Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete Second Season
List Price:
Our Price: $18.72
You Save: $41.26 (69%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $13.74 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Brian Austin Green, Garret Dillahunt, Lena Headey, Summer Glau, Thomas DekkerBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Portuguese (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 1012 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-09-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner
Product features:
- 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 instr
DVD Reviews of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete Second Season
DVD Review: Mixed results, but with very strong core
Summary: 4 Stars
This series started to very high ratings, was voted the best new dramatic series of the year. It had a wealth of complex human and nonhuman characters involved in long intertwined thought provoking plots. Toward the end of its second season when it was reportedly being considered for cancellation it had huge and disproportional support from viewers. In one poll of which of several "on the bubble" shows would you most like to see renewed, T:SCC got 2/3rds of the votes. But it was canceled at the end of its second season. So is it junk, or worth buy the disks to?
The series starts a few years after the second movie, and 2 years after the prophesied august '97 start date for SkyNet. Sara is engaged and has been living in the same place for most of a year. More psychologically stable then in the 2nd movie, strong and capable, but emotionally brittle, and sometimes more short tempered drill sergeant then mother to John.
John is then given a new identity, and starts a new school. In one sense John is a standard 16 year old. Brooding biter, and feeling alienated; but John can be forgiven for it, given he's been on the run all his life. Bouncing between countries, and counties, he may be fated to be mankind's savior - but he's a outsider everywhere he goes. Always the creepy dark new kid in school getting beat up or avoided by locals, and never able to stand up for himself. But in this school the pretty, warm and friendly Cameron Philips sparks up a friendship with him, and he starts opening up and the two start to bond. Then he's attacked by a terminator and is rescued by Cameron.
Cameron is an advanced model terminator sent back to protect and help John - and is concealing some other personal motive. But though very loyal, she won't always do what they want, and often lies. Once the others know she is a terminator, she starts being more robotic and unemotional (at least around the Connors) even putting down John for thinking she was more then that- and going to strange lengths to try to distance John from her emotionally, but she can't pull it off, showing flashes of anger or frustration, cringing after being angrily rejected by someone she was trying to befriend, but instead frightened by trying to warn him his cancer was coming out of remission. As a couple characters mention, you can tell a terminator by looking in their eyes. The other terminators in the show all do display the dead eyes - but not Cameron.
>>Spoiler<<
In "Allison from Palmdale" a damaged Cameron believes she is Allison Young suffering amnesia. Allison was/will be the future resistance officer captured and copied to make Cameron, but Cameron is remembering in nightmares Allison's imprisonment, interrogation, and escape attempt - from Allison's point of view.
>>End spoiler.<<
They decide to time travel to the future (our present) to stop a future construction of SkyNet. But with technology progressed so much farther now then when the second movie was filmed, the new source of SkyNet appears to not be a massive Cyberdyne project under military contract, but a hobbyist building a better chess machine for a chess tournament, out of salvaged video game parts. Having told a close friend in the future that he built SkyNet, said friend comes back and kills the hobbyist; but the prototype A.I. (The Turk) is first stolen for some one we find out is a liquid Metal terminator.
Said liquid metal terminator has assumed the identity of the executive Catherine Weaver, and with the Turk uses her company to build a "world changing A.I." As expected for a terminator, those that object disappear. Unexpected is that rather then working toward a more lethal SkyNet. "She's" hiring psychologists, ethicists, and other people, to teach it morals, humor, etc. Having it play with the original Catherine Weavers daughter. Trying to teach it all the characteristics she and the other terminators lack -and vital to dealing with humans. Why is suggested by the A.I.s later name - John Henry. In the old story, John Henry killed himself to drill blasting holes in rock faster by his mussels, then the new steam drill could. Perhaps a hint that SkyNet's war to destroy the humans is just destroying everything either side needs to survive. As she develops John Henry (who develops as a very interesting character) she's under increasing assault, apparently from SkyNet forces.
>>spoiler<<
As the series concludes season 2, in a very strong 6 episode set, several threads come together. John Connors future resistance doesn't seem to revere him as universally as might be assumed, sending back conspirators to manipulate him into having the biases they want against the "metal". One conspirator had planed on provoking the others death to more strongly bias John. But Cameron doesn't react the way she assumed, and her co-conspirator realizes she was to be killed. Further John proves to be much more cunning aware of what was going on then anyone assumed.
