# The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Hey nerds: Summer Glau is involved) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743 "2008-01-08T16:26:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/41 "2008-01-10T12:41:00Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] Is it a cliché? It might be we’re at a time where it’s down to “it can be a man or a woman - choose one.” [/QUOTE] Being a bad ass kill factory isn’t something genders tend to do equally well so there becomes the expectation that the character would be played by a male. If you notice, when creators try to buck the status quo and cast a woman in a traditionally male role in this sense they go with delicate looking women to further emphasize what they’ve done. We’re not even talking about a large, tough looking woman, but a ballerina that might not weigh 100 pounds. I’m generally not a big fan of it because it doesn’t fit well with my sense of reality. That isn’t to say that there aren’t some tough women - but when you’re talking about putting someone in the type of role that Arnie-types traditionally take, it’s not a matter of “choose one” between the genders - clearly you’re going against convention to cast a woman, especially a small one. I wouldn’t mind seeing a woman in the role of an action hero, but I’d prefer it be more practical - she could be stealthier, quicker, and adept at weapons usage, rather than going around beating up much larger men in hand to hand combat. In this case, it’s a little different, because we’re not talking about a 100 pound girl throwing people around, we’re talking about a cyborg that looks like a 100 pound girl doing it. It might work. I’ll have to see. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/42 "2008-01-10T12:58:50Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] It’s also worth pointing out that Summer Glau can really, actually _act_. Honest. In Firefly, she made River Tam into a remarkably believable character, especially considering the gibberish dialog that she had to make sound less-than-hokey. Plus - yah, hot. [/QUOTE] Gibberish dialogue? If you’re refering to the language that they were speaking when they were not speaking English, that was Mandarin Chinese. I do agree that just has a great ability to make the audience believe she is not quite all there, yet very intelligent - great for a terminator! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/43 "2008-01-10T13:03:08Z")
Despite being 10 time zones away, Tivo is now programmed 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/44 "2008-01-10T13:11:28Z")
I, personally, don’t find Summer Glau hot. You could show **Lawrence of Arabia** on her forehead, and her nose looks like it has collapsed under its own weight. I also thought she was the weakest part of **Firefly**. But, that’s JMO. I know that a lot of people are into her. And, acting wise, she might be good as a terminator. It didn’t really show much imagination to cast her in this role, though. They should have given the role to [Tiffany Brissette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_Brissette). (BIG PRIZE for the person who gets that without clicking on the link.) ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/45 "2008-01-10T13:30:07Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] It’s also worth pointing out that Summer Glau can really, actually ]_act_. Honest. [/QUOTE] I dunno about that. I mean, I loved, loved, LOVED **Firefly** , and I found the River character interesting, but I saw her on a couple episodes of \*\*The Unit \*\* where she played a serviceman’s wife, and wow, was she wooden and unconvincing. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/46 "2008-01-10T14:42:06Z")
[QUOTE=jellyblue] What’s so hard to understand about that? 😕 [/QUOTE] I don’t know, I’ve noticed the same thing about _Firefly_ fans. It does seem like they make it it a point to track down and watch just about every TV show or movie with any of the cast members in it, regardless of genre. Moreso than you hear about _Star Wars_ fans rushing out en masse to see the latest Liam Neeson movie or something. I think there is something to it though; from what I’ve seen, Joss Whedon tends to cast a lot of actors who share a certain “vibe” (not sure how to describe it). So people who enjoy the kind of actors that he gathers for his shows would likely enjoy the same actors in other settings too. Also, I think at this point the tiny-but-powerful-chick is just a genre staple that not really meant to be edgy or surprising anymore. It’s been a universal anime trope for so long that it’s surprising when a delicate little girl _doesn’t_ turn out to be a powerful fighter. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/47 "2008-01-10T15:01:58Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] Gibberish dialogue? If you’re refering to the language that they were speaking when they were not speaking English, that was Mandarin Chinese. [/QUOTE] IANA **Mr. Excellent** , but I assume he’s talking about her batshit sane dialogue, not about the Mandarin. Choice bits of “gibberish” like: “These are the ones that take you. They’re the ones reaching and doing. They’re the ones. …everywhere, and the hands go everywhere… when you brush your teeth and, and nobody said anything… And then they come.” (Shindig) and “I tore these out of your symbol and they turned into paper. But I want to put them back.” (Jaynestown) and “Played with Kaylee. Sun came out, and I walked on my feet and heard with my ears. I ate the bits, the bits stayed down, and I work. I function like I’m a girl. I hate it because I know it’ll go away. The sun goes dark and chaos has come again. Bits. Fluids. What am