User reviews

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.

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.

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.

Despite what some others have said, the series with the too-long name DOESN'T "crap all over the movies" it was spun off from. It actually *builds* upon what has come before and expands the universe that was set up in the first two films (having the good sense to pretend as if the dismal T3 never happened). No, it's not quite like the movies, but that's a *good* thing (since this IS a series, and thus it requires story arcs that can play out over the course of a whole season).

As the infamous Sarah Connor, Lena Headey does one hell of a job picking up where Linda Hamilton left off. She might not be exactly like the movies' interpretation, nor should she be. This is a reinterpretation of Sarah Connor, and Lena gives it her all, doing the character justice. She fits the role well, is believable and manages to perfectly balance Sarah's toughness and leadership role with that of a protective mother who'll do anything to keep her son alive. She's edgy, she's intense, she kicks major butt, but also conveys Sarah's vulnerability (not to mention the weight of the world that she carries on her shoulders) in a nicely nuanced performance. Her portrayal of Sarah Connor makes you believe in this tough-as-nails mother and you're on her side every step of the way. I feel a bit sorry for Lena, though - the fact that she has to deliver those pesky voice-overs each episode (as well as a ridiculously long "Previously, on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles..." at the start of each episode. Surely they could've shortened it to just simply "Previously..."). The voice-overs do wear a bit thin eventually (especially when Sarah's referencing something totally obscure), but then sometimes they're extremely relevant to the story and thus their inclusion is justified.

"Isn't there some guy? Some guy who's meant to save the world or something?" I hear you ask. Ah yes, John Connor. As the future leader of the human resistance in the war against Skynet, one might not have expected him to be so...emo. Thankfully, though, he's not TOO heavy on the angst. He's actually a damn sight better than both the whiny interpretations of the character that have come before. While he *does* still whine on occasion, he's much more accepting of his destiny than we've previously seen. It's great to see him learn and grow, as his mother trains him and teaches him life lessons in Not Getting The Human Race Slaughtered. Thomas Dekker admirably portrays the troubled young John, and his interaction with his mother is what keeps the series grounded. They have their ups and downs, but what comes across most clearly is how much they care for each other and that they would quite literally move heaven and earth to keep the other one safe. It's one of the strongest mother/son relationships in a series that I've seen a good long while. The excellent chemistry between the two actors is immediately evident, and it's because of this that their interaction on screen comes across as so believable.

As John's other female protector in the series, the multi-skilled chameleon, Summer Glau, proves to be the series' greatest asset. She brings considerable emotion and depth to what is...essentially...a robot. "What's a robot doing, showing emotion and depth?" you may ask. Good question. They explain this within the first two episodes. Cameron Phillips (her first name obviously being a nod to the creator of the franchise, while her last name may well be acknowledging the tool used to put her together on her 'built day' - the Phillips head screwdriver) is more than just a machine. We saw in T2 that Arnie was capable of "learning" things that John taught him, and this time around they've taken it a step further. Not only is she capable of eating chips and picking up lingo (her favourite phrase being "That's a tight present."), but she's also far better at remaining inconspicuous - when attending high school with John - than big old Arnie could have ever been. That's not to say that she doesn't come off as slightly odd to those around her. Almost everyone notices there's something a little 'off' about Cameron, but it's not enough to blow hers and John's cover as siblings.

Summer Glau continues to impress and show off her incredible range, bringing so much more to this role than one might expect. Just with her eyes alone, she conveys SO much. Her deadpan delivery of lines is what oftentimes provides the most laughs in the series, while her relationship with both mother and son taps into the heart of the series. Here we're presented with this machine...but what if there were more to it than that? Whilst she's regarded as one of the "heroes" of the series, Cameron never lets you forget what she was built for. Equal parts chilling and heroic, Cameron is an integral part of the show.

The series shows great potential with its story lines and looks to be expanding the universe even further in Season 2. The first season (which was tragically cut short by the writers' strike) showed a lot of promise and will hopefully only get better as the series continues. If you are willing to accept the fact that this is a different animal to the movies, you should be able to sit back and enjoy.

