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Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season
R1 - America - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Ethan C. Stevenson (10th October 2009). |
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The Show
 Years ago the “Terminator” series was one of the strongest franchises ever put to film (which was not all that hard as for years said “franchise” consisted of only two films). The original, "The Terminator" (1984) is one of the crowning achievements in low-budget, independent filmmaking, and the follow up, 1991's “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” is, simply put, one of the greatest action films ever produced. Of course, neither of those films are infallible, but their faults are easily over looked because the overall productions are excellent; I don’t care if the dialogue in “T2” is cheesy and bad, one-liners or no, the "Terminator" sequel is a wondrous adventure full of ground-breaking special effects, tense action sequences and an enduring, well developed narrative. Once upon a time, the franchise was untouchable. And then “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003) came along and ruined everything. So, two years ago, when “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” (2008-2009) hit the airwaves, I was apprehensive. Would it be on par with the older films or would it be a continuation of the film I dare not speak of, as it ruined a franchise? To be honest, the series was neither, far better than “T3” but not as good as the two James Cameron films, I stuck with it and by the end of the very first episode, the show had endeared itself to me; I had to like it. I mean, it retroactively made “Rise of the Machines” non-cannon, and that makes me happy. Season One introduced us to the Connors, John and Sarah (now played by Thomas Dekker and Lena Headey, as opposed to Edward Furlong or Christian Bale and Linda Hamilton), in 1999. Their protector, a Terminator sent back from the future to watch over the “savior” and his mother, named Cameron (a very River Tam-esque Summer Glau). An FBI agent named James Ellison (Richard T. Jones) is interested in the trio, as is Cromartie, a “triple eight” (model T-888) Terminator played by Garrett Dillahunt. John’s uncle, a man from the future and brother to Kyle Resse, Derek (Bryan Austin Green) finds Sarah, John and Cameron and together the trio, now a quartet, try and battle Skynet from the present day. They dodge Terminators sent back to kill them and hunt down others sent back to take out other important members of the resistance. A casualty of the 2007 writers strike, season one was trimmed down to a mere 9 episodes (originally ordered with 13 in mind) and, as opposed to ending on a structured, planned cliffhanger, like some many of the shows “terminated” prematurely that year, the first season just sort of ends mid-stream. Season two picks up directly where season one left off. As such, I don’t recommend new comers starting here. Go back and watch the original 9 episodes, many of which are good (the season “finale” is particularly excellent, as it contains one of the best sequences in the series). Although much is the same as the previous season, two major elements bring new life to the series. First, season two is very much the emancipation of John Connor; he “grows up” so to speak and becomes a man, rather than just a boy. It’s an on going process during the series but once Dekker sheds that “emo” haircut, a new Connor is born. This John is far less dependent on his mother, and, in turn the series makes some interesting diversions from the previous patterns set up in the first 9 episodes. The second biggest difference this season is the introduction of Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson), the new CEO of ZieraCorp, a company destined to transform the “Turk” (a computer system and AI featured and introduced very early on in season one) into an early iteration of Skynet. Weaver has a dark secret, which I won’t spoil but it’s an easy guess. (Hint: what’s the name of this series? That’s her secret. She’s a revision of Robert Patrick’s character in “T2”). We’re also introduced to a resistance fighter from the future, in the form of a submariner named Jesse (Stephanie Jacobsen) who, as luck would have it, is a prominent feature of Derek’s past. And, we get a deeper look into the inner workings of the post-Judgment Day future – sometimes a better one than what appears in “Terminator: Salvation” (2009). This season has its ups and downs, but I think overall it’s a better arc, with better writing, than the first. Standout episodes include the two-part “Today is the Day”, which is a flash-back heavily episode of Jesse’s life as a submariner aboard the “Jimmy Carter”, a resistance sub piloted by a reprogrammed T-888, “Allison for Palmdale” in which Cameron forgets who she is due to the persistent damage to her chip, and the last two episodes of the series, “Adam Raised a Cain” and “Born to Run”, the later of which, serves as a surprisingly decent finale, although admittedly, had the show ran another year, the finale would have opened so many promising, exciting doors, it’s rather depressing to think about what could have been. But, at the same time, I’m not sad to see this series go. The