Rating: Not Rated
Starring:
Lena Headey as Sarah Connor
Thomas Dekker as John Connor
Summer Glau as Cameron Phillips
Brian Austin Green as Derek Reese
Garret Dillahunt as John Henry / Cromartie
Shirley Manson as Catherine Weaver / T-1001
Richard T. Jones as James Ellison
Joshua Malina as Agent Aldridge
Jonathan Jackson as Kyle Reese
Carlos Sanz as Father Armando Bonilla
Shane Edelman as Matt Murch
Sabrina Perez as Chola
Jeffrey Pierce as T-888
Cooper Huckabee as Salesman
Linden Goh as Fuller
Special Features:
Collision with the Future: Deconstructing the Hunter Killer Attack
Commentary On 4 Key Episodes By Executive Producer Josh Friedman And Cast/Crew
The Continuing Chronicles – Terminator 8-Part Featruette
Terminated Scenes: Unaried Moments
The Storyboard Process
Cameron Vs. Rosie Fight Rehearsal
Gag Reel
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.78:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Spanish, French, and Portuguese Language
English, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish Subtitles
Running Time: 975 Minutes
The Details:
The following is the official description of the series:
“The time: today. The stakes: all our tomorrows. A nascent AI, assisted by droids, continues to edge toward world domination and the ruin of humankind. It accepts no limits. It fears no one. Except John Connor. The machines know John, now 16, is the future head of the resistance. They know he is growing in abilities. They must find and terminate him. But Sarah Connor is there, protecting and instructing her son as he becomes the man he’s destined to be. The hunt is on in a season of powerful revelations, breathless pursuits and bravura effects. A mysterious 3-dot symbol (do UFOs provide a clue?), a girlfriend for John (is Cameron jealous?), ZeiraCorp (can it master the renegade software called Turk?) ”
“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – The Complete Second Season” is not rated.
Mini-Review:
I really wanted to get into this series. I’m a big “Terminator” fan. If it has “Terminator” stamped on it, I buy it, read it, or view it. So I was disappointed that I couldn’t get into this series. I don’t know what that was. Part of it may be the fact that it never really felt like a “Terminator” show to me. Despite the logo and robots and music, it just didn’t feel right without Hamilton, Cameron, or Schwarzenegger giving input in some way. I like Lena Headey a lot, but she never really felt like Sarah Connor to me. She just wasn’t gritty enough. Thomas Dekker was also good, but he never entirely felt like John Connor to me either. John dealing with teen angst didn’t really appeal to me. Then there is Shirley Manson as Catherine Weaver. I liked the fact that they tried to introduce a T-1000 in the mix, but the businesswoman exterior and Scottish accent just didn’t appeal to me.
There were a few things that I think did work for the show. I enjoyed the episodes that were set or partially set in the post-Judgment Day future. Seeing the last remnants of humanity fighting for survival was more interesting to me than seeing John agonize over his love for the Terminator. I also thought Summer Glau was good as Cameron Phillips, the Terminator girl. She’s tough and mastered the robotic performance. Unfortunately, I think putting most of the show on her shoulders was too much. The addition of Brian Austin Green as Derek Reese helped alleviate that to some degree. I also think the makeup and visual effects looked great. But in the end, it obviously wasn’t enough since the series has been cancelled.
“Terminator” fans are obviously going to want to check out “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – The Complete Second Season.” I also think anyone that enjoys action series with tough chicks and a sci-fi slant will enjoy it, too. Not having an extensive knowledge and love for “Terminator” might actually help make the TV series more enjoyable.
The Blu-ray has a surprisingly large number of bonus features on it. There are the usual offerings like a gag reel, deleted scenes, and commentaries. The ‘behind the scenes’ featurettes are quite numerous. You can see everything from the making of the prosthetics to the composition of the music. There’s also a feature called “Collision with the Future: Deconstructing the Hunter Killer Attack.” A screen pops up and allows you to cycle between several featurettes on the making of a key scene where a HK attacks. Unfortunately, it just turns into a jumbled mess of ‘making of’ videos that you’re blasted with all at once. It ends up being quite confusing.
