

The future is not what it used to be.
McG's theatrical sequel film Terminator Salvation is fading fast at the box office, and TV's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is officially dead, marking the end of the most recent effort to jump-start the inert endoskeleton of the once-popular time-jumping sci-fi franchise.
So want went wrong? And is there way to restart Terminator for a new generation? Let's take a look at five things that the Terminator movies and Sarah Connor Chronicles got right, what they got wrong and the possible ways to offer salvation to the Terminator franchise.
Before that, though, let's consider this roundup of critical assessments of McG's Salvation, which was hemorrhaging audience as of last weekend. Anthony Lane of The New Yorker asks: "... When, and on what possible ground, did someone decide that the Terminator franchise should be no fun to watch?"
David Edelstein in New York Magazine nails Terminator Salvation as an example of how "the Hollywood Machine ... sifts through books and old movies in search of the holy 'franchise,' and at strategic intervals generates nonessential sequels."
Maryann Johanson of FlickFilosopher.com napalms the movie with "... It appears that director McG—past perpetrator of such awfulnesses as We Are Marshall and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle—has less than a passing familiarity with the well-established universe he decided to play with. Has he seen another Terminator movie? Even just in snippets on an airplane or something?" (We actually think that's a bit unfair: McG's movie does contain many homages and winks to the Terminator franchise; it's just not that terrific.)
With these issues in mind, here's what we think went right, went wrong and how to fix it.
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First thing the franchise got right: Villains!
One of the joys of the Terminator mythology has been unstoppable bad guys: Robotic killing machines that make great antagonists because they're blanks, while at the same time being human enough to be infiltrators and mechanized assassins. From Arnie in the original to Robert Patrick's sociopathic liquid-metal motorcycle cop in Terminator 2: Judgment Day to Kristanna Loken's sexy Terminatrix in T3: Rise of the Machines to the great Garret Dillahunt as the T-888 Cromartie in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Terminators have been just human enough to be scary and compelling.
How Terminator Salvation got it wrong
As Ty Burr points out in the Boston Globe, "The villains [in Terminator Salvation] are literally faceless." Giant Go-Bot human harvesters? That have robot Ducati motorbikes up their pants legs? Mecha that clicks together with flying hunter/killer units like some kind of dime-store Voltron? Aquatic robot pythons? That stuff is all kinda fun, but there's no villainy to them, no quasi-human aspect in them to turn inhuman.
How to fix it
Give us bad guys with faces! Skynet giving itself human faces on a monitor to mess with reluctant cyborg Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) isn't enough. T2 gave us a totally new kind of robot assassin. T3 gave us a Terminator designed to kill Terminators. Sarah Connor Chronicles gave us a Terminator that had to make itself a new fleshy outer layer. Re-invent our bad guys so they have something new to do, but keep them physical and humanoid.
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Second thing the franchise got right: Human drama
Like we said, the Terminator mythology has inhuman bad guys, and they have always stood in stark contrast to the plight of the humans in the franchise. Little twentysomething Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), scared to death in the first movie and becoming a survivalist "mom to the whole future" in the second movie. Nick Stahl as John Connor living off the grid and being forced, ready or not, into the hero role in T3. An entire family living as fugitives, hiding not just from killer robots from the future but also from the law in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The Terminator franchise has been about humans fighting machines, and part of what makes characters human are the conflicts that mold them.
How Terminator Salvation got it wrong
What interaction did Christian Bale as John Connor have with Bryce Dallas Howard as his wife, Kate Brewster, that wasn't just dumb exposition? What true emotion drove Connor to save his future dad, Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin)? We can infer those emotions, but we sure don't feel them. As Miss FlickChick Maitland McDonagh says, "There's a yawning void where [Terminator Salvation's] emotional center should be." Yeah, there's some interesting stuff with Worthington as Marcus Wright trying figure out just what he is, but wasn't that much more dramatic and effective on Battlestar Galactica?
How to fix it
With Salvation, the Terminator franchise, which started out as a simple chase action movie, morphed into a War Movie Franchise, and War Movies are great fodder for drama. Think Das Boot, All's Quiet on the Western Front, Platoon, Paths of Glory ... . It's hard not to come up with human drama when the stakes are so high. Morphing into a war franchise is probably a great way to take Terminator to the next level, but if you're going to do it, you have to commit and not just have a war for the heck of it. This is a place to take risks and shine, not just play off a setting mentioned in the other movies.
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Third thing the franchise got right: Active heroes
In the Terminator franchise, the heroes do things. In the first two movies, Sarah learns how to kick metallic ass, initially under the tutelage of future resistance fighter Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn). At first in T3, John Connor and Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) are just chased by the badass chick T-X Terminator, but then they turn around and try to stop Judgment Day. In Sarah Connor Chronicles, Sarah (Lena Headey) and her son, John (Thomas Dekker), decide they've had enough of running from Skynet and try to defeat the future enemy of mankind today, in the present.