First of all I would like to begin by stating that I actually enjoyed Terminator 3. I know that there are a lot of haters out there but I do not count myself as one of them. I enjoyed the movie for what it was. However, as a die-hard Terminator fan I believe "enjoyable" is an underachievement for a franchise as great as the Terminator series. Terminators 1 and 2 were classics, and the third instalment fell a little short.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles however evokes a feeling which was strangely lacking in T3. Excitement. The idea of ignoring the events of the third movie, which this series seems to be running with, seems a wise move. I enjoyed every moment of the pilot immensely.

Although a little sceptical before I watched the pilot, Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker are cast well as Sarah and John Connor. Initially I didn't believe either had the right look or attitude to play characters portrayed so well by Linda Hamilton and a young Edward Furlong. However I was gladly mistaken. Headly does Sarah Conner almost as well as Hamilton, a high praise if there ever was one, and Dekker plays the reluctant leader with credibility. I see both actors growing into their roles more with each new episode. The main highlight in my opinion was Summer Glau in her role as Cameron. She portrays her character with a grace and beautifully understated performance which is refreshing, and more believable and engaging than Kristanna Loken's performance in T3.

All and all, the pilot was a great beginning to the series with some nice surprises and a lot of action. It may have a few teething problems as all new shows do, but with a little bit of polish before it airs it will be a very strong beginning of a new journey for this classic franchise. Lets hope Fox shows some common sense for once and holds onto this one.

I loved this show and its terminators, and it's amazing that I still think about it (the characters pop into my mind) over a decade later. So it's ironic that I found its flashbacks in time as too many and the one dull part of the show. Otherwise, it was a solid 10 and I don't know how it got cancelled. Were the ratings that bad or were the deciders pushing their new lame plaything? (The way it seemed.) I just saw Shirley Manson's band released a new album. Garbage, rightfully, didn't go to waste.

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.

Its like watching X-files best episodes. It's mind-blowing for me that shows like The Big Bang Trash is so popular and this masterpiece is canceled. Well it's no wonder people suck.

One of the top 3 series' I have seen that got cancelled when they were just really showing how exceptional they truly were! In my opinion, one of the best adaptions of a movie-to-t.v. series to date. What a shame it ended so quickly and abruptly. This seems to be a hallmark of Fox T.V.

Just watched the pilot and it looks good. A few nice surprises and twists. Hope they can keep it up throughout the series. And anything with Summer Glau is worth watching 8) PRoduction was good, effects were good. Story seems fairly seamless. Characters were fine. Actors selected were fine. This has a lot of potential for a TV series. It has the opportunity to go int so many directions if the writers are willing and able. So long as they don't start stumbling over their own feet. I hope, unlike so many new series that get cancelled after the first season, Warner Bros. Might have the guts and the talent to keep this going for a few years. Good shows like Invasion, Surface, Firefly, Space Above and Beyond, (and many more) got cancelled for all the wrong reasons. Hope This does not suffer from the same fate!!!Haven't watched the movies in a while, but I have incentive now. Good luck and I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

I had this series on my shelf for a couple of years now, despite being a Terminator fan I never watched it until recently, because I thought it wouldn't be so great since I had never heard anything about it, I was thinking it was probably a b-movie series, but oh boy was I wrong I and regret that I didn't watch ther series much earlier. The show is really really good and very underrated, it reminds me a lot of Terminator 2 which is my favorite of all the Terminator movies. Finally a series that really took me and made me glue to the TV screen :) . It is a must watch for every terminator fan.

However I had to remove 1 star, even though the series is awesome only the first season and the first half of season 2 was good, somehow the second half of the second season was kinda boring and dropping in quality :(

One more thing: Summer Glau is such an incredible pretty woman, just wow.

