TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES: Allison from Palmdale - Mania.com



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Mania Grade: C-

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Info:

  • TV Series: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
  • Episode: Allison from Palmdale
  • Starring: Lena Headey, Summer Glau, Thomas Dekker, Richard T. Jones, Shirley Manson
  • Written By: Toni Graphia
  • Directed By: Charles Beeson
  • Network: FOX
  • Series: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES: Allison from Palmdale

When Terminators Cry

By Stephen Lackey     October 01, 2008


Cameron (Summer Glau) Finds a New Friend in the "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Allison from Palmdale"(2008).
© Fox TV
It eventually had to happen, the show had to slip again and it does this week. There are high points, mostly due to Summer Glau’s performance but the writing is weak in this episode. This is a flash forward episode that gives back-story on Cameron and where she will come from in the future. After knowing this story, it’s easy to see why Cameron even being a machine is able to lose John. It’s actually built into her programming. She’s an infiltration unit meant to ingratiate herself into the resistance and destroy it from within, whether by simply killing John or by other means. Cameron appears to represent one of the most advanced models of Terminator, something that the series has already defined but that information is given even more weight in this episode. Seeing Cameron cry and actually shed tears goes a little far but it’s easily explained away based on the character development from this episode.
 
Basically without getting too spoiler-ish, Cameron goes a little nutty this week and she begins to remember what happened to the person she was built to replace within the resistance. Her memories cross in her programming leaving her believing she is the human not the terminator. She goes on the run and John sets out to track her down while keeping the whole thing secret from Sarah. Sarah is completely wasted this week. There’s a bit of an emotional exchange between Sarah and her pregnant landlord Kacy. Initially Kacy was an interesting character but this week it feels like the writers just changed their minds about what they want her to be part way through the episode. The set up with her “baby daddy” is an obvious story arc that just comes off as future filler. Busy Philips is a good actress and up to now has been interesting on this series, so hopefully her character will find her way back to being interesting in future episodes.
 
The most annoying part of the episode is that John doesn’t do much about Cameron after he gets her back. It’s obvious she literally has a screw loose but he barely seems concerned. This story arc needs to either get resolved or given some real weight because it’s starting to hit a wall way sooner than it should. Also, Dekker was just not in this episode, and not even referenced. Finally, Ellis is still chatting it up with the T-1001 and there’ a reveal involving her that definitely merits more conversation and will surely be a focus of future story arcs.
 
This episode just doesn’t make the impact that it should have considering all of the information that it delivers. Rather than edge of your seat suspense, the writers seem to be stumbling through this script. Considering how good the show has been, it’s really surprising just how bad this episode ends up being.