How Terminator Salvation got it wrong
What the hell did John Connor have to do in Terminator Salvation? He barked into a radio. He also saved his dad, which maybe had less to do with saving the world than it did with saving his own "future conception" in the past. Whatever his motives, John Connor going out into the field felt less like something heroic than it did a contrivance to get him, ... y'know, ... in the movie. Marcus Wright actually did some things with Kyle and Star (Jadagrace) and later Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood), but as he was himself a character in search of a context, what he did felt reactive, not active.
How to fix it
This one is easy: Have John Connor, the savior of humanity, actually save humanity. Done.
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Fourth thing the franchise got right: Destiny faced and/or realized via time travel
Facing your destiny makes for good drama, right? Worked for the Greeks (Oedipus, Pentheus), and it keeps on ticking through Macbeth and Moby-Dick and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. The Terminator franchise upped the stakes with destiny by making it a force that can't be avoided even through time travel. Think Kyle Reese's becoming the father of John Connor in the first movie. Yeah, in the second movie, Sarah's motto was "The future's not set—there's no fate but what we make for ourselves." But there was still a sense that fate was a force that had to be defied or confronted through the application of that motto. In T3, Judgment Day happened because it was fated to happen, and in Sarah Connor Chronicles, John Connor as a teen has to confront the destiny that has burdened him with a future that doesn't allow him to really have a present.
How Terminator Salvation got it wrong
NO TIME TRAVEL! Time travel and fate are components of the franchise. Leaving them out is like leaving out the killer robots. And the addressing of destiny was cursory, at best.
How to fix it
ADD SOME TIME TRAVEL! And have John Connor face his destiny. And maybe have Kyle Reese face his as the unknowing "father of the future."
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Fifth thing the franchise got right: Logic
Yeah, when you deal with time travel, logic gets loopy. But the Terminator franchise has always made a kind of sense in the way Yogi Berra aphorisms make sense. The Ouroboros plotting of John Connor's conception. The very likely holding of Sarah in a mental ward in the second movie. The mission of the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in T3. The objectives of Skynet operatives and Resistance fighters in the present in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. These plot points all at least make a little sense ... enough at least to carry you through the movie's or TV episode's running time.
How Terminator Salvation got it wrong
A 50-foot robot that sneaks up on people? Connor jumping into the sea and hoping to get picked up by a sub in the short window before he gets hypothermia? Connor chewed out by his superiors, who tell him he's a dangerous, unreliable loose cannon ... and who then promptly entrust him with their secret weapon, which bears an uncanny resemblance to the one cooked up by Hugh Marlowe in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers? A battle in a Terminator factory that only has one functioning Terminator? That same one functioning Terminator only slowed down by molten metal, when that same kind of molten metal reduced another Terminator to liquid in T2? A smart pilot acting like an idiot as the plot necessitates it? A heart transplant done in a post-nuke MASH unit? By a medic who's trained as a veterinarian?
How to fix it
Don't hire so many writers. A good script can't be written by committee, and according to some reports—in addition to credited screenwriters John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris—Paul Haggis, Jonathan Nolan, Shawn Ryan and Anthony Zuiker all tried to polish the dreck that is Salvation. In a blog post dated Oct. 12, 2008, Terminator Salvation novelization writer Alan Dean Foster wrote that he felt compelled to completely rewrite the novelization: "Many things changed between the version of the screenplay I was given to novelize and the final shooting script," he wrote, adding: "As I read through the final shooting script, I encountered numerous other instances where the screenplay had been altered from the version I adapted."
Too many cooks, even cooks as good as Haggis and Nolan, can totally wreck a Salvation soup.
By growger at 2:40 PM ON 06/03/09
Please! For the love cyborgs. Sci Fi(not SyFy) Channel pick up Terminator tv series from to continue to story line where the cliffhanger left off. Anybody reading this please call, fax, e-mail or write to the Sci Fi channel. terminator series could take the place of BSG and SG-A. PLEASE! For the love of SMEGGING fans everywhere! S.O.T.S.! Save our Terminator Series!!!! The future depends on us!!
By iwan suli at 3:02 PM ON 06/03/09
So TSCC got actually everything right?
S.O.T.S!
By Pete at 3:05 PM ON 06/03/09
Great article! It just makes me so happy to see how many genre bloggers and journalists are saying good things about the show.
Whoever at Warner's decided that The Sarah Connor Chronicles shouldn't even get a chance to be picked up by another network, while McG's crap should get blissfully smeared over theatres should not come near anything remotely related to Terminator ever again.
The people who wrote the show could have done better than McG et co. in their sleep. Thank you Warner Bros for a most excellent franchise hack job of the decade.
By Paul at 3:19 PM ON 06/03/09
It seems like everyone who hates Terminator Salvation LOVES T2 and TSCC. Not all of us enjoy "Terminator 90210".
Salvation is not a bad movie.
By chriswong at 3:44 PM ON 06/03/09
Bad guys with faces...? This movie was set in the time when Skynet just started creating Terminators with human flesh exteriors. Bad guys with no faces was deliberate. About John Connor not doing anything incredibly important, the movie was originally supposed to be primarily about Marcus Wright, and John Connor was only a bit player in the story. John's role got expanded only after Christian Bale wanted to play John Connor. So no surprises there really. About time travel, again, this movie was set before some of these types of things came into play. With some of your observations, you seem to be missing the fact that this was a prequel. A couple of your logic points are right on, but even the fact that John Connor got a pole through his heart, and did not die in a minute or two is ridiculous, so him surviving long enough to get a heart transplant is even that much more ridiculous. But I think overall, it is a good Terminator movie and doesn't deserve any serious negative criticism. I look forward to more Terminator movies...