The first episodes of this series, or maybe the whole first season, felt sort of cheap. There were some poor effects and acting. I really do like the world of terminator movies though, so I gave the series a chance and kept watching and I haven't regretted.

I think that the series evolved already during the first season. The storyline evolved well and the world of terminator has captured me totally. Now this second season has a very professional feel to it. All the faults of the first one are fixed. Acting has gotten better and dialogs have become a little more believable. Effects are also a lot better and the storyline still flows well.

I deeply wish that those of you, who stopped watching after few episodes, get back with the series. Sarah Connor Chronicles truly is a great series. Just get over the cheap feeling in the beginning. If you like the world of terminator, you will enjoy this series.

I personally think Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is a great show. There aren't many really good shows these days and this one is really one of the good ones. I'll admit I haven't seen the original Terminator movies but in my honest opinion this show is like one big movie -- which I like. I really hope this show will continue to be shown on television because it's a really good one and it's definitely worth it to watch it. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next. The actors are doing a great job and I'd like to give my compliments to the writers, because I love the storyline and how everything fits so well in it. The special effects are great and like I said before, every time I watch it, it's like I'm watching a movie. I gave this show 9 stars because there are always things that can be improved, but overall I think this is a great show with great actors, good writers and great special effects. If you're looking for a good TV show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the right show for you!

Im just not a huge Terminator fan despite truly enjoying the first two movies. Having said that, I must say, this production is first rate, VERY well done. I found the cast well suited to the roles and they portrayed the characters spot on. It is riddled with quality action scenes, without the need for undo character development, since the storyline is already well known. The script works quite well, flowing in crisp, clean directions, acted by professionals that seem dedicated to the roles. Kudo's to WB for boldly attempting this show, its one of which I will NOT miss a single episode.

There is a great deal of potential on this one, WB, so DO NOT let it slip through the cracks like you do SO MANY worthy shows, in favor of yet another retched reality show.

I know it's a bit late but I am tossing my 2 bits in for what it's worth.

This was one of the most fascinating sci-fi TV shows of all time. So grossly under-rated, the characters were fun to watch, especially Summer Glau, whose Cameron was sent to protect John Connor. Trying to behave as a human was some of the best comic sci-fi stuff I can remember. And her fight scenes were often engaging to say the least - especially the catfight in the elevator with another female terminator. John on the run with his mother and Cameron and whatever "friends" appeared throughout the series sometimes caused one to ask far too many questions about the direction and the reasoning. But in the long run, it was well worth it. Coming back for more every week was a treat and a disappointment all in one when the final episode made it clear the series was finished. But that was by far the best finale I had ever seen.

I highly recommend the DVD sets for both seasons. Something about watching them over again from Season one, episode one made the series appear even better than I remembered it.

9 of 10

I gotta say that this show rocks. Plain and simple. It delivered the right amount of action and suspense with thrills and excitement to match. It really blows T3 out of the water in every aspect and taking its cues from the first 2 installments is a smart move. Lena Heady does a good job as Sarah Connor with Summer Glau respectively. Thomas Dekker does a nice job as John Connor and although his character comes off a little vague, I have a feeling that he'll grow more deeper into character as things progress. There's never a dull moment in in my view( in fact, this show is far more interesting than the 2nd season of "Heroes"). The script flowed seamlessly, the action is high-caliber, with plot twists that keep you guessing until the end. The pilot episode may seem a little rushed, but that's a minor gripe so let it slide. Can't wait for next episode!!

I've seen all the Terminator films and yes Linda Hamilton is a legendary Sarah Connor but Lena Headey does an amazing job. She already has shown audiences across America in the film 300, her talent as an actress. SO to all those who say this is a poor cast, well they are stuck in the past. Many say that Lena Headey lacks the strength Hamilton portrayed in the prior films. I have watched 3 episodes of this show and I am not disappointed at all. Thomas Dekker is also a refreshing surprise as the role of the young John Connor. Summer Glau as the "robot from the future"? Perfect. She is flawless. And if you have ever seen Firefly or Serenity, then this shall be no surprise to you. Basically what I am saying is to give the show a chance. The acting is very believable and the special effects are incredible. It is so refreshing to watch a show that's not about crime scene investigations that have a new plot every single episode. Watch it. Give it a chance. You will be surprised.

