Before I go into The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Fox, I have to admit that T2 was the first movie I saw 5 times in the theater. This was the one that sent my love of movies from “I like movies” to “Movies are pretty much my life.” So going into The Sarah Connor Chronicles, I’ve gotta say I was pretty excited. Since it’s a TV show, I’m able to detach a little bit. Even if it’s terrible, it won’t ruin the greatness of Jim Cameron’s masterpiece, because it can be easily forgotten, especially since there are different actors in the roles. Luckily, there’s enough love for T2 fans in the pilot to keep me going for a while.

The series takes place closely on the heels of T2. In fact, it pretends like T3 didn’t exist, mostly because Sarah would be dead, and I don’t think anyone wants to watch Sarah Connor Coffin Chronicles. Right off the bat, the show proves that it wants to appease fans of the movie. There’s a highway shot, some VO, and a dream sequence with TV-quality special effects. The Terminator in the opening sequence if fairly generic, but he’s still brutal enough to remind you of Arnold’s original bad guy. He pulls out, I think, a million guns and kills cops and John Connor, then chokes Sarah before starting the apocalypse. There are also nice touches that fans will notice, including their “Reese” alias, which is a reference to Kyle Reese, John’s father from the original. Also, the return to Miles Dyson’s house, and the shot of his kid playing a game evokes when they first show up and he’s driving that remote controlled car through the house.

I liked the tone of the show. It carries on that sense of impending doom and makes you believe that there’s something at stake here. There’s not much humor so far, but hopefully that changes. I like dark shows, but even T2 had its goofy moments. The action was great for television, with a few practical explosions and heavy hitting Terminator fights. Also, the dynamic of Sarah and John worked really well and they embodied the characters accurately. While Lena Headey is no Linda Hamilton (Sarah must have just stopped working out after they saved the world, because she’s about half the size in this one), she’s likable and determined, and it’s always great to see a strong female lead in an action show/movie.

Okay, so was there anything to bitch about? Being a nerd, I have no choice but to complain, right? My biggest complaint is probably the bad Terminator. That’s an impossible role to cast, because there’s no way he can stack up against Arnold or Robert Patrick (or maybe even Kristanna Loken). I wasn’t too impressed with his performance, and I feel like he did 100 too many head twitches to remind us that he is, in fact, a robot. They haven’t touched on which model he is, but he’s come equipped with the “Catch Phrase” program. After he shoots up a classroom, he tells them “Class Dismissed.” Really?? Could have done without that. The other thing I’m uneasy about is having the good Terminator (Cameron, played by Summer Glau) with John and Sarah the entire time. I thought this was the Sarah Connor Chronicles. I don’t need them to be protected by a Terminator the entire series, and it doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere soon. Finally, I was a little let down they jumped into the future to 2007. It was a cheap way to make the show current, but I was glad that I didn’t have to hear any more crappy 1999 music.

And that’s it. Overall, it was a great premiere that stayed mostly loyal to T2. The complaints I have won’t stop me from watching this every week, and I’m curious to see if they can keep up the intensity over a few seasons. Apparently the pilot episode had the highest-rated scripted debut in three years, so chances are it won’t be terminated any time soon. That’s a good thing for nerds. Trust me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 12:19 pm and is filed under TV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.