TSCC Preview: Season 2 Episode 11 (2.11) Self Made Man
Secrets. Who doesn’t have secrets on The Sarah Connor Chronicles? Well there’s the machine, Cameron, but according to the description for this week’s episode, “Self Made Man”, even she has a little secret or two of her own. But wait, doesn’t the title actually refer to another machine? One that was supposed to be dead but because of an excavation bu a certain former Special Agent, isn’t? And according to the promos for “Self Made Man”, it seems that John Connor is finally going to get lucky with Riley, who, it was revealed previously, has her own secrets. Like, a really, really, REALLY big secret. Gosh, who doesn’t have a big ol secret on this show?
Official Description:
Cameron’s secret is exposed. A Terminator sent to the wrong time causes catastrophic results changing history.
Video Previews:
Promo Images:
22 Resistance Fighters Have Spoken Up So Far on “TSCC Preview: Season 2 Episode 11 (2.11) Self Made Man”
#1
¬ MIke
November 30th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
who doesn’t have a sectet on this show answer nobody
#2
¬ Maya
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:43 am
Cameron always has some dark comedy aspects to her character. In “Self Made Man,” the episode begins with Sarah handing Cameron a basket of laundry with the instructions to make herself useful since she never sleeps anyway. Then we learn how Cameron has been using her sleep-free evenings: Once again on her own agenda using research in the local library to discover and track down another cyborg. And at the end of the episode, there she is, back with the laundry basket, having destroyed another threat to John. John and Sarah are totally clueless about what Cameron has done; she has a secret nocturnal life that neither of them has even the tiniest suspicion about. And Sarah offhandedly dismissing Cameron as domestic help suggests a surprising narrowmindedness on her part: Cameron and some of the other cyborgs are much more sophisticated than the Connors seem to realize. But there is a grim side to this episode as well. Have you noticed that the “previously seen” outtakes at the beginning of each new episode are commentary on what follows? This week they replayed the scene when Johan tells Cameron, “Be happy you’re a machine.” And Cameron’s response is, “I’m a machine. I can’t be happy.” Then we see her doomed relationship with the wheelchair-bound student in the library. She tells him that she has no friends. When she asks him if he ever thought of suicide, she’s looking at herself in the mirror, not at him. And when her ‘friend’ seems to have gone out of her life, Cameron doesn’t allow that to interfere with her continuing mission. Behind the outwardly unemotional cyborg exterior, there is a deep sadness about Cameron. Does she still have Allison’s memories? Does she wonder what it would be like to be human? There’s yet another “Wizard of Oz” reference in this episode, and I keep coming back to the idea of Cameron as the Tin Man who only wanted a heart.
#3
¬ Haag
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
very usefull the commentary of Maya.
#4
¬ Vic
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:33 am
That is a really excellent observation. I’m going to have to pay closer attention to how the Wizard of Oz related to the main characters on the show. So is John Dorothy or Toto? Maybe he’s the Lion. As smart as Ellison is, I’d have to say that he’s the Scarecrow because he’s only now beginning to know the true nature of the world.
#5
¬ Jo M
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Another episode to savour. It didn’t move the main narrative about Catherine Weaver/John Henry/Ellison forward, but what a fascinating excursion into Cameron and time-travel based science fiction.
It’s strange to watch characterisation, pathos and contradiction building up in a character who is an AI, because you don’t know what’s real or whether Cameron is just getting better at mimmicking humans. Thankfully it’s an actor as good as Summer Glau to weave subtlety into this cyborg, where just the tiniest facial movement says so much (imagine Arnie trying this - not!) - for instance when she looks at John after his night with Riley.
Her friendship with Eric - nocturnal, clandestine, in the hushed corridors of the archive. Although it was mostly a friendship of convenience, it was so one-on-one and private that Cameron was forced to actually be his friend - and let’s face it it showed up many of her short-comings - but it was gripping in its way. But what did happen in the end - why did the new person let her in? Maybe when Eric went off sick, he managed to tell his replacement that if a girl comes knocking with donuts, let her in.
Riley - she’s completely shaken off her so totally valley girl voice now - we’re beginning to see the real Riley now, whoever she is. And most notably when she said ’she liked shiny metal things’ - whooh does that mean she’s letting John know that she knows Cameron is a Term, or does she have a fetish for cyborgs and it slipped out?
At the beginning of the first series I was so-what about Cameron/SG, now I think she’s the most fascinating character in the whole show, and SG has got under my skin because she’s a great actress and she’s so beautiful.
#6
¬ Andrew
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:13 pm
If this show is going to be a sucess, please stop tormenting Handicap people, that was not cool to torment the dude in the wheel chair, I get it okay, Terminators know how to manipulate people, but if she (cameron) is just a robot from the future, why was she enjoying herself so much.
The show needs to expain, what role Alison played, or will play in John Conners life. Is she going to be the Terminator that kills him in the future or is the T-101 Anorld Schwartzneger model going to kill him.
The show really needs to be more sensitive to handicap people, Cameron got her information from the guy in the records office, she should just have moved on, “and ask him if he every thought of killing himself”
Really a tacky episode, I can see why its moving to friday night.
#7
¬ Steve
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:09 pm
The whole point was to show that Cameron *isn’t* sensitive to things like that, because she’s a robot.
#8
¬ Saravy
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:56 pm
I agree with Steve. I don’t think they were making fun of handicapped people or trying to make them look bad. Cameron is just that way with everybody.
