Juggernaut

Admittedly, I am a sci-fi fan.  Not as much as some and more than others…kind of an average fan, I suppose.  One of the film series that I have really enjoyed over the years was the “Terminator” series.

The first film was relatively low-budget…and, seemingly, a new vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger at the time.  But, it turned out to be much more than that.  It gained a cult-type following.  With the release of Terminator 2 (T2), the series settled into worldwide fame.  (I saw the film, when it opened, with friends in Panama City, Panama, Central America.)

Last night I had the joy of seeing the franchise done right as the new Fox television series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

I wasn’t expecting much, to be sure.  And, to my immense pleasure, I was truly surprised with how well-done, well-acted and true-to-emotion it was.

The series starts a couple of years after then end of T2.  Sarah and John (the future savior of the human race, against the machines) are living a quiet life in rural America.  Sarah gets a proposal of marriage from her boyfriend and she decides it is time to leave.

Once more, John has to leave everything and run.

The angst and resentment that one would feel at having to up and run at a moment’s notice, basically for the rest of one’s life is a palpable, visible pain in John’s side.  Sarah’s only concern, as always, is the safety of her son.

Enter a new Protector.

I would have never expected to see Summer Glau as a Terminator, but somehow it works.  I think her prep-work as “River” in the Firefly series and the film “Serenity” may have prepared her for the lack emotion and fits of action that this role requires.

They all pull off their roles very well, indeed.

Color me impressed.