Caffeinated Clint
By Clint Morris
Musician Shirley Manson (of ‘Garbage’) joins the cast in this second season of ‘’Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’’ – a spin-off of the popular ‘’Terminator films’’ – and I gotta tell ya, she’s a worse actress than O.J Simpson is a liar!
Any time the raven-haired beanpole comes on screen she spurs an increase in the share price of Panadol! She’s frightening to look at (which, considering the character she’s playing is a villain of sorts) but she’s even more startling to listen to, with an accent that moves most unwelcomingly between Irish, British and American! Why the heck did they even cast this broad!? Cross-over appeal!?
Thankfully, she’s not in every scene and most of the time we’re in the company of some rather good actors.
Lena Headey (‘’300’’, ‘’Gossip’’) is Sarah Connor, and ‘’Heroes’’’ Thomas Dekker is her future-leader son, John. Events in the series take place shortly after “Terminator 2 : Judgement Dayâ€, with the Connor’s – or ‘Baums’ as their fake I.D’s assert – jumping from town to town, in an effort to constantly stay one step ahead of the Terminators that are ostensibly never going to give up until young John is doing time with loam.
In the first season, the Connor’s (and a Terminator) travelled through time to, well, today (Saved Fox from having to shell out more money – period pieces are pricey, ya see). They resettle in modern-day Los Angeles with Cameron (Summer Glau), a Terminator from the future that – like Schwarzenegger’s character in “T2†– has been programmed to protect young Connor from anything and everything that shoots a red laser beam in his direction.
In the second season, we meet a new villain (played by the abovementioned Manson), the lead of a large, mysterious corporation who, for some reason or another, is after young John Connor (Dekker). She’s also got a link to the series’ recurring villain, a face-changing Terminator known as Cromartie.
A recurring theme this season seems to be Trust.
Sarah and good ‘Terminator’ Cameron are suspicious of John’s girlfriend, Riley (Leven Rambin)…. and with good reason, as we discover early on in the season.
Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green), brother of “Terminator†hero Kyle Reese (who of course went on to father John), is still around too – and with relationship problems of his own. Seems his woman (Stephanie Jacobsen), also from the future, mightn’t be as faithful as the gruff freedom-fighter believes her to be.
There’s also a hint of romance between Cameron and John later on in the season – but robots don’t have feelings, right!? And surely not one that tried to kill John in the first episode of the current season!?
The second (and unfortunately final- the season finale is terrific! The next season could’ve been great) season of TVs ‘’Sarah Connor Chronicles’’ is, besides Manson, a good time for all. Despite the sometimes blah writing, it always encompassed good special effects, terrific performances (by *ahem* most), and plenty of action.
Extras
Oodles and oodles of extras on the set – a bunch of deleted scenes, numerous featurettes, and some worthwhile audio commentaries.
