(Hulu/VOD) It may be blasphemy, especially since I haven’t seen any of the TERMINATOR films since TERMINATOR 3, but THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES is by far my favorite slice of the TERMINATOR franchise.
It took a bit for the show to find its footing but, once it did, it was blisteringly inventive. One of the closing scenes of first season features creator Josh Friedman and the episode’s director Mike Rohl taking a very big swing, making the most of the show’s limited budget while still serving up a visually arresting — and very memorable — closing number. (You can see the entire scene here. Despite the fact that it is part of the season finale, it doesn’t spoil much. Yes, that’s the scene as it aired — not a fan video.)
The cast is overstuffed with well-known talent and future heavy hitters, including Lena Headey as Sarah Connor, Thomas Dekker as John Connor (I imagine they partially cast him because of his last name), Summer Glau as a terminator ally, prolific character actor Richard T. Jones as an FBI agent, Garret Dillahunt, THE SHIELD’s Catherine Dent, James Urbaniak, Brian Austin Green, Beeper King Dean Winters, GARBAGE’s Shirley Manson, the list goes on.
While the show could have lived longer, the two available seasons are extremely entertaining, and some of best network sci-fi in years. One note: the series ends on a cliffhanger so, if that bothers you, you may want to abstain.