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'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' does the time warp again
It's an interesting question that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles posed tonight – at what point does truth and honesty prevail over the greater good. Should Derek Reese, be told that his brother fathered John Connor? If he was told would he instantly regret having the knowledge? Would things in the future play out differently if Derek had the knowledge that his brother was John Connor's father?
Sarah and John debated the question, and the possible ramifications, briefly tonight, but it was really a Derek Reese-based episode. In exploring Derek's life the show even went so far as to touch on the hallowed ground of Kyle. Rather than just discussing Kyle, as one might have thought they would have done, they cast someone in the role. I'm not sure why I would have thought that as odd, after all, they cast someone as Sarah, but Kyle Reese somehow felt more sacred.
For a substantial portion of tonight's episode, Derek was remembering his life in the future and some of the time he spent with his brother, the legend. It seems as though Kyle was a legend even before he got sent back to save Sarah. Kyle also had the opportunity, at one point during his life, to save John from a prison camp, which helped put him in pretty good stead with his boss.
Derek, however, was never so lucky. It was Derek's lot in life, it seems to me, to be the "other Reese boy." In the future, Derek got captured and was immediately asked if he was the Reese that saved John, because that Reese could help all the prisoners where they now were. Derek admitted to not being that Reese (but declined to state that his brother was).
While in prison one of his good friends admitted to a shady secret from his past. The man Derek knew as "Wisher" confessed to having a different real name, the name of Andy Goode. Wisher also claimed to have built Skynet. And that friends, is apparently why Derek killed Andy last week (we saw a flashback that confirmed this if the flashback was to be believed).
Before my head explodes with too many time-travel paradoxes, let me be clear that I'm assuming that Andy was in fact not in charge of building Skynet and that his "partner" whom we met last week, and some other undefined people, took over the job at some point (future Andy did claim that it was a team effort, that there were a group of people involved). So, I think future Andy was saying he was "responsible" as he started down the path towards the building of Skynet, not that he actually built the final one that took over the world. At least that's what we have to assume as we see that the series didn't instantly end with Andy Goode's murder. Allegedly we must remember someone will always build Skynet, so it is possible that upon the murder of Andy Goode last week future history may have changed and Andy was longer the responsible party.
For some reason, which was vaguely reminiscent of Saw, Skynet pulled its Terminators out of the house where Derek and company were being held prisoner, leaving them chained to the floor with an axe sitting between them (they just hacked at the chains not their appendages though). Derek later learned that John and Kyle had ventured into some top secret facility (presumably this was when Kyle got sent back), so it's more than likely that Skynet pulled its Terminators from Derek and company in order to stop John Connor from gaining control of a time machine.
Derek's flashbacks to the future also showed him meeting a Cameron that he instinctively knew was metal. Rather than being given the chance to shoot her, he was told by a superior that she was a good guy, that she had been turned. He wasn't quite sure about it, but could do nothing about it right then as he had bigger fish to fry, like getting sent back with other resistance fighters by John and starting his one-man vendetta to kill Andy Goode.
Other thoughts:
- Okay, here's the thing, and for me this is a real problem – according to tonight's episode and basic hematology, Sarah can't be John's mother. John cannot have AB blood and Sarah O. It is a biological impossibility. It was a stupid mistake for the show to make, anyone that has ever, even briefly, studied such things could have told them that. The producers must have done some rudimentary research into blood types to know rare from not rare and universal donors, etc., so why this didn't come up I'm not sure.
- Why did Cameron destroy last week's dead Terminator out in the open? I know that they were in a remote location, but it still seems to me that pulling the flesh from a metal endoskeleton and burning said endoskeleton ought to be done behind a closed and locked door.
- Cameron promised Sarah that she would destroy all of the Terminator but pocketed that bit from his brain. Has she turned to the dark side? I'm saying no. The pieces line up too easily for that to be the case. Derek learned that sometimes good Terminators go bad just before we saw Cameron do this, so I'm going to say that the show is trying to make us think that such is the case with Cameron in order to trick us later.
- I'm also going to say that the Cameron in the future isn't the same Cameron we have now, that they're different copies of the same model. That way there's no problem with Cameron having given a date of her going back in time in the first episode that would have meant that she went back in time before Kyle.
