After the mediocre offering provided by "Terminator: Rise Of The Machines", I wondered what the future held for this franchise. Luckily, the future seems potentially bright.
The series stars Lena Headey ("300") as Sarah Connor, Thomas Dekker (Claire's friend from season 1 of "Heroes") as John Connor and Summer Glau ("Firefly", "The 4400") as the Terminator programmed to protect John and Sarah.
It's clear almost immediately that "Terminator 3" has gone the way of "Highlander 2", "Highlander 3" and... well, various parts of the first Highlander movie. In other words, it's being ignored and considered no longer a part of continuity. I almost thought that maybe the timeline of "Terminator 3" was changed by the presence of Glau's Terminator, but the Pilot starts out in 1999, while Sarah Connor's grave in "Terminator 3" clearly indicates that she died in 1997. Oh well. That movie is still okay for a so-so action fix, but I'm guessing most fans are willing to put it behind them if this tv show provides a good story. And I think it will, based on what we've seen so far.
First off, a story is only as good as its characters and a character is only as good as the actor portraying it. Lena Headey does much more than hide her natural british accent. She provides a hardened characterization that seems appropriately mellowed after putting several years between herself and the events of Terminator 2. But although not as extreme as Linda Hamilton's version, Headey has taken the character into a natural "next phase". No longer a border-line psychotic, this Sarah Connor is a centered, focused woman who feels powerful enough to lead the cast and bear the show's title on her shoulders.
Thomas Dekker is a more grown up John Connor than we saw in "Terminator 2", and while not as juvenile he still has a healthy amount of rebellion with an added dose of brooding that makes his character flawed and interesting. His performance is well-suited to the character, and while he doesn't have any unusual quirks like Sarah or Glau's Terminator, he provides the anchor for audience members to relate to on what will probably be a wild journey.
Summer Glau portrays a Terminator that shares traits with her three predecessors, but certainly has its own personality. Her model's capabilities are nowhere near fleshed out (no pun intended), although she seems to be somewhere between Schwarzenegger's T-101 and T2's T-1000. It would seem that one ability she has is to heal her flesh more rapidly than a human. Not "Wolverine" levels or anything close. But enough that a quarter sized hole in her skin heals over in about three days with no remaining scar tissue. That or we've seen the show's first continuity error.
Glau brings a little humanity to the character, almost to the point of emotion once or twice. Hopefully they will go the route of having her SIMULATE emotions and never actually DEVELOP them. We've "been there and done that" with Data on Star Trek and we certainly don't need a killing machine to "soften up" and get all weepy on us. Glau's performance covers the appropriate ranges and she seems suited to the subtle humor that this kind of character requires. I also have a funny feeling that she will play an unusual role in John's life at some point. I'm not sure what, but after the flirtatious beginning between her and John, you can use your imagination on the possibilites that may come around season 3 or 4.
It's clear the producers want to link this series to "Terminator 2", given the references to and appearances of several T2 characters in the Pilot and second episode. But this series doesn't look to be simply a watered down "poor-man's" version of the film franchise. Terminator 3 reminded us that big explosions and cool special effects do not equal the best Terminator story. With elements like a time-lost romance, adjusting to an eight year technological leap, helping a Terminator blend into society long-term, hunting down the origins of Skynet and avoiding various threats from the future, this series has alot to draw from to tell great stories.
Some of my favorite elements included the gun inside the Terminator's leg, (It's been done before in a Terminator comic, but it was still cool.) and a headless Terminator reclaiming his skull and covering up with winter clothes to hunt down John and Sarah. I was afraid they might go with a "Terminator of the week" formula, but it would appear that on this show, one Terminator will still be enough to last a long time. As it SHOULD be. The show will do well if they continue to surprise us with how much damage these things can take and still keep coming.
I can't list many flaws. My only grudge is a small one. In the second epsiode, Glau's Terminator was hit by a car because she didn't do something as simple as look both ways before crossing the street. Sure, it was a cool action beat, but it didn't make sense that it happened.
I'm also not ready to weigh in on the show's Relevance score. Some shows, like Battlestar Galactica, will develop meaningful themes over time. This show has the opportunity for that, but I don't have a sense of what they want to say yet, so I'll hold off on that rating for another time.
For now, the show looks great. From the characters to the music, it seems to be making every effort to "feel" like a Terminator story. So far so good!
Quality: 9.0/10
Relevance: No Score
Some of the most enjoyable creative moments I have are the result of my own incompetence or what some might call "accidents".
