Sarah Connor Chronicles / Terminator TV

[Darwinist]

Is anyone watching the Sarah Connor Chronicles on Fox?  I taped it and watched both of last week's episodes last night.  I thought it was pretty good.  I liked the Terminator movies and this is along the same lines- the TV show takes place after T2 and John is a high school kid.  One of the highlights is Summer Glau (River from Firefly/Serenity) kicking butt as one of the cyborgs.

I-Tunes has the first episode available for free, you have to pay $1.99 US for the second.  The third is on tonight. 

[Tango Alpha Delta]

I'm interested in it, but have my reservations:

1. - T3 ticked me off.  I work with computer networks, so the whole dated "the Mainframe will take us over" plotline seemed silly; but I suspended disbelief because they came up with the concept for the first movie in the days before the Internet and distributed computing.  Then we get to the end, and they seemed to be saying, "Silly viewer, don't you know there are no mainframes any more?  Aren't you stupid for buying into our premise?"  That, and it was a boring rehash of T2, which I had otherwise really enjoyed.

2. - TV delivery.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but the FOX viewer won't install on my laptop. I don't pay for cable, so if I can't get their site to work, I'll be stuck waiting for the DVD via NetFlix.

[stePH]

I'm interested in it, but have my reservations:

1. - T3 ticked me off.  I work with computer networks, so the whole dated "the Mainframe will take us over" plotline seemed silly; but I suspended disbelief because they came up with the concept for the first movie in the days before the Internet and distributed computing.  Then we get to the end, and they seemed to be saying, "Silly viewer, don't you know there are no mainframes any more?  Aren't you stupid for buying into our premise?"  That, and it was a boring rehash of T2, which I had otherwise really enjoyed.

2. - TV delivery.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but the FOX viewer won't install on my laptop. I don't pay for cable, so if I can't get their site to work, I'll be stuck waiting for the DVD via NetFlix.

1. I've heard that the show picks up the continuity after the second movie but before the third.

2. I'll probably end up waiting for Netflix to have the DVDs as well, since I missed the pilot.  But I did the same with Battlestar Galactica, and I got caught up just in time for the third season.

[DDog]

I just watched the pilot (yay free things) on iTunes.

I have a confession to make....The only Terminator movie I've seen is T3.... *ducks* My dad rented it thinking I had seen the other two.

But the basic plot isn't too hard to grasp, and I can't resist Summer Glau.

Did it seem to anyone else like the voiceover at the beginning/end of the pilot didn't sound at all like the Sarah Connor they've got?

[Darwinist]

Did it seem to anyone else like the voiceover at the beginning/end of the pilot didn't sound at all like the Sarah Connor they've got?

I just watched episode three and noticed that also. 

A couple people I work with who also are watching this can't get over the absence of Linda Hamilton and don't like the new Sarah.   I personally like Lena Headey, thought she was good in 300 also.   Anyway, I thought episode 3 was solid, loved Summer (Cameron's) interaction with her new schoolmates. 

[DKT]

All I know is that the terminator that showed up in Sarah's dream looked like a very lame Ahnuld wannabe.  And he pulled out machine guns from nowhere (okay, it was a dream, but still).  That was all pretty annoying. 

And Lena Headey is alright, but she's no Linda Hamilton.  She looks nowhere near as tough as Hamilton did.

[wakela]

Saw the pilot and thought it was pretty good. 
Though not only is the new Sarah no Linda Hamilton, but she's no Sarah Conner, either.  In T2 Sarah was was very well trained and knowledgeable.  Sarah v2.0 can fire a gun, but she made some bonehead moves that Sarah v1.5 wouldn't have.

If a Terminator can be knocked out for like a minute and a half with a jolt of household electricity, a tazer would be pretty useful.  Could you rig a box that you could attach to a stunned Terminator that would zap it every minute and a half?  If it were plugged into a conventional outlet could it recharge enough while the Terminator was rebooting?

They're in California, right? What's going to happen when Sarah sees a picture of their governor?

Pilot Spoiler:



What was going on in John's head when they warped into the present?  Holy shit! Summer Glau is naked!  I'm naked!  But my Mom is here, and she's naked! 

[Darwinist]

All I know is that the terminator that showed up in Sarah's dream looked like a very lame Ahnuld wannabe.  And he pulled out machine guns from nowhere (okay, it was a dream, but still).  That was all pretty annoying. 

And Lena Headey is alright, but she's no Linda Hamilton.  She looks nowhere near as tough as Hamilton did.

