Sarah Connor

Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season
$29.98
I did something with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (TSCC) that I rarely do: I purchased the complete show on DVD without so much as watching a single episode during its run on broadcast television or reading even one review. The reason for such a brash move? Well I've always enjoyed the franchise in its feature film form and figured that the weekly format would be a spectacular medium in which to fill in the gaps between the films.

As such TSCC does just that. In fact the series could be viewed as Terminator 2.5 if the motion-picture timeline is one's gauge of measurement. If you'll recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day ended with Sarah Connor, her young son John (with the help of the 800 "Swartz" Series Terminator) manage to destroy both the liquid-metal T-1000, as well as the arm and chip from the first film's 800 Series Terminator. The film was set in the year 1995 with a then ten-year-old John Connor.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines jumped ahead to 2004 where a nineteen-year-old John Connor is living "off the grid" in the areas surrounding Los Angeles after the death of his mother. It turns out that Judgment Day did not occur in 1997 as had been predicted in the first film due to mankind's intervention to the timeline, which postponed the prophesied events. As is the robots of the future's way, another Terminator has been sent back in time (this time the female T-X unit) in effort to pick off Connor's future lieutenants in the human Resistance.

TSCC begins in 1999 with a fourteen-year-old John Connor still living with his mother on constant run from both destiny and evil cyborgs. Following the movie-formula, the duo finds themselves pursued by a T-888 Terminator unit but aided by Cameron, a female (800 Series) Terminator that has been re-programmed and sent back through time to protect John.

But before you go and get used to life circa 1999, the crew make a desperate escape by time traveling to the year 2007 and in the process jump right over the time where cancer should have claimed the life of Sarah Connor. The Terminator in pursuit in 1999 uses the eight years of their absence to reconstruct his damaged chassis and is quite alive and well by the time 2007 rolls around.

It gets worse still for our protagonists once they discover that that Skynet has in fact sent many Terminators back to the year 2007 for a whole variety of missions ranging from the execution of key resistance members to the physical construction of the network and facilities that will eventually become Skynet.

The bottom line is, and like the movies, our heroes have their hands full in what boils down to present day in effort to change future-history. The good news is, as an hour-long episode format, it works. The shows build with absolutely beautiful pacing, intense action sequences, and solid scientific explanations without tech overload.

I wasn't sure what to expect going in; after all, many of the films demanded an R rating to tell their tale not to mention boasted budgets that put even the ritziest television budgets to shame. I can state with confidence that producer Josh Friedman recognized these limitations and went about crafting the source material into a television effort with style and grace.

The acting is well above what's typically associated with made-for-television action drama efforts and the effects, while slightly pale compared to the efforts of the last two feature films, are easily on par with (and at times surpass) the visuals of the first two.

More impressive than the acting and visuals however would have to be the story/ plot structure itself which manages to take many of the elements that have made the films so enduring, and interweaves them with a slightly more dramatic feel than that of the movies (which were typically mass-destruction chases).

My only complaint lies not with the show in particular but rather some of the typical snafus and paradoxes that the series (and time travel in general) call to mind. Questions of predestination and multiple (parallel) existences can detract from an already difficult-to-follow timeline if the viewer allows themselves the distraction of pondering such things. As has been the case with all of the Terminator incarnations thus far, it is best perhaps to suspend disbelief and simply enjoy the ride.

The show was one of those that suffered due to the writer's strike and hence consists of only 9-episodes for the first season. Coming in at a total runtime of 394 minutes, the show spans 3-discs and contains a healthy dose of extras including staff commentaries over three episodes, audition clips, gag reels, and several deleted "Terminated" scenes. The second season was boosted to 22-episodes before ultimately meeting its untimely demise from television. A shame really, as the show managed to surpass most of my expectations. I'm working on the second season now and will review that one upon completion as well.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete Second Season
$59.98
How often can it really be said that a television series actually atones for some of the big budget feature film releases of the same franchise? Calling it a rare occurrence is massively underplaying it and yet that's exactly what many viewers consider Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (especially against the very average Terminator 3: Ride of the Machines).

It would turn out that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2 would become last season of a solid science fiction television series that was well on its way to being a great one. Fans will delight in the bitter-sweetness that is an exceptional boxset containing some of the show's finest moments as a grave marker for the entire series. It's especially distressing on the staff commentary tracks where clearly the network's decision to cancel the series had not yet been revealed.

Unlike so many shows of late, this is one where the second season actually capitalized and realized much of the potential promised of in the first (which was pretty darn good itself). The cast expanded, with the addition of Brian Austin Green and Shirley Manson (yes the singer of grunge band Garbage). The scope of the prose enjoyed expansion as well, with new Terminators, timeline fluctuations (with visible consequence/ effect) and the intensity of the possibility of lead character death ever-present.

The acting, which was far above the norm for network television in the first series, actually manages to somehow improve for this season. It's apparent that Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker became far more comfortable with their roles as Sarah and John Connor respectively while Summer Glau is given the opportunity to contrast her role as a human rather than a machine along the way. Brain Austin Green was perfectly cast as Derek Reese (the brother of John Connor's father, Kyle) and Richard T Jones continues to dazzle with his gritty performance as James Ellison. Garret Dillahunt takes the Cromartie role to the next level with an opportunity to "reset" his character here and even Shirley Manson, surely the biggest question mark of the casting selection, absolutely astonishes with her portrayal of a T1000 (liquid metal Terminator).