By scififan at 3:52 PM ON 06/03/09
It is interesting that the other day one of the articles on scifi wire labeled Terminator 3 a disappointment, yet as I recall the reviews were mostly favorable back in 2003 when it was released, and it did a respectable 150 million at the domestic box office. Arnold still looked the part, and the story was fast-paced and interesting. I personally felt a Terminator 4 should have picked up where that one left off.
By banthra at 3:53 PM ON 06/03/09
I have no idea why people thought Salvation was a bad movie. I have only really dislikes one movie in the franchise and that was T3. I thought it was dumb. SCC was awesome and needed to keep going. I watched it every episode just not on the day that it aired. I had three shows on the same time slot that I was watching.
By Raimond at 3:59 PM ON 06/03/09
Must say, that I am SCC fan. Havent seen the Salvation yet, so, I think it is probably better than the critics have said so far.
It has been hinted that the reason for no season 3 SCC is the lack of enthusiasm from Warner to sell out the franchise (other than FOX- dollhouse, come on guys?).
Well, ive decided that if thats the case, I will not be the consumer for the big screen flicks either. Salvation and the other two they are planning. Sorry guys at Warner, if this is how fans are treated, no cash from me then.
It is said, that there are at least 3.1 mln fans of SCC.
By scififan at 4:13 PM ON 06/03/09
I agree that TSCC was a good show, if not perfect. It was becoming much more interesting near the end of the 2nd season, and I had been cautiously hoping Fox would have enough faith to give it a 3rd season. Alas, it was not to be. If this show were to be picked up by sci fi or any other network it would be viewed as a blessing by many genre fans. That does not appear to be likely, but one can dream. And just throwing this out there, but did sci fi ever give a valid reason for why they canceled Stargate Atlantis? I haven't forgiven them for canceling Stargate SG-1when the cast was still wanting to continue, and now canceling Atlantis after only 5 seasons seems stupid. Does sci fi not want to produce any show for more than 5 years? SG-1 ran 10 seasons, but only 5 on sci fi. Just wondering.
By drewr15 at 4:25 PM ON 06/03/09
Same here Raimond, I was so disappointed in the cancellation and abandonment of TSCC that I have opted to not see Salvation. If WB can't be bothered to support a quality show then I don't feel the need to support them at the box office.
Salvation to me is a movie that never had to be made, this is all about them squeezing as much blood from the stone as possible. Seeing John Connor grow up having to deal with the fact that he was mankind's savior in the future is much more interesting to me than seeing him already in the situation and has no choice but to fight back.
Plus I must admit not one friend or co worker had anything good to say about the movie. Always heard it was nothing but a mindless action flick with none of the drama and time paradox of the first two, so don't even feel any temptation to see it.
By Muldfeld at 4:39 PM ON 06/03/09
As lame as it was, it was still more exciting -- and had me almost jumping in my seat as the Terminators approached -- than Abrams' Star Trek, which made even less sense than this film.
Still shows how great Sarah Connor Chronicles was, though. It should definitely be picked up by Sci Fi. Abrams' stuff just has no soul to it, except the calculated shadow of one.
By T1001 at 4:40 PM ON 06/03/09
I just wish that WB would have taken the money they wasted on T:S, and spent it on TSCC. A little more MARKETING....some reruns. If you actually market a show, then the output may be a little more. IMO I don't believe you have to even be a Terminator fan to like TSCC. The drama, the action. Everything is just perfect. Plus cybors from the future. But I think if they want to keep the Terminator franchise alive, then the best bet is in Josh Friedman's TSCC, and not McG.
By thunderstormer at 4:40 PM ON 06/03/09
TSCC is responsible for getting me back into the franchise. I never would have gone to see Salvation in the theaters otherwise. It would've flown right under my radar. I went expecting stuff to blow up for a couple hours, and stuff blew up for a couple hours. I suppose, in that respect, it was a success. I didn't think I wasted my money, and neither did my husband. I would rather see more TSCC though. Stuff blowing up only goes so far, and Salvation just doesn't have the heart the franchise is known for. This article got it right!
By jpl1976 at 4:42 PM ON 06/03/09
I love it how everyone can be a damn armchair director. Salvation was not nearly as bad as some make it out to be. Folks only want to focus on the Terminators and the 'splosions! That a movie does not make. McG could not have possibly shoved everything that everyone wanted into one movie (besides if he had it more than likely would have turned into an unwatchable mess). So for a movie that is "slipping and disappearing fast" why the hell is this movie hanging around the top 3? Sure it hasnt cracked 100 million yet, however when you open opposite a family friendly flick and then another family friendly flick opens the next week and on top of all that you have to contend with Star Trek. There are a glut of good movies out right now. Dont wirte something off before you have done your do dilligence (look up the info on the movie you are blasting), Mr. Marano.....sure T:SCC was a good show (better than the vast majority of the chaf that was on), however that show is not the be all end all of the Terminator franchise.