I?!” (War Stories) They all make perfect River-sense, of course. And that’s the point. They only make perfect sense IF the actor knows what to do with them. If she doesn’t, they’re total nonsense. And yeah, if anyone’s keeping score, I only opened the thread because Summer Glau’s name was in the title. And I’ll probably watch the Terminator show, now that I know she’s in it. I wouldn’t otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/48 "2008-01-10T15:08:36Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] Being a bad ass kill factory isn’t something genders tend to do equally well so there becomes the expectation that the character would be played by a male. If you notice, when creators try to buck the status quo and cast a woman in a traditionally male role in this sense they go with delicate looking women to further emphasize what they’ve done. We’re not even talking about a large, tough looking woman, but a ballerina that might not weigh 100 pounds. I’m generally not a big fan of it because it doesn’t fit well with my sense of reality. That isn’t to say that there aren’t some tough women - but when you’re talking about putting someone in the type of role that Arnie-types traditionally take, it’s not a matter of “choose one” between the genders - clearly you’re going against convention to cast a woman, especially a small one. I wouldn’t mind seeing a woman in the role of an action hero, but I’d prefer it be more practical - she could be stealthier, quicker, and adept at weapons usage, rather than going around beating up much larger men in hand to hand combat. In this case, it’s a little different, because we’re not talking about a 100 pound girl throwing people around, we’re talking about a cyborg that looks like a 100 pound girl doing it. It might work. I’ll have to see. [/QUOTE] Actually, from a practical standpoint, if I were actually going to build a lethal cyborg that could kick all kinds of ass, I would _absolutely_ design it as a pretty, ostensibly frail, young-ish girl. Presumably your Terminator is going to need to work undercover at times, and a lethal robot that looks like Summer Glau is going to blend in with a crowd, and successfully approach a target who might be on the lookout for a threat, more effectively than a robot that looks like, say, Vin Diesel. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/49 "2008-01-10T15:11:17Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] Gibberish dialogue? If you’re refering to the language that they were speaking when they were not speaking English, that was Mandarin Chinese. I do agree that just has a great ability to make the audience believe she is not quite all there, yet very intelligent - great for a terminator! [/QUOTE] No, that’s not what I meant - I’m referring to her “crazy time” rants. ETA: Or, what **Whynot** said. Thanks, **Whynot**! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/50 "2008-01-10T15:14:34Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] IANA **Mr. Excellent** , but I assume he’s talking about her batshit sane dialogue, not about the Mandarin. [/QUOTE] If that’s the case, nevermind. That probably makes more sense, since all the characters spoke in Chinese. I have the series on DVD. There’s some extras at the end where the characters talk about talking in Chinese. Up until that point I thought that they were just using made up space language. I was hoping to fight ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![t-mobileguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@t-mobileguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-mobileguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/51 "2008-01-10T16:47:29Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] I They should have given the role to [Tiffany Brissette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_Brissette). (BIG PRIZE for the person who gets that without clicking on the link.) [/QUOTE] YES!!! I love VIKI She was truly the first terminator scouting out our resources! Ok great! You can send my BIG PRIZE to any T-mobile store. Just address it to t-mobileguy (they’ll figure out who I am) also I prefer 10’s and 20’s but if all you can come up with is a few 100’s I’m ok with that too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/52 "2008-01-10T17:15:52Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] I think there is something to it though; from what I’ve seen, Joss Whedon tends to cast a lot of actors who share a certain “vibe” (not sure how to describe it). So people who enjoy the kind of actors that he gathers for his shows would likely enjoy the same actors in other settings too. [/QUOTE] I think this is true, but especially when the actors are in something close to the original genre. I haven’t seen any of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s movies (cause who would?) and I can’t bring myself to watch **Bones** even though it’s got David Boreanz in it, but I did watch a few episodes of the short-lived **Drive** , because Nathan Fillion’s character had a similar feel to Mal. Besides, that’s why the OP specified that the info was for “nerds” 😃 . ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/53 "2008-01-10T17:53:22Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] Being a bad ass kill factory isn’t something genders tend to do equally well so there becomes the expectation that the character would be played by a male. If you notice, when creators try to buck the status quo and cast a woman in a traditionally male role in this sense they go with delicate looking women to further emphasize what they’ve done. We’re not even talking about a large, tough looking woman, but a ballerina that might not weigh 100 pounds. [/QUOTE] See, I actually _love_ it when they have a badass female character, if that character is also big, rough-looking, rugged and actually seems truly intimidating. The best example: [The Boss](http://www.armchairempire.com/images/News/September-2204/mgs3-boss-cobra-unit.gif) from Metal Gear Solid 3. She looks like a [woman,](http://ps2media.gamespy.com/ps2/image/article/541/541276/metal-gear-solid-3-snake-eater-20040823004101352.jpg) not a weak little girl. I think she’s by far the sexiest video game character ever, and also one of the most badass - I mean, she can disarm Snake in hand-to-hand combat and then field-strip his pistol in two seconds! ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/54 "2008-01-11T00:03:25Z")