Naturally the restrictions of television budgeting result in a program that's not quite as visually stunning as the recent films of the franchise, it is very possible that it looks as good as, if not better than some of the earlier movies. When T2 hit theaters, the whole "liquid metal" element was simply mind-blowing and Season 2 demonstrates the tactic ever-bit as well and as casually as if it were old hat.

Even so, the program ranks as among the best of the best of CG-heavy action on television. Just like with the films, massive explosions and gunfights abound with dark, moody environments and tones. While it would be easy for the show's creators to fall into a rhythm based upon what's worked thus far, major kudos go out for the decision to keep the characters' whole world an ever-changing affair (just as it should be given the back story of living off the grid, always on the run).

The Dolby Digital audio is mixed quite solidly as well, which is a treat considering how solid the visuals turned out. The sound follows the onscreen action with near feature film precision and though a bit front-loaded to compensate for the abundance of dialog, the use of 5.1 Surround is particularly noteworthy.

In addition to a full-color booklet with episode synopsis, the extras (spread across the full 6 discs) include:

? "The Continuing Chronicles: Terminator", an 8-part featurette gallery
? The Storyboard Process: Cameron Goes Bad
? Gag Reel
? Cameron vs. Rosie Fight Rehearsal
? Commentary on "Samson and Delilah"
? Commentary on "Allison From Palmdale"
? Commentary on "Adam Raised a Cain"
? Commentary on "Born to Run"
? Terminated Scenes on Select Episodes

Just like with the first set, perhaps my biggest complaint is the mental overload of the source material's heavy reliance upon time travel. If you really want to be a stickler, there are a few plot holes and mismatches that rear their ugly heads when laid out against the movie's timeline but in all honesty, and considering the overwhelming ambitions in sorting it all out, the television crew does an admirable job of keeping it straight.

About the biggest tragedy surrounding the whole affair is that the series does not end conclusively as again, it was cancelled before the production team could tie up all of the loose ends. As it stands (and fortunately) the 22nd (and final) episode does not end on a cliffhanger per se, it just boggles the mind to consider where the writers were going next. Considering that the program was nominated (and won) countless awards from the likes of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, Emmy, People's Choice, Teen Choice, Visual Effects Society, and Young Artists Awards, the credentials speak far louder than any network's poor decision-making. It's nearly impossible to come away from the second season without concluding that the series was just starting to find its rhythm. It's sad that the show got the ax (especially considering how much junk was renewed) but I suppose the good news is that the Second Season box set is a beautiful addition to any library and a chance to own one of few truly impressive network television efforts of recent times.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
$17.99
Bear McCreary does not get enough credit for his work on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He took cues from the first two movies, and then took the score in an entirely different direction. I love this soundtrack to death. It evokes real emotion.

Battlestar Galactica fans and Sarah Connor fans can both agree that Bear is one of the best composers currently working.

Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]
$39.99
As this series neared its premier, I was absolutely positively certain that the show would be unspeakably bad. And perhaps this is why it was canceled after its second season. I feel that so many people (especially Terminator fans) had already made up their mind before hand and never really gave the show a chance. I gave it a chance and watched the premier; then promptly abandoned the entire show. As it turns out, the premier episode was the weakest of the season. In fact, at episode three, the show suddenly goes from just 'decent' to 'awesome'. And it was these stories about how the plot develops that I was constantly hearing from those that stuck with the show that convinced me that I needed to give it a second chance; and I'm so glad I did.

First of all, this isn't entirely a reboot. It follows the continuity of the first two movies quite nicely, but exists outside the story line developed by T3 and Terminator Salvation. It's an 'alternate version of events', so to speak.

{John Conner} The character was done perfectly. Gone is the 'most annoying kid in the world' attitude. Here it's obvious that he's grown up watching his back at every turn. He's sick of running; and with the arrival of a Terminator protector, he feels it's time to start fighting back. His technical skills are also more impressive and a little more believable than previous interpretations.

{Sarah Conner} She is, after all, the star of the show and often narrates each episode. She's motherly but never forgets her mission to protect her son and stop Skynet before it's built. Her days of paranoia and erratic behavior are over. What's great about her portrayal here is she rarely ever seems to be afraid. She's calm, cool, collected, and just plain awesome.

{Cameron} John's Terminator protector and was initially the hardest part of the show for me to like. I groaned during her scenes in the premier. However, as the show developed, her character quickly grew on me. Her scene as she looks on in fascination at the robot at the chess tournament, in particular, was remarkably directed.

{Terminators} The rest of them are also well done. We really get the feeling that just one of these guys is nearly unstoppable. The initial Terminator from the pilot, Cromartie, appears to have been 'terminated' at the end of the premier. However, the majority of this season he is seen as constantly rebuilding himself in order to complete his mission, suggesting that no matter what kind of damage a Terminator sustains, it will...never...stop. Another example of this is when John attempts to hack an extracted Terminator CPU in which John see glimpses of the world through it's visual memory bank giving a fascinating yet disturbing look into their behavior. At one point the CPU comes back online attempts to complete his mission despite not having a body.

Trust me, I was one of the hardest people to convince that this would ever be good. But it is. It's incredible. Give it a chance to develop and grow on you and there's a good chance you'll gain as much appreciation for it as I have.

~nico~