Yeah, there have been a few things that annoyed me about the show so far.  Why was the school shooting being reported on TV about 30 seconds after it happened and long before the cops got there?  Kevlar chair?  What?  Cops don't respond to hospitals? 

BTW, does anyone know what was going on with the painted doors on the school walls in episode 3?

[Heradel]

Pilot Spoiler:

What was going on in John's head when they warped into the present?  Holy shit! Summer Glau is naked!  I'm naked!  But my Mom is here, and she's naked! 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

[sirana]

watched the first three episodes via the magic that is bittorrent.
I must say I really liked it. There are plotholes and illogical decisionmaking galore, but hey, it's Terminator. I am not gonna complain about logic.
All the characters are pretty solid. I was not really sure about Thomas Dekker as John Connor, but I think he does good. Lena Heady is great, she is not Linda Hamilton, but she gives a great performance. And everything that has Summer Glau in it got my vote. She is the main reason I watched the show in the first place.

Mainstream television often does a horrible job at portraying geeks and technobabel, so I was positively surprised about the characterisation of Andy. Yeah, not everything was right and the Turk is not really realistic, but it captured the spirit. And the Kramnik-DeepFritz poster was a nice touch.

[sirana]

oh, and it's great that they got Catherine Dent on board. I loved her as Dany on The Shield.

[lieffeil]

Just started watching it, and so far, I'm impressed.
Well, and Summer Glau kicks cyborg ass almost every episode, so that's always a plus.
The over-the-top bad guys are pretty excellent, creepy as all hell (the bathtub scene freaked me right out), and actually raise the tension, which is a change from the movies, where they were easy to make fun of. I think serializing it has been a good change. A major theme of the franchise is the lack of finality, so it's quite appropriate for TV.
Hope it stays.

[Darwinist]

Just started watching it, and so far, I'm impressed.
Well, and Summer Glau kicks cyborg ass almost every episode, so that's always a plus.
The over-the-top bad guys are pretty excellent, creepy as all hell (the bathtub scene freaked me right out), and actually raise the tension, which is a change from the movies, where they were easy to make fun of. I think serializing it has been a good change. A major theme of the franchise is the lack of finality, so it's quite appropriate for TV.
Hope it stays.

I really liked it right up through the season finale.  I heard it was coming back next year and Shirley Manson from Garbage has been added to the cast as the CEO of Cyberdyne Systems.   

[stePH]

Is it on DVD yet? 

[DKT]

Is it on DVD yet? 

Not yet.  August 19.

[stePH]

Is it on DVD yet? 

Not yet.  August 19.

I've got it "saved" in my NetFlix queue as of this morning.

[DKT]

Let me know what you think of it.  I've still to make it past the first episode...

[birdless]

I watched it online while it was posting during the season run. I enjoyed it okay, but I think it needs some work, personally. It wasn't horrible by any stretch, but lacks the action I expected anything with a Terminator label to have. It is a self-proclaimed reimagining of the Terminator mythos, though, so for those die-hard fans of the movies, go in with that expectation. With the series taking place after T2, it makes quite a large number of things in T3 unexplainable.

[Russell Nash]

I watched it online while it was posting during the season run. I enjoyed it okay, but I think it needs some work, personally. It wasn't horrible by any stretch, but lacks the action I expected anything with a Terminator label to have. It is a self-proclaimed reimagining of the Terminator mythos, though, so for those die-hard fans of the movies, go in with that expectation. With the series taking place after T2, it makes quite a large number of things in T3 unexplainable.

T3 was so bad, it'd be unexplainable no matter what they did.

[Alasdair5000]

I've now seen all of it and it's...okay.  Sometimes it's very, very good indeed and there's at least one thing in there that I absolutely did not see coming despite it being presented, in plain view, for two episodes.  It's a flash of very clever writing that hopefully bodes well for the second year.

   That being said, this was a compressed version of the first season due to the writer's strike.  And if that's the case then I'm not sure I'd have made it to the end of a full season.  There's too much running in place, too much introspection and angst and for a show which springs from source material that's all about desperation, all about inventiveness and ingenuity and sacrifice, things that are definitionally on the pacy side, that's not good.

   Still, odds are I'll be back for the second year:)

[wintermute]

I'd like to see Summer Glau in a role other than "inhuman killing machine". Maybe her next part can involve emotions, please?

[Heradel]

I'd like to see Summer Glau in a role other than "inhuman killing machine". Maybe her next part can involve emotions, please?

You mean the emotionless android's plot arc doesn't involve the slow discovery of humanity and all the greatness we paragon of animals are gifted with? I believe ST:NG has a problem with your approach.

