Heavy Metal

Season 1, Episode 4, Aired
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Episode Summary

While searching for some stolen cargo, John becomes separated from Sarah and Cameron. Meanwhile, Agent Ellison's murder investigation leads him to a surprising suspect. Can John prove himself as the great military leader he is supposed to be and stop SkyNet's plans?
9.0
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Fan Episode Reviews (24)

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  • This was ace.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By heroesfan07, Aug 17, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode was one of the best it was action packed dramatic and even funny. Yes funny when the guy was left in the room with Cameron HAHA Cameron seems to be one of the funny characters i love her nickname Tin Miss. IN the episode John really had some bravery and Sarah was devastated when her son was taken away while Cam played it cool like always. The show has really become one of my faves and I know except much more from the show in The UK 's we are on the 6th episode right now and it's just great i love this show.moreless

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    0 2

  • Deciding to hunt down Cromartie rather than running, Sarah, John and Cameron inadvertently run into another terminator with his own directive from Skynet.

    7.0
    "Good"
    By iltarion, May 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    Heavy Metal represented a solid but simple narrative that had a quicker pace than its immediate predecessors while actually slowing down the story arc as the quest to stop Skynet is actually put on hold and less is revealed about the central characters.

    Cromartie has fully acquired his human identity now, and his meeting with Ellison foretells of more climactic meetings in the future. The main story revolves around the three core characters, of course. Cameron, now catching undeserved scorn from Sarah and John alike, despite the fact that this episode will mark at least the fourth time she has saved their lives, explains in somewhat unconvincing fashion that Cromartie has indeed followed them through time and that he would logically, I guess, be after this coltan delivery. Even though Sarah had already agreed to stop running just 3 episodes ago, John has to convince her again. Having done so, they make their way to a warehouse where a crew is apparently commandeering the coltan. After Cameron spots one of the men as being another terminator, not Cromartie, it only makes sense that they back off, since Cromartie was their mission. Unfortunately, the future leader of mankind does not agree with that logic, and showing his rebellious nature but again, he makes a break for it once Sarah and Cameron have their backs conveniently turned. His somewhat logical mission is simply to put his cellphone in the cargo so that they can track its movements. Of course, he can't accomplish this without getting locked in with the cargo and ultimately a bunch of armed men and one terminator. The rest of the episode is a rescue mission, complicated by John apparently having the most fragile cellphone ever made. Ultimately, John, of course, is rescued through his own grit and Cameron, of course.

    Sarah and Cameron mostly have no growth here. Cameron reveals she knows a lot about future John while Sarah realizes to some extent she has to let John go, but these are things already suggested in prior episodes. We do get to see some growth in John, as he is more proactively taking control of his future and showing some of the courage he's going to need, but this is slow growth, for sure. By bringing in another time traveling terminator, the line between the present and the future continues to blur. Eventually, Skynet has to know that too many machines sent into the past could impact the future in ways even it can't calculate.

    Personally, I found this a solid and entertaining episode, mostly thanks to the actors, but I believe nothing was advanced enough here to warrant the departure from the ultimate mission- stopping Skynet. Frankly, only Cromartie's arc was advanced. Basically, what I am saying is that this is kind of a throw out episode for me and more harm than good might have been accomplished by introducing yet another terminator, even one we'll never see again. If Skynet can send so many machines into the past, then why is only ONE, Cromartie, after John? And if all of them killed as many people as just Cromartie has in the last 4 episodes, then who knows how the future would be impacted.
    I loved the scene where Sarah left the captured henchman with Cameron. I also loved Cameron's made for TV disposal of the truck. I didn't love John's attitude towards Cameron already in this episode. We see here what would be pretty much the norm throughout the series- John holding an illogical resentment of Cameron. If my toaster saved my life with as much regularity, I would treat it better. We all know the writers are just trying to mask John's feelings for his terminator protector, but it doesn't reflect well on John.moreless

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    0 0

  • John Connor tries to be a man but ends up acting dumb again

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By 777buckwild, Aug 20, 2010 Report Abuse
    I just hope we get the real writers back, or get some writers with brains because they way the john connor character is written is just annoying me to no end. Really get rid of these lame writers because john connor is supposed to be the savior of the human race, he better start acting like it. How can this be our hero when he's written as such a dumbass? Oh please! Even sarah is starting to annoy me. If she is so tough and smart, when john starts back talking, why doesn't he get his ass smacked? This is survival isn't it? The part When he jumps in the truck and can't drive is just stupid. The part that he argue with sarah that they should stop running and climbs through the windows to face a terminator is just stupid. The part where the terminator is standing still and needs to reboot is stupid. No other terminator has ever had to do that. How the hell does this loser save us? Do these writer know what the heck they are writing about? They don't seem to have a clue on this subject matter. The drama is so fake it's making me ill. This show is starting to me me say wtf a lot. I don't know how much longer I can take. I loved the first and second terminator, but since then this franchise has just sucked! please don't ruin this franchise any longer and do this storyline the justice it deserves and start writing intteligently. who approves these stupid storylines anyway?moreless

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    0 3

  • Excellent episode. Very much on the edge of your seat.