- For his part, Charlie, seemed to do pretty well dealing with the knowledge of Skynet, Judgment Day, and the destruction of mankind. I'm impressed. It's the kind of thing that most people would need some time to adjust to.
Me, I'm still adjusting. I haven't yet processed any of it. If I had I might have ended The TV and Film Guy's Reviews out of despair. But, that hasn't happened, and hopefully never will.
So good tonight.
I was thinking the same thing about Cameron not collecting the pieces of other T's for evil - I think we will be thrown a curve on that one.
I did not recognize Andy at all - not expecting him to be there tricked the mind when I looked at him all scruffed up. As soon as he said he lied about his name, the recognition was instant before he even said who he really was.
I thought we were going to see Cameron in the Terminator Classical Music Torture Room!
(That's a shame about the blood. There are a lot of plot holes in this series, but I am willing to overlook them for now - it's a great show otherwise. It was nice to get away from HS for a while, too.)
MK46 | Feb 18, 2008 8:20:56 PM | #I can see how Cameron would have more than one copy of herself in the future, as there would be no need for machines/cyborgs to worry about individuality. (Perverted aside warning) If you had the means, wouldn't you want a couple copies of Summer Glau? I know I would. (Perverted aside over now) As for Charlie's new knowledge, I think the writers are trying to connect him firmly to the other characters by making him adaptable and stoic, because how much would it suck if Charlie was some hyperactive dork that went into the screaming jeebies every time something knocked his world out of joint? Much better this way, and it lets people like me who despise whiners to actually like the guy. I also agree that re-casting Kyle Reece was a little off-putting, but I'd rather see somebody different in the role than have his part in the future only a passing mention by non-essential characters, as in, "Oh, man, ya just missed Kyle...he had to take a whizz," etc, etc. For a network show, the special visual effects were quite awesome. No idea how high the budget is, but the quality is at least as good as the original Terminator movie was. Back to Cameron--I get the feeling that she/it is going to do what she/it is going to do, whatever Sarah threatens her with. Cameron likely has more than one mission anyway, so her hiding the memory circuit thingie in her fanny pack didn't surprise me in the slightest. Like her future self/clone, if something interferes with Cameron's mission, she'll do what she needs to in order to remove the obstacle, even if it means somebody's death. This is why I enjoy the show...the movies were limited to a couple hours of plot and character development, so we had to guess as to a lot of what was going on behind the scenes. With a weekly series, however, there can be a lot more intrigue and behind the scenes chicanery that might not be revealed for several episodes, or even an entire season. Good storytelling takes awhile, and I hope T:TSCC is given the time to put together a decent mythology, both in the present and the now-ever-changing future. Complicated? You betcha, but I'll take it, since 24 is not going to be on this season. Random thoughts--I also thought of the movie "Saw" when the hand axe appeared among the chained soldiers, the blood typing error could've been avoided with a little better writing/research, and was it me or did the building where the team was being held in the future look an awful lot like the living room in the house where Sarah and the others are staying in the present? Finally, I think Cameron's pocketing of the brain thingie might be her own personal mission, not one that has been programmed into her. I imagine she'll be doing her own research into why "good cyborgs go bad," or something similar, not that she has some nefarious cards up her sleeves. Good episode, if a little confusing with the whole "memories of future past/past future/give me a couple Tylenols wouldja?".
Dark Disciple | Feb 18, 2008 8:35:04 PM | #I like the way the show is developing. Definitely has some heft to the storyline that should keep me coming back for more in the future (until Judgment Day, that is!).
I wouldn't worry too much about the blood faux pas. Silly yes, but I didn't notice and nor would most of the audience.
tacitus | Feb 18, 2008 10:03:00 PM | #Re: Cameron, I have a hunch that, while she’s not “going bad”, she’s collecting Terminator bits in order to build Skynet herself. She’s supposed to be an advanced model, so what if she’s reached the point of self preservation? She realized that no Skynet means no her, so she builds it herself.
Of course, another thought is that she’s building her own replacement - a backup that will save the day after the original model heroically sacrifices herself (in the cliffhanger season - finale!)
