Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – The
Complete First Season (Blu-Ray +
DVD-Video/Warner Home Video)
Picture:
B+/B- Sound: B+/B- Extras: B+ Episodes: B-
Due to
the events of the writers strike in Hollywood many television series only had
two options, sink or swim. While many
television series sank under the pressure of handling shortened series seasons,
either canceling the show all together or just ending what ever season they
were in abruptly, other series chose to make the best of what little time they
had. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – The Complete First Season is
a perfect example of a new series that made every moment count. As a new edition to the FOX lineup, The Sarah Connor Chronicles blindsided
viewers with stunning visuals, acting, and superb story arches.
The new Terminator series takes place shortly
after the events of Terminator 2 as Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her
clandestine hero son John (Thomas Dekker) attempt to establish some normalcy in
their lives. John begins to have a
series of bad dreams relating to the terminator and Sarah decides it is time to
pick up and go. After relocating, John
starts at a new school where he hopes to make some new friends and have some
level of normalcy in his life; though he has seeming accepted his inevitable
destiny as the human races sole savior.
At school he meets a girl named Cameron Phillips (Summer Glau) who seems
overly interested in John, but liking the idea of any form of human contact
John overlooks his new friend’s strong, forward nature. Just as John thinks life might get better,
reality sets in as John is pursued by a killer robot similar to that of the
T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in the films). Before the T-800 can destroy John, Cameron
swings into action and saves John; revealing herself as a Terminator sent from
the future to covertly protect him.
Cameron has the ability to adapt with time to human thoughts and
emotion, unlike the T-800 that was more of an emotionless guardian. The new Terminator that has sworn to protect
the John suggests that though the killer robots will stop at nothing to get him
and can easily track where he goes; John has a better chance at survival if the
robots don’t know when he has
went. The Connors pack their bags and
head with Cameron to the year 2007.
Though
this reviewer was not expecting it, Terminator:
the Sarah Connor Chronicles – the Complete First Season was surprisingly
interesting and well done. The series
demonstrates a good degree of humanity while not disrupting or overdoing it on
the science fiction front. With a solid
cast and riveting scripts that could rival most other series on television
today The Sarah Connor Chronicles
proves that the science fiction genre is always evolving with endless possibilities. The series has a cornucopia of structural
elements including drama, action, and sincerity to act as its glue and take it
to the next level. Most people, including
this reviewer, were almost certain a new Terminator
series would fall apart quicker than the majority mid-season replacement series
do today, but The Sarah Connor
Chronicles in the end squeezed through as a surprise hit. The chemistry of the cast makes the series
work. By the actors feeding off each
others emotions and taking the good elements of the characters from the film
series and blending them with a new, creative force to make it their own the
series may just have a chance. This
reviewer thoroughly enjoyed the abbreviated First Season and can’t wait to see what season two has in store.
Moving
toward in an inevitable future, the Blu-Ray release is the way to go for this
new Terminator release. The DVD is adequate and nicely presented but
it does not compare to the visuals and audio of the Blu-Ray. The sound on the Blu-Ray release is presented
in a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround (the special features are only in stereo) and
has a much fuller and powerful sound than the DVD release [for whatever reason]
though it is also presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. The DVD release does not seem to have the
same ‘pop’ as the Blu-Ray and tends to have a lighter quality about it. The picture on the Blu-Ray is a 1080p High
Definition 1.78 X 1 Widescreen that is enhanced for 16 X 9 televisions and
demonstrates a great color palate, crisp image, and solid blacks. The DVD is adequate also in a 1.78 X 1
Widescreen, but does not have as vibrant of colors or the sharpness that the
Blu-Ray has; especially visible in the pilot episode.
The
extras on both the DVD and Blu-Ray releases are nicely spaced out across the
3-Disc sets and both versions contain all the same special features. The extras are interesting as well as
extensive for such a short season; once again proving that this series could
definitely work. The Special Features
include:
Disc-1:
Commentaries
- Episode 1: The Pilot and Episode 3:
The Turk (both also feature deleted scenes)
Creating
the Chronicles – 3 part look at the series’ production process
-
A
very detailed featurette that does an excellent job in describing the creative,
as well as the technical processes that went into bringing the series to life.
Gag Reel
Disc-2:
Cast
Audition Tapes
Storyboard
Animatic of the School Attack Sequence
Summer
Glau Dance Rehearsal
Disc-3:
Commentary
with Summer Glau, Brian Austin Green, Executive Producer Josh Friedman, and
Writer Ian Goldberg
- Episode 9: What He Beheld (Season
Finale)
Episode 7
– Available to viewed as it was broadcast or with ‘Terminated Sequences’
-
The
deleted scenes neither add nor detract from the episode, but do give fans of
the series a few more minutes of a great series.
The
3-Disc sets also include a nice little, color pamphlet that describes each
episode and lists the extra features that are available on each disc.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor
Chronicles – The Complete First Season was a surprise breakout hit that came through on all
fronts. It is an action packed dramatic
series that will keep the viewer entertained on the edge of their seat from
beginning to end by adding to the already established, popular and captivating Terminator story progression. Join John Connor and his mom as he develops
into the hero he is destined to become.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