ratings plummeted during the middle-part of the second outing and it’s easy to see why. Somehow, somewhere, the series lost its way in the dullness and monotony of the tale. There are episodes in this second season, such as “Self-Made Man” which serve no purpose to the overall arc. It has no John or Sarah Connor, no mention of the resistances plight, nothing, really at all, other than Cameron spending her nights in a library looking for Terminators in the record books of the past. Aside from a good performance by Summer Glau, there is little to like about it. The middle of the season is full of episodes like this. Sure, the season starts strong and ends stronger, but so much of the in between is pointless, Terminator-less, garbage, that it devalues the greatness that parts of the series are. As a fan, I was both disappointed and overjoyed at the same time by “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” It’s mostly a solid entry into the "Terminator" cannon, but some of it, just like “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”, made me desperately unhappy. Followers of the series don’t hesitate to pick this set up. I just wish there had been more good to counteract the bad; had there been, perhaps Sarah Connor would have lived to see another day. All 22 episodes from the shows second (and final) season are included on 6 discs: - "Samson and Delilah" - "Automtic for the People" - "The Mousetrap" - "Allison from Palmdale" - "Goodbye to All That" - "The Tower is Tall, But the Fall is Short" - "Brothers of Nablus" - "Mr. Ferguson is Ill Today" - "Complications" - "Strange Things Happen at the One-Two Point" - "Self Made Man" - "Alpine Fields" - "Earthlings Welcome Here" - "The Good Wound" - "Desert Cantos" - "Some Must Watch While Some Must Sleep" - "Ourselves Alone" - "Today is the Day, Part I" - "Today is the Day, Part II" - "To the Lighthouse" - "Adam Raised a Cain" - "Born to Run"
Video
Warner’s 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer on “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” is average for a standard definition television presentation. In close-ups, detail is mostly good with acceptable clarity for DVD. Colors are often bold and nicely saturated and the image is clear and clean (as it should be; this is after all a new show). Sharpness wavers but is decent to good for most of the runtime. However, despite a surface level appearance of solidity, the DVD's encodes are problematic from time to time. Unfortunately, banding is frequently evident in expanses of sky. Flames tend to take look noisy and blocky. Grain is chunky and inconsistent when present (certain scenes look like poorly compressed 16mm, even through the series is a 35mm production). Contrast is all over the place: the show sometimes has a deep and rich, appearance. But, other times it looks flat and dull. And, still at others, everyone and everything on screen comes across way too hot and overcooked. Sharply contrasted edges occasionally produce halos, which makes me think that there may be a touch of edge enhancement present on this series. (Either that or the ringing is a result of the 1080p [master] to 480i [DVD] downscale; which I don’t discount as a possibility). The edginess is mostly noticeable on long and medium shots, but isn’t a constant bother. Some of these “negative” attributes are certainly intentional. The overblown, high contrast scenes certainly look like a creative decision. As do the inconsistent grain levels. But, other issues definitely aren’t; I can’t imagine the infrequent flat or noisy shot to have been a desired effect. Having watched the show on FOX during its original broadcast in high definition, I can certainly say that, even upconverted, this DVD is definitely inferior in every way (which is, frankly, expected). The available Blu-ray, I am sure, looks much better, or, at least, with cleaner VC-1 encoding, rights some of the technical wrongs present in the standard definition version.
Audio
The disc defaults to an English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that has decent dialogue, remains fairly well balanced and features no attributes that are outright disconcerting. The problem is, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” doesn’t really sound all that great either. Sure, occasionally episodes spring to life: the second season opens with some great music filling the stage and one heck of an explosion, but, just like most everywhere else in this DVD set, the soundtrack has many more moments of “blah” inducing nothingness. Most of the time the series is mediocre and bland, with lots of inane dialogue that stays front and center, action sequences that don’t really feel all that lively and a genuine dullness seeps into almost every episode. Worse yet, the bipolar nature of the show is heightened in the sound mix. Sometimes episodes (or portions of them anyway) sound great, with full-bodied surround activity, crisp, tight dynamics and swift and controlled movement across all 5 channels. I wish the whole season sounded like the best moments of this show: if it did, this would be a great track for standard def DVD. A Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 surround mix is also offered and Warner includes optional subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Thai.
