Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

[thomasaevans]

Only a few days to the network premier. Whats the reaction amongst Terminator fans here?

I’ve seen the original pilot, and I was pretty impressed. There’s a list of changes that have been made available here:

http://www.terminatorfiles.com

I hope this series takes off, It’s something Im more likley to keep up with.

Topic

[Andrew]

WARNIN’: SPOILERZ!!!!

I managed to catch it on the day it was up at Yahoo (thank god for the Mac’s zoom-in-ability!),

I was actually taken with the idea, and I like the showrunner as a writer (Black Dahlia and War of the Worlds were real cinematic highlights for me), so I was mildly optimistic.

But, in the end, it was a ho-hum start to things. The guy playing the T800/T101 was dreadful casting – totally didn’t get how to play the role of a machine, and had the look of a DTV action henchman. And all the Termy action was mis-directed, lacking the heft and weight of ANY of the films, even the third. (Mostow did at least get how Cameron made the terminators solid. It’s the thing that makes us believe in them, and fear them for their indestructability.)

There were, thankfully, some sparky ideas – the school register for ID, a gun stashed in the flesh of a leg, the voice trick being used back at the 800, a bank vault as a secret home for some major tech. Lena Hedley was okay, and I love having Summer Glau back on screen.

But…man, it was a pedestrian plot to kick things off. The twist of the ‘good’ terminator’s identity was blown by the massive promotion (featuring some nifty images, I have to say). And the climax was…what, exactly? They bounce forward a decade for no adequately explained reason beyond bringing the series into ‘today’ to avoid worrying about filming a ‘period’ piece for the next five years. Hell, they were even ID’d within 30 seconds of arrival, rendering the leap useless as a hiding method.

Also: ‘we sent back loads of blokes to build a time machine in 1963’. They can’t bring any technology, nor even blueprints – so how did they manage that? And where are these poor geezers now, who must have been mightily smart, and all agreed to go on a one way trip to the 60s to build a short-lived plot device? Cos it’s possible they’re still knocking around…

Bah, anyway, that aside there’s certainly potential. There’s a problem that the dialogue can’t sparkle too much – you can’t Whedon it up, it’s not appropriate, which leaves everything being awfully earnest – so, as with the films, you need to direction and the design to be great. On this evidence they’re struggling to achieve that on a TV budget. But we’ll see.

[Pete Part Three]

When does it start on Virgin 1?

[Jonathan Capps]

If what I read a few months ago was accurate, they’re actually cutting the school/roll-call scene for the Episode 1 proper. Cowards.

[Andrew]

> If what I read a few months ago was accurate, they?re actually cutting the school/roll-call scene for the Episode 1 proper. Cowards.

The version on Yahoo was already a re-cut version, with several scenes replaced/returned/adjusted. But the school stuff remained. There was talk of reshoots (the plot wouldn’t make sense if the scene was just cut), but they decided against it – ‘John’s not safe at school’ being a key point of the show.

You couldn’t have shown it at the time the discussion took place – following the events at Virginia Tech – but I don’t see the as especially cowardly.

[thomasaevans]

No the school shooting scene definatley remains, only a school girl’s reaction shot was removed.

Yeah not sure about Virgin 1’s plans as yet. They were trailing the pilot in their channel launch promo months ago.

Well I thought for a pilot, It was brilliant! I mean… especially compared to some TV pilots.

[Andrew]

> Well I thought for a pilot, It was brilliant! I mean? especially compared to some TV pilots.

To be fair, we’ve had a spoiled few years for pilots. There was a time when you accepted the stumbles on the understanding that first eps are REALLY hard. But when series kick off the way The West Wing, 24, Lost, Prison Break and Friends did…well, you somehow forget that it IS still hard.

So no, I’d peg it at ‘far from brilliant but worth following up’.

Speaking of all things Termy, the combination of this pilot, a DVD quiz that used a clip and a TV ‘best of 80s’ show put me in the mood to see the first film again. I made my popcorn, poured a drink, switched off the lights and settled on the sofa.

