T:SCC 2x11: "Self Made Man"

[Lord_Xerxes]

I found it really really sad. Robot Rivers

Blah, is it really necessary for you to keep referring to her as Robot River? It's gotten old fast and you do it somewhat frequently. Just a minor nitpick.

Especially when he answered that phone in the beginning, a smart guy would have checked to make sure it was actually her calling and that she wasnt being held by the throat of a Terminator. Riley whines on the phone, Connor comes running straight into a chest full of bullets = Skynet wins.

I had the same thought as you did. What happened to their security measures on phones to verify whether they were human or not? John acting so retarded over Riley is gonna bite him in the ass.

Something I find hilarious considering Riley is supposed to be from / know the future so her reckless stupidity with the safety of the 'saviour of mankind'

You know, in the last episode where they revealed Riley was in cahoots with Jessie I had this same thought. The scene with Cromatie in the house came to mind first. How the hell could she have risked him having a unprepared and unguarded confrontation with an 888 in such an idiot manner. Who's side is she on, anyway? Is she really that concerned about blowing her cover that she'd so recklessly endanger John's life? Fleeing would have been the smart thing when John said they had to run.

The scenes where Cameron was scouting through the closed tower were awesome, there was a shot where she resembled Ahnuld's scanning-the-scenery-motion 100%, it was just great. She looked 100% Terminator there.

This was exactly the same thought I got during that scene. Summer Glau has seriously got the terminator-ism's down to a pat.

I gave the episode a 4 because although I found it to be an interesting plotline that showed some ingenuity and the depths of how far Terminators will go to fulfill their mission, it just felt it was dragged down by the Riley drama. I found it hard to believe that John didn't freak out at her when she stole that kid's lighter and he defended her and beat the piss out of him. What happens if that guy calls the cops or some such? That's heat John doesn't need on him. I guess the act of thievery itself doesn't matter much to John, considering his actions in T2, but still he needs to be thinking of the ramifications of his actions and how they might effect the family trying to lay low.

[Shroom Man 777]

I found it really really sad. Robot Rivers

Blah, is it really necessary for you to keep referring to her as Robot River? It's gotten old fast and you do it somewhat frequently. Just a minor nitpick.

FEIN. Meatbag Cameron it is!

Shut up.


Mang, Cameron really is a child-like intellect, sure she's lethal, but at times she can be so very naive when it comes to other things that don't involve the mission and the things she's designed for - yet she's a learning computer and her artificial intelligence is supposed to surpass such limitations. A learning computer, set to read-and-write. It's really sad that she has no one to teach her properly, no one to raise her - an unstoppable killing machine that's bewildered and confused. I want to put a blanket on her and hug her!

I am growing to hate modern John. I liked the totally radical 90s Gen-X John better. He was so nice to Uncle Bob!


I wonder how some dude who works at a cellphone store ended up building a chess computer in his garage that ends up becoming a self-aware and sapient AI capable of actual thought.

The scene with Cromatie in the house came to mind first. How the hell could she have risked him having a unprepared and unguarded confrontation with an 888 in such an idiot manner. Who's side is she on, anyway? Is she really that concerned about blowing her cover that she'd so recklessly endanger John's life? Fleeing would have been the smart thing when John said they had to run.

Maybe Riley, like Cameron and other future dudes, know how Terminators work. What she did was no different from what Cameron did at school, when Cromartie went around looking for students. If Cromartie hadn't found The Boy Who Lived, he wouldn't have ever bothered going back to the Connor house.

[NecronLord]

A Terminator that knows martial arts.

After all, Terminators are basically half-trained brawlers. Cameron is apparently becoming a expert fighter.

For the record, in the films they tended to derive the fighting style from military self defence (and Krav Maga in the case of the TX: Yes, I know everyone hates T3, but it's a martial art, just not a terribly obvious eastern one) with a heavy emphasis on throwing other terminators around and bashing them into things, that's probably the most realistic route. In reality, I don't think that many human martial arts would be effective for terminators, aside from those with various throwing elements, and basics like kicks and punches (which frankly, are probably best done differently anyway with a leg that essentially has no weaknesses) the weak points of a Terminator (beyond 'it has a neck') should be differently structured, and their joints far superior to ours.

While diverging from what seems to be the 'standard' styles of fighting, I doubt Cameron will take too many elements of any particular martial art, it simply wouldn't meet her needs. You can't armlock or choke a Terminator. You can however, turn it into a pretzel.

[Shroom Man 777]

If you have superior leverage to do a pretzel. Cameron's "martial arts" may only be an element to maneuver herself to more superior striking positions, or to maneuver the opponent - as we saw in this fight and in the fight with Pretzel. Throwing and hitting Terminators with or through hard objects has the rationale of trying to stun the other Terminator - observe Uncle Bob in the mall fight in T2 - which is necessary to gain some kind of advantage, or just enough time to move on and proceed to the main objective.