By Erik Kolacek at 4:42 PM ON 06/03/09
Come on NBC/Universal...rescue "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and put it in your Friday lineup.
For all of the ludicrous and crappy monster movies we loyal viewers have to endure in order to see a few decent gems on Friday nights...you OWE us a solid. Do the right thing and pick up TSCC.
By hypnotiza at 4:45 PM ON 06/03/09
There were cool bits, but all kinds of continuity issues. How did Skynet know that they needed to grab Kyle Reese already? Did they forget it later on when he get's his laser burned id number in jail. I thought John was the one that showed everybody how to beat the machines?
What happened to the constant unrelenting pursuit of the first 3 movies? That has been a major part of the first 3. Always looking over your shoulder, hoping that you got away.
By raimond at 4:53 PM ON 06/03/09
Take it from history, TV series die after 5 seasons. The series that have been longer- lets be honest, no-one bothers to watch tv series in their 6-th or 7th season or onwards anyway (does anyone remember anything from season 7 of X files or NYPD blue?).
Reason probably being that characters have been milked dry from any development and general tiredness of fans, actors and screenwriters (damn you screenwrites, you cost us 13 episodes of SCC in season 1).
Therefore, SCC had at least 1-2 seasons of good value left in the whole series. If taken into account that the general story arc was developed on a long time scale and most long time developments were left on a cliffhanger after season 2 episode 22, it is probable that the general direction of story of the season 3 SCC has existed somewhere for quite some time already, it just seems that no - one is allowed to actually make it.
By starkiller at 4:55 PM ON 06/03/09
TSCC really did get a lot right. Fox dropped the ball when they aimed tv ads at people who were disappointed there weren't more explosions. Besides not burying it on Friday night and skipping weeks at a time, Fox should have advertised it to more people who would have appreciated its depth. People with functioning hearts and minds, most of whom skipped it because they thought it was going to be all hot girl robot action and explosions. It had some of that, too but also good story and characters you could love and love to hate, right before it turned your world upside down and started again.
By Alikhat at 5:01 PM ON 06/03/09
I don't agree that the "franchise" did everything right. The original Terminator and T2 were excellent movies, but T3 was a complete mess and the TV series was meandering bore - though I have to give it that it ended on a classy note.
That said, they were all superior to Terminator Salvation, which had to be one of the stupidest movies I've seen in years. Just a series of explosions in vain search of a plot. I don't think anything in that film managed to make sense for three minutes running. And as for their big, bad villains; how seriously can we take them when about three quarters into the movie we find out that all it takes to subdue one of those horrible, terrifying, unstoppable, uber-monster death machines is some rock music, a flash drive and a six-foot length of string?
That's just one example. I could go on and on siting the stupid, but then this would turn into a review. Suffice to say, its box office death is well deserved.
By scoob958 at 5:05 PM ON 06/03/09
Okay well I watched every ep of SCC and I really didn't think it was a great show. It was boring and barely watchable at times. I did however stick with it and watch it till the end. I love the first 3 films. Can't understand why so many people think the show was the greatest thing ever. That being said if it were still on I would still watch it but likely won't really miss it now that it's gone. T4 was okay. I thought some of the robot stuff was stupid. The motorcycle things and the eels in the water were just lame ideas A lot of the stuff looks like someone saw Transformers and thought it would be cool to rip that off.
The captcha on here sucks. It's really hard to read.
By gorehound696 at 5:53 PM ON 06/03/09
the cancelling of T:SCC is making me boycott FOX till next May as I will refuse to watch them for a whole season.I have a lot of other things to do so I won't be hurting but the estimated $400 or so I would of spent on FOX Stuff won't be.I wish millions would do the same and cost them a boatload.
and as far as the new terminator movie as soon as it was PG13 i as a 53 year old who payed for the first 3 films all r rated in theaters refused to go.I can't and neither should you as we can not let hollywood take our fave R Rated franchises and turn them into kiddie flicks.
so i didnot go on principle.
By Danny at 6:00 PM ON 06/03/09
I have no idea what kind of crack they were smoking in the writer's room for T4, but it must have been some good stuff, because the entire movie had about an hour's worth of dialogue in it and the rest of it was horribly done CGI. On TSCC, we had a wonderful cast and smart, capable writers who wrote compelling stories for the characters on the show. In T4, we had Bale's big, fat ego demanding that the writing staff kowtow to him by doing rewrites for the whole whopping hour of dialogue that we got in the film, which basically added up to "I am John Connor and if you are listening to this drivel fifteen times throughout this abomination of a movie, you are the resistance." Sorry, folks, but the only Salvation in Salvation was Sam Worthington, and even he got short-changed due to all of the stupid CGI robots and Bale's awful dialogue. Bryce Dallas Howard only had about 10 minutes of screen time in the whole damn movie. If it weren't for a lot of TSCC fans, Salvation wouldn't have even done as well as it did, because I happen to know first-hand that a lot of people went out to see T4 in support of the show, and mailed our ticket stubs to Warner Brothers to prove it in the hopes that they would reconsider moving the show to a new network. And what did we get instead of appreciation from the studio? No promises of a season three for TSCC, but an announcement that we now have an even crappier T5 to look forward to in the next 2 to 3 years. Thanks a lot, Warner Brothers, you've effectively ruined both the movie franchise that I loved as a kid and refuse to revive the show that I loved in my 30's. How's that for gratitude? Oh, that's right, I suppose I wouldn't know, since the studio hasn't actually shown any.