Extras
Warner has packed this 6-disc DVD set with over 5 hours of special features including: multiple audio commentaries, 8 behind-the-scenes featurettes, a storyboard-to-screen comparison, rehearsal footage, a gag reel and “terminated” (deleted) scenes as well as bonus trailers. All video-based extras are 16x9-enhanced widescreen unless otherwise noted. DISC ONE: Audio commentaries: two tracks on disc one, with various cast and crew (detailed below) as they discuss writing scenes and dialogue for characters, deliver some interesting facts and talk about shooting various sequences. Josh Friedman is pretty candid about his relationship with FOX and all of the ridiculous things that he had to do to appease the network and studio. Interesting stuff if I do say so. The one downside to both of these commentaries is that the large group makes it tough for everyone to get a word in; I would have liked to hear more from Summer Glau and Lena Headey, but Friedman, Dekker and the other EP's dominate these commentaries: - Audio commentary on the episode “Samson and Delilah” by executive producer Josh Friedman and actors Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau and Shirley Manson. - Audio commentary on the episode “Allison From Palmdale” by executive producers Josh Friedman, James Middleton and John Wirth and actors Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau. “The Storyboard Process: Cameron Goes Bad” is a short featurette that compares the original storyboards-to-scenes in the series. Various cast members also briefly talk about the storyboard process. 2 minutes 55 seconds. Pre-menu bonus trailers are for: - "Warner Blu-ray" promo. 1 minute 42 seconds. - “Terminator: Salvation” trailer. 2 minutes 24 seconds. Window-boxed 2.35:1 DISC TWO: "Terminated scene" is a deleted scene: Cameron and John talk about the latter’s relationship with Riley. 1 minute 4 seconds. Window-boxed 1.78:1 widescreen. “Cameron vs. Rosie: Fight Rehearsal” is a featurette that takes a look at a key fight sequence in this season. The producers, stunt coordinator and actors talk about the scene and footage of the rehearsal is interwoven throughout. 5 minutes 27 seconds. Pre-menu bonus trailer is for: - “Terminator: Salvation” trailer. 2 minutes 24 seconds. Window-boxed 2.35:1 DISC THREE: "Terminated scenes," are deleted scenes that include: - Derek buries the body of Charles Fisher. 29 seconds. Window-boxed 1.78:1 widescreen. - Derek and Sarah wait for the valet to bring them their truck as the police turn up to investigate the break in, which they caused. 47 seconds. Window-boxed 1.78:1 widescreen. Pre-menu bonus trailer is for: - “Terminator: Salvation” trailer. 2 minutes 24 seconds. Window-boxed 2.35:1 DISC FOUR: "Terminated scene" is a deleted scene: Sarah and Eileen/Alan Park (Dinah Lenney) talk about bobcats on their way to the storage facility. Sarah notices that they are being followed. 1 minute 4 seconds. Window-boxed 1.78:1 widescreen. Pre-menu bonus trailer is for: - “Terminator: Salvation” trailer. 2 minutes 24 seconds. Window-boxed 2.35:1 DISC FIVE: "Terminated scenes," are deleted scenes (side note: after 4 discs of window-boxing, these deletions are 16x9 enhanced): - Jesse and Dietze (Theo Rossi) talk about the mission and Derek. 1 minute 21 seconds. - Jesse and the sub captain discuss the Mutiny on the Bounty. 33 seconds. - Jesse decides not to answer her cell phone. 22 seconds. - Jesse stares at a stain on the wall that was Dietze and reflects. 1 minute. - Two crewmembers burn alive in a sealed compartment. Jesse gets sick at the thought of their last moments on the sub. 45 seconds. - Ellison and Weaver talk in an elevator about “secrets.” Ellison wants to know what Weavers secret is. 44 seconds. - A voice over of present day John talking about the legend of El Viejo, as a younger John and Sarah walk through a South American jungle. 1 minute 35 seconds. Pre-menu bonus trailer is for: - “Terminator: Salvation” trailer. 2 minutes 24 seconds. Window-boxed 2.35:1 DISC SIX: Audio Commentaries: two tracks on disc six, with various cast and crew (detailed below) as they discuss writing scenes and dialog for characters, deliver some interesting facts and talk about shooting various sequences. Josh Friedman is pretty candid about his relationship with FOX and all of the ridiculous things that he had to do to appease the network and studio. Interesting stuff if I do say so. The one downside to both of these commentaries is that the large group makes it tough for everyone to get a word in; I would have liked to hear more from Summer Glau and Lena Headey, but Friedman, Dekker and the other EPs dominate these commentaries. - Audio commentary on the episode “Adam Raised A Cain” by executive producers Josh Friedman, James Middleton and John Wirth and actors Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau. - Audio