Terminator brings new life to TV

Anyone who hasn’t heard of “Star Wars” or “The Terminator” seriously needs to be strapped to… Anyone who hasn’t heard of “Star Wars” or “The Terminator” seriously needs to be strapped to the La-Z-Boy lounger and given a big dose of cinema history.

Both film series are considered staples in modern movie making because of their then-breakthrough special effects and unforgettable characters.

However, the bigger they are, the harder they fall, as the most recent installments of both these series have been sub-par at best. Spin it how you want – special effects don’t make the movie better, nor do they make the movie. Damn Jar-Jar.

And just like a former A-list actor going from blockbuster-maker to Hallmark movie of the week front man, both film series are going to invade our television screens, giving off a sense of two steps back from their big step forward in movie making history.

Or is it really two steps back? Depending on how the teams behind the TV iterations of these two classics handle the legendary material, we might see a giant leap forward.

In theaters, movies aren’t expected to go longer than two hours because of the extreme risk for making the audience nod off. I actually snored during “The Matrix Reloaded” freeway scene. With TV, of course, the running time is only 40 minutes, but that’s in weekly spurts that can span months.

Basically, the TV medium offers the creative team a much broader time spectrum to develop certain plot points that can even tie some of the movie’s loose ends or explain things that make audiences say, “I’m sorry, but what the hell?”

The widened plot possibilities and being able to watch some of our favorite movie characters come back to life will be thrilling. I’m still a little mad that Arnold isn’t making a comeback, but being called Governator must entail enough hard work and political ass kicking to turn down the role that made him a household name.

Of course, that relies heavily on whether or not the shows are actually good. As said earlier, both of the newest offerings were sub-par, so many fans are probably watching the production notes and Internet forums very carefully for any enticing tidbits.

But from what I gathered on Wikipedia and Google, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” garnered positive reviews from television critics. One negative review from La Lamina Corredora said the pilot felt like a cheap “T2” remake. “T2” was so good, though, that this review doesn’t really seem negative at all.

Information on the “Star Wars” television series is scarce at best though. What is known is that it’s live action, Anthony Daniels will reprise his C-3PO role, Boba Fett will be a major character and the project has George Lucas’ name all over it. Lucas has said that if the series is successful, more TV series/spinoffs could follow. Uh-oh. Remember, the last time this guy put live action “Star Wars” on TV, we got “A Star Wars Christmas Special.” It’s so bad that Lucas himself denies its existence.

Anyway, there are a lot of expectations for these projects to fulfill. Not only must they expand upon the already sizeable mythos, but they also have to remind people of why they enjoyed their film versions in the first place.

Take, for example, the Hallmark movie front man. He may see the TV medium as a giant step back from his Oscar winning days, but sometimes people are reminded of why they loved his movies in the first place. The next thing you know, he’s swept up in a big comeback.

It would be nice to see “Star Wars” and “The Terminator” movies be subject to that kind of big theatrical comeback – it would be their kind of apology for “Episode I” and “T3: Rise of the Machines.”