From what I've gathered from the first few episodes of the Sarah Connor Chronicles, this series is really shaping up to be a great continuation of the Terminator 1 and 2 storyline for die-hard fans and casual fans alike. The 2007 time travel gimmick is incorporated very nicely into the story, as are the appearances of Kyle Reese's brother and a plethora of both friends and foes sent from the future to carry out their missions. The casting is great - Summer Glau in particular plays an awesome role as Cameron, the terminator on the Connors' side (or is she?). Personally, I feel this show will evolve into a must-watch. Tune your televisions to fox before the series gets canceled due to bad ratings, like Firefly!

I like this show. I like this show a lot so far. If it had a bigger budget, it be even better, but this crew has done well with what you guy have been given.

I was not all that hyped about the chick from Serinity playing the heroic Terminator, but you know what SHE also works very well. I like her and she I believe that she is Cameron and she is a great actress. I am glad to see that she is making it on her own.

The kid playing the new John Connor is stellar choice as well. He's even better than Furlong was.

The actress playing Sarah was taking a on a pretty big role as I am sure she is well aware off. But you know what sweetheart?? You pulled it off too.

All three make this show enjoyable as heck and you never do the whole "well, it's gonna be gay with out James Cameron and the original actors (not to mention Arnie), but this show is pretty damn alright. I am excited to see how this unfolds. Keep on rocking guys.

A quite excellently written and acted series. The only complaints seem to have been from obsessive fans of the films, about unimportant minutiae. I like the films fine, and the series fitted in rather well thanks to the efforts of the whole team. In particular the writing team of Cameron, Friedman and Hall crafted a great (and logical) connection withe the plot and atmosphere of the films. Very good acting, particularly Lena Headey, whom I have admired in many roles (and is on many of my DVDs including Possession and 300), Summer Glau was as good as I remember from Firefly and Serenity, Thomas Dekker was good here - I've not watched any of the many series he has been in. The stunts and special effects were both great.

I don't like TV, but when this show was on, I did watch this show. Great characters, story, visuals, action. Even romance. It had everything. Yet, they only make like 1 and a half season because the Terminator Salvation movie was coming out, so they quickly ended the show in favor of the forgettable movie. I was really disappointed.

This show surprised me with how well it was made. I have been a huge fan of the Terminator series and honestly I expected this show to be, quite frankly, awful. It adds a new twist to series which I think is a great move. After T3 I was disappointed by the death of Sarah Conner and the long gap between John Connor the 12 year old street punk and his evolution to the 25 year old John Connor who is now leader of mankind. This show is looking like it is going to fill in most of those gaps. So far I like where this show is going and I hope that it stays on the air. Overall a very good show definitely worth watching. The only downside is that Summer Glau is no Arnold.

How do you take a $100m-$200m two-hour chase/fight movie concept and extend it into more than 20 hours of TV drama ?

This is how. Intelligent TV for intelligent Terminator fans.

Compelling programmes with non-linear and convoluted story lines. The producers, directors, production designers and writers use their imagination and creativity to remain faithful to the original movies whilst providing a consistent weekly diet of quality science fiction, multiple layered characters, mystery upon mystery and time paradox twists.

This show has great editing, direction, special effects, acting, writing and production. And no really bad Cal-Austrian actors in sight.

It looks right. It feels right. It sounds right. It is all right.

I believe those looking for either a constant diet of terminator chases/fights and John Connor military training would soon tire of such straightforward fare.

I'm a longtime science fiction and movie fan, but I have no idea how all the various characters, mysteries and story lines will be resolved.

Long may the quality and intrigue continue. Long may Fox bear with this show. I can't wait to see how all the mysteries come together in the end.

Superb.