COMMENTS AND RESPONSES

Showing items 1 - 10 of 35
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LittleNell1824 10/1/2008 4:22:39 AM
This whole episode may just have been a nod to Summer Glau's acting abilities, which are definitely underused in this role. It was cool to find out that Cameron's appearance was based on a real person. It could also be a plot device they'll use to allow Cameron to act more like a human since she does have the ability to impersonate Allison. I feel bad for Ellis hooking up with the enemy at this point. If he only knew! I couldn't care less about Dekker. He's also underused and should be reacting more to his environment (the world that could be-the world of his childhood.) They gave Sarah a chance to show her soft side this episode, which was probably the whole point of the hospital scene. Fortunately, they've toughened her up a lot this season, because I was having trouble imagining her as a warrior mama with all her doe-eyed breathy acting. Last year, I kept expecting them to do an extreme close-up with blur-filter. She was so ultra-feminine, I kept wondering if her gun was actually an estrogen dispenser.
hanso 10/1/2008 4:43:25 AM
WHAT!? A C-? This episode was tight! I liked all the stuff that was going on in the future with Cameron and some of the present stuff also. She called her mom why she still wasn't born, that's cool. Did her mother name her Allison because she got a call from someone named Allison claiming to be her daughter?<BR itxtvisited="1" />So what that John and Sarah didn't do much in this episode, this ep was about Cameron. That's like complaining about a character of LOST not doing much in an episode cause they are focusing on Jack and his story for that ep. This ep reminded me of a LOST ep. Also, was it just me or was anyone else hoping for Cameron to start making out with that chic when they were in their room at the homeless shelter?<BR itxtvisited="1" /><BR itxtvisited="1" />Anyway, I don't know if you guys have heard that the ratings for this series have been going down, down down. A couple of days ago I read that if it keeps up, Fox won't pick up the series after the 13th episode. Damn u Shirley Manson, damn u!!<BR itxtvisited="1" />
chirop1 10/1/2008 5:17:53 AM
The show is on against Monday Night Football. And there have been some great ratings for that this season. Fox shot themselves in the foot with the timing and placement of this show.
ponyboy76 10/1/2008 5:27:34 AM
Yeah, I`ve heard that too. And C- reviews definitely don`t help. There is just too much on Mondays with Chuck,Heroes and Monday Night Football. <BR />I thought this episode was very cool. Cameron`s story is definitely an interesting one. The human her and the Terminator one. This episode throws into question her true intentions. Yeah, she was supposedly reprogrammed by John Connor in the future to be his protector in the past but she`s definitely not the same Cameron that he sent back. Call it a wire loose or her original programming coming back into play, but she`s not right and I definitely wouldn`t trust her. <BR />I thought that Busy Philips did a really good job as usual and I don`t know what kind of character you thought she would develop into. She`s playing a talkative, say what she thinks, pregnant neighbor. She is perfect for the role. The whole cop thing will come into play at some point,I`m sure. <BR />And speaking of kids, what the hell is up with the Shirley Manson character. I was half waiting for them to cut to the end and have the kid turn into liquid metal and slide right into her foot, like in T2. Episode was a B. <BR />
vichussmith 10/1/2008 6:41:17 AM
I think this was not a C episode at all. I don't care that Sarah wasn't really in this episode. I don't care that her name's on the show, but it's not great at all times whenever she's on it. I do agree that John should have freaked out a bit more that Cameron was broken, but he does say when he first finds her that she needs to be repaired, and then when they are in the car, Camreron realized that she fucked up, and John agrees with her.
Wiseguy 10/1/2008 6:45:55 AM
I thought it deserved a C as well. I know it's sci/fi but I'm having a hard time accepting the wires getting crossed because they didn't hint that they were programming Allyson's memories into Cameron. She was just interrogating her to find out about her. And how come Cameron didn't kill that girl at the end? That upset me. How heavy is she, we know terminators are really heavy. Yet in season 1 she was picked up and pushed out a window and now she was sitting on the top bunk bed. The husband cop was just so obvious. I was wondering what was up with Weaver's daughter? pony makes a good point but I don't agree. It's too much mass for her to split from her own figure and Arnold said it has to be similar mass. The show wasn't great but it's still better than Chuck.
hanso 10/1/2008 7:13:46 AM
Come on don't hate on Chuck! Chuck is cool and the ladies in it are hot. I think the daughter is part of what Baloney was talking about the other day. If T1000s could split into 2 midgets. I think they can. That girl is probably that character's real daughter. I mean, last season the Terminator was married, now this Terminator has a daughter. All part to keep their cover. Good call on the weight issue, I didn't even think of that.
todd890 10/1/2008 7:45:17 AM
Well it looks like no one else is going to see beyond season 2 since Fox has cancelled this wonderful show. Yes, that's right and I thought that you needed to know. It has been cancelled, it's a shame it was getting better.
fft5305 10/1/2008 7:56:53 AM
Chuck is great and his sister is a turbo hottie. Anyway, I thought this was a good episode. I like that it looks like John will start toughening up a bit next episode. However, the way he has been portrayed (as opposed to how they showed him in T2) begs the question, what the hell has Sarah been doing with John for his first 16-17 years? He hasn't demonstrated much tactical or combat abilities as yet. From the previews, it looks like he's going to *start* to get some training next week. WTF? I'd like to see John maybe get into a fight with a kid at school and kick his ass, since Sarah should have been training him to fight since he was born. Good call by hanso about Cameron's future mom picking the name due to the phone call. I got the same vibe. Finally... has anyone else caught if they mention the cop's last name? I don't think they mentioned it, they just called him Trevor. My guess is that his name is Trevor Reese and neighbor lady is Kyle and Derek's mother. Anyone agree/disagree?
hanso 10/1/2008 8:01:26 AM
You mean like the baby the land lady is having might be a Reese from the future? I don't think the timelines fit cause Cameron isn't born yet and Kyle & Reese are older than her.
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