By Zorro 6 at 6:13 PM ON 06/03/09
I haven't liked any sequel to the original Terminator too much. Even T2 - although at the time, the special effects were worth watching on the big screen. Meh.
By grifter at 6:22 PM ON 06/03/09
terminator: salvation is just as good, maybe better then the sarah connor chronicles
By Innari at 6:33 PM ON 06/03/09
Terminator Salvation had its moments. But TSCC carried through with a lot more emotion and drama. And yes, there were more terminators in the series. I miss TSCC immensely. Hopefully, will get our Season 3.
By tgwaste at 6:44 PM ON 06/03/09
i love the show. the only thing i think the show got wrong is the relentlessness of the terminators.
no way would arnold have left johns side even for a moment where as summer spends most of her time with sarah.. he job is protecting john she should have no real concern for sarah.
the same issue in reverse.. in movies with the bad terminators you get that sense of relentlessness.. they simply do not EVER stop going for john.. in the show thats kind of weak..
i liked those aspects of the movies and wish they were in the show more.
other than that.. the show is awesome!
By Gsizz at 7:39 PM ON 06/03/09
I think this is just a case of "what's your poison"...I personally loved Salvation, and thought it was actually quite intelligent. I was listening to some of the people leaving the theater with their complaints, and realized that if they had just paid more attention or used a little more thought, they would easily figure it out. Of course, anything that has time travel involved is going to be heavily flawed when there's a new writer picking up each and every piece of the series. It's hard to keep that kind of continuity.
That said, SCC...I could hardly watch it. It bored me. The characters I felt were silly. I felt it washed down the characters I loved too much. I also felt that it added things to the mythology that were afterthoughts, and seemed klunky and what I like to call "TV logic". I much preferred the neat story telling of a movie rather than episodic adventures. But that's just me...
Overall, I think the points above were a little harsh considering many of the things they did were deliberate. This was the origin of Skynet starting to make "robots with a face". Not to mention, I thought the idea of the other robotic creatures were interesting. The snake ones were like traps for going into the water like seek and destroy water mines. The others were made to capture people and bring them back. This was its own movie, and not only that, I just felt Time Travel worked with the previous 3 movies, but a movie that took place in the future itself was different and should be considered different.
Overall, I just don't see why it "sucked" to some people. I feel like the same people who say this movie was stupid will turn around and watch Transformers 1 and 2 and say they were awesome, "the best movies ever"...which I'm sorry, but the first one was so stupid.
By Realist at 8:19 PM ON 06/03/09
I have to wonder if Christian Bale's spoiled brat meltdown put a lot of people off.
By D Olz at 8:28 PM ON 06/03/09
How to fix Terminator? Easy GIVE IT BACK to James Cameron.
By solidgun at 9:26 PM ON 06/03/09
Salvation was the biggest waste in the Terminator franchise. The story was nonexistent, the acting was horrible and I am so over anything with Christian Bale at this point - the spoiled brat. It was the biggest waste of my time. That's $10 and two hours of my life that I will never get back. This is one franchise that needs to fade away at this point.
By UnRiel at 11:54 PM ON 06/03/09
I enjoyed T:S. It was far, far better than the reasonably treated T3, which in my opinion was poorly cast for John Connor and the TX was terribly conceived and should not be treated as canon. I can't watch it a second time. T:S had great action. Time Travel is in the past now as ironic as that may sound. The story needs to move toward the victory and I am comfortable with continuing the franchise. I agree with some of the comments about silent giant robots, but otherwise, it was never meant to win an Oscar.
By jth at 12:15 AM ON 06/04/09
I enjoyed Terminator Salvation a lot. I like more explosions and less moralizing in my action films please. Marcus was a great addition. Kyle and Reese are as I always had imagined them. Machines should be machines, not look like humans or act like humans, BSG I am looking in your direction.
By oddball at 1:01 AM ON 06/04/09
I disagree with everything scifi put out here.
1. Faceless villians.... This is a war scifi. You don't put faces on the enemy you kill you just kill them then go after the next guy. They are machines, man vs. machines why put a face on the machines they don't need one. The machines represent themselves which is just technology.
2. There doesn't need to be any human drama. Except maybe from John Connor who never had a normal life as a teenager, but in Sarah's case acting like a complete drama queen sitting back whining about everything was over the top (the series).
3. John Connor did a hell of alot the idea of the movie allowed him to do. He was a soldier, not yet a leader, although he did defy his superiors, but this whole movies concept was about him rising in ranks. Ain't like he could have just rallied up a huge platoon of soldiers and go marching on skynet with command blowing the whistle on him every moment.
