Discusssion of 1.03 "The Turk" - Aired 1/21/08 (FOX-US)

[Vilandra]

SARAH MAKES HER MOVE ON AN ALL-NEW “TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES” MONDAY, JANUARY 21, ON FOX

Sarah pays a visit to Miles Dyson's widow looking for Skynet's creators. Her search leads her to Andy Goode, a cell phone salesman who also happens to also be the inventor of a chess playing computer known as "The Turk." Sarah has to make a tough decision regarding her friendship with Goode. Meanwhile, John and Cameron try their best to assimilate on their first day at the new high school and John is conflicted about his role as a hero. Agent James Ellison finds himself getting closer to the truth in the “The Turk” episode of TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES airing Monday, Jan. 21 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (SCC-103) (TV-14; L, V ) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital 5.1 PA: Viewer discretion is advised.

Cast: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau and Richard T. Jones

Guest Cast: Aaron Cash as Cromartie; Charlayne Woodard as Terissa Dyson

Source: FOX Broadcasting Company :: Schedule - This Week (http://www.fox.com/schedule/)

[goldenboy]

So...I guess we're really just supposed to forget the pilot, where Cameron was an utterly convincing high school girl, even fooling a Connor kid. Now she's the robotic, awkward cyborg, learning the ways of the world, almost from scratch. So, she was just given enough limited programming for that first encounter with John? Or she was damaged in the fighting? Or the writers changed their minds...

It is better this way, for comic relief, if nothing else.

I liked this ep, but another thing that's a little iffy to me was that British scientist helping the the damaged Terminator. Why, oh why would he do that? He must have assumed the guy was a terrorist, or mentally unstable, or at best, some kind of industrial spy. He was swept up in the moment of discovery, or whatever...

[teentitan]

I am really intrigued at how the resistance fighters are 'watching'. It makes me wonder about Cameron's character. She is an unidentified cyborb by other terminators and when John started the 'singularity' conversation she listened to the conversation. I think she is that singular cyborg and is in conflict...do I save the boy and die or kill the boy and live.
If this is the way this show is going it is going to be good. Oh and loved the fingerprint of dead adult matching living kid, think the FBI guy is starting to believe Sarah's story?

[goldenboy]

Yeah, I do like the way they're expanding the scope, with the Resistance vs the Terms in the here and now, that's got potential.

And the fact that they're updating things, bringing in Singularity talk, Big Blue, etc.

Seems like just a matter of time before that FBI guy gets himself killed, or becomes an ally of Sarah—once he knows enough.

[N4H]

This is getting better, and better as sci fi...which kind of scares me. Can the general public handle truly good sci fi, or will it scare them off. I expect the ratings to take a hit.

[goldenboy]

You definitely have to pay close attention to the story now; that hardly ever bodes well. Most people just wanna chill in front of brainless blah I guess. Frickin' gameshows...

NBC sweeps withnew Monday lineup

Averages a 4.0 in adults 18-49, well ahead of Fox

By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 22, 2008

Fox may have gained control of Tuesday and Wednesday nights with “American Idol’s” return, but NBC is standing firm on Mondays. The network won its second straight Monday while Fox saw new show “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” continue to decline in its third outing.

NBC averaged a 4.0 rating and 10 share among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, well ahead of the other networks. Fox took second at 3.3/8.

NBC won every hour with relative ease, even 10 p.m., where the network has struggled Monday nights for the last year. “Medium” posted its best 18-49 rating since January of last year, a 3.4, and drew its top total viewers number, 10.1 million, since May 2006.

Lack of original competition likely helped the show, with CBS’s “CSI” Miami,” the usual timeslot winner, in reruns. “Medium” also had a big lead-in from “Deal or No Deal,” which topped “Connor” in the 9 p.m. timeslot for the second straight week.

“Deal” averaged a 4.4 rating, compared with a 3.6 for “Connor” and CBS’s sitcom reruns. “Connor” slipped 14 percent from a 4.2 the previous week, which was well down from a 7.7 for its premiere on Jan. 13 following the NFC divisional game...
Media Life Magazine - NBC sweeps with new Monday lineup (http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Overnights_50/NBC_sweeps_with_new_Monday_lineup.asp)

[teentitan]

Question for you GB...what were the numbers for 24 when it was in the same timeslot as Connor is now? If the numbers are relatively the same then I can see Fox staying with the show IF they maintain the number they got this week. I know I'm using logic and Fox together but hey even the sun shines on a dog's ass once in a while.

[goldenboy]

Yeah, I don't even know. Pry probably would. He keeps close tabs on the ratings.

[Vilandra]

I don't understand why people who tuned in for the pilot would stop watching...

[teentitan]

Well Vil I guess to beat the Monday blues from work after having the weekend off people would rather watch a dumb ass game show then some good ol' fashion entertainment. Just for fun Fox should move the show back to Sunday to see what happens to the ratings. This Sunday would be a good time to experiment seeing as how the State of the Union address is pre-empting Monday tv.

[prydain]

24 averaged roughly 13 million viewers in that slot the last couple of seasons. Quite a bit above what Sarah Connor is averaging, unfortunately.

However, the first season averaged 8 million, similar to SCC, and the ratings started rising in season two when the second half of the season was aired behind American Idol. If FOX did the same thing with this show it could become a hit as well.