[wintermute]

I'd like to see Summer Glau in a role other than "inhuman killing machine". Maybe her next part can involve emotions, please?

You mean the emotionless android's plot arc doesn't involve the slow discovery of humanity and all the greatness we paragon of animals are gifted with? I believe ST:NG has a problem with your approach.

ST:TNG actually explored those issues, yes. The closest the Sarah Connor Chronicals came was when the robot tried to deal with a suicidal girl by giving her whatever trinket happened to be within arm's reach.

Data had an actual emotional attachment to the people he worked with, even if the writers denied it (and sometimes, they didn't bother). But, really, I'd just like to find out if Sumemr Glau can act, or if she got cast as a Terminator for the same reason Arnie did...

[Russell Nash]

I'd like to see Summer Glau in a role other than "inhuman killing machine". Maybe her next part can involve emotions, please?

You mean the emotionless android's plot arc doesn't involve the slow discovery of humanity and all the greatness we paragon of animals are gifted with? I believe ST:NG has a problem with your approach.

ST:TNG actually explored those issues, yes. The closest the Sarah Connor Chronicals came was when the robot tried to deal with a suicidal girl by giving her whatever trinket happened to be within arm's reach.

Data had an actual emotional attachment to the people he worked with, even if the writers denied it (and sometimes, they didn't bother). But, really, I'd just like to find out if Sumemr Glau can act, or if she got cast as a Terminator for the same reason Arnie did...

I actually thought the quiet way she moves through the set in Firefly showed quite a bit of skill.  She never she'd to not know how to stand, like you see lots of actors have problems with.  Also her reactions were very good. 

If you want to see her in her first role and with a fake accent,  she was on Angel in the third (I think) season.  Very chubby cheeked. 

[Heradel]

I'd like to see Summer Glau in a role other than "inhuman killing machine". Maybe her next part can involve emotions, please?

You mean the emotionless android's plot arc doesn't involve the slow discovery of humanity and all the greatness we paragon of animals are gifted with? I believe ST:NG has a problem with your approach.

ST:TNG actually explored those issues, yes. The closest the Sarah Connor Chronicals came was when the robot tried to deal with a suicidal girl by giving her whatever trinket happened to be within arm's reach.

Data had an actual emotional attachment to the people he worked with, even if the writers denied it (and sometimes, they didn't bother). But, really, I'd just like to find out if Sumemr Glau can act, or if she got cast as a Terminator for the same reason Arnie did...

TNG had 178 episodes plus the movies. Sarah Connor has had... 9 episodes. Just because they haven't started really exploring it yet doesn't mean they won't, and there's that whole odd relationship with John Connor when he's an adult they allude to but do not explain.

[DKT]

So I finally finished watching the first episode.  It was okay.  More action-packed than I thought it would be.  I still have some hang-ups.  I was kind of hoping to see Sarah Connor: outlaw, instead of Sarah Connor: moonlighting outlaw (this might be corrected later on in the series).  The terminators are still poor would be Arnolds.  Summer Glau...or Cameron, expresses quite a bit of (fake) emotion when she first meets John, but somehow can't fake it after that, and seems very mechanical. 

I thought the time travel thing was interesting, even if it left me more than a bit annoyed with the way it wreaks havoc with the Terminator continuity.  Mostly, I'm hoping the new Terminator films don't suck.

But yeah, not a waste.  I might check out more of it.  Lena Headey grew on me, even though she's no Linda Hamilton.  And wherever they're going with the lover she ditched might be interesting...

[wintermute]

I'm not sure how this got so sidetracked so quickly. Yes, River Tam was a wonderful, nuanced character with depth. Yes, excellent stories can be told with robots as the main characters. Yes, it's possible for robots to be other than inhuman. Yes, Star Trek has had more time to explain more themes than the Terminator franchise. Yes, the Terminator franchise might, at some point in the future, explore these themes. Or, then again, it might not.

But none of that has anything to do with the point I made. Or the point I thought I was making, at least. Which is that I have seen Summer Glau in exactly two roles, each of which has been an "inhuman killing machine" (a phrase I chose carefully to avoid words like "robotic", "soulless", "emotionless"* or "android"), and I would like to see her in other roles, because I'm interested in seeing if she can act like a human. I suspect that she can, and I suspect that the evidence is out there (after all, she has played more than two characters), but I'm simply not familiar with it. I'm sorry if I lead anyone to believe that I thought there was anything wrong with the roles she's had so far.

I think it's a shame when any actor gets typecast (especially in so narrow a role as this), and deserves a chance to show that they can do something different. The more different the better. Some will, of course, fail; to quote Vittorio De Sica "There is one role anyone can play: himself".