And at the half-way point, when the disc switched layers, it STOPPED FUCKING WORKING.

Turns out that, despite it being fine a year or so ago, my Terminator DVD has the famous disc rot! One look at the shiny surface confirmed it.

Now, MGM had issued a warning and recall for those who got one from the affected batch, but Googling around only turns up a freephone number that is now defunct. It was too long ago. MGM’s site is US based, so there’s no reply from the email – does anyone have an inkling of where I can contact the UK distributor?

[thomasaevans]

OOO…thats bad. Can I ask which edition you have? 2 Disc? Definitive/Special? Grey Cover/Red Cover/Blue Cover?

Does’nt Fox have alot to do with Mgm UK Home Entertainment?

[Andrew]

This one:

I seriously doubt the replacement scheme is still operating, but they’d probably chuck me one – if I could get hold of the buggers.

[thomasaevans]

Yeah, same thing happened with Rocky. Though my sisters still works atm. Did you see If there was any help on http://www.terminatorfiles.com?

[Tarka Dal]

Saw the original pilot. Loved it. Can’t wait for it to start on Virgin 1. I just hope it doesn’t get canned because I really enjoyed the performances of all the major players and am looking forward to finding out what twists they have in store.

[Tonguetied]

Oh yeah, I watched some clips from the show on YouTube, they’re going into a different continuity from that of Terminator 3, which is being disregarded for this storyline. However I heard rumors that Terminator 4 may have some links with the series, if the fourth film ever gets made. As for the show itself, I think it looks quite promising, I liked how they have Dysons wife from Terminator 2 having a cameo. The only thing I don’t like is the new ally terminator girl who they have along with them this time. I thought the series would be stronger with just Sarah and John on the run, but it looks good nonetheless, I wonder if it will get picked up for future series.

[Tarka Dal]

But it’s Summer Glau!!!

Btw Terminator 4 is in production. Christian Bale is starring and unfortunately McG directs. Although hopefully the ‘Mc’ will be edited out at some point.

[Andrew]

> Christian Bale is starring

It sounds like that’s more of a large cameo than a leading part…

[Tonguetied]

Bale is starring?! That is a weird move, new Terminator possibly?

[Tarka Dal]

Yeah that was misleading on my part, still he’s got the John Connor role hasn’t he?

[Tonguetied]

Yeah I checked it out, he’s going to be the new John Connor. There are still conflicting reports as to whether Arnold will be returning for a cameo for the new film. It’s going to be called Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. There will be a new character who will be a major player alongside Connor called Marcus.

[Jonathan Capps]

Tonguetied: He’s like Wikipedia, only amazingly he’s more annoying.

[pfm]

> It?s going to be called Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins

I can understand why they don’t want to use ‘Terminator 4: The Future Begins’ but using ‘Salvation’ is really bad IMO. It just sounds like a crap tie-in game rather than the film itself.

Christian Bale will return in a more substantial role in the planned sequels. My guess is that in ‘Salvation’ we’ll more or less just hear his voice over comms and maybe all the survivors (including the new character Marcus) are making their way toward Connor’s location, their salvation? Marcus apparently awakes from a coma which he’s been in since before Judgement Day.

Arnold isn’t really needed because the Terminators won’t be as advanced yet for them to look like him.

[Danny Stephenson]

He’ll probably be in a cameo role somewhere. On television as the president or something.

[Jonathan Capps]

All these different actors as John Connor is getting seriously messy, now. I mean, the idea of doing a TV series and some movies about the war isn’t entirely without merit, but it still bugs me that the continuity is being messed aroud with so much. Especially when they’re now completely discounting a not wholly terrible film to allow them to spin out the franchise. Bleh.

[thomasaevans]

With time travel, the continuity can always be tied together. I think thats what they have in mind in the end, though they’re not saying that now.