The future fissure in the resistance seems to be exacerbated by Johns attempt to form a alliance with a resistance group of terminators, also fighting against SkyNet. Jesse, and the crew of her submarine turned on the captain (a reprogrammed terminator) when they were being taken deep into "metal" territory, to pick up a box, later found to contain a liquid metal terminator (presumably Weaver). Jesse eventually sides with the crew and mutinies and destroys the captain and sub in a futile attempt to destroy the liquid metal terminator - who was an envoy to start negotiations for a alliance with the resistance. And during the episode their were discussion how in general people were fearful that John Connor was getting to comfortable with the reprogrammed terminators (especially Cameron who was always at his side), and possibly the machines were gaining power in the resistance.
After john in the series risks his life to rescue Cameron, she warns him that now they won't trust him - the "they" not being the current group. Was Cameron pretending to not be as human as she is - for fear that John would get close to her, causing the resistance to break up - or never form? Was that why in the end when Weaver passes on a phrase (join us) used by John in the future to start trying to form a alliance with the anti SkyNet terminators - Cameron is stunned, refuses to tell John what it means, and later has John Henry insert her cpu into himself - resulting in John Henry (with Cameron in him) use Weavers time machine to travel into the future?
>> End spoiler<<
The show ended on with season 2, half way through a planed 4 year story arc. John and Weaver in the future.
What the writers planed to do from there is unknown. Some interactions with John and Allison, and dealing with a future where the fate of humanity never rested on his shoulders.
Why did the show die?
When it was on its mark T:SCC did very well, and added far more depth then you'd think could be mined from the Terminator scenario, and suggesting even deeper complexities.
On the plus side when it was on its mark it did very well, and added far more depth then you'd think could be mined from the Terminator scenario, and suggesting far deeper complexities. The relationship with Cameron and J Terminators are not simply the walking metal angels of death - nor even seem to hate or hold humans in contempt. Mainly they are enslaved by programs driving them to do given missions and are simplistic about how to accomplish them. mainly they seem confused with humans and don't know how to deal with them.
But the show didn't seem to focus on that. It focused a lot on Sara Connor, but increasingly wrote her out of the main storylines, and off on her own dealing with internal demons or pointless side stories. Bull headedly pushing forward alone. Worse she was increasingly a antagonist, not a ally to John and Cameron. Though Cameron had through the course of the series consistently tried to be a friend to Sara, even trying to rely on her. Toward the end of the series Sara confronts Cameron, and almost sadistically tells her how she was thinking of killing her, and wouldn't be the slightest bit upset in doing so, but John cares about her to much. Though Sara would be justified in being angry with the way Cameron was playing with, and hurting, John. Having the show centered around a character who was increasingly not part of the core story, and who hates the most popular and core character in the show would obviously drive away viewers.
The producer seemed to realize this, and admitted his putting several Sara centric stories in the middle of the season would anger viewers, and that people didn't like his way of doing a terminator show, but he did it anyway.
Further while the series seemed to drag through the second season. Often seeming to pad out the season with weaker episodes, it tended to raise and drop interesting side plots, like Derek having known Cameron before she was reprogrammed by the resistance. Or it focused to much, and to sympathetically, on charters like the coolly evil Jesse that the audience hated. Even most of the sub plots in season 2 were irrelevant given Johns traveling forward in time preempts the whole future of his resistance forces and their internal friction.
Also the production staff made mistakes. Sloppy bits (which can throw off smart viewers being asked to get involved in a complex plot.) In the pilot Sara is shot in the shoulder and requires surgery, but after a nights sleep she has no trouble handling heavy weapons, and her bared shoulder hasn't so much as a scratch. In the pilot the attacking terminator is blown up just before they time travel; forward. But then the detached fleshless head travels forward with then, powers up, and remote controls a distant body lost in a junkyard to seek it out and recover it. (No Cyberdyne recovering and studying this terminator. Even with a SWAT team seeing the partly defleashed terminator, and finding a partial endo-frame clad in flesh, its just thrown away - but never scraped or even buried deeply in the scrap yard.
And then there was bad luck. Fox shifted the show from Monday night, to Fridays. Fridays are extremely hard for struggling shows to get any audience in, and in this case it happened about when the series was running several Sara Connor eps. So the show took a big ratings hit. Further, its rumored Warner Brothers were discounting the series to Fox to act as a leed in to the Terminator: Salvation film - but with the film out (and doing very badly) next season Fox would need to pay for more for a very low rated series. The last 6 eps were VERY strong and fast paced, and increased viewer ship, but by the time they aired the show had all but officially been canceled.
