The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Yes, Still Great

Posted by Maggie January 15th, 2008 at 10:15am In Terminator

What can I say? I love the robots and the fighting and the time travel. I know I haven’t seen a lot of new TV lately, so you might start to question my judgment, but I still think that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is one of the best, most promising new shows of this season.

(Up front: I’ve never been obsessed with the Terminator movies — I’ve seen them each once — but I think they’re good fun. Except for the third one, which was disappointing. You don’t have to be a superfan to like the show. But knowing about the movies — a cursory glance at wikipedia will do — may help.)

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I will rave a bit.

I love the dynamic that a helpful pretty lady robot brings to the intense mother-son dynamic of John and Sarah. To Sarah she’s a Cinderella: the hated stepdaughter, serving a purpose but always in the way and underfoot. But there are hints (watching the gangbanger put make-up on her, protecting her from the cops) that having a “daughter” will be good for Sarah. It’s a different challenge than raising the Savior of Mankind. Trusting a robot isn’t in Sarah’s nature, but she can talk to the ‘bot the way she can’t to John — she can be completely honest, with no repercussions. She needs that.

And to John the robot’s a protector (like Arnold was, but Arnold was the dad figure — and notice, still, how much time John’s spending fixating on Charley [who I'd like to still call Dennis in honor of his roll as the beeper king on 30 Rock] — why doesn’t Future John send him another dad figure from the future, if he’s so broken up about it? Because his future self knows he needs to stop obsessing over dad* and grow up, that’s why), but also she’s someone to pull him out of his mother-son bond, to bring him into the real world. If the only thing he cares about is his mother and he has no friends and no interest in the rest of the world, what kind of a lousy Savior of Mankind is going to be?

I mean, let’s put the cards on the table: He’s a smart kid. He’s got to eventually realize that his future self sent him a sex robot. Right? And how weird is that? And how weird is it that River (she has no name, even though the TiFaux calls her Cameron – hardy-har, TiFaux, I’m so amused — so I’m calling her by her Firefly moniker) seems so close to future John Connor, knows everything his says, all his most intimate memories? She’s a sex robot. That’s all I’m saying.

Also, the pace on this show is just right. Unlike a lot of pilots (Bionic Woman, I’m looking your way in particular — also stealing glances at the failed Drive from this time last year) nothing about this set-up seems rushed or forced. The entire second episode was just getting a set of new identities. We’re still learning about these people and their weird relationships, so I’m hugely relieved they didn’t try to cram too much into these first few hours.

I can hear your cackles and guffaws. But I’m standing by this one. And not just because the writer’s strike is sucking away my will to live.

*Also, if this show lasts, I’d love to see a baby Kyle Reese** show up eventually. You know, in a fourth season when they need some new blood to liven things up. He’d be the Andy Keaton or Scrappy Doo or the Dawn of this show. No one can tell him that he’s John’s daddy! Shhhh!
**ALSO also, if the robots are so smart, why don’t they just go kill Kyle Reese’s mother before he’s born? I mean, how hard could that be?