Well, T:TSCC is 2-2 in terms of holding my attention for 40 minutes. (Commercials? Please. The Dude does not watch commercials. Unless they involve kittens.) Far from perfect, as with the pilot episode, but certainly more good than bad.
The Good
Every time River-Nator surprises Sarah with how much John loves her (as told through glimpses of the future), Chronicles shows more humanity than Bionic Woman managed during its ill-fated Fall run. John’s at an age in the show where he really can’t show affection, nor is he in a position to truly miss/idolize Sarah, so getting these future glimpses both adds heart to the show and resolve to Sarah’s mission.
As far as River-Nator goes, hey, I’m a Summer Glau fan. She’s aces in my book, so I’m liking her approach to the character so far. While the initial Valley Girl persona was a bit of a stretch, she and the writers have injected a bit of humor into the robot, while the end made sure we don’t forget she’s a lethal (and literal) killing machine.
Also? Loved how they explained the jump as a way to prevent the timeline in which Sarah dies of cancer. A nice nod to the movie and a way to acknowledge it without trampling on it. Given the nature of the franchise, you can pull this off without actually breaking establishing continuity. Think of this as Earth-Benign. Or Earth-Creepy-Homeless-Guy-Terminator. Either one.
The Bad
John Effin’ Connor: you’re the future leader of the rebellion. You will have plenty of time to get your ya-ya’s out after the apocalypse. Do not sneak out and go to the mall and oogle computers. And dude, your rebellion? It’s against machines that hack into the defense networks and start whupping ass on humanity. If you have to use a computer at the mall, go to the Apple store. I’ve had my MacBook for a year, and guess what? No viruses. Good times.
Also? The voiceovers. Ugh. I’m usually begging for a T-1000 to puncture my eye with it’s liquid finger spikes by the end of each of them. She’s on the verge of out-Mohindering Mohinder at this point.
The Indifferent
One thing that’s consistent with the film is that the Terminator-on-Terminator violence is brutal but devoid of wit. It’s cool to watch them mash up, but I’m not convinced it’s actually fun. I don’t need them coming up with clever puns during the fight, but I would like to see some actual cleverness to the fight. Some strategy. Anything other than “ROBOT SMASH HARD!”
The last remaining soldier in this timeline: let’s keep it the one. Too many people from the future and you lose me. It should be really friggin’ tough to come back to the past. I’m talking “getting tickets to the Hannah Montana show” levels of tough. Give me one human perspective from the future and that will be fine. Having River-Nator is good, but it’s a mechanical vision/version of the future. Add a dose of humanity and you’ll have a nice balancing act, one that can truly flesh out the world to come.
Your thoughts on the show so far? Leave ‘em below.
One Comment
I am loving this show, and i can tell it’s good because my sci-fi/action-hating wife LOVES it too.
Maybe I am too starved for good TV, but this is the lone scripted show on my radar until Lost blows us all away with more time-traveling goodness.
The only problem I had was the slow response from the other terminator when River-nator was down for the count.
I see the Black FBI agent turning a Tommy Lee Jones Fugitive-style about face midway through the season in the face of all the mounting evidence, whereas Skynet is the govermental cover up force with human agent aiding the terminators out to kill the heroes. Yay action TV!