Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

The Terminator films were awesome, mostly the first two films. In the first it was about a woman who fought for survival but it was much more than that, it was a possible disastrous future, a warning that we as man might be treading the wrong path in regards to technology.

Terminator is just fiction but it still makes you think. Terminator 2 was much the same film as the original but now the destroyer becomes the protector, the heroes just run from a threat they aren't sure how to destroy then they do.....

Sarah Connor Chronicles was a totally different show than it's film parents, It stayed mostly in one place and they rarely ever just ran. At the shows core there was a strong drama around a son and mother and this machine in their midst. Sarah Connor is a complex woman who suffered much in life but still manages to make time for family, she fumbles sometimes in that role but that's what makes her so great.

Some people might blast the show for it's effects or it's action or goofy dialog, I think these were the shows strongest points. TSCC wasn't perfect but it was much better than anything else on Fox. I honestly dare anyone to watch every single episode that aired and see the story that unfolds and tell me that this show has nothing to offer because I would put my money on Terminator over anything else on TV not just Fox. I say that because frankly I'm tired of "Reality TV" and I'm sick of ads for things I care little about, I didn't pay for cable just to be bombarded with BS.......

Anyways, Fox has since canceled the show in favor of Dollhouse, WTF? I look at that news like this, Fox are a group of complete idiots when it comes to TV anymore but...at least the show had a chance and lasted two seasons, most shows don't even get that..... Bravo Fox for killing another show and angering millions of fans.

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.

So good and easily the best sequel to terminator and T2 we ever got. Can't believe it ended so soon. Lena heady and Summer Glau in particular killed it but everyone was great.

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.