4. There is no room for time travel scifi. This story takes place in the future why in the world do you need time travel here.... The past already has stories the war is being fought in the future where the hell would they go farther in the future to fight more advanced machines....
5. You have a scifi movie with machines from the future traveling back in time whos story started back in the early 80's and you want to talk logic.... I rest my case.
Overall. TSCC was a waste of time yeah the 1st season was alright, but it went downhill 2nd season. I am no longer interested in it even if it was picked up by another network.
Salvation: it had it side of errors none of which scifi has found although I think scifi was just nitpicking. I can find errors in Salvation, but overall it had a decent story. It could have been a better movie, could have been alot longer so much could be explored, but you take it at it is and hope the sequels go where this film hasn't. It would also help if people weren't biased. Just because McG directs doesn't mean it's going to immediately fail.
By shorelinewind at 1:08 AM ON 06/04/09
This article makes me cry. Seriously.
If T:SCC got it all right--if T:SCC had powerful, REAL characters, if T:SCC got it all right--THEN WHY ON EARTH IS THE SERIES STILL DEAD?
What a waste. =(
(Believe me, it took real control to keep my language clean here.)
By kernel_thai at 3:27 AM ON 06/04/09
If u dont like the way the networks treat u, treat them the same. U can start by not buying their dvds. When 24 came out instead of spending $45 on the dvd like I do every year I sent FOX an email instead explaining that they dont support the shows I like. Ill do the same for Fringe, Dollhouse, Smallville and Bones. These r all shows I will no longer buy. Sorry FOX and WB.
The best way to express ur displeasure is thru the advertisers. Every time u see an ad for Dodge trucks on one ur favorite FOX shows, drop Dodge an email saying u wont be buying Dodge products because they advertise on a network that doesnt listen to its fans. The networks may not care about u, but the advertisers do. Let the advertisers take ur concerns to the networks and ull see action.
None of this may chance the fate of T:SCC, but the future isnt set. It might save a show like V or Fringe next year. Or, u can just continue to take it and next year it will be the same topic, different show.
I havent seen Salvation either. Sorry WB, I guess I care as much about u as u do about me.
By Kirirur at 4:04 AM ON 06/04/09
That's are the REASONS why we NEED DEFINITELY a third (at least!) season of Sarah Connor Chronicles!!
By lenageek at 4:43 AM ON 06/04/09
This article was fantastic, hitting on everything on what T:S got wrong and why SCC was one of the best shows in years! It revived the franchise for me after T3 and gave us stellar acting, writing and production and most of all, stories with heart that payed homage to the franchise while creating a worthy addition. I will miss seeing Lena Headey kick ass as Sarah Connor and her on screen chemistry with Thomas Dekker's John Connor. Like Danny said, I only saw TS to support SCC and also in the vain hope that it would actually be an intelligent addition to the Terminator story, despite the bad reviews I'd read. Well, that certainly wasn't the case!
I'm tired and frustrated that SCC fans seem to have no voice with the networks, who only care about money and an outdated Nielsen ratings system instead of a good product. Not that I'd had any reason to watch FOX before SCC was on, but now I'm back to boycotting the network. I'd love to see if there's a revivial of SCC in the future someday, but first WB has to get off it's arse and actually be serious about selling SCC to another network!
By lotus_uk at 5:32 AM ON 06/04/09
just got back from watching this big pile of dog poo, what a waste , not having much look with movies, star trek( pants) Angels and Demons ( utter grap) watchman ( only the second movie i have walked out of )
By Russell22 at 8:11 AM ON 06/04/09
No-one needs another season of TSCC tv series unless they hugely revamp it ! It was boring,badly cast and had no budget to speak of. Salvation,although not as good as T1/T2 was a respectable entry in the series and i disagree with the atrticle above saying Time travel should be a staple of the series..why?.. hasnt that been done to death in the first 3 movies ! lets move on and move forward with new ideas. Sounds like the writer is just trying to pick lots of holes with salvation
By Archeagus at 9:06 AM ON 06/04/09
NO! Do not pick-up SCC, Sci-Fi. Let the dead lie! The series was in a terminal spiral where every new episode replaced the previous week as the worst episode in the series. Just let it R.I.P, please!
By _Maltheus_ at 11:41 AM ON 06/04/09
I never thought I would like TSCC so much. With so many movies and shows heading more of the direction of being dumbed down candy fests, it was nice to see a quality character drama for a change. I wasn't a huge fan in the first season, but I thought the second really nailed it. This has been one of the worst years for unfair cancellations that I've ever known. It's also been (not coincidentally, I'm sure) the worst year for movies that I've ever known.
By krista at 12:54 PM ON 06/04/09
One other aspect worth mentioning is the music. Salvation lacked a good soundtrack, the makers clearly missed the rock n´ roll -aspect of the previous movies. The only time the screen lit up was when the old GNR-classic was played, yet only for a few seconds.