[Tonguetied]

”Tonguetied: He?s like Wikipedia, only amazingly he?s more annoying.” And it seems he gets under your skin successfully, and I’m glad for that Cappers old chap. I’m merely reiterating information, which you do all the time, so smeg off. It seems like you actually bothered to read up some of what I was saying for yourself, too much time on your hands.

[thomasaevans]

May contain spoilers:

[thomasaevans]

Oh…that didnt work.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ijBgfagicPg

[Baz]

I remember going to the Terminator 2 3-D show at Universal Studios in LA some years back. That was so much fun we got out and joined the queue to see it again. Loved the Cyberdyne promo girl’s pep talk at the start, particularly the second time around when we got a different actress- “Please do not put on your protective goggles (the 3-D glasses) until you are seated within the facility as this might cause irreparable genetic damage. Unless English is not your first language, then you go right ahead.”

Didn’t get that second line first time round. We laughed like drains though. It was a good show.

[Tarka Dal]

> Especially when they?re now completely discounting a not wholly terrible film to allow them to spin out the franchise. Bleh.

I always think of these things like legends or mythology rather than written in stone history.

That way it’s easy to take in the various remakes, spin-offs or re-boots as a different telling off the same tale. Nothing that occurs in Terminator 3 has the slightest bit of relevance to T2. Likewise you don’t need T2 or T3 to enjoy the original as a one-hit story about a robot killing machine sent back from the future.

[Andrew]

> I always think of these things like legends or mythology rather than written in stone history.

I think that helps when it comes to things like re-casting, too. Like there’s a legend behind the film you’re seeing which the film is trying to depict – and the nature of the telling varies.

I really do think Rob and DOug have the right attitude to this stuff. Go for quality over strict adherence. Hardcore aside (certain fans are positively fascistic in their need for strict order to their fictional universe), people are pretty hardy and can accept a thing on its own without worrying too much about ties to continuity.

(That said, when I left a preview screening of Batman Begins the girl I was with did say “Hang on, how does that end work? In the next film we all know Batman CREATES the Joker…”)

[Tarka Dal]

> That said, when I left a preview screening of Batman Begins the girl I was with…

ROTFLMAO.

Only joking.

[Dave]

>ROTFLMAO

I have no idea what this means

[Jonathan Capps]

Roll On The Floor Fucking Laughing My Arse Off.

I question the strict accuracy of the statement.

[Tonguetied]

The most likey hood is that we won’t see Arnold not even in a cameo, which is a shame because it would have been absolutely marvelous if he were to say show up at the end of the picture, going back in time to 1980s to give the franchise a sort of ouroboros feel. However saying that, I read that they may be planning on doing two more after this one, but that would be based on how successful the tv series is, to see if people are still into Terminator. And of course you’ll always have fans who just liked 1 and 2, hated 3. Nothing would surpass 2 if you ask me.

[Tarka Dal]

Surely sequels would depend more on the success of the fourth movie than the TV Series?

[Andrew]

> The most likey hood

We have no interest in seeing your hood, however likely it may be…

> is that we won?t see Arnold not even in a cameo

Well, it’s been confirmed he won’t appear in the film(s) at all. He turned them down. So yeah, pretty unlikely.

> However saying that, I read that they may be planning on doing two more after this one

ARE planning, in fact.

> but that would be based on how successful the tv series is

The TV series can’t indicate box office. I think you’ll find that the success of the first film is the deciding factor on any trilogy.

> Nothing would surpass 2 if you ask me.

Ian, what do you think, Ian?

[Tarka Dal]

*cries* but it’s McG!

[Phil]

>Ian, what do you think, Ian?

Andrew please get your own catch phrase please or are you not creative enough to come up with one my long haired friend

[Ian Symes]

Ian, what do you think, Ian?

Why don’t we get the nuclear warheads and strap them on to Tonguetied’s head?

[Tonguetied]

Andrew your probably the worst at any retorts on this forum when it comes to having a dig at me, it’s absolutley dreadful, your trying to join in on the fun and you’re failing. Why don’t you try and set up an interview or get some interesting updates with the official site instead of picking on me.

