"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (2008) TV series 2008-2009

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

This season a mother will become a warrior, a son will become a hero, and their only ally will be a friend from the future.

Plot:

Set after the events in 'Terminator 2' Sarah Connor and her son John, trying to stay under-the-radar from the government as they plot to destroy the computer network Skynet in hopes of preventing Armageddon.

Plot Keywords:

Skynet | Russian Mafia | Female Terminator | Cyborg | Robot

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 15 nominations

Cast

Lena Headey	...	Sarah Connor (31 episodes, 2008-2009)
Thomas Dekker	...	John Connor (31 episodes, 2008-2009)
Summer Glau	...	Cameron Phillips / ... (31 episodes, 2008-2009)
Richard T. Jones	...	James Ellison (31 episodes, 2008-2009)
Brian Austin Green	...	Derek Reese (23 episodes, 2008-2009)
Garret Dillahunt	...	Cromartie / ... (18 episodes, 2008-2009)
Shirley Manson	...	Catherine Weaver / ... (17 episodes, 2008-2009)

Also Known As:

"The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M (season 1) | Australia:M | Singapore:NC-16 (season 1) | Argentina:16 | Hungary:16 | Brazil:14 | USA:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Bartleby Company

Trivia:

The source code that is visible on-screen in some episodes is written in Visual Basic.

Quotes:

Male Voiceover: [Season 2 Opening Intro] In the future a computer program called Skynet will declare war on the human race. Machines have travelled back in time taking human form to terminate John Connor, the future leader of the resistance. Sarah Connor, John Connor's mother, teacher, and protector. Cameron, a terminator reprogrammed to defend them at all costs. Derek Reese, John's uncle and a commanding officer with the resistance. Together they fight to stop Skynet from ever being created. The battle for our tomorrow starts today.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Big Bang Theory: The Terminator Decoupling (#2.17)" (2009)

First impressions from the pilot

I had a chance to catch this pilot yesterday and being a die-hard T2 fan i was very impressed.

Firstly the pilot does dissolve the continuity of T3 almost instantly, yet does it in a way that shows exactly how that film could have been better (for the record, I did enjoy T3 tho). Headey does a first rate job as Sarah, capturing the "weight-of-the-world" angle of the character extremely well despite looking at least ten years too young for the part. Dekker does a decent job as John but is given very little to do in the pilot, that is somewhat counteracted however by hints of what's to come for the character - a look into exactly what sort of life he has in store as far as the real world goes. Summer Glau meanwhile steals the show as Cameron (terrible in-joke with that name by the way), playing the new Terminator as oddly lovable yet traditionally stone-faced simultaneously and even managed to deliver the classic line "Come with me if you want to live" in a matter befitting a good old fashioned cheer.

The storyline is very good if a tad more traditionally sci-fi than we're used to with this franchise - going to so far as to include actual time travel. Although it's a stretch to include this, it doesn't feel particularly forced and works rather well as the device for setting up a series (as well as clearing up the chronology finally, should T3 ever be worked into the continuity again). It is also worthy of note that the pilot i saw included the scenes now stated as being rewritten for the premiere in January (the school shootout). A great sequence in the pilot i saw, I don't think their alteration will really hurt the finished pilot too much.

A first rate pilot for what i hope will be an extremely good series.