TVSquad

After the mid-day lunch/writing break, FOX jam-packed events into the rest of the afternoon and evening, not leaving much time to breathe, much less stop and type a blog post. One of the more noteworthy sessions after the break was for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Note that I said "noteworthy," not "interesting." Why? Because not much in the way of news came out of it. Still, a few things were thrown out by the producers and stars that may pique a fan's interest.

First of all: The show will have more self-contained episodes this year. Why? Executive producer John Wirth had a very succinct answer to that: "Because we wanted to."

We here at TV Squad are sometimes privy to top secret industry information (information if revealed in public would result in our spontaneous beheading). Other times, we're just given the press release.

That being said, the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will begin on Monday, September 8th at 8 p.m. I'll wait while you run to the DVR to set the record time. Fox is also planning to run a season one marathon leading up to the premiere (the DVD is set for release on August 19th).

Returning actors include Lena Headey, Summer Glau, Thomas Dekker, Richard T. Jones and Brian Austin Green. New cast members include Shirley Manson, who plays a tech company CEO, and Leven Rambin as a possible love interest for John Connor.

Season one of the show had to be cut short due to the writer's strike (and had a somewhat unsatisfying cliffhanger), but there were some real gems of episodes. I'm looking forward to season two.

It's a rare thing when one of the major networks takes up an hour of its schedule almost every single night of the week to air the same show, but that's exactly what FOX is going to do this August.

The network is going to run a marathon of the first season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles starting on Sunday, August 10 at 9pm. Then the other episodes from the first season, in order, will air at 9pm on August 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 24. The two-hour second season premiere then airs on September 8 at 8pm.

According to Variety, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been picked up for a second season. Michael Ausiello of TV Guide also indicated that the show had been given the greenlight for a second season but could not deliver official confirmation. Fox has ordered 13 episodes so far for the second season.

The Fox series stars Summer Glau as the "good" Terminator named Cameron, Thomas Dekker as John Connor, the future savior of mankind from the evil robots, and Lena Headey as Sarah Connor, the mother of said future savior. The show is executive-produced by Josh Friedman and John Wirth.

(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.

(S01E08) Fox has decided to show the final two episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which is still on the bubble for a second season) in one night and treat it as a two-parter. I, on the other hand, will be treating them as two separate episodes for the purpose of these reviews. I will link to the second one at the end of the first so it's sort of like two-Two-TWO reviews in one.

As always, I'm amazed at the sophistication of the television Terminators. One of the reasons Arnold was so great at the role was that he acted stiff naturally. A young William Shatner or David Hasselhoff might have similarly been able to pull off the role. Now that better actors are available, some subtlety and nuance is required in the performance. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

(S01E07) When I was in college, I took a science fiction class. In it, we discussed the themes of the first two Terminator movies, such as the religious themes (note the initials of John Connor and the other religious figure with the same initials) and the sources of violence (In the first movie it came in the form of machines. The second backpedaled and blamed minorities for violence).

I mention this because given the overt religious theme of tonight's episode, I wonder if Josh Friedman was in the same class. This episode went all "New Testament" on us.

Summer Glau looked mighty fine dressed as a cop like that. Some might not find it sexy, but I couldn't help but be reminded of when female strippers dress as cops. They look a lot like that. At first, I mean. When the clothes are still on. But I digress...

(S01E06) This episode was a definitive step up for the series. I have one or two minor quibbles about it, but this episode has been the highlight so far.

The viewer is presented with the story of Derek Reese, who is Kyle Reese's brother and John Connor's uncle. This is done in the style of "future-flashes" in which we see Derek's story post-Judgment Day and learn a lot of new information that answers some questions and creates a few more. I also got a little nerdy thrill out of myriad of references to the first Terminator movie (more on that shortly).

I should have recognized the set used for the Resistance shelter. Was the "Hang In There Baby" lion picture in the first movie? If so, I don't recall it. I did like how they retouched the Linda Hamilton photo to put in Lena Headey's image instead. It's like one those time changes from the movie Back To The Future in which you see time changing around the travelers.

(S01E05) Andy Goode is back with another chess computer, the Turk II. This is relevant because John Connor played chess in his youth in South America and apparently knows a lot about chess history as a result. And people say this series is unrealistic.

Of course, chess is being used as a war metaphor in this episode (rather blatantly if you listen to Sarah Connor's commentary at the beginning and end of the episode). This could be ironic because apparently Skynet is being developed from a chess program. Perhaps in the future, Skynet loses a game of chess to a human and annihilates the species as a result.

(S01E04) John decides to try and control his own destiny and convinces his mother and Cameron to seek out and destroy Cromartie, the Terminator sent back in time to kill John in the first episode. Hilarity ensues.

Or, maybe not. John is showing his teenage angst by going totally emo. Apparently that suicide from the last episode has really gotten to him. I guess that's the only meaning which could be found from an otherwise meaningless death (story-wise, I mean).

I did enjoy the episode and felt it was a lot better than the last one. The storylines are progressing nicely and it's good to see John undergo some character development, even if it was emo. As usual, the performances of Lena Headey and Summer Glau make the show enjoyable.

Spoilers after the jump...

(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.

If you stop to try to figure out time travel plots from TV shows and movies - whether it's Back to the Future, Star Trek, or Frequency - it can really give you a headache. So many things about time travel just don't make sense, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't make for a fantastic plot device.

I've been thinking about that since Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles started. The show is supposed to take place after T2, though it's been a while since I've seen that flick (or the original for that matter) and I'm not sure if everything goes together and makes sense or not (T3 seems to be ignored, at least for now). But Todd Seavey is doing an extensive examination of the show and has come up with some interesting observations.

(S01E02) "Gnothi Seauton" is Greek for "Know Yourself". I suppose it is analogous to the personal growth going on with each of the characters at this stage.

Projected into their own future, Sarah and Cameron go to one of Sarah's old friends named Enrique while attempting to get new fake id's, in case Sarah wants to get beer later.

Meanwhile, John leaves their safe house in an expression of his teenage, rebellious nature. Where did he go? The mall, of course. I suppose he was interested in the technological advancements in malls between 1999 and 2007.

(S01E01) TV Squad has already done an early look at this series. What follows is a more in-depth review of the pilot episode.

To recap, the episode begins in 1999. It takes place between the second and third movies in the franchise. Sarah Connor (played by Lena Headey) and her son John Connor (played by Thomas Dekker) are on the run from the future.

In the future, John Connor saves mankind from a supercomputer called Skynet that was built by a human creator and financed by the military. Shortly after going online, Skynet became hellbent on making the human race extinct. Unfortunately, future John wasn't able to finish the job before Skynet invented a working time machine. Skynet also uses cyborg foot soldiers called Terminators to do its dirty work.

Sarah and John have to be careful not to leave any clues to their location while they're on the run from both the law and the future. If they do, at best they'll be arrested. At worst, Skynet can find them and send Terminators back in time to kill John before he saves the world.

Episode spoilers after the jump...

One of the better benefits of this job is that I can sometimes see television shows in advance of their premiere. This time around I was given an advance DVD of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which contained the first two episodes ("Pilot" and "Gnothi Seauton"). I'm a fan of the franchise, although admittedly I wasn't that big a fan of Terminator 3.

This show is done by the same company that was behind Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and the upcoming Terminator 4. It was originally to be titled The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I guess the creators were concerned that nobody would recognize the franchise without the word "Terminator". Such title ambiguity did not hurt Smallville, but I digress.

TV Squad already did a script review of the pilot, but what follows is a review of the finished product.

Major spoilers after the jump...