Welcome to another TV or Not TV where I’m just confused as all get out.
If you didn’t see the finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which judging from the ratings you probably didn’t) we were handed a bit of a twist to what we thought of might have been going on and a good ol’ steaming pile of confusion.
The show itself didn’t have the best balance this season as far as the pace went. Part of this, I believe, is due to the show having to pick up after being interrupted by last year’s writer’s strike. Upon it’s return this season T:TSCC never reached it’s original ratings numbers. People clearly felt abandoned and didn’t come back.
Those that did were handed a season started out strong. We saw the negative repurcussions to the angst of a teenage John Connor who is in love with the Cameron, the Summer Glau Terminator. The show also gave itself a chance at a roadmap and new direction with the inclusion of scribblings on the wall from a soldier from the future to try to help guide the Connors on their way to prevent Judgement Day.
The mid-season confusion over Sarah’s obsession around three dots on the wall is where the show really started to lose me, and lead to the slowest part of the season. This, coincidentally, was around the time where the show actually was picked up for a full season after seeming to be cancelled after 13 episodes.
The two or three episodes following the return tried to finally get rid of that story line and move on to what turned out to be a decent wrap up to the season. We found out that the mysterious Catherine Weaver, who was a liquid metal T1000, was actually on the side of the Connor‘s and was trying to create the anti-SkyNet with the creation of John Henry. The Turk from season one conveniently became the real source of the three dots we were so bored to death watching Sarah track down, and we got to see Summer Glau do an impersonation of a real Terminator, complete with jailhouse invasion and massive damage showing her metal skeleton underneath.
The biggest twist, however, is the one that also confuses the heck out of me. For whatever reason Cameron gave her chip to the artificial intelligence John Henry, and Weaver eludes to the fact that he may have escaped to another time. Even more baffling is that John Connor decides to bail on humanity and time travel with Weaver to try to recover the cyborg’s chip. This lead to a very interesting moment where Connor finds himself in a future after Judgement Day where no one has heard of him. Is this because he travelled back in time to and hasn’t lived out the years between then and Judgement Day or is this how John Connor actually gets to where he needs to be to become the savior of humanity?
These questions, sadly, may not be answered as things are not looking good after this sophmore season. Fans of the show can take comfort in the fact that they were at least given some answers before Terminator: Salvation hits theatres and completely disregards anything the show has set up (just as it has ignored anything after Terminator 2). I’m sure there will be mail campaign where people send in potato “chips” to represent the one that Connor is after. Will it make a difference? Probably not.
Let’s put the time travel stuff to bed now and take a look at the shows that are coming up this next week.
MONDAY
CBS – 8:30 PM: Now that Ted has been fired from his job he starts up his own architectural on How I Met Your Mother. Maybe the mother he’s meeting is a bankruptcy attorney?
FOX – 9:00 PM: Elisha Cuthbert is back tonight on 24. Creepy therapist C. Thomas Howell isn’t.
NBC – 9:00 PM: Tonight on Heroes they reveal the answers to what happened in 1961. What, you didn’t know there was an unanswered question about then either?
SUNDANCE – 9:00 PM: If you really want to know how much show business sucks when you are on the bottom rung of it’s food chain then check out Confessions of a Super Hero. This documentary looks at the people that dress up as costumed movie characters and super hero’s on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
TUESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: Biggest weight loss, biggest injury and normal make-overs are on tonight’s The Biggest Loser: Couples.
E! – 8:00 PM: An E! News special takes a look at The Final Hours of Natalee Halloway. You can use this as a primer for the upcoming TV movie. As a dad this story still breaks my heart.
CW – 9:00 PM: Donna turns up on 90210 while millions won’t even know she did.
WEDNESDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: Will JD figure out how to set things right with Elliot while Janitor and Lady get married in the Bahamas? Tune in to Scrubs to find out.
BRAVO – 9:00 PM: I’m a sucker for the lashing Kathy Griffin always gives to Hollywood and her latest show She’ll Cut a Bitch delivers in droves.
ABC – 8:00 PM: It’s back to 1977 tonight on LOST and we might find out tonight what connection with the Island that Miles has.
TV LAND – 10:00 PM: A group of 20-something men vie for the hand of a 40-something woman on the new reality show The Cougar. Thankfully it is nothing like the horrible SNL skit.
THURSDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: My Name is Earl is back tonight and Earl tries to make ammends to someone he used to torture in school. This almost makes me think I’m going to see Jason Lee on my doorstep.
FOX – 8:00 PM: A death metal band has been using an actual human skeleton as a stage prop tonight on Bones. At least they aren’t posers.
NBC – 9:30 PM: Liz has to fill time during her suspension after last week’s 30 Rock. I’m sensing lots of Internet surfing and deep fried pastries in her future.
FRIDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: Prison Break is back and takes over the night of programming on FOX. I only hope they can wrap up this once great show in a really good way in these final episodes (I’m also so glad that FOX could mess up the momentum of Dollhouse by giving it a week off).
NICKELODEON – 8:30 PM: With the great Johnny Depp guest-voicing on tonight’s Spongebob vs. The Big One how could I help but not mention it (besides, with a five year old I’ll also be watching it)?
ABC – 9:00 PM: The Supernanny comes to the rescue of a couple that admit the live with three house demolishing little devils. Heads up folks, this just means they are kids… and you are whimps that let them walk all over you. Guess that wouldn’t help fill an hour of prime-time though, would it?
SATURDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: What do you do with your lowest rated night of television? How about put all three of your Law & Order shows from earlier in the week on?
DISC – 8:00 PM: It appears to be Alaska night on Discovery Channel as MythBusters, Dirty Jobs and Arctic Roughnecks all are located in Palin country. Grab your mucklucks and settle in for viewing.
SUNDAY
NBC – 7:00 PM: Miss USA 2009 is here and ready to turn out the next Kelli McCarty. With her recent career change it’s too bad Miss USA didn’t have a talent competition.
LMN – 8:00 PM: Remember The Natalee Halloway Story movie I mentioned earlier? Here it is.
FOX – 8:30 PM: Animation Domination won’t be dominating much with the likes of Sit Down, Shut Up. It’s got a great pedigree of creators and voice talent, but the comedy/writing just isn’t up to snuff. Hopefully this academic comedy learns something quick.
– Will Wilkins wrote this column in front of a live studio audience.
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