Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is a TV series that’s been a long time coming. Everyone always thought what a Terminator television would be like. Now here in the beginning of 2008 we finally found out. The Sarah Connor Chronicles (TSCC) has been a highly anticipated television show for almost all of 2007, so the question is if the anticipation and buzz surrounding it, is worth it. That is basically a standard question for all highly buzzed shows or movies. What I’m going to do here, is not totally review the series so far, but give my thoughts and opinions on how this show is turning out, only 3 episodes in.

Several months ago I was able to see the unaired original pilot for TSCC, and for those that know me and have read my past review on it, are well aware how much I HATED IT! It was total crap and I was very disappointed by how bad it turned out. At the same time, I knew about re-shoots and re-editing on the pilot so, I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and wait for the aired pilot. On January 13^th the pilot aired on the FOX network, and I still was disappointed. I can admit, that the re-shoots/re-editing did improve the pilot, but not enough to satisfy me. I honestly can not understand, and it blows my mind, how people “LOVE” the pilot episode. Sorry to tell you this, but the pilot is terrible. Let me tell you why:

• The dialog is not impressive. Its somewhat embarrassing to hear some of the lines come out of their mouths.
• The Terminator, Cromartie, played by Owain Yeoman is pathetic and not convincing in the slightest. Even Kristanna Loken did so much better as a Terminator then he did.
• Summer Glau: Sorry guys, I know she’s hot, and I do love her, but she’s not as good as people make her out to be. Her delivery of the line, “Come with me if you want to live,” is really bad. Even though she isn’t that great in the pilot, she has major potential and I’ll discuss that further into the article.
• The Visual Effects aren’t even good enough for a Sci Fi Saturday crap fest. The Terminators look laughable at best.
• The story is force and in your face.
• Time Travel is being overused, not just in the pilot but in all episodes so far. Every where you look, there is more Terminators and more resistance fighters, like their war is spilling over into present time, when it should stay in the future where it belongs. More on this later.

More on this editorial. Join me after the jump….

So as you can see, I have a lot of issues with the pilot, but that’s not mentioning the good things that came out of it, like Lena Headey being the strongest part of TSCC. By now your probably thinking that I despise this show, well I’m about to surprise you and say the opposite.

On January 14^th, the second episode aired titled, Gnothi Seauton. I can’t tell you enough, how blown away I was by the improvement. Almost all of the problems I saw in the pilot were not in the second episode, except for maybe one or two. It wasn’t shown much in the pilot, but this is becoming a real character driven television show, more then a typical action show. The performances by the cast improved by much. Just in that episode, I’ve been convinced, that Summer Glau is an excellent Terminator. She’s not brilliant as some people are putting it, but she is very good. I think that her model is a very different one then the others and I’m not just saying that because that is what she said in the pilot, but she is performing in a unique way for a Terminator. I feel like her model is something that is leading into Terminator Salvation (T4). Why do I say that you ask? Just look here:

Finally, here’s a story point that’s probably a legitimate spoiler (although it’s sort of the main crux around which the story revolves, so it will probably get blown in the advertising), so I’ll invisotext this stuff: A big aspect of the story is the degrees of difference between a human and a Terminator. By which I mean cyborgs. By which I mean human brains in robot bodies.

You can read the rest of that HERE!

So, I think Summer Glau is connected to the 4^th movie. Whether or not we see her in it, is unknown. It would be kind of cool to see her and Christian Bale act together. On the same note, I did hear one of the producers saying that TSCC doesn’t lead into the 4^th film, but that can be interpreted in many ways, so I say it’s a vague response.The thing that I love about TSCC is that it IS character driven. I really enjoy watching Sarah, John & the Terminator try to adjust to each other and their surroundings. I’m also am intrigued by some of the story lines going on, although some of it is strange. For example, I don’t know what is going on at the school they’re currently at. More specifically how the doors look burnt and are outlined with black… stuff, whatever it is.Given that fact that Terminator is a character driven show and the performances are getting better by each episode, I will indeed continue to watch. I’m under the opinion that all first year shows should get at least a one year chance before and choice is made to continue watching it, or not watching it. I implore FOX not to cancel it until TSCC gets a full season run.

Right now, the main thing that I’m concerned about is the usage of story lines. I feel like there is just a little bit too much going on. There are mysterious resistance fighters, more Terminators, the strange things going on at the school, Sarah’s quest to try and destroy Skynet, John trying to live a normal life, Cameron and her secrets and a few more. I fear that stuffing to much detail into a rookie season may be dangerous, especially when it has only 9 episodes for the season because of the strike, and 3 are down already. What I really do dislike is the over use of time travel. It feels like everyone is time traveling and its easier then making toast. I think that TSCC should concentrate on making John into the leader that he is destined to be, at the same time Sarah trying to find and destroy Skynet. Its unnecessary to have a different Terminator of the week and extremely unnecessary to have resistance fighters coming back in time leisurely.

Overall, I see a lot of potential in TSCC and I’m definitely going to continue to watch through out this first season. I’m still very skeptical on a lot of what is going on with the series, and I feel like there is several problems that need to be fixed. All of that said, I am very much looking forward to future episodes. When I watch TSCC, I can really feel a sense that the makers and actors really want to make a great show, and that gives me some hope for improvement and depth. With luck by the time the season finale nears, my skepticism is gone, then I’d be able to watch this with full enjoyment.

So what are your thoughts so far? Please share some well thought out arguments or thoughts, and email them to me. I might agree with you, and if your lucky I won’t agree with you, then we can argue. That’s what makes entertainment so great.
-Phil

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