J | Feb 18, 2008 11:06:06 PM | #They never actually said John had AB- blood type. But they did imply it by saying that Reese needed an exact match and that Derek had AB- blood. It's not true that they couldn't use John's blood if it was only A- or B- (which could have allowed him to be Sarah's son), and it would have been better to use it than Sarah's (O-) blood. They should have written a line saying he was A- or B- and they would risk it. B- is pretty rare too, and it would fit with the intent of the whole blood donation story -- to reveal that John is related to Derek. I'm AB-, by the way.
Dan | Feb 19, 2008 12:49:50 AM | #I don't think Cameron saved the chip because she's going bad. I think she saved it because it's the closest thing to a "soul" that a Terminator has. Couple her actions with the letter she sat down to write after killing that model last week and I think you can make a case for remorse on her part.
Marissa | Feb 19, 2008 4:25:22 AM | #I didn't think I would like this show. But it turns out to be pretty decent. I disagree that Derek instinctively knew Cameron was a Terminator. His reaction was too angry. My bet is that a Cameron model was in that room they brought him into. Stating the obvious Cameron is up to something though I don't think she's turning bad again. It will probably be revealed that she has other parts of mission that she's not telling Sarah or John.
Steve | Feb 19, 2008 6:24:04 AM | #Why couldn't a mother with O-have a son who was AB-? My mother has type 0 and I have type B. Am I missing something here?
j | Feb 19, 2008 7:11:32 AM | #"Would things in the future play out differently if Derek had the knowledge that his brother was John Connor's father?"
Derek can't go "Back to the Future" so whether he knows now or not isn't relevant. Besides, the future isn't fixed... remember the date change of "Judgment Day"? If now-Derek managed to communicate the relationship to future-Derek then the future-Derek he communicated with would not be the same future-Derek that was sent back in time to be the now-Derek.
"I'm also going to say that the Cameron in the future isn't the same Cameron we have now, that they're different copies of the same model."
Didn't Cameron say that she'd had her memory wiped before being sent back in time? I believe this was in response to a Q from Sarah about Derek.
Chris | Feb 19, 2008 7:40:18 AM | #Still waiting for this show to WOW me. All of the plot holes still bother me. I love the movies, and while this isn't aweful, it still rubs me the wrong way. The changing of Kyle Reese's photo replacing Linda Hamilton's face with Lena's just really bugged me. It's like they didn't need to do it, but they did. It's like this show thinks it's more important than the movies. This show has a sense of arrogance to it. I still watch, but I'm losing my patience. Now that Prison Break is over, I don't know if I'll continue watching. I'd rather watch the Angel reruns I DVR on TNT.
realgenius | Feb 19, 2008 8:25:53 AM | #J -
It's high school biology, you have to do one of those Punnett Square things. If your mother is O she's OO. Someone can be B by being BO or BB. You are the former, not the latter. John is apparently AB, yet Sarah is OO. That's not possible, because John would have to get either an A or a B from his mom (and the other from his dad) and if Sarah is O so she doesn't have an A or B to give.
Chris -
You're absolutely right on the first point (the Derek going back thing), but as for the second, Cameron says in the pilot that she was sent back to the past from the year 2027, but in the original film we learn that Kyle was sent back from 2029. So if a Cameron was in the future with Derek after Kyle went back it has to be a different Cameron.
Josh Lasser | Feb 19, 2008 9:08:01 AM | #That is, unless Cameron goes back to the future at the end of the show. Or "lives" until 2029. Did I just blow your mind or what?
Will | Feb 19, 2008 9:44:27 AM | #Does the naming of the characters on this show bother anyone else?
I went along with Cameron (as an obvious nod to James Cameron), but it was a little too on the nose for me.
And I just think they went WAY overboard tonight having a character use the "fake" name "William Wisher" who wrote both Terminator 1 & 2 with James Cameron. That's just way too obvious a nod to the movies. Now it's like they're trying too hard to be clever.
It would be different if they were given the names for reasons, but they seem to be assigning them at random.
Right now I'm willing to overlook it because the quality of the show is soooo good, but if they name a character "Gale Anne Hurd" (James Cameron's producing partner for both terminators) I may be out.
J - | Feb 19, 2008 10:01:01 AM | #I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that Bubbles wasn't in heaven with all of that scrap metal just laying around for anyone to claim ;)
Rishi | Feb 19, 2008 11:15:06 AM | #Sounds like we have a "Wire" fan on here. Now that is a great show.
