Movie and Television Reviews

"21:30. Alright! There's still another half hour to go... 21:55: Darn! It's almost over! Wait: why am I experiencing a TV-induced mini-manic episode?"

Not one to argue with my subconscious, I can conclude from my feelings Monday evening that Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles is a good sci-fi show. In fact, after four episodes, each one better than the previous one, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles has "all-time great" potential.

(If you haven't seen them, they're available on Fox's website.)

The story picks up after the events of Terminator II in the year 1999. Sarah has killed Dyson, the scientist in charge of evil robots for Cyberdyne Systems and is on the run with future savior of mankind, Barack Ob...I mean John Connor, her son. She falls in love with a recurring character, but leaves him when the fuzz gets on her trail.

Anyways, foxy terminatrix Cameron (Summer Glau) comes to save Sarah from yet another terminator (their proper name. I don't buy into the effort to dehumanize them with terms like "bucket head."). On the run, they use a time travel bomb to move seven years into the future (100 cell-phone years) where they do their best to delay the inevitable by neutralizing robot scientists, all of whom, fortunately, happen to live in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

She has help, however. Other future warriors are already there to help including John Connor's uncle.

John Connor (Thomas Dekker) is a little too grungy-cool, but none of the cast are objectionable and some are quite outstanding. Even Master Bra'tac from Stargate-SG1 makes an appearance.

The bad guys are genuinely scary and provoke that "Is he one of them? Oh no!" feeling. Like in Battlestar Galactica, there's just something inherently creepy about self-aware, apocalypse-initiating robots. The human-android bonding moments are fine and much better than the automobile-human interaction in Knight Rider.

All time-travel stories are inevitably ridiculous, but once you get over the fact that it can't possibly make sense, you'll notice that Terminator: SCC is expertly written with a sprinkle of TV-PG edginess. This week, the flash forwards lifted Terminator to a whole new level or interestingness, and I can't wait to see how Sarah Connor Chronicles meshes with the upcoming movie.

Between Bionic Woman, Knight Rider, and T:SCC; this one's the best.