Review
Aside from the pilot, the first season of “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” fails to impress.
The logline: Sarah Connor must protect her son (future hero John Connor) from being killed by future machines while also trying to stop Skynet from essentially creating Judgment Day.
The 9 episode first season of “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” starts off with a bang with a truly impressive, bid budget pilot that was completely satisfying on every level. However, after the first episode, I can’t say the show managed to keep my attention. The show primarily suffers from poor pacing and drawn out story arcs. Granted, most of the show’s budget was probably spent on the pilot “Dungeons And Dragons,” and the finale, but that’s no excuse to bore viewers with lazy plots and uninteresting characterization. Forward movement is a key component to any series and the writers of this show need to understand that if they expect the series to continue past its second season.
As for the cast, they are hit and miss. “300” star Lena Headey is no Linda Hamilton, and Thomas Dekker is no Edward Furlong or Nick Stahl. They simply do not have much screen presence, nor are their characters particularly well written. The show does have one great actress/character and that is former “Firefly” star Summer Glau who plays the good Terminator Cameron. Not only is Glau the only character worth a damn here, but she has all of the best lines (and line deliveries) and scenes.
In conclusion, I can’t really recommend the first season of ‘Chronicles’ as it fails to live up to the pilot. Perhaps the show will improve in its second season, but right now, chalk this up as a disappointment.
Picture and Sound
The 1.78:1 1080P picture quality is generally very clean looking. It looks far superior to the original broadcast. Some shots, however, are a bit fuzzy looking.
Even though this Blu-ray set only contains a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, the track still sounds well above average for a TV show. The dialogue is crystal clear and the action (especially the gunplay) sounds top notch.
Extras
* 9 deleted scenes from 4 episodes.
* 3 ½ minute gag reel.
* “Creating The Chronicles: Reboot” (16:30)- Creators talk about their approach to the franchise and characters.
* “Creating The Chronicles: Future War” (10:30)- A featurette about creating the future episode and how difficult it was to do on a TV budget.
* “Creating The Chronicles: The Demon Hand” (12:00)- A featurette about the 7th episode, Cameron’s cop outfit, the story, etc.
* Commentary on the Pilot by Summer Glau, Josh Friedman, James Middleton, and David Nutter.
* Commentary on “The Turk” by Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Josh Friedman and John Wirth.
* Commentary on “What He Beheld” by Summer Glau, Brian Austin Green, Ian Goldberg, Josh Friedman. A pretty much lifeless, monotone track. Don’t bother with these commentaries.
* Audition tapes with lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, and Richard T. Jones.
* Summer Glau Dance Rehearsel (1:30).
* Storyboard animatic of the classroom scene in the pilot.
* “The Demon Hand” extended episode.