Clark | Feb 19, 2008 12:07:39 PM | #So far last night's episode was the best yet and finally shows us what this series is capable of, while making a firm connection to the original movies. It left a lot of questions unanswered: what was with the basement? Cameron's secret stash? So the reprogammed terminators sometimes go bad? Etc. That's what makes a good ongoing arc series. Of course now that the series is getting into the real meat of the plot, watch for Fox to cancel it like they always do. Fox hasn't announced that it's resuming production for the remaining episodes of the season and that's concerning.
Alex | Feb 19, 2008 12:55:26 PM | #Josh, I think your reasoning might be a bit too linear. You're right that Kyle was sent back in 2029 in T1 but that time stream ended with the events of T2. In both T1 and T2 SkyNet goes operational 8/29/1997 but in "Chronicles" it becomes operational 4/19/2011.
So, following the "logic" of time travel, the Kyle that came back from 2029 in T1, fathered John, and told Sarah "Judgment Day is 8/29/1997" cannot be from the same time stream as Cameron, who knows Judgment Day as 4/19/2011. Assuming Derek also knows 4/19/2011 as Judgment Day, then the Kyle that was sent back while Derek was held captive isn't the Kyle that fathered John, and that Kyle may have been sent before Cameron was sent.
Chris | Feb 19, 2008 1:00:23 PM | #OK Let's get dicey about the AB blood thingy. What if Sarah isn't really John's [egg] biological mother, but is a host mother Kyle picked out [and inseminated with a pre-programmed fertilized ovum] to scrap, fight, claw, and raise him to be the John Connor needed in the future...
Cass | Feb 19, 2008 1:13:20 PM | #I don't wanna get started on a huge discussion of time travel and paradoxes (plenty of that going on around the Lost blogs), but seems to me that if the good guys succeed in preventing Skynet, John and Cameron will instantly dissapear, since both of their creations/births were brought on as a result of Skynet (John was born from Kyle, sent back by John, and Cameron is a Terminator, created by Skynet).
Sean | Feb 19, 2008 1:22:00 PM | #Chris - that's probably how the whole thing works, but it makes my head hurt to think about it (and, possibly, it's too easy to excuse inconsistencies by saying "oh, that's just a different future.").
Josh Lasser | Feb 19, 2008 1:30:36 PM | #It's possible that Cameron kept the main circuit from the Terminator as a tool to hunt down the hand, which she still needs to destroy. Since the FBI agent has the hand, he and Cameron will have to cross paths. She may be the tipping point for him to realize that Sarah's story has been true all along.
William Robinson | Feb 19, 2008 1:35:28 PM | #I think that the Cameron in the future is the same as the one in the past. She's simply been protecting John ever since.
In the future, the resistance would've captured Cameron, reprogrammed her, and then sent her into the past. This allows for the conflicting timelines since the resistance would have the same Cameron from two different timeframes; the captured Cameron and the one that's been protecting John.
Hear's a thought... Maybe the components that Cameron is keeping are one's that will be needed to repair her future self that the resistance capture.
Time travel is freaky!
I saw Kyle Reese. I know Kyle Reese. And you're NO Kyle Reese!
As a fan of the Sci-Fi genre and the first two Terminator movies, I am REALLY trying to like this show (and I hate to complain… really… I don’t like to nitpick).
The good:
- The premise/plot is interesting and could go in multiple directions
- The acting, production and directing is somewhat solid
- The special effects are very good for a network show
- And, as reviewer Josh wrote last week, “… it’s just plain good fun. The show doesn't take itself too seriously.”
But I have to agree with Josh and a few of the other posters on the continuing obvious plot holes/inconsistencies, lack of research, the occasional use of artist/creative license, but most importantly, the sloppy writing and storytelling.
For now I’ll put aside the show’s most glaring error… exactly HOW MANY TIMES has both John Conner/the future human race and Skynet had control of the time travel technology and sent humans/terminators back to the past? What’s going on here… can you go out and pick up a sophisticated time travel device at any local Home Depot?
In the show, we’ve got future humans and T-800s running around all over the place… in the 80s, 90s and now in 2007 (plus, either some future humans or friendly terminators were sent back to build another time travel device in the bank’s safety deposit vault from present day materials). If Skynet somehow built a second, or got control of the original, time travel device (which was supposed to have been destroyed after Kyle Reese went back in the first movie), why not just send a T-800 or T-1000 model even farther back in time and kill Sarah Connor’s mother? Okay, let’s try not to think about that issue as it gives everyone a major headache and move on.