By Trick at 2:19 PM ON 06/04/09
Does anyone remember that John Conner is the person who frees humanity from concentration camps and teaches the surviving humans how to fight the machines? I know its been awhile but watch T1. How is a cyborg with a beating heart suppose to scare Conner more than a liquid terminator, Really? What is the deal with the PG-13 rating? Could it be that this movie has more to do with appealing to teenagers who think special effects makes the movie not the plot? If you're reading this then you agree that McG will go the special place in hell originally reserved soley for Micheal Bay.
By vince7 at 3:32 PM ON 06/04/09
T4 Salvation was crap. TSCC is terrific. No one in T4 can hold a candle to the writers of TSCC or Summer Glau.
By treqqer1 at 6:35 PM ON 06/04/09
Personally, I thought T4 was pretty good, although there were some gaping holes in logic. I think there is potential for some very cool stuff in subsequent films.
Of far greater importance..... SCi-Fi really, REALLY needs to pick TSCC - which is the beating heart of the Terminator franchise. It's not like Sci-Fi is giving us anything better (or nearly as good) at the moment. I mean, really, wrestling? Please. Crappy cheese-fest monster movie of the week? No thanks.
With SG1 and SGA both gone and BSG now over, what have they got? Sci-Fi desperately needs a franchise show to prove to us fans that they are serious about Science Fiction (that's upper case S and F - REAL Science Fiction - no ghosts, wrestlers, or rubber suits!)
Prove to us that you are as serious about Scince Fiction as we are, Sci-Fi. Save the best SF show since The X-Files - save The Sarah Connor Chronicles!!!!!
By David B at 1:25 AM ON 06/05/09
For all of you who believe there was no time-travel in Salvation, just think about how Marcus saw his experience.. It was 2003 and the it was 2018. Did he not perceive it as time-travel? Is there any other way to travel to the future?
I loved the first season of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but season 2 was just plain boring and if it wasn't for the finale, I'd be happy for it being canceled.
Terminator: Salvation is my favorite installment in the franchise. It might have a lot of "errors" and flaws, but I prefer it to the first movies and the series.
By Nashdude at 7:40 AM ON 06/05/09
Sci-Fi, you've been my favorite channel for years. You've come out with---or continued---some of the best series to hit the small screen. SG-1, BSG, Eureka, and even showing repeats of Jericho and Quantum Leap!
PLEASE, Sci-Fi Channel, pick up TSCC. It's one of the few shows NOT on Sci-Fi Channel that's worthy to be.
S.O.T.S.
By J3D1 at 12:22 PM ON 06/05/09
I think you guys have seriously over analyzed this movie. It's just a movie, watch it and enjoy it.
By Stuart at 1:26 PM ON 06/05/09
I noticed these issues before I read this article. I would have to disagree about the time travel but the rest of the points are completely right. The logic was completely missing from the film, as was any personality from the bad guys.
Was there any point in John Conner having a pregnant girlfriend? What did she do? Where was their relationship?
I would like the film to have been more about Marcus.
I did find the film enjoyable to watch because of the great atmosphere, effects, and camera work (the perspective filming was really intense) but they really need to take note of these issues when they make another one.
By Hercules40 at 4:37 PM ON 06/05/09
Yeah well, what chriswong said below! You can't put down Terminator: Salavation for not having "all these things" when the movie IS NOT about all these things!!!! Come on! Wake-up and smell the facts here.
And yes, T:TSCC is a great series. Same on FOX for canceling it.
By Jefenator at 12:01 AM ON 06/06/09
This article sums up my feelings PERFECTLY regarding the cancellation of TSCC and the epic failure of T:Salvation.
I'd quote some of the best points in the article, but then I'd be cutting and pasting the whole thing! :-P
SCI-FI, PLEASE PICK UP THIS WONDERFUL SERIES!!!
No Fate! Hang in there, baby!
Visit savethessc.com
By albegao at 3:41 AM ON 06/06/09
SyFy Please pick up "TSCC"
By johnny zed at 1:43 AM ON 06/07/09
I like the Marcus story line, but it seem to be the wrong time for it. It should have been a trilogy with John building the resistance, then fighting the war, then winning it. In the third, the Marcus character should have seemed to come from the past to fight the future with him taking over John's role, but then they find out he is just a terminator.
The problems with TS which I did not realize till later myself;
1) John organized the resistance and was the general. It was never implied in the other movies that he rose up in the ranks. Kyle in T1 stated that humans were on the way out in concentration camps but then John got them to fight.
2) Everyone including Skynet knew John was prophesied to become the "Leader" in TS. Actually, no one knew it before the events of T1 besides John and his mother. Skynet did not go after the young John till he kicked its butt.
3) Skynet could not have know Kyle was John's father otherwise it would not have created the time machine in the first place, let alone not kill Kyle immediately.
4) The story should be about John not some other guy. I know the 1st three movies were chase movies and the prequels would not follow that formula, but the story here is John knows the what the end result is but not all the information. He still has to save humanity, but now he is on the offensive instead of running.
5) Marcus never asks if he is in hell which I would think would be the obvious question of a death row inmate who was executed and waking up in a post apocalyptic world.
