Online Premieres: Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series: Episode 1

Produced in what Warner is calling the “machinima” style, with the story unfolding in real-time computer animation generated from the Terminator Salvation videogame graphics, The Machinima Series is inspired by the upcoming film directed by McG. Not surprisingly, it feels a lot like watching a videogame. In the first episode, resistance fighter Blair Williams is hunting the “ghost” screwing with Resistance communications, leaving them vulnerable to Skynet’s lethal machines. The graphics have a cold feel, as if the machines are already winning, but Williams (voiced by Moon Bloodgood) believes there is still hope. Episode one runs an “epic” 12 minutes, and the story and characters are as well-developed as those on a half-hour TV show.

Shelf Talk: Another cyber-limb in the Terminator Salvation marketing machine, Warner’s Web series deftly uses machine and man to add new depth to the franchise. Fanboys seeking to join the Resistance will find it hard to pass up.