I just occasionally wonder if they were in such a hurry to get the scripts written before the strike deadline (the production schedule seems about right) that they did not have time to ‘fine tune’ things so we have explanations to the following:
1) How did a solid metal terminator head make it through the time travel bubble in the pilot episode? (okay, I’m willing to suspend my disbelief just long enough to accept the T-800 exoskeleton body was sitting in a metal scrap yard for 8 years, apparently unnoticed, until the head re-booted and the body sought it out)
2) Last week, why actually stop the federal prisoner transfer truck (thereby exposing their identities once again) when Cameron could have easily done what the T-888 did just a few minutes later… while moving, rip open the trucks back door, grab Derek (who had already freed himself from his cuffs), jump back on the trailing jeep and take off? If necessary, they could have shot out the rear tires of the federal truck to stop it for good measure after getting Derek safely aboard. Seems like a lot of risky, hard work (and silliness from the writers) in order to allow the T-888 to eventually catch up, get a bullet in Derek thereby allowing the writers to bring Charlie, Sarah’s former lover, back into the show and fully up to speed on the future. Oh, and I guess it also sets up the flashback sequence and left a cybernetic hand for our FBI buddy to find.
3) Why actually show Kyle Reese and the infamous Sarah Connor in the jeep picture? Wasn't necessary. That character and Polaroid snapshot are a couple of the most iconic elements from the T1 movie. The producers choose NOT to create an Arnold look-alike terminator model for this new series… so why show Kyle Reese? He’s just as important.
4) The blood type conflict should have been researched/fixed by the writers or explained in the episode.
5) Are you seriously telling me the terminators in the future prison house just received new orders and simply left all the human rebel soldiers alive AND decided to leave them an axe to cut their chains loose and escape? I thought Skynet and the terminators of that time period were beginning to lose the war (hence, create a time travel device to eliminate John) and wanted to TOTALLY eliminate all traces of humanity… not give them a ‘pass’ for being good prisoners. That scene should’ve been written very differently, such as Derek and his fellow prisoners being rescued by a passing squad of other well-armed human soldiers… such as the ones we saw a few minutes later in the burned out/abandoned bunker.
6) In the present day, why does everyone shoot the T-800s in the chest when a head shot would seem to be much more effective? Who knows, you might knock out an eye or at the very least, it might chip off some of the organic/human flesh and exposes the terminator for what it really is, forcing it to go undercover. It seems they are programmed to go someplace and attempt to repair themselves if the damage is noticeable and prevents them from blending in with humans.
There are other minor issues Josh has already point out in his excellent reviews (carving up and then destroying the T-888’s exoskeleton without simply closing/locking a door for a little privacy!?), but I overlook these scenes so I can enjoy the show without screaming at the TV.
I’ll continue watching since I like to support a sci-fi show with potential on network television (we don’t want another Firefly or Journeyman situation). However, I’m really hoping the show, namely the writing, will improve and Josh Friedman and the other producers will do a better job of reducing or explaining these continuity errors in upcoming episodes.
Thoughts/comments anyone?
Am I the only one who didn't like this episode that much. The show has been all about Sarah, John and Cameron, yet half of this ep was about characters we don't know or care about that much yet. I was relieved that by the end, the guys were in the present day, as I was thinking we were going to have tons of flash forwards - and we still might. Did I hear they HAVE cast someone as grown up John? I loved the films, but I like the emphasis on Sarah, young John and Cameron. I think they were making a real effort with this one to appeal to the male audience. Maybe get a bit of testosterone in there with Charley and the rebel guys, while I like watching the girls! Guess a lot of the audience for this show IS youngish guys. I just got confused which scruffy bearded guy was which. Didn't recognise Andy at all.
For me, the relationship between Sarah and Cameron is the one I find most fascinating, rather than the mythology.
I love this show and I also did T1&2 but I am having a problem that I havent seen written about here at all.
If Kyle is Johns father and John sent Kyle back to father him how could John and Kyle be the same age in the future and if Kyle was killed in the past how could he be in the future to be sent back.
In the same note how could John exist in the future to send Kyle back if Kyle is his father.
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