But, honestly, I liked both Firefly/Serenity and The Sarah Connor Chronicles, not least because of Miss Glau's perfomance. Is it really so wrong of me to want to see her in more diverse roles?

*OK, I added a little snark on the end which kind of undercuts this point, and for that I apologise.

[lieffeil]

I think it's a shame when any actor gets typecast (especially in so narrow a role as this), and deserves a chance to show that they can do something different. The more different the better. Some will, of course, fail; to quote Vittorio De Sica "There is one role anyone can play: himself".

Here's one of the funniest interviews I've seen in a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7abOdUT0FM
It's Nathan Fillion on Ellen, and he talks about being typecast, as a gynecologist. And he tells a story about his cat.
That's all I got. Sorry about the off-topic...-ness.
Enjoy.

[stePH]

So I finally finished watching the first episode.  It was okay.  More action-packed than I thought it would be.  I still have some hang-ups.  I was kind of hoping to see Sarah Connor: outlaw, instead of Sarah Connor: moonlighting outlaw (this might be corrected later on in the series).  The terminators are still poor would be Arnolds.  Summer Glau...or Cameron, expresses quite a bit of (fake) emotion when she first meets John, but somehow can't fake it after that, and seems very mechanical. 

I thought the time travel thing was interesting, even if it left me more than a bit annoyed with the way it wreaks havoc with the Terminator continuity.  Mostly, I'm hoping the new Terminator films don't suck.

But yeah, not a waste.  I might check out more of it.  Lena Headey grew on me, even though she's no Linda Hamilton.  And wherever they're going with the lover she ditched might be interesting...

I just watched the pilot last night (the DVD has been here for a week).

I enjoyed it, and I'll keep watching, but one thing really bothers me:

How long is the FBI agent guy going to keep his head firmly up his ass, continuing to believe that Sarah Connor is a "delusional whack-a-mole?"  Nineteen eyewitnesses at the school shooting reported "a shooter with some kind of robot leg".  There had to be some kind of remnant of the terminator at the bank; I doubt that spiffy gun completely vaporized it.  And does he really think Sarah Connor can tear a bank vault door apart into little pieces with her bare hands? 

[Darwinist]

How long is the FBI agent guy going to keep his head firmly up his ass, continuing to believe that Sarah Connor is a "delusional whack-a-mole?"  Nineteen eyewitnesses at the school shooting reported "a shooter with some kind of robot leg".  There had to be some kind of remnant of the terminator at the bank; I doubt that spiffy gun completely vaporized it.  And does he really think Sarah Connor can tear a bank vault door apart into little pieces with her bare hands? 

Yeah, the whole series has situations like that it seems, but I still like it.  The FBI agent comes around. 

I missed the first two shows of Season II.  Has anyone watched?  Is it still decent?

[stePH]

I missed the first two shows of Season II.  Has anyone watched?  Is it still decent?

Oop, Season2 has started?    I guess once I finish season 1 on DVD I'll have to bittorrent myself up to current; then I can set a Season Pass on the TiVo.

[Talia]

How long is the FBI agent guy going to keep his head firmly up his ass, continuing to believe that Sarah Connor is a "delusional whack-a-mole?"  Nineteen eyewitnesses at the school shooting reported "a shooter with some kind of robot leg".  There had to be some kind of remnant of the terminator at the bank; I doubt that spiffy gun completely vaporized it.  And does he really think Sarah Connor can tear a bank vault door apart into little pieces with her bare hands? 

Yeah, the whole series has situations like that it seems, but I still like it.  The FBI agent comes around. 

I missed the first two shows of Season II.  Has anyone watched?  Is it still decent?

I'm still enjoying it, yeah.

[stePH]

HA!   

Watching the first episode after the pilot just now -- in the scene where John's in the computer store in the mall, the number on the door seen as he walks out is "1337" 

[Talia]

haha, good eye. Didnt spot that at all, and usually I pick up on that.

[bluerequiem]

I liked the reference in season 1 to the skynet predecessor "the turk" and Johnny Cash "when the man comes around" playing in background during the slaughter that ends season 1.

[Russell Nash]

All caught up.

I like it in general, but the equipment is just wrong.  In the future the robots are using these big loud jet versions of Ospreys and people just sneak around at night.  I think the success of Predator drones and other ROVs shows that a quiet eye in the sky finds a lot more targets.  Also the robots would just switch over to IR sensors and find all the humans by their heat signature.  In southern california they'd actually be easier to find that way than they would during the day.

