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February 8, 2012
 
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The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Automatic for the People

by Brad Trechak, posted Sep 15th 2008 10:45PM

The Sarah Connor Chronicles(S02E02) The plot for the series has become convoluted very quickly. I take that as a good thing since it means the series can potentially last a few years. My favorite part remains the flash forward in this episode, brief as it was. The rest of it was good but not particularly memorable.

Who else spotted Busy Philipps as the pregnant landlady? I keep wondering if the kid is James Franco's from her previous series. I admit she's looking a bit chunkier in the face and I'm wondering if that's make-up for the character pregnancy or the effect of her real-life pregnancy.

Time travel has certainly become a revolving door in this show. It used to be more difficult now people are falling through time-doors that are powered by jet engines much more easily. Maybe they've improved the technology in the future. This is getting to be a bigger time war than the one in Doctor Who.

I wonder what other people Cameron means when she says people will get worried. Does she mean herself? Is that John/Cameron romance looking just a smidgen more likely? Or does she mean someone else entirely? On a side note, Thomas Dekker looks very different with the shorter hair.

Consider John Connor jumped from 1999 to 2007 in the premiere episode and can't seem to stay in the same school, it's no wonder he can't connect with any other students. Why even register him in school? What time-traveling truant officer is going after him? I suppose attending makes him talk to people and remember who he's actually fighting for in the future. I did like Riley's modern example of courting: "you got $20? I'm still hungry".

More on Riley: it wouldn't surprise me if we learned later on that Riley is none other than Catherine Weaver as played by Shirley Manson. The character acts more human-like than any other Terminator we've seen thus far. And she now knows the safe word to talk to John.

Random thoughts:

Notice that the show still takes place in 2007 due to the shortened season last year? The code was "16 November 2007".

John Connor has an awesome bedroom. I'm just saying. Here I figured he'd lose his virginity to Cameron. He still might.

Is it more or does Charley's wife look a little like Linda Hamilton? Truly he missed Sarah Connor a lot when she disappeared. That was quite a bitch slap that the wife got in.

And today's blatant product placement is the Dodge Ram, which is still nowhere near as bad as last season's Strident Gum in Smallville.

Sarah and Cameron are hanging out with each other so much, they're starting to dress alike. Speaking of dress, I confess that I was admiring Summer Glau in the leopard print top.

Cameron was acting pretty slow this episode. I wonder if something is wrong with her programming. She's certainly endured a lot of punishment and did turn evil once. I did like today's nugget of wisdom, "girls are complicated".

I like how they examined Sarah's fear of the cancer that would/will eventually kill her by having the story take place at a nuclear power plant.

That dying man from the future sure had a lot of blood. He practically wrote a novel on that wall.

The story continues. While I felt it was middle-of-the-road in quality I do realize that it's part of a larger narrative and am looking forward to future episodes.

Do you think Riley is actually Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson)?
Yes106 (16.7%)
No400 (63.0%)
Not sure129 (20.3%)

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Michael Duckworth

I really don't like that there is a T1000 in the show. The original one was a prototype from the future, and this one seems too emotional. Not that anything Skynet does makes any sense. To quote one of my favorite short stories:

"[Skynet] is too fixated on John Connor. I tried to convince him to expand his horizons. I suggested we forget about Connor and attempt to send Terminators back much further in time. I told him about the horses and how humans used to ride them around all the time and fight with swords. He laughed a lot about that. I explained that we could send just one obsolete Terminator back to 1050 AD and wipe out the entire human race in about thirty years."

"If the effects of a successful time travel mission will be felt immediately in our present time, Skynet should simply line up hundreds of T-800s and march them one after another into his time machine until the change is manifested."

from: http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/terminator-connor-cyberdyne.php


September 19 2008 at 2:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Michael Duckworth's comment
Tom

A great point, but one I am willing to stipulate to at this time for the sake of the story. Let's face it--every time there is a sci-fi show with time travel as an element, we are going to be faced with these paradoxes and what-ifs. If we can forget for the moment that time travel, on a human scale, is supposed to be impossible, then why must we ask questions like, "Why don't they go back to medieval times?" "Why don't they send armies back through time?" I for one am willing to forgo such questioning, and just accept plot points for what they are. I accept that they are sending back everything they can as often as they can. Besides, questions about wiping out humanity in the dark ages are ridiculous on there face when you think about it.

