Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Series, 2008, After T2, Set in 1999 & 2007
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is #4 of 8 in release order and #5 of 8 in chronological order in the Terminator.
The story
The series picks up four years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day with John and Sarah Connor trying to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles recap
The show ignores T3 and picks up after T2. In season 1, Sarah and her teenage son John are on the run in 1999 when a T-888 named Cromartie finds them. Cameron, a reprogrammed Terminator disguised as a teenage girl, protects them and takes them through time to 2007, eight years later. Sarah learns Judgment Day is now set for 2011 and hunts for the Turk, a chess computer that could become Skynet. They team up with Derek Reese, John's uncle from the future. The FBI agent James Ellison chases them. In season 2, Cameron is damaged in an explosion and her programming glitches. The Turk ends up with Catherine Weaver, CEO of ZeiraCorp, who is actually a T-1001; she builds an AI, John Henry, inside Cromartie's body. Jesse, a resistance fighter from an altered future, kills Riley, John's girlfriend, and Derek is killed by a Terminator.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ending explained
Weaver reveals herself to the Connors and says John Henry was built to fight Skynet. Cameron gives John Henry her chip, and he escapes to the future through Weaver's time machine. John follows Weaver into the future, leaving Sarah behind, and finds a world where nobody knows him and Derek and Kyle Reese are alive. The show was cancelled on this cliffhanger.
Where to watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 84%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, before Terminator Salvation.
- Chronological order: after Terminator Salvation, before Terminator Genisys.
What to watch before Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Nothing. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008) doesn't continue an earlier version, so it stands on its own. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles itself is optional in the Terminator order.
Cast
- Lena Headey as Sarah Connor
- Thomas Dekker as John Connor
- Summer Glau as Cameron
- Richard T. Jones as James Ellison
- Brian Austin Green as Derek Reese
- Shirley Manson as Catherine Weaver
- Garret Dillahunt as John Henry
- Leven Rambin as Riley Dawson
- Stephanie Jacobsen as Jesse Flores
- Dean Winters as Charley Dixon
- Mackenzie Brooke Smith as Kid in Future Underground Camp (uncredited)
- Shane Edelman as Matt Murch
Created by Josh Friedman.