STUDIO: Warner Brothers
RELEASE DATE: August 19, 2008
STARRING: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, and Richard T. Jones
CREATED BY: Josh Friedman
FEATURES: Commentaries on 3 Key Episodes by Executive Producer Josh Friedman and Cast/Crew
Creating the Chronicles: 3-Part Look at the Series' Production Process
Both the Broadcast Version and Extended Cut of Episode 7, The Demon Hand
Cast Audition Tapes
Terminated Scenes: Unaired Moments
Storyboard Animatic
Summer Glau Dance Rehearsal
Gag Reel

Honestly, I didn't think The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles would work. The cast? Awesome. The concept? Pretty good. And the franchise certainly needed a kick in the ass after the so-so Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines five years earlier. But there was just something about SCC that screamed half-season failure. Fox had done it before. If the greatest sci-fi show ever made, Firefly, couldn't be given life on the network, what chance did SCC have? And, honestly, I knew a lot of sci-fi fans who were wary to get attached to a show with a large arcing plotline like SCC for fear that the rug would be pulled out from under us mid-story. We've been burned too many times. So it was borderline miraculous when Fox not only promoted Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles throughout its run but actually renewed it for a second season. Could we have a mainstream sci-fi show on network TV for a few years besides Heroes and Lost? It's possible that Sarah Connor Chronicles could be that show.

There were some chinks in the metal armor of Sarah Connor Chronicles in the first few episodes we reviewed way back in January, but The Terminator actually became more refined over the installments that followed. Like a lot of the best shows on TV, the writers and producers of Sarah Connor Chronicles clearly learned from their mistakes in those first few chapters and played to the shows strengths. In case you're completely unfamiliar, the show takes place between T2: Judgment Day and T3: Rise of the Machines and stars 300's Lena Headey in the part made famous by Linda Hamilton. Headey rocks with some of the most intense physical presence on network television. She's nearly matched by the always-awesome Summer Glau (Firefly) as Cameron, a much sexier version of the Terminator robot who the adult John Connor realized that his teenage version might pay more attention to than another one that looks like Arnold. Thomas Dekker is still the weakness as Connor - he plays him more than a bit too whiny. Hopefully, in season two, Dekker will start to make us believe that he'll become the leader he does in the future. We need to buy that Dekker will turn into Christian Bale (who plays the iconic role in the fourth Terminator movie, Salvation, currently being filmed by McG) and right now that's a tough sell. Sarah Connor Chronicles sometimes falls back on scripts that are a bit too wordy, but the action can often be some of the most well-choreographed on TV. Tighten up the dialogue, work on Dekker's performance, and fix a few other minor flaws and Sarah Connor Chronicles could be must TV in 2008-2009. You'll have to catch up with season one before then. You don't want to be the last one on the bandwagon, do you?

Of course, the best way to watch TV on DVD is through Blu-Ray and shows like The Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles seem particularly well-suited to the format. Having a studio like Warner Brothers, always a technical leader in the home market, behind your favorite show is just an added bonus. It won't be surprising at all to say that the high definition 1080p 12x9 1.78:1 picture on SCC is absolutely flawless. I couldn't find a single artifact or visual chink. The sound isn't as perfect, but the Dolby Digital 5.1 track more than gets the job done. With Blu-Ray products from major studios like Sony, WB, or Fox, we're mostly talking shade of perfect when it comes to video and audio. Most people won't notice a single flaw.

The quantity of special features are a nice fit for SCC - not overwhelming but plenty for a thirteen episode season. The first episode feature deleted scenes and a commentary by Summer Glau, Executive Producer/Writer Josh Friedman, Executive Producer James Middleton, and Director David Nutter. The third episode, the one where the show really turned the corner in terms of quality, "The Turk", features a terminated scene and a commentary by Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Friedman, and Writer and Executive Producer John Wirth. The first Blu-Ray disc also includes a 3-part look at the show called "Creating the Chronicles" and a gag reel. The second disc includes cast audition tapes, a storyboard animatic of a crucial sequence, and a dance rehearsal by Glau. Yes, a dance rehearsal. Calm down, horn dogs. Finally, the third disc includes an extended version of the 7th episode, "The Demon Hand", and a commentary on "What He Beheld", the season finale, with Glau, Brian Austin Green, Friedman, and writer Ian Goldberg. It's one of our favorite collections of special features of the year with contributions by all of the main cast members and just enough behind-the-scenes details. Like the show itself, the Blu-Ray release of The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is surprisingly satisfying. Let's just hope the upward trend of this show continues.