TV Review: Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles: “The Good Wound”

Our reviews for Nerdgasm Friday continue with the return of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

On another note, writing that title was more awkward than putting emoticons in parentheses.

Title: “The Good Wound”

Cast and Crew

Lena Heady as Sarah Connor
Thomas Dekker as John Connor
Summer Glau as Cameron Philips
Leven Rambin as Riley
Dinah Leney as Eileen
Shirley Manson as Catherine Weaver
Brian Austin Green as Derek Reese
Richard T. Jones as James Ellison
Stephanie Jacobsen as Jesse
Garret Dillahunt as Cromartie/John Henry
Jonathan Jackson as Kyle Reese
Rebecca Creskoff as Anne
TripConnor Trinneer as the Sheriff

Synopsis

Sarah kidnaps a doctor to help remove a bullet she took doing something really stupid last episode, while other characters deal with recent developments, and Weaver takes an interest in Cromartie.

High Point

The show had a comparatively strong main plot which gave us further insight into Sarah Connor’s psyche, while the subplots explored further the possible history of events. The notion that Cromartie’s body has remembered pasts, while not new to SF, holds interesting possibilities.

Low Point

I saw no glaring “Low Point,” but I will continue to harp on the one I noted for the last episode, because “The Good Wound” emphasized it. The episode explores Sarah Connor’s character, but the premise results from a situation that person would never be in. She would not have entered the facility without further preparation and arranged support. People do not always behave consistently, but her actions here require some explanation.

The Scores

Originality: 3/6.

Effects: 5/6. The effects in this episode were well-done and not overdone.

Story: 4/6. The episode featured an interesting main plot. The subplots were uneven in quality. Story arcs have many advantages, but one disadvantage is that they leave individual episodes in fragments.

Acting: 5/6. Lena Heady did well in a challenging part. I rather enjoyed seeing Connor Trinneer as the sheriff. Leven Rambin wasn’t bad, but she remains something of a weak link in this cast.

Production: 6/6.

Emotional response: 4/6. I liked this episode enough at the time, but very little of it stays with me. We now have four many major genre shows crowded onto the same night, and I honestly doubt I will continue watching all of them.

Overall: 4/6.

“The Good Wound” receives 31/42.

10 replies on “TV Review: Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles: “The Good Wound””

  1. Only four?
    Which four? I now pull down five shows on a Friday night: Dollhouse, BSG, Terminator, Numb3rs, and Ghost Whisperer (The last two are my wife’s fault).

    While I’m sure the first three are the same site-wide, the other two are less what I’d expect. What about the rest of you guys?

    • Re: Only four?

      Which four? I now pull down five shows on a Friday night: Dollhouse, BSG, Terminator, Numb3rs, and Ghost Whisperer (The last two are my wife’s fault).

      While I’m sure the first three are the same site-wide, the other two are less what I’d expect. What about the rest of you guys?

      Yeah, there’s more than 4. My DVR has to struggle to get Clone Wars, Galactica, Sarah Connor, Dollhouse, and Pshyc recorded on Fridays. On Tuesdays nights, my DVR records NOTHING. What is up with so many genre shows being on Mondays and Fridays??

    • hulu

      Which four? I now pull down five shows on a Friday night: Dollhouse, BSG, Terminator, Numb3rs, and Ghost Whisperer (The last two are my wife’s fault).

      Hulu.com has the first three, so no excuses.

      • Re: hulu

        Hulu.com has the first three, so no excuses.

        Hulu.com only works if you connect from a computer in the United States.

      • Re: hulu

        Which four? I now pull down five shows on a Friday night: Dollhouse, BSG, Terminator, Numb3rs, and Ghost Whisperer (The last two are my wife’s fault).

        Hulu.com has the first three, so no excuses.

        Torrents work for all of them and more, I’m not looking for excuses. :)

  2. Really
    I’m surprised Fiziko is so positive, I thought it was pretty dire. The dialog was terrible. Ok, we know this is not the original pilot, and I hope a lot of rewriting was done by some lame Fox exec. And while I’ve heard Whedon say there will be no funny banter, boy did i miss that.
    I don’t find any of the cast "hot" (and wouldn’t general watch anything based solely on that), I think and artistic treatise on the human suffering of prostitution is too dreary, especially if whedon doesn’t bring "the funny" , but then apparently some people like the bleakness of BSG so maybe there is a an audience for this as well.

    I see a lot of people on Television without Pithy didn’t even understand the episode, so perhaps its future is not that assured.

    • Re: Really

      I’m surprised Fiziko is so positive, I thought it was pretty dire.

      This was Timeshredder’s review. I’ve never seen an episode.

      • Re: Really

        I’m surprised Fiziko is so positive, I thought it was pretty dire.

        This was Timeshredder’s review. I’ve never seen an episode.

        I think this was misposted. It appears to be a response to the Dollhouse review.

        • Re: Really

          I think this was misposted. It appears to be a response to the Dollhouse review.

          Now that I’ve read it in detail, I’d say you’re right. I seem to have had an above average response to Dollhouse mainly because I see how well the concept could work, and because a lot of pilot episodes are weak. We’ll see how it pans out, if it gets the chance. (It only got a 2.0 share in the ratings, which is weaker than anyone expected.)

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