Saturday, February 28, 2009

A Nightmare Before 'Chronicles'

'Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles' Returns for Season 2By LillyKat
PTR Senior Staff Writer


Well, that was one bad dream.

Literally.

This week's episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was one big bad dream rolling around in ever paranoid mind of Sarah Connor.

Except we all were supposed to think her "dream" was the real thing.

Kidnapped by the dude she supposedly "killed" at our now infamous heating and air conditioning plant. Held prisoner in the back of his van whilst be drugged so as to coerce her into telling him who she is (which really played more like tit-for-tat with the guy and went something like this: who are you; no, who are you; no really, who are you).

And yet, all this kidnapped-in-the-van stuff was supposed to appear to us as a nightmare-esque dream sequence she kept having whilst admitted into a clinic for sleep deprivation. Naturally, that clinic is really being run by Skynet to examine/study/mimic/obsess over all the nuances of the human brain unbeknownst to the humans.

'kay.

Whatever.

This was supposed to be a Lena Headey focused episode, which I have liked in the past. She has some very clever nuances and tendencies that emerge when her Sarah is NOT obsessed with John. She can be funny, coy, friendly ... kinda like you might want to get to know her.

But last night's ep was just a big mess.

I'm starting to feel sorry for the actors.

Like, THIS is what they're being given to work with?

We didn't really learn anything other than ... uh, Sarah got kidnapped and was essentially drugged into having delusional dreams about Skynet taking over a sleep clinic for which she was a patient WHILST trying to fight AGAINST her own mind to figure out what scenario was real, and thus, escape her kidnapper.

I supposed we DID learn that the guy she supposedly killed at the plant was resurrected by Skynet so that he could keep doing his "job" (which is to now kidnap Sarah, apparently).

We did learn Summer Glau's Cameron looks nice in a bra and boy short briefs.

And we did learn that John is ... well, trying to convince Sarah in her "dream" sequence that the clinic isn't really a bad place.

No Derek.

No Shirley.

No John Henry.

No Agent Ellison.

No nada.

This ep was forgettable.

Like its own worst nightmare.

New episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles air Fridays at 8 p.m. on FOX. You can also watch full episodes online. Visit the Official Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Web site to catch up (or re-watch!)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

"This ep was forgettable."

I certainly hope it is, because it wasted an hour of my life.

We have now spent three hours on the heating and A/C plant and its consequences. No matter how important it turns out to be, and I fear it won't be very important at all, they shouldn't have wasted this much time on the set up.

And this episode was the worst of the three. They spent an hour accomplishing nothing but killing the guy we already assumed was dead.

Can’t the writers come up with any actual plot developments? The series is about fighting Armageddon and they can’t find interesting stuff to write about?

Cameron and BAG’s character s are the most interesting and they have done little to nothing for the last three episodes.

And next week we get back to the “thrilling” plot of the betrayal (or whatever it is) by BAG’s and John’s girlfriends – a plot that has already gone on too long with too little to show for it.

“We did learn Summer Glau's Cameron looks nice in a bra and boy short briefs.” This is always worth repeating, but not really news.

This was the first episode which made me think that cancellation wouldn’t be the worst outcome. If they can’t step it up, then it is better to let it go.

Anonymous said...

Complete nonsense. The episode I mean, not the review LK, or John's comments above.

I didn't mind last weeks slow one, with the funerals. It gave some background and a human element. This was just odd. I hate shows that use dreams/halucinations/flashbacks to confuse you about what is real and what isn't. They just irritate me.

I don't expect last season-like Terminator chases and battles every week but we need more than we've been getting recently. Throw in another Cameron episode, like the one where she was in the library. Something! Please!


RichE.

Anonymous said...

I don't get this review. I thought this was one of the smartest, most nuanced episodes of the season, if not the series-to-date.