Andy builds a new Turk chess computer...and is murdered for
his trouble.
This episode takes place on October 25, 2007, though the
date is not revealed here. In
"The Demon's Hand" it is stated that Andy Goode died on this
date (he is killed here in this episode).
Didja Notice?
At the beginning of the episode, Sarah is seen to be taking
echinacea tablets, among others. Echinacea is thought by
some to be a cancer preventative, though this has not been
proven scientifically.
Sarah tells John that Andy has been spending his time since
the Turk was destroyed re-writing the code from memory at a
coffee shop in Van Nuys.
Van Nuys is a neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Sarah refers to Cameron as "Tin Miss".
At 9:10 in the episode, two posters are seen hanging at
the end of the school lockers: "Elements of a novel or a
short story" and "You are about to enter a learning zone".
These are both real world posters, largely intended for
educational use.
At the memorial prepared by the students at the school for
Jordan Cowan, many of the photos of her show her in a school
cheerleader outfit.
At the memorial,
one of the messages for Jordan reads, "I miss you Pollywog!"
Apparently she had a nickname or pet name of "Pollywog".
At 9:48 in the episode, an Atlas motor analyzer is
visible behind John in the school's auto shop.
At 9:58
in the episode, Morris is wearing a Smiths
t-shirt. The Smiths were an alternative rock band in England
from 1982-1987.
Andy has entered his new Turk chess computer in the SoCal
Computer Chess Invitational. This is a fictitious
tournament.
Derek Reese is wearing a duster that is very similar to the
one worn by his brother Kyle in
The Terminator! |
 |
 |
Derek in duster |
Kyle in duster |
There is a nice shot from 11:30 to 11:39
in the episode
of a line-up of robots at the Computer Chess Invitational,
ending with Cameron standing at the end of them. One of the
robots even waves at her; don't know if it's intentional,
but the robot's plastic human face looks kind of like
Robocop (actor Peter Weller)!. A small robot dog toy barks at
her, ironic considering real dogs are known to be able to
detect Terminators and will bark at them.
The robot's face-recognition software at 11:54
in the episode
has a button labeled "BladeRunner", probably a
reference to the 1982 science-fiction film Blade Runner,
which featured human-looking robotic "replicants". Also, as
the robot looks at Cameron, her face is labeled with "101",
a possible reference to the Model 101, Series 800
Terminators played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in
The Terminator and
Judgment Day.
After a bad move by the Japanese computer in the chess match
against the Turk, John says the Japanese are in total
zugzwang.
Zugzwang
is a German term meaning "compulsion to move", used in chess
when a player has no choice but to make a move that will
only worsen their position.
When the Japanese win the match after all, John remarks that
they sacrificed their queen, "Just like Byrne-Fischer all
over again." He is referring to the 1956 game of Donald
Byrne and 13-year-old Bobby Fischer. Chess master Byrne lost
to the young boy.
After the Turk's loss, when Cameron remarks it could still
be a threat and become Skynet, Sarah snaps back, "It could
also become Pong."
Pong is one of the earliest, primitive video games, released
by Atari in 1972.
The police squad cars that surround Derek are 1998
Ford
Crown Victorias.
The laptop John uses to hack into the LAPD database is a
Dell
Inspiron.
Derek is referred to as John Doe while in police custody at
the county jail. "John Doe" is a
placeholder name used in the United States and Canada for
people, patients, or bodies who are unidentified or who must
remain legally anonymous.
The T-888 Terminator called Vick Chamberlain is the same
Terminator who posed as a dead Resistance fighter in
"Gnothi Seauton".
The photo Ellison shows to Derek at 26:13
in the episode
is of the corpse of Enrique Salceda, who was killed by
Cameron in "Gnothi Seauton".
The photo after this one is of the corpse of Dr. Lyman,
killed by Cromartie in "Heavy
Metal".
When Cameron is in the counselor's office at school, the
front-view shots of her show the strap of her book bag
hanging straight down from her left shoulder. The rear-view
shots show the strap slung diagonally across her back.
The car Cheri's father picks her up in at school is a 2008
Ford Taurus.
Derek tells Sarah he didn't kill Andy, but we learn he was
lying about that in
"Dungeons and Dragons".
The police van that the Connors and Cameron intercept to
free Derek is a
Utilimaster P-500. The Connors drive the same 2007 Jeep
Wrangler introduced in "The Turk";
the Jeep is seen to have
Goodyear
tires on it.
Cameron fires a
Heckler & Koch MP5K at Vick as they escape with Derek in
the police van.
At 35:16
in the episode, shipping containers for
Uniglory and Evergreen are seen on a storage lot during
Cameron's fight with Vick on the police van.
Both are freight companies owned by
Evergreen Marine.
At 37:38
in the episode, Vick and Sarah each pull
Glock 17
pistols on each other (it appears that Vick took his from
the fallen Cameron).
Where did Cameron get the metal rod she uses against Vick at
37:44
in the episode?
Agent Ellison finds Vick's
flesh-covered mechanical hand on the side of the road at the
battle site where the police van was left behind. It becomes
important later in "The Demon's Hand".
Memorable Dialog
this song might just blow up the world.mp3
I'm busy doing John's homework.mp3
I do not know Sarah Connor.mp3
I never sleep.mp3
shotgun.mp3
Back to Terminator Episode
Studies