    9.7
    "Superb"
    By PikerPeat, Apr 17, 2010 Report Abuse
    I thought this was the 2nd best episode of the series after the pilot. It keeps building since series started. This had many on the edge of your seat moments that you were not sure what was going to happen. The climax of being stuck on the truck, then facing the T Bot guarding the door.... had to take a chance on getting his key to open door was closest he came to facing T's. The sub plot of the Feds trying to track man with stolen identity and murders also came face to face with main T-bot. Nice Jobmoreless

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    0 3

  • What an exciting episode

    8.5
    "Great"
    By Parricida, Feb 13, 2009 Report Abuse
    That one was exciting - first the whole thing between mother and son - they just cannot talk and that's the way it is in real life too. So something nowadays feeling in very futuristic show. And the mission - the whole thing with heavy metal and the risk John decides to take and when his phone is broken.. the despair the mother feels and how Cameron in her version thinks she knows. The words she says.. can there be words to describe mother's pain and fear of losing her child? So i think many of those thinking moments but action too.. and what kind of action..moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • The terminator in this episode showed his badge to a guard that let him into Depot 37. It wasn't shown however, how Sarah and Cameron made it inside the facility, or how they got out. Edit
    • As Sarah and Cameron enter the bunker, John tries, unsuccessfully, to drive the truck while Cameron battles the other terminator. Sarah sits in the passenger seat and talks to him while he tries repeatedly to get the truck in gear. Considering the urgency of the situation, especially in the presence of a hostile terminator, Sarah should have made John move over and driven the truck herself, and not decide to take the time to give John a driver's lesson. Edit
    • Goof: Smoke can be seen coming from the rear of the truck as it goes over the cliff down to the water. Yet the scene just before as Cameron jumps off doesn't show any smoke, nor does the scene of the truck hitting the water. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Brian Bloom, the Terminator in this episode, appeared in a 1989 episode of Beauty and the Beast, a series starring former "Sarah Connor" portrayer Linda Hamilton. Incidentally, his character on that episode was named "Cameron," and in this series, the Terminator that he is battling against is named Cameron. Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: Australia: March 11th, 2008 on Chanel 9 United Kingdom: March 13th, 2008 on Virgin 1 India: April 1st, 2008 on Zee Cafe Russia: April 4th, 2008 on Ren-TV Sweden: May 19th, 2008 on TV3 Denmark: June 6th, 2008 on TV3 Czech Republic: July 24th, 2008 on Prima Norway: September 15th, 2008 on TVNorge Poland: November 20th, 2008 on TVP1 Finland: December 1st, 2008 on Sub Hungary: February 24th, 2009 on RTL-Klub Slovakia: July 15th, 2010 on Markiza Edit
    • Series star Summer Glau and guest star Garrett Dillahunt both played recurring characters on the series The 4400. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Cameron: Sometimes, you seem inefficient. Sarah: I'm not for you to understand. Cameron: You said that before. Sarah: I do things, you know? Stupid, illogical, inefficient things. Humans ... get used to it. Edit
    • John: That's coltan. If that's what you're made of, no wonder you're so dense. Cameron: Not density. Heat resistance. T-600 models had a titanium alloy endoskeleton, but it was vulnerable to heat. Coltan alloys have a much higher melting point. Edit
    • Sarah: Does Cromartie have men working with him? Does that happen? Cameron: You work with me. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • James: Agent James Ellison corrects someone calling him "Jim" by telling them his name is "James." This is a tip of the hat to Terminator 1 and 2 film maker, James Cameron. Edit
    • Coltan: "Coltan" is the name of the dull black, metallic ore columbite-tantalite, used to produce the elements niobium and tantalum. Coltan is the ore used to refine tantalum, which is used in consumer electronics products such as cell phones, DVD players, computers, and games consoles. Tantalum's melting point of 3017 °C (boiling point 5458 °C) is exceeded only by the metals tungsten and rhenium. Edit

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