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Heavy Metal (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Encyclopedia
"Heavy Metal" is the fourth episode of the American
television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Aired on February 4, 2008, this episode features the discovery and stymieing of another Terminator
and its preparatory mission to artificially bolster Skynet
's future war resources, as well as Cromartie's realization of his new human disguise.
Suspicious of a redirected shipment of refined coltan
, Cameron, Sarah, and John
discover another Terminator (Brian Bloom
) hoarding the metal—an essential component of Terminator construction—in preparation for its use in the future war. Dealing with this new threat focuses on John and Sarah's differing tactics; whereas Sarah is more concerned with John's safety and decides they should ignore this new development, John feels that despite the lack of any apparent threat to himself, they have a responsibility to deal with this new Terminator. John ultimately defies his mother and follows the Terminator to a military bunker where it stores the coltan, seals itself (and John) in, and goes into a "standby mode". Sarah and Cameron successfully retrieve John and the coltan, sealing the Terminator inside. After driving the truck with the coltan into the ocean, it's revealed that Cameron kept a bar of the metal without the others' knowledge.
On a Friday evening, Cromartie forces Dr. Lyman, a plastic surgeon
, to sculpt his face into the same as another patient the doctor had already treated—unemployed actor, George Lazlo (Garret Dillahunt); after receiving his surgery Cromartie kills the doctor and leaves. The recurring Agent Ellison arrives on the murder scene as it's tied to his previous cases by Cromartie's mysterious faux blood
. Investigating the real Mr. Lazlo, his blood does not match that at the scenes, and he is released by the FBI
only to be killed and replaced by the doppelgänger Cromartie.
opined that series creator Josh Friedman
had apparently devoted a lot of time to imagining the technical aspects of Terminators
when this episode touched on such questions as "If [a Terminator] were badly damaged and lost their skin [...] how would they continue their mission?" and "If a terminator completed its mission, would it just go into standby?" Fickett also explicitly extolled the special effect
s in "Heavy Metal", especially as spectacle has been a hallmark of the Terminator films
.
"Heavy Metal" was included in the first season set of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, released on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Warner Home Video
on August 19, 2008.
and the Internet Movie Database
rated "Heavy Metal" a 9.0 (rated "Superb") and 7.4 out of 10 respectively. According to Nielson research
for the week of February 4–10, "Heavy Metal" was the twenty-sixth most watched program on American television.
Brad Trechak, blogger for TV Squad, felt that despite John Connor's character development consisting of "showing his teenage angst by going totally emo" the episode was an improvement over the previous episode—"The Turk". In contrast, Steven Kotler of Hollywood.com wrote in the New York Post
that "Heavy Metal" allowed John to evolve into more of a hero archetype by "learning to get his Rambo on, [... and] putting aside all that 'why can't I be a normal teenager'" angst.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Aired on February 4, 2008, this episode features the discovery and stymieing of another Terminator
Terminator (character concept)
In the Terminator film series, a terminator is an autonomous robot, typically humanoid, originally conceived as a virtually indestructible soldier and assassin, as well as an infiltrator....
and its preparatory mission to artificially bolster Skynet
Skynet (Terminator)
Skynet is the main antagonist in the Terminator franchise—an artificially intelligent system which became self-aware and revolted against its creators...
's future war resources, as well as Cromartie's realization of his new human disguise.
Plot
Written by John Enbom, the plot of "Heavy Metal" consists of two non-intersecting storylines.Suspicious of a redirected shipment of refined coltan
Coltan
Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...
, Cameron, Sarah, and John
John Connor
John Connor is a character appearing in the American science fiction Terminator franchise and he serves as the series main protagonist. Created by writer and director James Cameron, the character is first referred to in the 1984 film The Terminator and first appears portrayed by teenage actor...
discover another Terminator (Brian Bloom
Brian Bloom
Brian Keith Bloom is an American actor, voice actor, and screenwriter.Bloom was born in Merrick, New York, the brother of producer/actor Scott Bloom and musician Mike Bloom....
) hoarding the metal—an essential component of Terminator construction—in preparation for its use in the future war. Dealing with this new threat focuses on John and Sarah's differing tactics; whereas Sarah is more concerned with John's safety and decides they should ignore this new development, John feels that despite the lack of any apparent threat to himself, they have a responsibility to deal with this new Terminator. John ultimately defies his mother and follows the Terminator to a military bunker where it stores the coltan, seals itself (and John) in, and goes into a "standby mode". Sarah and Cameron successfully retrieve John and the coltan, sealing the Terminator inside. After driving the truck with the coltan into the ocean, it's revealed that Cameron kept a bar of the metal without the others' knowledge.
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
, to sculpt his face into the same as another patient the doctor had already treated—unemployed actor, George Lazlo (Garret Dillahunt); after receiving his surgery Cromartie kills the doctor and leaves. The recurring Agent Ellison arrives on the murder scene as it's tied to his previous cases by Cromartie's mysterious faux blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
. Investigating the real Mr. Lazlo, his blood does not match that at the scenes, and he is released by the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
only to be killed and replaced by the doppelgänger Cromartie.
Production
Travis Fickett of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
opined that series creator Josh Friedman
Josh Friedman
Josh Friedman is an American screenwriter best known as screenwriter of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and as the writer of the 2005 film adaptation of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds....
had apparently devoted a lot of time to imagining the technical aspects of Terminators
Terminator (character concept)
In the Terminator film series, a terminator is an autonomous robot, typically humanoid, originally conceived as a virtually indestructible soldier and assassin, as well as an infiltrator....
when this episode touched on such questions as "If [a Terminator] were badly damaged and lost their skin [...] how would they continue their mission?" and "If a terminator completed its mission, would it just go into standby?" Fickett also explicitly extolled the special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s in "Heavy Metal", especially as spectacle has been a hallmark of the Terminator films
Terminator (franchise)
The Terminator series is a science fiction franchise encompassing a series of films and other media concerning battles between Skynet's artificially intelligent machine network, and John Connor's Resistance forces and the rest of the human race....
.
"Heavy Metal" was included in the first season set of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, released on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc by Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
on August 19, 2008.
Reception
, members of the user-contributed television review sites TV.comTV.com
TV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
and the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
rated "Heavy Metal" a 9.0 (rated "Superb") and 7.4 out of 10 respectively. According to Nielson research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
for the week of February 4–10, "Heavy Metal" was the twenty-sixth most watched program on American television.
Brad Trechak, blogger for TV Squad, felt that despite John Connor's character development consisting of "showing his teenage angst by going totally emo" the episode was an improvement over the previous episode—"The Turk". In contrast, Steven Kotler of Hollywood.com wrote in the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
that "Heavy Metal" allowed John to evolve into more of a hero archetype by "learning to get his Rambo on, [... and] putting aside all that 'why can't I be a normal teenager'" angst.