commentary on the episode “Born to Run” by executive producers Josh Friedman, James Middleton and John Wirth and actors Thomas Dekker and Summer Glau. “The Continuing Chronicles: Terminator”, a series of 8 featurettes, offers an in-depth look at the making of the series’ second season. Although the separate featurettes are rather obviously pulled from the same larger documentary, I’ll assume that Warner has decided to split the original feature-length behind-the-scenes piece into smaller servings in order to make the overall package look more enticing and full. After all, the more bullet points, the better, right? Every segment in this gallery is 16x9-enhanced, 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Featurettes include: - “Write the Future” has the writers and producers discussing the writing process, story arcs featured in this season and how a lot of season two really is just the second half of their original, truncated season one. This piece also takes viewers into the writer’s room. 12 minutes 38 seconds. - “Conceptualization” is an effects-centric piece. Visual effects supervisor Jim Lima and executive producer Josh Friedman, along with many others (including some of the actors) discuss how SFX are integrated into the stories, as tools to enhance, not distract from, the narrative. Animatics, raw camera footage, early renders and loads more add depth and detail to the computer graphics process. 8 minutes 17 seconds. - “Blood and Metal” is a time to take a look at make up and prosthetics. Robert Hall, the series’ make up effects guru, talks viewers through the process of creating Terminators and injuries. 7 minutes 38 seconds. - “Designing the Destruction” is a look at the shows set design. Friedman, many of the actors, other writers and producers talk about the unique look of the "Terminator" universe. This piece also discusses how season two was about expanding the cinematic scope of the show, which meant bigger sets, more location shoots and a bigger scale of production. 7 minutes 31 seconds. - “Choreographing Chaos” looks at many of the stunts, particularly the car chase sequences, in the series. Friedman talks about how he wanted the crew to keep the story moving within these action scenes, and not just have some pretty explosions. 7 minutes 20 seconds. - “War Stories” is a look at some of the tougher aspects of the production. Although there are some interesting stories in here, the whole tone of the piece, that it’s so hard being an actor, hearing these people who have one of the best jobs on the planet complain, is kind of off putting. But, at the same time, I understand that this is supposed to be a light piece about some harder-than-usual sequences, and it’s entertaining in that regard. 9 minutes 34 seconds. - “Setting the Tempo” is a look at the score and music. Composer Bear McCreary talks about the difficulty of scoring for television, especially television with many cross cutting character arcs and how it can sometimes be difficult to get the right emotionality from a scene via the score, but at the same time, the fulfillment that he feels when a scene comes together by adding in the music. Friedman and others talk about the music in the show as well. 13 minutes 14 seconds. - “Motivations” has the writers and producers talking about creating compelling characters and story arcs that are still part of the established mythology of the "Terminator" ‘verse. Friedman says something to the effect of, “how do you keep the audience engaged and in tension with a character like John Connor. We can’t kill him, because that’s not in the mythology”, at the beginning of this feature and that’s true. Making compelling TV and appeasing the hardcore fan base seems like a very difficult task. 9 minutes 50 seconds. Next is a "terminated scene", deleted scene: a throwaway dialogue exchange. 20 seconds. An over produced gag reel finishes off the supplements. Apparently they had a lot of problems with people walking on set and into shots while cameras were rolling (where’s Christian Bale when you need him, eh), and planes flying overhead, messing with sound. 6 minutes 3 seconds. Pre-menu bonus trailer is for: - “Terminator: Salvation” trailer. 2 minutes 24 seconds. Window-boxed 2.35:1
Packaging
“Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Compete Second Season” is packaged inside an extra thick clear amaray case, containing six discs, housed on flip mounted holders. Warner also includes a sturdy cardboard slip-box (the cover slips sideways over the package, as opposed to the standard “up/down”) adding an attractive, higher quality texture to the overall product. The release also includes a 14-page booklet with plot synopses, cast lists and a rundown of disc contents.
Overall
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