(S01E03) Sarah tracks down Teresa Dyson in an effort to find Skynet's creators. Meanwhile, John and Cameron try to fit in at a new school."The Turk" of the episode title is a reference to a chess-playing machine built in the 18th century and also represents quite possibly the beginning of Skynet (or perhaps a predecessor). It was built by a former intern at Cyberdyne named Andy Goode.
To set the mood at the beginning of the episode, Sarah has a dream of murdering the scientists of the Manhattan Project before they build the atomic bomb. The obvious analogy is there, but I note that the good that occurred as a result, such as the surrender of the Japanese or the rise of nuclear energy as a power source. Also, many technological innovations started with military use, including the Internet. Of course, mentioning all that would have just killed the mood.
When Oppenheimer and his fellow scientists turned into Terminators after Sarah shoots them all, I couldn't help but think that the robots reminded me of the new versions of Cylons both in look and action. I wonder if they copied the CGI from Battlestar Galactica somewhere.
Cameron's behavior is becoming inconsistent, perhaps intentionally. She could pass herself off as human (both in appearance and behavior) in the pilot but is having problems understanding humans now. The whole "robots not understanding humans" theme is getting more prevalent in the show and when she began rattling off synonyms while approaching the school I was thinking of Data from Star Trek.
Here's something I noticed: while trying to sell Sarah a cell phone, Andy Goode only sometimes had a spit curl. Other times, he didn't. Whoops. Better talk to the hairdresser.
Also, the hand in the poster of "Kramnik vs. Deep Fritz" looked just like a Terminator hand. Not exactly subtle.
I do enjoy the conflict between Sarah and Cameron. In her own way, Sarah is becoming more inhuman as time progresses and she practices self-justification. I'm glad that she holds on to her humanity somewhat by destroying Andy Goode's property rather than killing him.
Frankly, I think Sarah was chasing the wrong lead to begin with. I think the British scientist guy who was helping the Terminator had more to do with the future than "The Turk". The writers did go with the ages-old plot device of someone from the future teaching future science to someone from the present. I admit that I found the ending somewhat confusing and it probably would have been less so if they played the final two scenes in the correct chronological order. At least we know why the Terminator took the scientist's eyes. What I don't get is why the 
British scientist guy helped him out in the first place. Did I miss something?
Overall, I would say the episode was fair. The writing was weak and some of the characters seemed to be acting inconsistently or unrealistically under the circumstances. However, the opening was powerful and Lena Headey's performance saved the show from being a complete waste.
On a final note, I found an interesting online article in which the author analyzes the differing timelines in the entire Terminator franchise. It's a good read.
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
1-29-2008 @ 1:13PM
robert said...
This looks like a setup to make Sarah responsible for Skynet by destroying the "good" A.I., Turk, and provoking Andy into doing military work to keep his research going. You would think by now that Sarah could think outside the box by now with respect to time travel.
Reply
2-04-2008 @ 9:24PM
jay said...
That woman is not Sarah Connor. Linda Hamilton was and will always be.. this show is horrible!
1-23-2008 @ 5:40PM
nina said...
i know a lot of people are complaining about john because he's a wuss, but isnt that the point--he isn't THE john connors yet, he does have to evolve...and if all you can see are the negatives and can't really enjoy a show...don't watch it and leave us to enjoy the suspension of reality and a good take on a great movie series
Reply
1-23-2008 @ 9:24PM
christine said...
The girl who killed herself kept saying "my parents are going to kill me" and came out of a bathroom stall after making barfing noises. Hello, she's pregnant!!!!!
Her interaction with Cameron was to show that she was starting to compute and understand the teens around her. She told John to act normal when he tried to save the jumper...
Reply
1-24-2008 @ 6:19PM
nattyff said...
actually im really liking these show, i get why the cientist helped the terminator (as many of you did), why the girl jump (and maybe the story continues to explain why was such a public display, with the paint doors and everything, that i don't get), the mood change of glaubot i wasn't getting it, but the reboot thing teory, after that se try to open the safe explain it very well to me.
About the terminator revived after 7 years, remember that when sarah and the others were in the bank preparing to jump to the future, the bad terminator enter and he is blow off in the same time when they are "traveling" to the future, parts of him whent with them (the head), so they left behind a headless corpse, that end up in the trash, but when the head apeared in the future, after 7 years the rest of the body that was left there in the past start to work again, al least that's what i undertood about that part.
Overall, a very good show, it's the only entertaining thing right now, and if the strike was over and the other shows return, i woud keep seen these one.
PS: sorry for the bad english, these is not my first language.
Reply
1-26-2008 @ 7:11PM
DJ Mad Manny said...
It seems like a lot of you guys are hung up on GlauBot's (good name by the way) inability to completely "fit in" to the new high school. Did you guys forget that when she went to open the safe containing the Resistance Fighter's cache that she received one hellacious electrical jolt? It was enough to reset her system for 120 seconds. This shock may have also reset her "Hottie High School Student" subroutine. Doing this would necessitate her having to relearn everything --- which gives the writer's a chance to play with the "Data-as-Pinocchio" theme from STNG. The thing with the Terminator not having any skin....again you guys seem to have forgotten that this particular terminator has been put thru hell with all of the explosions and such that it has been thru. Unlike GlauBot, his skin doesn't regenerate (her's apparently does since she's had a couple of scrapes which disappear from one show to the next -- she's a better and different model as shown by her eyes glowing blue instead of red). As to how it was able to find it's decapitated head is pretty easy to explain also. Ever heard of LoJack? It is able to track it's head and is under an imperative to reunite with it. Don't think that because it has "eyes" in it's head that those are the only sensory "organs" available to it. Being a machine designed by other machines, don't expect it to have the exact same design as us poor humans. My only question now.....who is the surviving Resistance Fighter that was lurking in the bushes? Seeing that this show deals with time travel, it could conceivably be Kyle Reese (just because he was sent back in T1 doesnt mean that it was the FIRST time he was sent into the past)! This is a good show and I TRULY hope that Fox doesn't cancel it as it has with other good shows (SPACE: ABOVE AND BEYOND and FIREFLY anyone?) in the past.
Reply
2-25-2008 @ 9:22PM
psytce said...
I still have a problem with this show. The Terminators need to be covered with skin in order to use the time machine, yet they let the Terminator from the pilot go through the time "portal". According to everything we know about Terminators & time travel this should not happen. So can someone explain this BIG MISTAKE by the writers? Terminators that are not covered by organic material should not be able to go throught the time machine!
Reply
2-04-2008 @ 9:24PM
jay said...
As a huge Terminator fan, I was reluctant when I heard about this series. When I watched the pilot I really wanted to hate it, but I didn't. However, the episodes are getting worse and worse. I keep trying to pretend that Terminator 3 never took place so maybe this all makes sense, but it doesn't. As other comments have stated, Cameron acted normal in the pilot, now acts completely different and all robotic. Then John Connor the leader of the human resistance doesn't know enough not to type his name in an internet computer at the mall. Gee I wonder how that's gonna work out? Then there is the scientist that is killed by the terminator after learning the formula to make skin... wouldn't he need to be kept alive so he would invent that in the future? Last but not least, there is Sarah Connor. No offense to the actress portraying her, but she is completely inferior to Linda Hamilton's portrayal of the character in Terminator 1 and Terminator 2. Oh one more thing.. didn't Sarah's ex-fiance think it was weird that young John Connor didn't age AT ALL in 7 years? Let's stay in the same city too.. real bright!! In honor the Terminator movies I have stopped watching this show before it ruins the legacy of some truly great movies. James Cameron must be laughing his ass off.
Reply
1-22-2008 @ 9:15AM
Adam said...
I thought this show would be crap when it was first announced, but I was pleasantly surprised after watching the pilot. However, the episodes seem to be getting worse. Last week's episode was kinda bad and this weeks just didn't make any sense. I'm still holding out hope that it can somehow continue the Terminator mythology without overreaching in the credibility department, but I would not be disappointed at all if this show got yanked.
Reply
2-04-2008 @ 9:25PM
jay said...
I am totally with you on this. I went into the show wanting to hate it, but after the pilot I was actually interested. Now after a few weeks, I really hate the show. The writing is all over the place and the characters are uninteresting. Sarah Connor is my all time favorite movie character and watching this show makes me want to blind myself. I have stopped watching.
1-22-2008 @ 9:24AM
chadwick said...
The beginning was cool. The writing wasn't that bad ,however, if the scientist is dead and Andy's house is burn't down how does it all happen? Good cliffhanger I guess. On a side note I think the terminator's behavior is a head scratcher. Referring to how could it come back and find it's head off it's body? Bit far even for a sci-fi. Good episode. Just wanted more.
Reply
1-22-2008 @ 11:24AM
dt3 said...
i havent seen terminator 1 or 2 since i was a kid so i cant say for sure but if i remember right didnt they kill the original scientist in T2. That created an alternate future where some other scientist took the lead and developed skynet or whatever it was. Just b/c they kill someone doesnt mean that someone else doesnt step up and take his place in the future.
Were we ever even sure that cell phone salesman was the one behind everything?? I know all the clues pointed that way but for all we know he saw the dangers of what he was creating and turned into a freedom fighter.
1-22-2008 @ 9:32AM
Hollywood Ron said...
What I don't get is why the Sarah Connor and Andy GoodeBritish scientist guy helped him out in the first place. Did I miss something?
You did. The British guy wasn't exactly helping the Terminator so much as he was solving a problem that had troubled him for ages in the development of artificial skin. The key is the formula that was written on the wall. Helping the Terminator was tertiary to solving the problem.
Reply
1-22-2008 @ 9:33AM
Hollywood Ron said...
Ignore the Sarah Connor/Andy Goode thing, my copy and pasting skills have been terminated.
1-22-2008 @ 9:43AM
RC said...
I don't get how Glaubot can act like a completely normal teenager in the pilot and then be completely unable to fit in now. In the latest episode she acts more like Arnold in T2. I didn't see the suicide coming though so that was a shock.
On another note, Sarah Conner: worst date ever. She totally shoots the guy down several times when he tries to ask her out, then acts totally distant when they do go out. I have to give the guy props for persistence though.
Reply
1-22-2008 @ 11:25AM
dt3 said...
did i miss something or why am i supposed to care about that girl?? what was up with whatever that was on the wall??
1-22-2008 @ 9:54AM
Terri said...
Well, I am glad it just wasn't me who was puzzled. I work late and watch my show on dvr. Last night I replayed the last few minutes several times just to see if I missed something. It has been a long time since I saw those movies, but what is with the bood.
They need to change Sarah's image a little bit. She would stand out in her dress and looks. Or is she suppose to look like a heavy metal star.
Reply
1-22-2008 @ 11:27AM
dt3 said...
the blood was needed in order to make the artificial skin that covers the terminator/robot
1-22-2008 @ 10:08AM
Oreo said...
None of it makes any sense. The crazy scientist helping a robot? A student jumping off the roof because of a painting, the robot waking up last episode without a head after 7 years? The show is already quickly going downhill. And the sex subplot of John and the female robot who he is supposed to pretend to be related too is creepy.
Just a few odd episode all around.
Reply
1-22-2008 @ 5:25PM
Grog said...
1) It seems likely that the scientist cooperated for a mix of 2 reasons: curiosity/ambition to solve a problem he's been working on as well as a very real threat of bodily harm from the terminator.
2) I'm assuming that this will be explained further down the road, but I'm assuming the girl jumped because the picture showed her making out with a teacher/administrator.
The only things I took issue with were the robot-ness of Cameron (but I'm OK as long as she behaves consistently in the future) and the formula for the artificial skin which, as a medical student, I found completely unbelievable and just a random jumble of medical jargon. But then I remember that it's a scifi TV show and I decided to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the show. ;)