Jon Peters Reviews: “Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles” (Blu-Ray)

The Show:

If anything I was curious on how they were going to make a TV series out of ‘Terminator’. He original ‘Terminator’ was my first R-rated film I ever saw at the young age of 8 and I remember just being blown away from the story and special effects. When ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ hit screens I think I went to see it nearly 12 times with various family members and friends. Again, it blew me away with a deeper vision of a nasty apocalypse and Stan Winston’s masterful special effects. The T-1000 was one of my generations more incredible villain and was perhaps the founding stone in CGI development. ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines’ I think people were skeptical because Linda Hamilton and James Cameron were no longer attached but it a different way, it still blew me away. Maybe it was the fact that it didn’t ruin the franchise. Now, here we have the TV series.

Again, it blew me away and in a different way the films didn’t. We follow Sarah Connor and John almost day-to-day; we get to see their daily survival and the continued teachings that will make John mankind’s savior. While the first season it brief (only nine episodes due to writer’s strike), it manages to be interesting without ruining anything the films have established thus far. Picking up a few years after ‘Terminator 2′, the machines have sent back a new model, a T-888, to kill John, but John has sent back a Terminator to protect himself and hopefully, erase the possible war. Not much is said about the new Terminator sent to protect John; the made her younger and smaller, but she’s a different model than the T-800s (Arnold’s model), different than the new T-888, but perhaps a precursor to the T-X (the female Terminator in ‘T3′).

She can adapt to slang and appear to be more human, a violent new trait the T-888 has too. The show would have been hard to film if they would have stayed in 1999, so there’s an interesting plot development in which they travel to now, 2007/8. Such a device would be gimmicky but one asset the show has is strong writing. There’s never the cop out. The balance their show in between ‘T2′ and the event in ‘T3′, although there’s some times which I wonder how they are going to handle continuity.

Lena Headey (from ’300′) makes more an interesting Sarah Connor. She’s tough but not militant like Hamilton was, she protective but not overly-so, and she’s more human than he Sarah Cameron created in ‘T2′. It’s a tough proposition to do, making a new Sarah Connor, but they had to develop her further to have her anchor of the show. I applaud Headey a lot for her work as Sarah; she erases doubt and almost makes you forget Hamilton-almost. Also, John has changed. He’s no longer the punk, who’s wild and out of control like he was in ‘T2′ (perhaps he’s more grounded after the event in ‘T2′?) and he’s just entering the brooding stage that Nick Stahl created in ‘T3′. You see elements and decisions that will crate him into what everyone predicts a savior.

The show has some interesting elements like a FBI agent hot on Connors’ trail, an ex-fiancée Sarah has who occasionally gets roped into all of this, and some other little cameos that will make fans of the films happy. Perhaps the only thing I constantly question is John’s protective Terminator played by Summer Glau (‘Serenity’). They producers get a little over-the-top with her make-up and clothes, sexing her up for young male viewership. She also here and there breaks out of her cybernetic organism character into something a tad to human. One too many uses of slang start to ruin her credibility. They show her breaking through walls and lifting heavy objects but it’s a stretch to see her go one-on-one with a T-888. I’m assuming there’s something in store for her origin and character in season two or at least I hope.

With the show being on Fox, one can only hope they allow the series to flourish before pulling the plug. With an excellent finale, ‘What He Beheld’, the show has a ton of promise, something I personally cannot wait to see get developed. If allowed to grow, it’ll be interesting too, to see how the show will wrap into the events of ‘Terminator 3′ and if at all to next summer’s ‘Terminator: Salvation’.

The Blu Ray:

Audio/Video: The audio is good while having key two issues. First of all, it’s clear and has a nice deep bass. The negatives are it is not lossless, meaning no HD-audio and there’s virtually no surround activity, despite being a 5.1 mix. The video is really good too, perhaps being better than original broadcasted. He Blu Ray really brings out the vivid daytime scenes and details in the make-up and skin.

Commentaries: I’m a fan of these tracks but not for TV. I don’t find much use in them for TV shows and these are a bit boring too. Only on three key episodes, ‘The Pilot’, ‘The Turk’, and ‘What He Beheld’, which brings together the actors and producers, but there’s dead spaces and little info throughout. Skip.

Creating the Chronicles: Over 40 minutes and filmed in HD, this is what you want to see. Featuring interviews with the cast and crew about the special effects and development of the show, this is pretty good. Give it a watch only after seeing all nine episodes.

Intro/Full Version of ‘Demon Hand’: This episode was cut by eight minutes for network time constraints. Here we get the producers and director to discuss what was cut and why and then we can see it as originally intended.

Gag Reel, Deleted Scenes, Audition Tapes, and a Dance Rehearsal for Summer Glau round out the extras. These are average and maybe best not wasted on.

Overall, the show wowed me. I can’t wait for season two and will place this within my love for all things ‘Terminator’. I hope Fox and people give it a shot, it’s a good series for fans of action and sci-fi. The Blu Ray is the way to go, if you have the option, since it’s not very expensive and has great picture.

karen1214

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