That's the key in Terminator combat, unless you've got the tools or the right circumstances, you've got to knock the other robot out by banging his head with something. Then, with that little amount of time, you can get something to lobotomize him with. Or, failing that, ditch him and go on to kill your objective.

[eyexist]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - guest starring Summer Glau's ass

I'm a sucker for detective stories, but the John/Riley arc served no purpose whatsoever. I actually groaned during every single scene.

3.

[NecronLord]

In other news, Terminator-Stark was really cool. I especially liked the newsreels.

[Thanas]

I found it really really sad. Robot Rivers

Blah, is it really necessary for you to keep referring to her as Robot River? It's gotten old fast and you do it somewhat frequently. Just a minor nitpick.

Leave him be, it is one of the shroomerisms I have come to expect.

I gave the episode a 4 because although I found it to be an interesting plotline that showed some ingenuity and the depths of how far Terminators will go to fulfill their mission, it just felt it was dragged down by the Riley drama. I found it hard to believe that John didn't freak out at her when she stole that kid's lighter and he defended her and beat the piss out of him. What happens if that guy calls the cops or some such? That's heat John doesn't need on him. I guess the act of thievery itself doesn't matter much to John, considering his actions in T2, but still he needs to be thinking of the ramifications of his actions and how they might effect the family trying to lay low.

I wouldn't worry that much about John and Riley - I suspect he is getting an odd feeling about her. I don't think Riley will be able to keep that charade up any longer.

[Peptuck]

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - guest starring Summer Glau's ass

Guest-starring? I daresay, said ass has a more prominient role than Lena Heady

I wouldn't worry that much about John and Riley - I suspect he is getting an odd feeling about her. I don't think Riley will be able to keep that charade up any longer.

Yeah, Jeese's little plot is definitely going to come out into the open eventually, at which point we'll likely see some quick and brutal action on the Taminator's part.

[charlemagne]

Yeah, Jeese's little plot is definitely going to come out into the open eventually, at which point we'll likely see some quick and brutal action on the Taminator's part.

Noooo, I want to see Derek shoot here, I bet he will be all like "this is something I have to do" to redeem himself from trusting her, or something.

[Peptuck]

Yeah, Jeese's little plot is definitely going to come out into the open eventually, at which point we'll likely see some quick and brutal action on the Taminator's part.

Noooo, I want to see Derek shoot here, I bet he will be all like "this is something I have to do" to redeem himself from trusting her, or something.

I think it will likely be a race between which sociopathic killer gets to her first

[Thanas]

I think it will likely be a race between which sociopathic killer gets to her first

Correction: between the sociopathic killer and the terminator. Cameron is no sociopath since that would require her to have human values in the first place.

Yes, I do love pointless nitpicking. Why do you ask?

[Drooling Iguana]

The detective story about Cameron digging in the past was well done, but the plot of planning and building this whole thing just to hide a Terminator in there to kill someone was a bit... far-fetched. There's nothing stopping the Terminator from just finding and killing the governor without this fancy plan - or did I miss something there?

The Terminator was programmed to kill the Governor at the re-opening of a certain building. Due to an accident, the Terminator prevented the building from being built. The building must be built in order for the Terminator to complete his programmed mission, therefore he built it himself.

Of course, since he failed to kill the Governor of California, Skynet will now have to take other measures to ensure that he doesn't interfere with Judgement Day, which is why it sent a model-101 to be elected in his place.

Especially when he answered that phone in the beginning, a smart guy would have checked to make sure it was actually her calling and that she wasnt being held by the throat of a Terminator. Riley whines on the phone, Connor comes running straight into a chest full of bullets = Skynet wins.

She used the tone-code before she started talking.

[Paradox]

Riley is FAT! FAT FAT FAT!

Dude was that you who started the whole "Riley is Fat!" thread on IMDB?

[Strider]

Maybe her chip damage is also making her learn more, which makes things worse. So... she's totally lost. Confused and lost.

This is an interesting idea: maybe the damage to the chip has less to do with absolute technical function, and was something more like memory loss, with many subroutines and such corrupted. Now she has to relearn some of the terminator ABCs out in the field, and this is resulting in lovable baffled child Cameron.

Riley is FAT! FAT FAT FAT!

Cameron is perfect. She's perfect. She ran a test. She's perfect. Everything's fine now. I wuv her. I wuv her!

You know, I've always been a Riley apologist, and even though I can't really defend her on most things anymore, I can at least come to her rescue here. Riley is not fat. Riley, in fact, is a cutie.

[neoolong]

The actress is cute. Riley, on the other hand...

[lordofFNORD]

Meh. It was a clever twist on Terminator of the Week, but it was still Terminator of the Week. The search had some cool moments (Cameron with the microfiche), but at times the flashbacks and the searching seemed contrived. Also, the "back in time" plot didn't hold together that well. The malfunction seemed to send the terminator well beyond the standard limits of time travel, which was somewhat odd, as was the fact that it (apparently) had to be off by an exact multiple of a year. Plus the weird coincidence of killing off the guy to screw up your plans.

