Come with me if you want to live

Those words were spoken over 15 years ago, in one of the best action movies ever made. Terminator 2: Judgment Day raised the bar for special effects and action sequences and still holds up nicely to today's computer generated effects. I remember seeing this movie in the theater with my grandmother, of all people, and being totally floored. I still watch this movie about twice a year.

So having gushed about James Cameron's masterpiece, I found myself both excited and fearful for the new Fox TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I missed the series premier on Sunday night so I caught up on both episodes late last night. I hate giving a definitive opinion of a series after so few episodes, so for now I'll give my initial impression of the show; it's pretty good.

The series starts off in 1999 with Sarah and John still on the run, but settled down for the moment with a new relationship. But of course she knows only one thing and that is survival, for Judgment Day is always around the corner. Of course we couldn't have a show without Terminators and they inevitably track her down and start gunning for John in the middle of his new school. Thankfully, however, John had the wits to send another terminator back in time to protect him, this time in the guise of an attractive 18 year old named Cameron Phillips. Not much is known about this new terminator; what model she is, how much she knows or what she's fully capable of. The chase proceeds from there and the first episode ends with a nice twist to keep me intrigued about where the show is headed.

My main concern for this show was the acting. The only actor I know well is Summer Glau (Firefly/Serenity), and she's a fairly quirky character actor. However after the first 30 minutes I knew each actor was well suited for their role. Lena Headey is an excellent Sarah Connor, showcasing just the right amounts of intensity, fear and love for her son. Thomas Dekker is a nice change of pace from where Edward Furlong left the character of John Connor. Gone is the whiny kid full of piss and vinegar now replaced with a slightly more mature teenager who is more accepting of his coming role. Last we have the new terminator Cameron Phillips played by Summer Glau. I really found her awkward in this role up until the point that she's revealed as a terminator, and I suppose now that was the point. Once she goes into protecto-o-mode it all falls into place.

My main complaint so far is the guys they cast as the T-800 terminators. We've seen three of them so far and none were very menacing or convincing as a cyborg. Arnold never had to act robotic for you to believe he wasn't human, he just had that superhuman presence. These guys seem to be disposable so far so maybe we'll get some better actors to play our classic T-800. My other complaint is minor and they'll probably work around it, but John isn't going to be able to use the PIN crackers or other relatively low-tech hacks from 1999 here in 2007. They already address his tech lag in the second episode but I see this being a big obstacle for these characters as they try to stay hidden.

Overall I think this show has promise. If I were to rate it I'd give it 1.5 Thumbs Up. I only hope Fox gives it enough time to let us see where the story is going. They're infamous for canceling good shows before they have a chance to get off the ground *cough Firefly cough*.