[Andrew]

Hitting me where it hurts the most – my retorting skills!

[Danny Stephenson]

Oh ha ha.

[Phil]

>your trying to join in on the fun

Well, at least he admits it’s fun.

[pfm]

> to give the franchise a sort of ouroboros feel

Oh you clever clever bastard.

[Dave]

> to give the franchise a sort of ouroboros feel

Parts of the third film made me want to harpoon my own thigh.

[Danny Stephenson]

> Parts of the third film made me want to harpoon my own thigh.

Parts of “Terminator 3: Don’t Spoil It” MADE me harpoon my own thigh.

[ChrisM]

I’m very much looking forward to this new series, not long now.

First episode spoilers (I haven’t seen it but this is based on what I’ve read..)

I’m not too keen on the idea of time travelling to the present day from the 90s. I understand they’re doing it to make it easier for themselves but… the 90s wasn’t all that different from today. Sure you’d have to be careful what technology is shown but I reckon thats easy enough. If a British Tv Show like Life On Mars can set an entire series in the 70s (granted there are less episodes, but even so…) I’m sure the rich companies that create US shows wouldn’t have a problem depicting the 90s. Apparentlly there are errors in LoM but I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t read about them on Wikipedia.

Never mind, I haven’t seen it yet so we’ll see how it goes.

Andrew, my Terminator DVD stopped working too. (Couple of years back now.) I guess it must have been part of the same batch. I didn’t know about the free replacement however, so I bought the Ultimate Edition DVD. Glad I did though, I prefer the total DVD content, although I doubt I would have bought it especially if the other handn’t messed up.

[Andrew]

> so I bought the Ultimate Edition DVD.

I made a lot of calls and sent a lot of emails, but no luck. I replaced for 6 quid online, getting the same edition again. I avoided the UE because I’d heard tell that the new 5.1 track really wasn’t representative of the original – and the originals weren’t made available on the disc.

Is the difference noticeable?

[Nakrophile]

I discovered that the Terminator is a teenage girl and automatically decided never to watch it, and indeed to mock it on internet forums whenever a chance may arise. So I say that it’s a bag of shite, and I am probably right.

[ChrisM]

Is the difference noticeable?

I didn’t notice, but then I wasn’t really looking out for it.

As for a terminator being a teenage girl, well what better? The original idea for the terminators was that they were infiltrators, machines that blend in with humanity. Then a man/woman steps out from the crowd and blows you away…

In the case of the Summer Glau schoolgirl design, if she is doing what she is designed for, then a schoolgirl terminator is ideal to get close to John Connor and kill him. If she is the protector, then again she can get close and give him something he can relate to.

They obviously deviated from their original idea with Arnold Schwazenegger (and his version definitely works cinematically and is iconic.), but I’m glad that they’ll be getting back to the original idea as it does really make more sense from a story point of view. I remember hearing that the original idea was to cast Lance Henriksen in the roll of the Terminator in the first film. Much as I thought Arnold was great, I think it would have been an interesting prospect to step into the parallel universe where that was made. Apparently his version was more like a humanoid praying mantis rather than the tank Arnold played.

[pfm]

> I discovered that the Terminator is a teenage girl and automatically decided never to watch it,

Well that’s a shame because Summer Glau is the best thing about the show. Though maybe I think that because I’ve actually convinced myself that I will one day make sweet sweet intercourse with her. If I were John Connor the first thing I would say to her is ‘are you fully functional in the…fullest sense?’ then she would say ‘I have detailed files on human anatomy and sexual gratification’.

[Nakrophile]

Just the fact that every defense of the show I have heard after I have done my awesome pre-judgery is pretty much the same thing, that the girl who’s playing the Terminator is really hot, tells me that it is a piece of fail. Mind you, I don’t disagree about the girls looks, but still: fuck this show.

[Dave]

Summer Glau is great. I’m still hoping there’ll be a Serenity II

[Author]

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