6) A teenage Kyle and a little kid fight off terminators by themselves in a nuked city? though Yelchin's performance made it work for me.
7) Blair falls for a guy she barely knows and when she finds out he is a terminator, which she has been fighting most of her life, she betrays her entire unit to save him?
It seems that like the Wolverine Origins movie, TS tries to put too much into just one film. I didn't hate TS but it felt like a wasted opportunity to tell a better story.
By Kyle Maloney at 2:34 PM ON 06/07/09
Okay, so scifi gets it, now lets see them put some money into it by picking up Sarah Conner for a 3rd season. We all want it, we'll all watch it. This is the franchise's only real salvation it could get.
By Clam-cakes at 4:22 PM ON 06/07/09
This article is dead-on. I can't imagine anyone willingly going to see Salvation twice. TSCC was the only tv show that I would get together with my friends to watch... so that must mean something. Hopefully SyFy will at least compromise and play re-runs.
By Ruffles at 8:06 PM ON 06/07/09
I think that Salvation was a really good movie.
I went in thinking it was going to be pretty crap from what all the reviews were bitching about it with but the people I went to see it with all enjoyed it.
I know it had a few plot holes and stupid scenes but what movie doesn't???
Its not as good as T2 but it shat all over T3, all round it was really good and I think people have been very hard on bashing it.
By Hadley at 9:45 PM ON 06/07/09
This show is in negotiations to get picked up by sci fi.
By Riamu at 9:58 PM ON 06/07/09
Terminator 3 should have been a T-800 and a T-1000 sent back in time, working together to kill John with only 1 sent back to protect him be it a prototype model like Cameron or John himself that would of been a twist hehehe and the 4th should have been the day after Judgment day and how John survived the "Rise of the Machines". Sci-Fi do your fans proud, deliver us our salvation and bring back TSCC!!
By Jodie77 at 10:41 PM ON 06/07/09
YOU LOVE TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES!!!WE LOVE IT TOO!!So please,do yurself and us a favour gaining 4 million viewers by RENEWING TSCC!!!
By cornea503 at 6:20 PM ON 06/08/09
I liked Salvation, though it could have been better. What really gets me is why everyone is so bothered by the "silent" robot? They are ok with a 100 ft robot existing but god forbid it's silent. For me, that was probably my favorite part.
By Norman619 at 9:21 PM ON 06/08/09
Ok... Why would they work timetravel into this film? Seems like the writer of the article is clueless. This is supposed to be a film about the battle to save humanity IN THE FUTURE. It's supposed to show us how the battle went down and how John saves us. It's also only 1 of 3 planned installments.
By Kyle Maloney at 3:21 AM ON 06/09/09
"This show is in negotiations to get picked up by sci fi."
Im gonna have to ask you to prove your Hadley, Our Hadley if thats who your claiming to be. Tweet about it or something.
By Branden at 10:05 PM ON 06/09/09
reading the article i was really like what the heck is this guy talking about. the new movie is trying to show use what leads up to the new first 2 movies show how john became the leader of the resistance so yeah why would you need to have time travle in this one the new plan for the movies is to have 3 of them and as there trying to do and do right is have it that t3 never happened this movie is showing use what starts to lead up to the first movie now that skynet failed to kill john and his father in the future that leads the door open now for them to work up to john haveing to send his dad back in time to save his mom i mean its not that hard to get what they are trying to do with the franchice. its people like the person that wrote the article that is so closed minded that cant understand what they are trying to do he doesnt see the big picture like the real fans do and like my fellow fans i would love to see scifi pic up tscc where the show can grow and be the hit it should be where people like me would make it that
By Charlie at 5:25 PM ON 06/10/09
Scifi, you appear to be praising TSCC here. You have faith in what the show does. You support us, you have seen the light. Don't let the light go out. You have the power to help us, adopt TSCC, please for everyone.
By basilisk at 2:22 AM ON 06/14/09
Oh come on!
We complain about Hollywood movies when they just keep putting out the same stuff and then when they produce a movie - a sequel - that takes a different approach. We complain that it doesn't have the same elements as the others.
This is just crazy.
I enjoyed Salvation, it was a good movie and it was different. Another remake of the first three movies is definitely not what was needed.
By commandr at 2:27 PM ON 06/15/09
TSCC was a great show. The second season was a bit slow and needed more action but otherwise the episodes were some of the best stuff on television. FOX killed it by moving it to the Friday night "dead slot" opposite established hits like BG and SGA.
Salvation was crap. Its number one problem is it had nowhere near the action quotient of T2 and T3. And a single terminator defending the terminator factory?? -- I can't believe you people buy that crap! At least they gave a nice nod to Arnold.
Bale's performance was horrible and incredibly disappointing following the Dark Knight. (I didn't like the guy in T3 either.) The John Connor storyline was lame, period. They should've gone with their first instincts and centered it around Marcus Wright.
Finally, I'm now convinced MCG is a horrible director and given his track record he should never be allowed to direct in hollywood again. Its no wonder the guy is embarrased to use his real name.
commandr:
TSCC was a great show. The second season was a bit slow and needed more action but otherwise the episodes were som...More »