The chemistry and acting of the guest star was superb, but the connection dynamic seemed a bit overdone. It seemed like every other phrase held some double meaning for Cameron. I would have preferred a little bit of subtlety.

And the whole Riley/John subplot was stupid. I know girls can be passive aggressive idiots at times, and I know Riley is working some secret plot, but it still seemed ridiculous. Even compared to the rest of the Riley/John setup. The only part I liked was John beating up the guy: hey, it turns out two sessions with a therapist don't actually cure PTSD.

Sorry to nitpick. It was still better than an average episode from an average show, but doesn't seem to hold together as well as the rest of the season.

[NecronLord]

as was the fact that it (apparently) had to be off by an exact multiple of a year. Plus the weird coincidence of killing off the guy to screw up your plans.

It arrived at the right time, on the right date, in the wrong year. That actually makes sort of sense. Not because that's how an error should happen, but because if it arrived at the wrong time or day, then the Earth would be in a different part of its orbit, and the terminator would end up in space. Then there would be no story.

Perhaps there's hundreds of terminators that have just smacked into the leading edge of the Earth's atmosphere.

[Thanas]

You know, I've always been a Riley apologist, and even though I can't really defend her on most things anymore, I can at least come to her rescue here. Riley is not fat. Riley, in fact, is a cutie.

De gustibus non est disputandum.

[TheLostVikings]

as was the fact that it (apparently) had to be off by an exact multiple of a year. Plus the weird coincidence of killing off the guy to screw up your plans.

It arrived at the right time, on the right date, in the wrong year. That actually makes sort of sense. Not because that's how an error should happen, but because if it arrived at the wrong time or day, then the Earth would be in a different part of its orbit, and the terminator would end up in space. Then there would be no story.

Perhaps there's hundreds of terminators that have just smacked into the leading edge of the Earth's atmosphere.

Except that wouldn't work simply since the entiere solar system moves together with our spiral arm as the milky way rotates, not to mention that the entire milky are racing towards the Andromeda galaxy at a tune of several billion mph. So any time travel whatsoever that puts you in the same place will always leave you hanging in black nothingness 100% of the time =P

I guess thats why one shouldn't try to dissect TV shows too much But yeah, I agreed with your sentiment otherwise.

[NecronLord]

Except that wouldn't work simply since the entiere solar system moves together with our spiral arm as the milky way rotates, not to mention that the entire milky are racing towards the Andromeda galaxy at a tune of several billion mph. So any time travel whatsoever that puts you in the same place will always leave you hanging in black nothingness 100% of the time =P

I know all that.

I was outlining what is presumably the thinking behind it.

And terminator time travel definately doesn't put you in the same place.

[Shroom Man 777]

Maybe her chip damage is also making her learn more, which makes things worse. So... she's totally lost. Confused and lost.

This is an interesting idea: maybe the damage to the chip has less to do with absolute technical function, and was something more like memory loss, with many subroutines and such corrupted. Now she has to relearn some of the terminator ABCs out in the field, and this is resulting in lovable baffled child Cameron.

It's adowwable!

Riley is FAT! FAT FAT FAT!

Cameron is perfect. She's perfect. She ran a test. She's perfect. Everything's fine now. I wuv her. I wuv her!

You know, I've always been a Riley apologist, and even though I can't really defend her on most things anymore, I can at least come to her rescue here. Riley is not fat. Riley, in fact, is a cutie.

I know. I just had to find something to badmouth her with in a totally meanspirited way.


Hey, where's Kacey? Has she given birth yet?

[Paradox]

As for the Terminator being sent back to 1920, I'm thinking that there are probably a few dozen human slaves being executed for sabotage.

[Solauren]

Sabotage isn't the only explaination.

A power surge could have cause the problem that sent it off course. Or a resistance attack.

Or maybe the Terminator sneezed in transit.

[Kodiak]

Sabotage isn't the only explaination.

A power surge could have cause the problem that sent it off course. Or a resistance attack.

Or maybe the Terminator sneezed in transit.

It always seemed to me that Skynet's time travel was not an exact science. My guess is that it could be thrown off by any number of variables ranging from a solar flare to, yes, a terminator sneezing. What I find shocking is that this is the only time we've seen a time travel mix-up. I wonder how many other T-888's are out there waiting?

[Thanas]

Or just shitty work/computer error? We all know that Skynet is low on resources, in fact it had to use jet engines to power the time machine in the first place. Given those conditions, mechanical failure is quite likely. A resistance attack is unlikely, as is Sabotage, since I doubt Skynet uses human for that work anyway.

Also, note that it is not like Skynet has a lot of experience with time travel, certainly not on the same level as humans have with space flight. And even then accidents and error do occur.