What's with all the 9mm crap?  A 9mm is a round to injure a person, but not kill them.  The police use them so they can put a couple of rounds in a suspect and still get to put him on trial.  Whenever a Terminator shows up, they all gab their 9mm handguns like it will do something and then they show the terminator getting hit with 50 rounds and not giving a shit.  If these folks were supposed to have half a brain in their heads, they wouldn't even carry handguns and if for some reason they did, it would be a .45 or a .44magnum.

Ok enough of the weapons rant, sorry.

Edit: fixed links

[stePH]

What's with all the 9mm crap?  A 9mm is a round to injure a person, but not kill them.  The police use them so they can put a couple of rounds in a suspect and still get to put him on trial.  Whenever a Terminator shows up, they all gab their 9mm handguns like it will do something and then they show the terminator getting hit with 50 rounds and not giving a shit.  If these folks were supposed to have half a brain in their heads, they wouldn't even carry handguns and if for some reason they did, it would be a .45 or a .44magnum.

I thought 9mm was roughly equivalent to .45?  Admittedly, my source is Ordell Robbie's pitch from the beginning of Jackie Brown ....

[Heradel]

What's with all the 9mm crap?  A 9mm is a round to injure a person, but not kill them.  The police use them so they can put a couple of rounds in a suspect and still get to put him on trial.  Whenever a Terminator shows up, they all gab their 9mm handguns like it will do something and then they show the terminator getting hit with 50 rounds and not giving a shit.  If these folks were supposed to have half a brain in their heads, they wouldn't even carry handguns and if for some reason they did, it would be a .45 or a .44magnum.

I thought 9mm was roughly equivalent to .45?  Admittedly, my source is Ordell Robbie's pitch from the beginning of Jackie Brown ....

9mm is equivalent to a .38, .357 or .35 . A .45 caliber bullet would be equivalent to 11.45mm.

[stePH]

9mm is equivalent to a .38, .357 or .35 . A .45 caliber bullet would be equivalent to 11.45mm.

I just remember Ordell telling Louis about how he tries to recommend a 9mm when his customers ask for a .45, because (as he puts it) it's pretty much the same gun but without the jamming problem that the .45 is prone to.

[Russell Nash]

What's with all the 9mm crap?  A 9mm is a round to injure a person, but not kill them.  The police use them so they can put a couple of rounds in a suspect and still get to put him on trial.  Whenever a Terminator shows up, they all gab their 9mm handguns like it will do something and then they show the terminator getting hit with 50 rounds and not giving a shit.  If these folks were supposed to have half a brain in their heads, they wouldn't even carry handguns and if for some reason they did, it would be a .45 or a .44magnum.

I thought 9mm was roughly equivalent to .45?  Admittedly, my source is Ordell Robbie's pitch from the beginning of Jackie Brown ....

9mm is equivalent to a .38, .357 or .35 . A .45 caliber bullet would be equivalent to 11.45mm.

These numbers only talk about the diameter of the bullet, but the length of the slug and the amount of powder have a massive effect.  The 9mm is a pussy round that allows someone to fire many shots without the recoil knocking their aim off too much. 

The .357 (and it's big brother the .44) have longer shell casings which hold more powder.  That combined with a longer barrel on the gun give the slug a much higher muzzle velocity. 

The .45 was designed for the army o meet one simple criterium. It was supposed to stop a charging calvary horse with one shot.  It is a thick beefy round with a lot of stopping force. 

[Russell Nash]

I was just looking at IMDB and noticed that this show hasn't even gotten enough votes to have a star rating.  That only requires 5 votes.  The apathy seems to show in the ratings.  There was a link to a story saying that the ratings have been in a steady free fall for a while now.  I guess we can kiss this one goodbye soon.

[CGFxColONeill]

I have started watching the show, I had to pick up on season 2 because 1 was not on that I found( as yet anyhow)
I have enjoyed what I have seen so far is it worth it to get ahold of 1? biased on what I have seen in 2 I think it probably is but wanted to get another opinion

[Russell Nash]

I think one was better.  It's in a slide.  For a show about Sarah, they don't seem to have much for her to do.

[Alasdair5000]

I think one was better.  It's in a slide.  For a show about Sarah, they don't seem to have much for her to do.

   My relationship with this show is weird.  Individual episodes tend to bore me because the storyline is so decompressed but the 'stunt' ones they've started doing in year two are actually pretty great.  'Goodbye to All That' which has Derek and John undercover at a military academy to protect one of John's future liuetenants is a staggeringly good hour of TV and a welcome spotlight on Crazy Uncle Derek.  The closing scene in particular and Derek's final speech are staggering.