Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I admit I was skeptical when I saw the promos for Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. I was prepared to not like the show.

Fortunately I gave it some time to develop itself and find its way. Dumping the T3 time line was brilliant because, as someone who has seen all the Terminator movies..T3 was junk.

Some people seem disappointed because TSCC is not one long constant chase like the movies. They are misguided and unsophisticated. One could not sustain that kind of tension over a TV season. Instead, what we have in TSCC is actual plot lines and character development! Thomas Dekker appeared ineffectual early on until the viewer realizes that we are watching a 15 yr old boy who thought he had escaped the horror of the machines for good, only to find "they are back". He is fearful, and feels incapable of leading an army. Some people criticize that portrayal. Yet, how should a 15 yr old feel in that situation? Exactly like that.

As the series progresses we see John Connor progress and become more like the leader he will some day be. One could make the comparison to Greek tragedy and the concept of fatalism where the hero can embrace his fate or try to avoid it. He begins to take chances and use initiative. This is quite entertaining to watch once the viewer begins to understand the process.

Frankly the show is wonderful. It exists on so many levels. And, to dismiss this as merely an action and explosion show is incorrect. This show is first and foremost about people. And, the interactions between cast members are refreshingly real. All the cast members give wonderful performances, even down to the lesser players. Summer Glau, a principal, is fantastic. She supplies just the right recipe of killer instinct and "ingenue" as an infiltrator terminator and the balance keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat as they watch the "machine" take on human behavior..but perhaps, not quite.

I have never purchased a TV show on DVD before and seldom have I purchased movies. But, I have purchased TSCC season 1 and have preordered the season 2 DVD. If anything, rewatching episodes, allows one to appreciate the series even more. With each reviewing, subtleties and nuances are revealed that were overlooked on first view. Try it yourself. Cue in on Hedley's one on one scenes with Dekker. They have an excellent rapport. You will see a single mom who is tightly bonded to her son and torn between the need to protect the child she loves and fostering the development of the leader of the resistance. Watch the subtle interactions between the principals when they share a scene, small glances, expressions and body language are so wonderfully communicative. The camera work takes you right into the Connors kitchen to sit among the Connors and observe the family's interaction. By the end of the first season, you will think you actually *know* the Connors.

Some here, complain that the TV show is not "like the movies". Celebrate that. This TV series blows the movies away. Because, it is the story that counts not the special effects. T3 and T4 are especially over shadowed by the excellence of TSCC

I have never gone out of my way like this to defend, of all things, a TV show for heaven's sake but, this show richly deserves the legions of fans it has created.

If this show goes away, we may never see TV this good again.

Action, suspense and drama.

This show has everything. I absolutely love it. It's shocking that a show this good only had 2 seasons and horrible shows live on.

This show should've last 5-6 seasons.

This show was excellent.

Don't get why they just shut it down. Well make another try, it's been years. The creators should bring som new eyes to get more motivated with new ideas! This series was to good to end just like that. It's a "TERMINATOR" series. Terminator the moust loved action / Sci-fi movies in the hole world. Just bring som new people in on this, new writers. There are much ideas to this series to bring! Don't give up on this series!

This show was the best addition to the Terminator franchise since James Cameron's own Terminator 2. Set two years after the events of T2, it portrayed some absolutely gripping situations as Sarah and John are in hiding in preparation for Judgement day.

Lena Heady is fantastic as Sarah Connor, and Thomas Dekker bears a striking resemblance to Edward Furlong which really adds some visual connective tissue to the proceedings. Even the "Teeninator" Cameron (Summer Glau), who I thought would be mega-annoying and drag everything down into Smallville pap territory is brilliant.

The series makes a great change in that not every Terminator looks like Arnie, which makes perfect sense, becasue it'd be a crap infiltration unit if they could be identified by facial features alone.

The downside is that there is a noticeable and pretty significant drop in quality between both seasons with the show suffering from some very poor writing in Season 2. This was most likely due to the writer's strike at the time and so with that in mind I think Fox were far too fast to cancel it. It does has other issues like some ropy VFX and some unexplained behavioural changes in the characters, but I'm certain that a third season would have ironed out all those problems. Fox probably threw away a big money maker and a potential classic.

It's sad that the show was perhaps made about ten years too early. If it had been a Netflix funded show made today then the advancements in TV VFX and a (probably) larger budget would have really beefed up the show's appeal. Having James Cameron himself as a producer would maybe have kept the writing in line too. The rights revert back to him next year so it's not too late ;)

It's a crying shame that such a great show ended so early, but regardless, there's plenty here for any rabid Terminator fan to sink their teeth into - and it's FAR more appetising than any of the post James Cameron feature films.

I won't mince words. When they cancelled this show, I was as upset as I was when they cancelled Firefly. Great show.

This series was more cerebral than the movies; I liked where they were going with the Cameron/ Allison character, exploring the machines beyond the cookie cutter origins.

I don't usually watch a T.V show I have already seen. This show is one of my exceptions.