I really liked this episode the more I think about it. I didn’t care for it at first, but it’s growing on me. I really enjoyed learning more about Cameron and how she’s changing. We know she can “act” human, but it’s interesting to see her learning and applying it when she’s not in infiltration mode. John is becoming a brat. If he “needs” Cameron or if she’s supposed to be a major influence to him in the future, the writers have a funny way of showing it. I feel bad for her sometimes.
Summer Glau has done an awesome job in portraying Cameron. Normally, she plays mentally ill people with their emotions all over the place; so to see her play a cyborg with no emotions is awesome.
#9
¬ Andrew
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:48 am
Hi there, Cameron is becoming more human, and learning how to manipulate people, what the writers of the show may need to do is bring so kind Resistance Leader to time travel into 2008, to check on her progress, are we to belive that John Connor is the only leader?
In Terminator part three we were lead to belive that John Connors wife, sent Arnold Schwartneger’s T01 into the past, to help John, so his wife is going to have to check on her program, and give her a progress report on the mission.
Just like Mork and Mindy, at the end of the show, she needs to make constant progress reports to her leaders.
I’m not buying this jive that John Connor is the only leader, the world is too much of a big place. The Terminators Resistance also had leaders the show is going to explore that too. Not all the Terminators were bad, a few strayed from the path that what we learned from the Allison episode.
#10
¬ Pj88
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:33 am
im sorry to all terminator fans, being one my self, it sucks to say this but.. talk about a snore, yeah i do agree with most of the above comments, there were some really interesting factors in the ep, but really to me it was a bit pointless, unless they make something more out of it in future ep’s some how… just as the seasion was getting good too they go n dump this one on us what the hell. the best part was when john kicked that guy’s A$$.
#11
¬ Gerold Foltan
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:51 am
Well, is it this what you want you have to wait for Terminator 4 i guess.
Action, Crash Boom Bang and a Story, which fills 2 hours - not more !
#12
¬ Suicide
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Damn right Pj he smashed his face big time:)
but i also like the im goin to the past excidentaly set a building on fire wich kills a guy that needed to build a building wich he now cant build cuz hes dead so the terminator needs to build it thought it was pretty funny:P
#13
¬ Jo M
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
In Self Made Man it’s significant for Cameron that she got to study one of her own - Stark - and probably learned about herself. He was one sent back alone, with a long term mission, and he was an example for Cameron of a terminator ‘making it’ in the human world.
But - who was the guy Stark was due to shoot on 2010? They didn’t give us enough about that - it must be important - it was such an effort for him to be ready with this gun in that wall for 70 years!
#14
¬ yoyo
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Cameron is good loonkin =)
#15
¬ Pj88
December 4th, 2008 at 3:17 am
sup G’s.. yeah i agree with u JO M, but really, being socially awkward is what makes a terminator…well a terminator, lol. n yeah that shooting of that stark guy was abit random, i think they just threw in a terminator vs terminator battle for some action in a dull ep..
#16
¬ Bilge
December 4th, 2008 at 3:54 am
may i ask you something?
in still images cameron has a scar on her face… but i couldn’t see a scene like that in 2×11… am i right?
#17
¬ phil
December 5th, 2008 at 4:24 am
What I found most interesting was the fact Cameron tells The Library guy that his bone cancer has returned when previously told Sarah that she couldn’t scan humans. Yet she detected the cancer within her friend’s lung and bone. So Cameron either lied to Sarah, or has been programed to give this response.
#18
¬ antonio
December 5th, 2008 at 5:13 am
or maybe it was a plot hole .
#19
¬ Jose "T-800" Cornejo
December 7th, 2008 at 10:19 am
I read about the comment and I saw the chapter. The nocturnal job of cameron response one of that mission requires. to retrieve information about skynet and how’s it builted, so that’s the way John learn about it and fight them. Looks insane, but why myron (the terminator) appears on the 1920’s if his target is on 2010? Can skynet make mistakes? or there is another reason to do that? Why he builted a Pico tower like a valut for himself and await for the target?
The 3 dots? the answer i’m working on it. I suspect the resistance fighter wants to mean about the T-888 in Zeira Corp, Cromartie.
I say Hooray for the TSCC cast & crew. the series is amazing and trepidant action and drama!!!! and I love Summer Glau anyways. she is Ass Kicking!
#20
¬ Jose "T-800" Cornejo
December 7th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Phil:
Remember the season 1, the chapter when cameron lied about the destruction of the t-888 who tried to kill derek? she lied about it when she said about the chip. and she told to John about how many times she can lie. now she’s becoming more human and as a Unknown model we can’t predict about her behavior.
I still want for more TSCC. I wanna to see the next chapter, seems to be cool!
#21
¬ Aaron Medley
December 14th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Ok I’ve just watched the last 4 Ep in backwards order. Ep12, Ep11, Ep10 and then Ep9.
They all made sense because the story line is not in any continuation of any particular piece of script. ie in the first season you had to watch the Eps in order otherwise you wouldn’t understand where the team is up to now and why they are doing what they are in that episode.
It seems to me like season 2 is full of ‘Terminator of the week’ story lines. Its getting very worn out quickly.
Note to FOX go back to the original way of story telling.
(p.s. the password for the anti-spam was ’summer’ for me today! arhh)
#22
¬ Jose "T-800" Cornejo
December 14th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Kiddos!
I remember sometime about a Schwarzenegger Interview, when he said “terminators are builted by thousands and maybe thousands traveled in time, so the story will continues forever”
The reason of this comment is coming to try to explain about the chapter “Self Made Man” is not a crap
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