[QUOTE=storyteller0910] Actually, from a practical standpoint, if I were actually going to build a lethal cyborg that could kick all kinds of ass, I would _absolutely_ design it as a pretty, ostensibly frail, young-ish girl. Presumably your Terminator is going to need to work undercover at times, and a lethal robot that looks like Summer Glau is going to blend in with a crowd, and successfully approach a target who might be on the lookout for a threat, more effectively than a robot that looks like, say, Vin Diesel. [/QUOTE] True, it just conflicts a bit with the franchise’s backstory. Arnie and the other T800 we see in the first movie are huge - it seems like they need to be for practical reasons, because the exoskeleton needs to be large. Then again, I guess if they have liquid metal terminators, they can have mini-terminators too. I saw the pilot, a few comments: Terminators do not make one liners, or toy with their prey. This is dealbreaking for me if it continues. The reason that they’re so menacing is that they’re not wisecracking villains as interested as much in stroking their own ego as much as killing the hero. They’re single minded, relentless, and efficient… the show can’t mess with this or it’s not really a terminator story. I was glad to see that T3 doesn’t seem to exist in their universe. The show has already made random leaps of logic. How do the police track down the Connors to their new town so quickly? No evidence is there. How does the Glauminator know how to get there too and is actually there ahead of John, waiting for him? If in the original timeline John was killed there then the terminator could be sent back before that time to prevent it - except John wouldn’t exist in the future to lead the resistance preventing the whole scenario from happening. Maybe there’s a plausible time travel explanation for why the terminator there, but none for the police that was shown. Sarah bugging out and leaving her fiance because of a dream was stupid, but probably in character. But they were unnoticed at that point, low profile… by making a fiance file the police report, they brought heat back on themselves. Oh, and using the alias Reese? I guess they want to tie it to the franchise, but the character would not be so stupid. The “we sent one of our best engineers into the past to build stuff” plot line could be interesting if there are other devices stored in other places. I was worried they were going to have to make the cop persuing her stupid. “Oh, she’s just a total kook, delusional, nothing to what she says. Sure, every once in a while some sort of extremely powerful psychotic person attacks her and causes millions of dollars worth of damage, and we have no explanation for it, but it’s probably just a coincidence” - but it seems like he’s catching on that something very strange is happening in this case. Minor annoyance, but why did they have to make the terminators sound like robots when they moved? Sound guy trying to prove his worth? I’ll give it a try, but they can’t turn the terminators into stereotypical action movie bad guys or they’ll lose a lot of what makes the franchise interesting. And hopefully the continued use of unexplained plot holes will go away. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/55 "2008-01-12T06:53:03Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] I, personally, don’t find Summer Glau hot. [/QUOTE] Your choice, sir. Pistols or swords at dawn. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2008, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/56 "2008-01-12T07:05:00Z")
I’ll be there to back him up. I don’t think there’s anything special about her looks. Far too girlish and immature-looking for my tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/57 "2008-01-13T06:53:50Z")
[squee] One more day! ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/58 "2008-01-13T14:41:40Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] … Anyone else looking forward to it? FOX has always been a littler better at promoting their sci-fi than other networks, so there’s that. [/QUOTE] It’s a little ironic that Summer Glau was on a Fox sci-fi series that Fox refused to promote. Did Fox start promoting their newer sci-fi series after they killed Firefly? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/59 "2008-01-14T04:08:26Z")
Loved it. I hope it sticks around. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743/60 "2008-01-14T04:33:19Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] I’ll be there to back him up. I don’t think there’s anything special about her looks. Far too girlish and immature-looking for my tastes. [/QUOTE] I give you the new and improved [Summer Glau](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0851851/beauty30B3C.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0851851&seq=22). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sarah-connor-chronicles-hey-nerds-summer-glau-is-involved/432743.md?page=4)