Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles– “The Last Voyage of the Jimmy Carter”

…or, “The Problems Created By Shows With Ridiculously Long Titles.”

Terminator made a strong showing the same night Galactica came to a conclusion.

Title: “Last Voyage of the Jimmy Carter”

Cast and Crew

Written by Ashley E. Miller and Zack Stentz
Directed by Guy Norman Bee

Lena Heady as Sarah Connor
Thomas Dekker as John Connor
Summer Glau as Cameron Philips
Brian Austin Green as Derek Reese
Stephanie Jacobsen as Jesse
Garret Dillahunt as Cromartie/John Henry
Jonathan Jackson as Kyle Reese
Rebecca Creskoff as Anne
Richard T. Jones as James Ellison
Buys Phillips as Kacy Corbin
Yuri Lowenthal as Christopher Garvin
Krishna Cole as Blake
Chad Coleman as Queeg
Shirley Manson as Catherine Weaver
Dinah Leney as Eileen
Leven Rambin as Riley

Synopsis

John Connor tracks down Jesse, Cromartie plays with PVCs, and the crew of the Jimmy Carter must make difficult decisions after discovering the nature of their mission.

High Point

I really liked the scenes on board the Jimmy Carter and the actions of present-day John. We had drama hanging on difficult decisions, all convincing enough that I could ignore the problems time-travel creates for any episode of this series. I wish they had developed these even further, and abandoned the Cromartie plot for this week.

This episode also gives us some interesting, uncertain insight into the future John Connor’s relationship with Cameron, and the future alliances between skin and metal.

Low Point

The multiple endings dragged on a little too long. Some of the conclusions were quite moving, and I felt the final minutes would have benefited from an editor.

Jesse’s final evasive maneuvers were ridiculous, given her history and experience.

The Scores

Originality: 3/6. This episode it echoes many elements of the Terminator franchise itself. It also recalls (somewhat) John Campbell’s “Who Goes There?” and its derivatives. Other elements would seem more original if we haven’t been subject to so many Human/artificial intelligence stories in recent SF.

Effects: 5/6.

Story: 5/6. This story did an excellent job of bringing together the future and present plots. We learn Jesse’s backstory and we finally see John Connor emerging as the leader he will become.

Acting: 5/6.

Production: 6/6.

Emotional response: 5/6. The various John Connors, notwithstanding their age, have always struck me as problematic candidates for future leader of a vast rebel alliance. I’m starting to believe in this one.

Overall: 5/6.

“The Last Voyage of the Jimmy Carter” receives 34/42.

Additional Comments

This episode had me thinking how much this series could be a sequel to Battlestar Galactica.

I’ve been posting these reviews late because the Bureau has been so crowded on the weekends. With the end of Galactica and the imminent return of Fringe to Tuesdays, the Terminator reviews should start appearing Saturday once more.

8 replies on “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles– “The Last Voyage of the Jimmy Carter””

  1. Sequal to BSG
    Yes, that’s a good observation.

    This could be the ‘Happens Again’ part…

    And then, later on, the machines might finally take John Connor, and the war escalates while turning very bad for the humans, leaving them enslaved as batteries, but living in a virtual world…

    <a href=http://www.geocities.com/utherworld/timeshredder1.html>This has all happened before…</a>

      • Re: Sequal to BSG

        Darn it, now I have to read the whole thing again…

        I’ve tinkered with the Galactica references, but I need to add something about how the naked singularity caused them to leap from page 5 to page 1

  2. This is a fine series.
    I’ve felt for a while the torch was passed from BSG to this series some time in 2008. As BSG wrapped up, this series has stepped forward continuing a tradition of great acting, action, pacing, special effects, characters, and style.

    It seems like just about every week a new episode has aired we’re treated to a justifiable, highly stylized addition to the Terminator franchise. Week to week this ain’t no Enterprise or Voyager.

    As for the actress who plays Jesse, I love her. :) As an individual she has a unique look, coupled with a lush accent. As an actress she’s very capable of portraying characters that are both tough and vulnerable. I’m interested in hearing what other people don’t like about her.

    -Joe

  3. Humans FAIL!
    I really enjoyed this episode though the question to the answer was obvious IMO. I think the show’s doing a great job of turning this from simply a "machines are evil" mantra to a "the failings of humans prevent peace".

    I wonder if the liquid metal from the sub is the same liquid metal in the past?

  4. As my sister pointed out, if any of the terminators were going to turn against skynet, it would be the liquid metal ones. Skynet purposely locks the chips of the normal terminators to keep them from learning when they are away from skynet. We know this from terminator 2. The liquid metal terminators can’t have a chip, so they would be harder to control.

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