Laugh as a Terminator. Sure they have a learning CPU, but it just doesnt ring true (especially if you catch Arnie in T2 trying to do the same thing, and looking like a horse in the process).

The show has completely obliterated T3 from the mythology of never existing. But Im sure they will have John Connor being mindwiped at the end of the series to place T3 back on track. Who knows.

[Titleist]

Totally agree, and the other terminator evading from Cameron, uhh...when did Terminator's run away. They are obtuse machines that stand guard without moving, never stop, never compromise, and never bargain.

Ugh. It goes back to that betrayal of character. A terminator is so cool by what it isn't, it's that lack of humanity that destroys the character. Say what you will about Arnold's acting chops at least he pulled off a character that at best could mimic humans, same with Robert Patrick. It's those little bits of humanity that Glau lets break free for a second that undermine the character.

I'm just not thrilled by it, it's NOT going to have that amazing jaw dropping stuff like the first two movies, and this whole resistance movement thing just bugs me. Are time machines available by the truck load in the future now? Because it seemed a big damn deal to send Reese or Arnold back, now they're just chucking 'em back by the half dozen.

Also I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels the same:

http://io9.com/344363/why-did-they-wimpify-sarah-connor

Watch the difference between the two endings, the broadcast one was WAY better.

[limacharliewhiskey]

Originally Posted by chiprocks1

What I have a problem with is that "Cameron" is able to Smile and Laugh as a Terminator. Sure they have a learning CPU, but it just doesnt ring true (especially if you catch Arnie in T2 trying to do the same thing, and looking like a horse in the process).

The show has completely obliterated T3 from the mythology of never existing. But Im sure they will have John Connor being mindwiped at the end of the series to place T3 back on track. Who knows.

These are good observations, and they irked me too, at first. Then I've come to realize that everytime a new Terminator is being sent back, the timeline keeps changing even more. Judgment Day keeps changing, how Skynet becomes fully active keeps changing. And to me, this explains why Reese no longer destroyed the only time machine when he came back, as in the new future timelines, there may be more than one time machine, or he doesn't succeed in destroying it again.

And because more Terminators keep going into the past, more scrap future parts are being found, and it can partially explain why Terminators like Cameron may be more sophisticated than Arnold's T-800.

Titleist, I can understand and respect your point of view. I probably hold the first two films in as high acclaim as you do. I've just tried to not expect much from the TV series, and so far, I have been pleasantly surprised by what I see.

[ganthc]

Hearing how everyone thought this would suck, I gave it a shot. I found it enjoyable. I do agree with everyone's criticisms of the Cameron Terminator. One problem I had was that she seemed to blend in and be a normal teenager when she first approached John. After she got shot, she suddenly devolved into an awkward robot person, who doesn't understand the meaning of things. I guess that is something you just overlook.

The Heroes kid that plays John Connor does a good job for the most part. I guess I didn't understand the scene where he basically pwns his almost stepfather. What was that all about?

I will continue to watch the series to see how it progresses. The search for the elusive Skynet creation is an interesting one. The fact that there are multiple hidden Terminators is an interesting twist.

[Titleist]

This is still TINO (Terminator in Name Only).

In the movies the terminators were a force of nature, and weren't stopped within 5 minutes. Cameron taking out that terminator last night was pathetic, so since the events of T2 did skynet start subcontracting out the T-800s/T-888s to the lowest bidder?

[chiprocks1]

I have been tuning in to the show, but mentally Im not even following whats going on...except bits and pieces. As it stands now, the show is great for background noise filler as I do my work on the computer.

[limacharliewhiskey]

Originally Posted by ganthc

Hearing how everyone thought this would suck, I gave it a shot. I found it enjoyable. I do agree with everyone's criticisms of the Cameron Terminator. One problem I had was that she seemed to blend in and be a normal teenager when she first approached John. After she got shot, she suddenly devolved into an awkward robot person, who doesn't understand the meaning of things. I guess that is something you just overlook.

The argument I've read that makes the most sense to me is that Cameron was programmed this way by future John for their first encounter. Afterwards, Cameron just reverted back to her normal programming to protect John.

I'm enjoying the show too. I'm impressed with how good Lena Headey's American accent is, after hearing her normal British accent in most of her movies. There's no way anyone can really replace Linda Hamilton in the role, but if someone had to try, she's doing as good a job at it as anybody could.

I like the supporting cast on the show, and good supporting casts always make me like a show even more. I like Richard T Jones as the FBI agent, along with Catherine Dent from the Shield, although she doesn't look like a regular. Garrett Dillahunt was a cool dude on the 4400, so I'm glad to see him pop up here as Agent Kester. Also glad to see Sonya Walger (Penny from Lost) here, but not sure how much she'll get to do. Don't know much about the actor playing Charley, but does he look a lot like Donnie Wahlberg to anyone else?

I thought seeing 90210 Brian Austin Green would be bad for the show, but I enjoyed his first appearance as Derek Reese, and like how his character is reacting to seeing Cameron. If he becomes a regular, it should add some needed tension to the show.

[daley92782]

I finally caught up to this show today watched all the episodes on my DVR and I really do enjoy it so far. I'm glad to see that Brian Austin Green has a new show to work with and that Dean Winters from "Rescue Me" as Tommy's brother is also working again. The eye candy on Cameron and Sarah Conner make it good too.

[chiprocks1]

Okay, I have to admit that last nights episode was very entertaining. So much that Im really getting pumped for T4. Well, Ive been pumped to see the Terminator future since T2. But with the show so far it was whetting my appetite..until last night anyways.

One thing that irked me about last nights show: Why was Derek Reese using a conventional weapon to stopped the Terminator, when he knows that its futile? I thought that all the weapons in the future, at least used by Resistance Fighters, would be equipped with Pulse Plasma weapons. I cant imagine any RF not having one on hand since they are always on call to fight whereever and whenever. And the fact that the Terminator also was using a machine gun in the future just felt...weird and out of place.