Summer Glau

Glau: Best Terminator. Period.

Move over, Arnold. Step aside, Robert Patrick. Ms. Loken, you weren’t even in the running. Summer Glau is the best Terminator yet.

It’s been 24 years since the former Mr. Universe and current Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger broke into the mainstream as the musclebound, indestructible machine from the future hell-bent on killing Sarah Connor in the first Terminator movie. Little did anyone know it at the time, but Ah-nold was setting the stage for a whole new science fiction universe. At the same time, he was laying the ground rules for what it takes to be a Terminator.

Whether it was an inspired performance by Schwarzenegger or just a product of his limited early-career acting prowess, the unnamed T-800 killer from the first movie became the template for all Terminators to follow. The expressionless face, the stilted movement and even the incredibly uptight, buttocks-clenched walk: Arnold embodied everything it takes to be a Cyberdyne Systems cybernetic killing machine.

Robert Patrick put his own spin on the part in his memorable performance as the advanced liquid-metal T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Kristanna Loken, on the other hand, didn’t fare quite as well as the even more advanced but largely forgotten T-X model in Terminator 3.

Now, 16 episodes into Fox’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Mondays, 8 p.m.), Glau has spent more time on screen as a Terminator than Schwarzenegger, Patrick and Loken combined. While the versatile Glau may not be as iconic as Arnold quite yet, the actress has the advantage of time on her side.

Named in honor of Terminator creator James Cameron, Glau’s cyborg is a new kind of Cyberdyne model reprogrammed by John Connor and sent back in time to protect his younger self. And through numerous close calls over a short period of time, she’s doing a bang-up job.

As the TV show approached its debut in 2007, Glau’s cyborg was the face of Fox’s relentless ad campaign. Even in partially constructed form on billboards and bus ads, the unfinished Cameron, wires protruding and all, was eye-catching. Call me a weirdo, but even an incomplete Summer Glau was still pretty hot.

For the loyal cult following of the short-lived Firefly, the discovery of relative newcomer Glau came a while ago. As the spacey supersoldier River Tam, Glau convinced Sarah Connor creators that she was the right gal for the demandling role of Cameron. With the recent news that Sarah Connor has been picked up for a full season, Glau could soon show the rest of the world what her growing fanbase already knows.

As evidenced by her Saturn Award earlier this year, Glau is well on her way to winning over the masses. This part lady, part machine is more than another run-of-the-mill model from the assembly line.

At first glance, the 5-foot 6-inch brunette might not seem up to the task of protecting the future leader of the resistance and kicking the crapola out of anything that gets in the way. But once her fists and feet are flyin’, no further explanation is necessary.

What Glau may lack in brawn she makes up in finesse, tapping into her ballerina background to add a bit of gracefulness even to the most rudimentary fight scene.

One of the greatest advantages Glau has as a Terminator is the ability to blend in. Particularly in California, pretty girls like Cameron are a dime a dozen (most with a much lower-power microprocessor). I’m not sure I can say the same for leather-clad, 6-foot 2-inch 235-pound bikers wielding sawed-off shotguns. Cameron dresses like a normal young girl to fit in, something the leather-wrapped, sports-car-driving T-X might have considered.

Personality-wise, Cameron still has a ways to go, recently having been professionally diagnosed with mild autism. But like all Terminators to come before her, she’s a sponge for information. She’s been reading the Bible, watching TV and observing the kids around her to get a grasp on all the latest hipster lingo. It doesn’t always come out quite as it should, but she’s learning from her mistakes.

Writers are finding ways to develop Cameron’s character. Arnold’s Terminator 2 cyborg won sympathy, like a lost puppy, but Glau has connected to John and audiences in a way the perennial action star never could. Glau may create the most rounded, capable and compelling Terminator yet.

With 15 episodes to go in season two and a pickup for season three still in question, Glau has upped the ante for what it means to be a Terminator and given fans everything they could hope for in one sexy, kick-ass cybernetic package. Let’s hope she’ll be back.