Would John have confronted Cameron and forced her to join him, or lost her in the future? Would she have opened up about her feelings and motives, or pulled back in shock finding she'd destroyed the John Connor resistance she'd wanted to assure? Would Weaver develop a respect and alliance with John, or decide he's expendable?
In the end its show with a lot of great plot threads and characters, and some extremely strong episodes, but you may want to fast forward though dull parts of other eps. But pay attention to some of the details.
Description of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete Second Season
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?) ? Season 2?s 6-disc action arsenal is locked, loaded, ready to amaze.Things blow up. Someone you think is a human turns out to be a shape-shifting Terminator. There are confusing forays through time and discussions about what happened when in which version of the past and/or future. But really, the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles--unfortunately the final season of the series--is about family, connections, and the things we do to protect the ones we love. Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) has an especially rough road, nearly dying and becoming obsessed with a three-dot symbol and detours through a world of UFO obsessives. John Connor (Thomas Dekker), a.k.a. the guy who will grow up to lead humanity's resistance to the hated machines, gets tough and gets a girlfriend. His uncle Derek (Brian Austin Green) gets a girl as well, and the women in their lives turn out to have a surprising connection. Cameron (Summer Glau), the Terminator sent to protect John, suffers some damage and reveals some surprisingly human secrets of her own as her relationship with John gets more emotional and complicated. Shirley Manson (lead singer of Garbage) joins the cast as Catherine Weaver, an icy executive with? well, suffice it to say that a familiar (and threatening) face shows up in her company. The special features are extensive and include featurettes on the writing, effects, stunts, music and more. This is a fitting sendoff for an ambitious show. --Stephanie Reid-Simons
Bestsellers in DVD
![The Story of Jeremiah [VHS] Image](/images/noimg.gif)
The Story of Jeremiah [VHS]Vision Video; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Wresting With God [VHS]by Vision Video
Vision Video; Published: 1990-10-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
Study Bible Video with Workbook [VHS]Spring Arbor Distributors; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $7.95
Price in other shops:
Tempo:Childrens TV Favourites Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $9.17
Price in other shops:
Tempo.Herbs:Parseley'Sb/ Party Video [VHS]HarperCollins Audio; VHS Tape; VHS Video
![Strike the Original Match [VHS] Image](/images/Strike-the-Original-Match-VHS-0001374079-X.jpg)
Strike the Original Match [VHS]New Liberty Films; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS] Image](/images/Medjugorje-The-Miracles-and-the-Message-VHS-0001373293-X.jpg)
Medjugorje The Miracles and the Message [VHS]JPN Film Production; Release date: 1995-12-15; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.99
Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Review Course for Boards and Recertification DVD 2008by Mayo
DVD
Price in other shops:
Pediatric Diagnostic Imaging DVD: Single Userby Oakstone
DVD
Price in other shops:
Cost Accounting [VHS]by Charles T. Horngren, George Foster, Srikant M. Datar, Howard Teall
Pearson Canada, Toronto; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Dollhouse: The Complete Second SeasonTwentieth Century Fox; Release date: 2010-10-12; DVD
Best price: $21.49
Price in other shops:
Terminator Salvation (Single-Disc Widescreen Edition)WHV; Release date: 2009-12-01; Published: 2009-12-01; DVD
Best price: $3.27
Price in other shops:
The TerminatorSony; Release date: 2007-06-05; DVD
Best price: $7.23
Price in other shops:
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Widescreen Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-05-12; DVD
Best price: $3.79
Price in other shops:
Terminator Salvation: Director's Cut (2-Disc Special Edition)Published: 2009; DVD
Best price: $4.38
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 1Release date: 2011-09-26; Amazon Instant Video; TV Series Season Video on Demand
Best price: $13.49
Dollhouse: Season OneFox; Release date: 2009-07-28; DVD
Best price: $12.98
Price in other shops:
Terminator 2 - Judgment DayLions Gate; Release date: 2009-05-19; DVD
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First SeasonWarner Brothers; Release date: 2008-08-19; DVD
Best price: $17.41
Price in other shops:
![Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Terminator-The-Sarah-Connor-Chronicles-The-Complete-First-Season-Blu-ray-B00168HARG-X.jpg)
Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-08-19; Blu-ray
Best price: $18.99
Price in other shops: