(S01E09) This is continued from the "Vick's Chip" episode post.Finally, everything comes together. There are references to several episodes (if not every episode) throughout the season and there is something of a climax (albeit a disappointing one). Agent Ellison finally reappears after sitting the last episode out and he comes to the conclusion that killer robots from the future are after the Connors. What's he smoking?
For some reason, I thought Derek was the younger Reese. Obviously, I was mistaken. One of the comments in previous reviews pointed out that Kyle and Derek were alive in the current timeframe. Obviously, this plot point hadn't escaped the writers. Good thing Skynet doesn't know who John's daddy is.
I'll make some commentary about this episode than wrap it up with my thoughts for the entire season.
Obviously, the big telling scene of the episode was John meeting his father Kyle as a child. It's a very nice birthday gift from Derek given how much John is desperate for a daddy-figure. Of course, John probably asked for an iPhone.
When the British gangster (who wasn't Sarkissian) left the room, didn't he hear Sarah telling Derek to follow him? Yeesh. Couldn't she have waited a minute or two longer?
I so want to go to the prom with Cameron. Since she's all blowed up now, I guess he'll have to find another date.
Man, Derek is COLD. Even if the little girl wasn't the British guy's daughter, shooting him like that in front of her was as cold as any robot. Maybe there isn't too big a difference between the good guys and the bad guys.
It makes sense that Derek knew of his relationship with John all along. He even acted in an avuncular manner towards him. I do hope we would see him again in future seasons (maybe even as a regular), but I think there's enough of an "out" built into the finale if they can't get Brian Austin Green back.
When I think of the climactic scene to any sci-fi series, I think of Johnny Cash music. Okay, that's not true. Perhaps it was some sort of playful irony having a black man fight a Terminator to a song by the Man in Black.
If the show does get picked up for a second season, we now have the mystery of why Cromartie didn't kill Ellison. Did he consider Ellison inconsequential? Or was Ellison necessary for Skynet's future?
I can think of at least two ways in which Cameron could survive that blast. The first is that the explosion didn't affect her chip and she could repair herself and grow her skin back (although it was mentioned that Terminators could be destroyed with intense heat). Second, another Terminator model just like her is sent back.
Overall, I enjoyed the series. The writing started weak but ended strong (my personal favorite was "Dungeons and Dragons," the episode in which Derek remembers the future). On the other hand, the ratings started strong and ended weaker. The ratings aren't in yet for the final two-parter, but I don't see a significant bump occurring. No doubt Fox just wants to sell the complete series on DVD and move on.
It's science fiction on Fox. It's on the bubble as of right now, but it's an expensive series that gets mediocre ratings by Fox's standards. I'm just waiting for the final word.
Comic-Con Countdown: You ask Sci Fi the questions, we deliver
Giveaway Monday: ER - Season Nine DVD
Giveaways reminder: Stargate: Atlantis, X-Files, Fastlane
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
3-04-2008 @ 12:12AM
David said...
After this abbreviated season of T:SCC, I have to say I am very, very impressed with this show. The producers made intelligent decisions from which a gripping, believable, entertaining show resulted. They rarely advanced the plot in meaningful ways through action scenes, yet they scripted enough action to draw a lot of mainstream viewer interest. Unlike so many serial shows today, they did not introduce mystery after question after enigma. They kept the plot line relatively focused and provided resolution to many side plots quickly.
From the pilot through this evening's two-part finale, I was engaged and committed, and I very much forward to T:SCC season 2.
[Oh, and thanks for the smoking hot and talented actresses Lena Headey and Summer Glau!]
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 3:56PM
Skater3900 said...
"Over at Fox, the two-hour season-finale of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles scored a respectable 5.1/ 8 in the overnights from 8-10 p.m. (and is expected to generate some interest among adults 18-49 once the fast affiliate results are posted at PIFeedback.). While Sarah Connor is no 24, it is still worthy of a second season."
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/newsletters/proginsider/index.jsp
3-04-2008 @ 12:12AM
Argus said...
I don't get how you're confused as to Cameron surviving the explosion. If Terminators can be hit by cars and shot with Terminator killing guns and survive, she should be fine. Particularly because it wasn't even that big of an explosion.
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 12:13AM
mayorjimmy said...
A car bomb couldn't even begin to generate the heat or power needed to kill a terminator. Cameron will need some skin repair, but she'll be fine.
I liked the episodes. Ellison's survival sets up a real question: now that he fully believes Sarah, is he going to help pull her and John "off the radar" and aid in the fight against Skynet?
You missed a big "season ender" question. i have a theory maybe some of you might agree. I think the latina chick Cameron gave the pistol to is a Terminator. call it a hunch.
Reply
3-09-2008 @ 3:30AM
Kate said...
I'm with mayorjimmy. I started thinking that she was a machine the first time I saw her actually. She's just weird.
Actually, I think Derek might be a terminator or maybe partly machine. Like the post said, he's pretty stone cold. Also in episode 6 where the flashback revealed that he did in fact kill Andy, Sarah's voice in the background is saying, "Kyle said, 'Listen and understand, the machine is out there. It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever. Until you are dead." Of course by having that commentary playing while Derek murders Andy, they might have just been making a point about how the humans in this situation are becoming as heartless as the machines, but it felt like more than that.
I also agree that there's no way a car bomb took out Cameron. As mayorjimmy said that couldn't possibly generate the heat needed especially when you consider that they needed Thermite to destroy the other Terminator. She'll definitely need some skin care. If she does die this way, that's just...lame.
Responding to other comments, I think Cameron gave gang girl the gun to protect herself, not to kill herself. If Cameron wanted her dead or seriously saw her as a threat she'd just kill her herself. She wouldn't give her a gun and hope that she might be depressed and off herself. That's just kind of silly.
3-04-2008 @ 12:29AM
bsgfan2003 said...
It appeared that Ellison was not shot because he was not armed.
The pretty gang girl sold out her crew. Cameron seemed to know this and gave her the gun, meaning that she should kill herself.
Cameron should be just fine, but being blown up won't help her disposition any, especially when she finds the culprit.
I really hope this show gets a renewal!
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 7:38AM
eugene said...
wuh? Ellison had a loaded gun, he just finished loading it.
The latina didn't sell out her crew, they were stabbed and shot to death by the guys trying to blackmail the connors...
3-04-2008 @ 12:31AM
xnifex said...
I didn't get that chick either & why she didnt talk. I really hope there is a season 2 because this is a great show & i want to know why cromartie didnt kill ellison too.
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 12:34AM
Puck said...
Great ep! Loved the Johnny Cash song (though it was better used in the Dawn of the Dead remake) during the FBI siege. It gives me chills every time I hear it.
Reply
3-11-2008 @ 3:52PM
paul said...
what is the name of the johnny cash song.
3-04-2008 @ 12:35AM
xnifex said...
oh yeah. the link back to the previous review is broken. the date is wrong. yay for 2 broken links.
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 12:44AM
ac said...
Cameron will survive but she may just be down to an exoskeleton when she walks out of the flaming Jeep. If the show is renewed. Any other network other than Fox would bring it back probably.
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 12:48AM
David Marcoe said...
"If the show does get picked up for a second season, we now have the mystery of why Cromartie didn't kill Ellison. Did he consider Ellison inconsequential? Or was Ellison necessary for Skynet's future?"
Ellison has the file on Sarah, which Cromartie found out from the file clerk when he was looking for it. He now knows that Ellison is looking for Sarah and probably left him alive so that he could let Ellison follow the trail.
"I can think of at least two ways in which Cameron could survive that blast. The first is that the explosion didn't affect her chip and she could repair herself and grow her skin back (although it was mentioned that Terminators could be destroyed with intense heat). Second, another Terminator model just like her is sent back."
As has been said, a car bomb is not going to generate the force needed to destroy or even substantial harm a Terminator. Sarah had to use a hydraulic press (something which generates more force over sustained period of time) to kill the first T800 that came after her. And we've seen that Terminators in the T8xx series are structurally strong enough to rip through a bank vault door. The worst damage Cameron is going to have is missing skin and some dings that'll need to be buffed out.
"It's science fiction on Fox. It's on the bubble as of right now, but it's an expensive series that gets mediocre ratings by Fox's standards. I'm just waiting for the final word."
They've been promoting the hell out of this show, with advertising, a recent TV Guide article, and a spate of interviews with the cast and crew. I don't think their ready to kill it and I haven't seen any signals or possible statements that would indicate it. If Fox isn't sure about renewing the series, I would say that they are on the fence about it. And as to the ratings and cost question, there is an interesting quote from an interview with the producers here (http://tv.ign.com/articles/855/855797p1.html):
"IGN TV: [Laughs] Okay, gotcha. The show is doing well in the ratings, but everyone wonders is it doing well enough and speculating that because it's such an expensive show it might be a harder sell for renewal. Should the fans be optimistic, based on what you're hearing?
Friedman: Well first, it's not an expensive show. It has not been an expensive show. People are surprised when they find out what we spend on the show. The cost of the show is in no way connected to whether they pick the show up or not. That's going to be something that's based on their take on the ratings. We can't control that. We can only try to do the best shows we can -- and we think we have -- and hope people watch them.
We're at a time where ratings are such a weird thing right now, because we're one of the top downloaded shows. I think we're the third or fourth DVRd show. We're a top 10 show with males. The first five of our episodes are in the top 50 downloads according to Entertainment Weekly. You know, there's a lot of ways [to look at it]. We say, "Hey, we are succeeding!" Just because the advertisers don't make money off those people as much, doesn't mean those people aren't watching the show. You can't just say, "Eh, that doesn't matter." That's where we sit. We feel like we're doing a pretty good job. Yeah, I wish three million more people were watching the show in a way that…
Wirth: …was meaningful to them.
Friedman: Yeah, that is meaningful to the networks and the studios. But it's the demographic I think.
Wirth: There are shows like 24, which put out a DVD set after their first season and then the numbers increased pretty dramatically their second season. We're planning to do the same thing and we're hoping that there's enough cookies and goodies and so forth on that DVD set that people will discover that. And people that haven't maybe appreciated the show for what it is or think maybe that it doesn't have anything to offer them – like women for example – will discover "Wait a minute… There's two women in the leads in this show and they're strong women. One of them's a mother and the other is sort of a mother… That's cool. We want to see that." So we're hoping that we can grow this audience. We're delighted with what we have though."
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 2:20PM
Jake said...
I'm cautiously optimistic, myself, about the prospects for a renewal. Fox's strategy of airing the episodes together seems to have paid off, as they pulled a solid 7.98M viewers, which means the dismal 7.12M for "Demon Hand" was just a fluke. More importantly it got a 3.3/8 in the 18-49 demo, which is good for second place on the night (behind that 20/20 special on the British royal family). That's pretty decent -- so if the show isn't as expensive as it is reputed to be, it seems a no brainer that Fox will keep it around. They've invested a ton of money in it already.
3-04-2008 @ 12:55AM
DaveTehWave said...
What happened to the suicide girl from John's high school?
How about she died and was buried???
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 2:53PM
dt3 said...
Who cares about her funeral... how about who she was and what the hell those paintings on the wall meant?
3-10-2008 @ 1:19PM
lankyguy said...
There's a huge subplot there. The girl was having an affair with a teacher IMHO, the same teacher who interviewed Cameron probably.
I really want a series two just to see how Cameron would handle the situation.
3-13-2008 @ 3:21PM
dt3 said...
thats a pretty radical assumption... am i missing something? what made you come to that conclusion? Is anyone still reading this a week and a half later???
3-04-2008 @ 12:57AM
bc said...
"shooting him like that in front of her was as cold as any robot"
Ummm, didn't he cover her eyes when he actually fired? Not so robotic.
Reply
3-04-2008 @ 1:10AM
Paul said...
I think the show is getting better. Too bad it had such a short season. But I can totally understand fox not picking it up because it is an extremely expensive series to make. Fox is notorious when it comes to ratings. I'm surprised it didn't cancel it...probably because there was nothing else better going for them so they let it show...that and they probably spent too much money on the show already and wants to make their money back at least.
Reply