Another thing, one real theory of time travel states that you'd have to have a machine on each end of the wormhole, making travel into the past limited to the time the machine was originally invented. That doesn't really apply here, but I'm willing to go with the idea that there are some limits to this time travel thing, and again, I'm back where I started--at acceptance.

I enjoy this show immensely, and am discouraged about news of its low ratings, a very grim prognosis indeed. But for what it is, its a really well done, well-acted, suspenseful, and downright cool show.

A couple thoughts:

(1) Riley isn't a robot.

(2) The writing on the wall was a list of people that needed to be "dealt" with, one way or another. I thought it was obvious that viewers were supposed to get the impression that the task at hand of staving off judgment day, if all of this is related to that, and I am assuming it is, is going to be a pretty big task--perhaps more than those four standing there are prepared for or contemplated.

(3) I love shirley manson!!! I love her in this role!!! I hate the character, the fluid T1000, being introduced in this show, for many of the same reasons listed, been then I have to listen to my own argument and just suspend my disbelief and go with it.

(4) I love how the soundtrack included a track by shirley manson before she was introduced on the show. I must admit, I had read no spoilers and didn't know she was coming, and I loved it! I will definitely keep tuning in to see her more.

(5) I love how this show treats its audience like it has some intelligence, and doesn't spell out everything, and leaves you guessing about some things. Obviously some of it is foreshadowing, and I'm sure some of it is intentional to create a buzz about the show--leave people guessing and blogging and whatever else.

September 29 2008 at 1:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
driftwood

Wouldn't Cameron be able to tell Riley was a terminator if she was? Maybe I missed some terminator lore.

I really just want John to have a friend around his age. Something apart from his day to day battle with the future/robots. But maybe I'm just being sentimental?

September 17 2008 at 12:12 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nattyff

as always a like the episode, and the new hair cut too!!! :)

September 16 2008 at 9:15 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Danielle

Gotta say, John looks SO much different w/ his hair shorter...def is a cutie!

Very good points were address that I didnt know.

I didnt realize John's friend is pregnant! What was the deal of stripping Sara down at the plant? To make sure she didnt have any radioactive substance on her?

When I saw Charley's wife she does have a small distinction of Linda Hamilton in her, but I knew it wasnt her but she did look familiar. Yup...she's Penny from Lost...oh and Greenway's partner(the heavy bald guy)..thats the guy from Breaking Bad....the brother-in-law.

September 16 2008 at 1:29 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cody

Cameron got a real good look at Riley when they were all back at the new house. If Riley's a robot then Cameron should know.

September 16 2008 at 1:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Oreo

Very blah episode, but the show is allowed one of those, no show is perfect.

And I like how you think the show could last several seasons, that's funny. The ratings aren't that great and the show is expensive, and the show is on Fox. However the creator last year (before the strike) said he had a basic 4 year plan, so now it might be 5 years because of the strike.

September 16 2008 at 12:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
james


Last night was okay, but why did they act like she was really contaminated ("crapped up") only to show it as a lesson to her(and the ease that he let her enter a restricted area also). Then when they actually would have been exposed by the steam pouring into the whole place, no one cared. I mean not only was everyone being potentially exposed but they would have been breathing it in which would have been fatal.

September 16 2008 at 11:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jessica

Some else asked about this and I didn't see anyone answer - can anyone detail out the significance of the blood writing on the wall - what did it say, who did it? Was the guy that came back from the future to tell those guys to stop Greenway?

Thanks!

September 16 2008 at 9:17 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jessica's comment
nattyff

i guess that is the case, the future guy wrote some key points that they might have to protect... or that's what i think.

September 16 2008 at 9:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Skater3900

Loved this episode and I am loving this season. So glad they renewed this show. The episodes keep getting better and better, and the endings make me want more each and every week!

Oh and Summer Glau keeps getting hotter and hotter.

**This show just reached number 3 on my list behind House and SVU...

September 16 2008 at 9:02 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dennis phillips

t1000 would have picked up the scar!....lame!

September 16 2008 at 8:55 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to dennis phillips's comment
Skater3900

it wasn't a T1000. You see this when she throws him into the electrical unit and when she stores him in the barrel. It was a normal Terminator. The only T1000 we know of in this show is the girl...Manson

September 16 2008 at 9:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sherman

This is my point, I know it wasnt a T1000, but how did the terminator replicate Greeenway's body in less than 24 hours???

September 16 2008 at 10:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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