Terminator-218 "Today is the Day" - Discuss/Grade <SPO>

Of course she can believe that, Derek took out that Terminator at the Military Academy with it pretty well - Cameron didn't even have to intervene. The .50 sniper rifle can fire armour-piercing rounds meant to destroy helicopters and similar equipment, and it is pretty damn powerful. Terminators are nearly invulnerable to anti-personnel rounds, but armour piercing ammo from such powerful rifles are another matter. It was said that some in the future preferred such weapons over the Plasma rifles.

 

^ Kyle Reese was one of them. In reality though those rifles can be surprisingly heavy and I'm not sure how effective they'd be as a front line weapon, but that's neither here nor there.

The only real reason that The Bedell Terminator wasn't destroyed in "Goodbye to All That" was because it was able to turn in time so that Derek didn't hit the chip housing.

 

Yeah. A .50-cal BMG round would do a lot of damage if it hit the right spot, especially if it set off the explosive charge Cameron put in her head.

 

^ Exactly.

 

Gasp! This episode scored a 3.90 in the ratings! That makes the Friday night trend 3.71 - 3.84 - 3.42 - 3.00 - 3.90 So that's the best ratings they've gotten in this time slot so far.

 

Finally some good news! And we're in luck, this is a 2-parter and it seems good enough to me that most viewers will want to tune in again, for the conclusion. Just what TSCC needs. And I suspect the 4 episodes after that will follow pretty seamlessly, in like one long arc to the end, good for viewer retention - hopefully.

Count in the good DVR numbers, and if they manage to again gain 30-40% viewers on top of the 3.90 live, TSCC has a chance again.

 

That Terminator was stuck in the ground and fired upon from close range though. Neither of which would be overally likely if Sarah tried to fire a sniper rifle at Cameron.

It just strikes me that Sarah has been shown more than once on this show to think that if/when Cameron becomes a burden, getting rid of her will be easy, and she seems to treat Cameron that way.

 

We also saw in the episode though that the skull assembly had major damage from a single hit before being stuck in the tar pit. If it had hit the chip assembly it probably would have destroyed it.

We also know that certain types of weapons fire can also do similar damage. Look at Cromartie in Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today.

 

He was not stuck in the ground when Derek hit him the first time, from his ambush (which is what Sarah would have done to Cameron, take her by surprise). The Terminator was lucky that it wasn't a clean hit, but still it clearly did damage. Hit them at the right spot in the head, and it's over. Or first take out a leg, then finish it at your leisure. With this powerful weapon, it's possible if you can get a decent ambush on the Terminator.

 

I dunno, even 3.9 million has to be cancellation numbers... Even with the car product placements and movie promotions...

 

Fox has already said that they are also counting DVR and online viewing from Fox sponsored websites toward their numbers for this show. They said that the high rate of DVR and rewatching was what got it Season Two.

I'm not saying that it will be renewed, that's just something that has to be remembered.

 

It is friday night. Dollhouse doesn't do much better. Moreover, TSCC tends to win 30-40% viewers in DVR numbers. I don't think they have much less viewers total then when they were on monday, in a slot where more viewers are expected. If they manage to maintain numbers and grow just a little bit more, FOX may just bite if WB sweetens the deal enough (like they did with the back nine, I suppose). Let's hope the popularity of TSCC in some non-US markets (and DVD sales?) will make it worthwhile enough for WB to do so.

 

^ Again, personally, I think that this show should be moved to FX and given a 13 episode season instead of a full 22 - 24. Just my opinion.

 

Yes, sorry, I meant the final, killing-type shot came when the Terminator was stuck in the ground, ie not moving and easy to target, I know they shot at him previously. But Sarah's words suggested, at least to me, that she felt one shot would have finished Cameron off, as easy as that. Which feels to me as a continuation of an attitude that I have felt Sarah has shown before, which I cant really believe her character can possibly hold. It's not really a critisicm more of a wondering.

 

Just watched the episode on FOX since my live broadcast last night was preempted.

I gave it an Excellent.

I really liked the future scenes, it's just too bad there wasn't much of them in this episode. I think it's clear that whatever happens in this mission on the Jimmy Carter, it's what changes Jesse into what she is now. I also agree that the T-600 with the rubber skin is pretty creepy. As far as what is in the box? I'm going with either the Weaver-terminator or something we haven't thought of yet.

I also thought that John clearly noticed the fighting wounds on Riley's fingers, something that never would have existed had Cameron been the killer. I did find that scene pretty creepy and out of place.

 

^ I thought that it was somewhat perfectly placed (if not morbid). In a way he just heard Riley for the last time.

Though the creepy part to me was Cameron as Riley.

 

I also though that was really creepy. John wanted her to convince Riley's foster dad she was still alive, but what was talking to John while still pretending to be Riley all about!??

 

Worst submarine set ever. Who built this Ed Wood? Other than that I really enjoyed the episode.

 

Great episode and a big improvement over the last few which have been very slow and all seem to be spinning wheels in Sarah's head for an hour.

 

Yeah, with the 3.9 million viewers plus DVR and online viewings, this episode could garner somewhere in the 5-5.5 million range total, which isn't so bad considering.

I also agree with nx that this show might be better suited to a cable network.

I'm hopeful but not overly so. The memories of what was done to Enterprise are a good cautionary tale.