Terminator 1.4: "Heavy Metal"

Monday, 04 February 2008

By John Keegan Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.   Based on the shorter episode order as a mid-season series, not accounting for the writers’ strike, this is probably the last of the introductory episodes, leading towards events sure to complicate the story even more and pay off some of the development plot points from the premiere. Some plot threads more forward, but generally speaking, this is simply a transitional episode. Sarah, John, and Cameron discover that Cromartie, the terminator that was actively hunting down John in the pilot, has also leapt forward into late 2007. Sarah wants to run and hide, but John is more inclined to stand and fight. Cameron, of course, is willing to do either, so long as John is protected. This becomes the central drama for the episode: whether or not John is ready to start learning how to fight his eventual enemy. John has already shown himself to be reckless, and that doesn’t change in this episode. On the other hand, it’s a little convenient that Sarah and Cameron were both stupid enough to turn their backs on him when he was clearly not listening to better judgment. Even if Sarah couldn’t develop better tactics for the situation, Cameron’s experience could have been more applicable. The series is still new, trying to find its feet, so certain character issues still remain. Sarah is definitely not the hardened warrior woman of “Terminator 2”. While she displays much of the will, she lacks some of the strategic thinking; perhaps 2 years of somewhat domesticated life left her somewhat complacent, even if her survival instincts remained intact. John is fairly close to where he ought to be at this point, but too many of the basic lessons of survival still seem to be elusive, which is hard to believe. Both of them should be pressing Cameron for information, and it seems insane that they would overlook the most advantageous aspect of having a “friendly” terminator around on a long-term basis. Following up on the idea that terminators have been seeded through time to pave the way for Judgment Day is a great idea, however, as is the secondary focus on Agent Ellison’s search for the truth. He is rapidly becoming the wild card in the currently status quo. One can imagine Ellison learning enough about the terminators to throw in with Sarah by the time they meet again. Of course, that’s only fun if the process is more complicated and contentious than it sounds. I like how the writers are juggling several long-term plot threads with relative ease. Even if the characters themselves still need some adjustment, the overall premise is coming together. I hope they continue to work elements of the resistance and SkyNet into the “present” and point towards the long-range plans of SkyNet and its developers. As entertaining as episodes like this might be, they should eventually add up to something a lot more interesting.

 

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