Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: A Review

I got a gift card recently, and of all the things I could have done with that 25 bucks, I went and bought Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Season 1 dvd, the moment it came out. I don't buy every dvd that comes out, whether movie or tv, but I really love this show. I love this show so much that I wonder if there are subliminal messages within it, to make me love the show? I mean, can the acting and writing and sfx and producing and directing and photography... every bit of a television show, really be this good?

First off, I enjoy Sci-Fi, and always have. Once upon a time there just didn't seem to be enough of it, but it didn't take me long for me to realise that a lot of the blowing up robots stuff was junk, and put there to capitalise off of me and every other little kid who grew up with Star Wars. Even today there is a lot of Sci-Fi that I don't touch, and I would like to think that my tastes now cater to great Sci-Fi... stuff that rises above blowing up stuff, and actually tells stories based on characterization.

So here I am watching a show about blowing up robots, and it is so compelling that I've actually watched the same episodes several times last week, just because they came on and I couldn't turn them off! Sure sounds like subliminal messages, but I'm not susceptible to hypnosis, so maybe there's more to this show?

There is a lot more depth than you might think, and if you can, watch it from the beginning. There really is a whole lot happening, and from the start you can see the sacrifices the characters are forced into making.

You also see the love the mother and son have for each other, despite the difficulties they face. The family dynamic becomes much more interesting over time as Summer’s character (a troubled teenage terminator!)becomes, essentially, another member of the family.

The characters are in a seemingly impossible situation, being hunted down by time travelling cybernetic beings who can disguise themselves as humans, and have the knowledge of an ever changing future. Also in this series, the Terminators are branching out, and actually using strategy. The future is inevitable, but our heroes keep fighting it anyway.

Sarah just wants her son to be safe, John just wants to be a normal teenager, and Cameron just wants a heart. (Yes, Tin Man reference.) The true beauty of the show is in the characterisation, and the actors do it right. How many of us would continue a fight that doesn’t seem to end, that comes back just when you thought it was over, and sometimes comes back stronger than ever?

Imagine trying to be a mom or a teenager or just a normal human being when any minute of the day you can find yourself under attack, and you know that unless you do everything in your power, the world as you know it will disappear in a flash?

And yet the show gives us one thing... hope. As the inevitable future keeps coming, John Connor is learning, getting smarter and stronger, and gathering allies for the fight to come. The future keeps changing, and when it does, the good guys still have a chance of winning. Maybe. :0)

I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Cheers, JOHN :0)