Although almost all theTerminatormovies are deeply flawed follow-ups to the franchise’s first two outings, TV’sThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesis a surprisingly great sequel to the best movies in the series. TheTerminatortimeline is a mess, and this is due in large part to the series constantly attempting to reinvent itself with each new movie.Sarah Connor’s changing fate acrossTerminatortimelinesis a testament to how much the movies rewrote their own history to provide viewers with new experiences, only for these novel stories to fail repeatedly.
2003’sTerminator 3: Rise of the Machinessuffered thanks to Sarah Connor’s absence and sudden off-screen death, but it was the bizarre juxtaposition of the sequel’s light-hearted comic relief and its brutally bleak ending that truly doomed the sequel. 2009’sTerminator: Salvationwas a grim, humorless post-apocalyptic action movie that barely felt linked to the original trilogy, while 2015’sTerminator: Genisysinvented an entirely new timeline to justify recasting Sarah Connor while still keepingArnold Schwarzenegger’s original T-800.Terminator: Dark Fatebrought back Linda Hamilton’s Sarah, but inexplicably killed off John Connor instead.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles Is A Direct Sequel To Terminator 2
The TV Show Spinoff Follows On From The Sequel’s Iconic Ending
Ironically, it was the firstTerminatorproject to recast Sarah Connor that ended up becoming the best follow-up toTerminator 2: Judgment Day, and this underrated effort was also the first franchise outing not to feature Schwarzenegger’s iconic T-800. As important as the Terminator itself is to the franchise,TV’sThe Sarah Connor Chronicleswas the strongestTerminator 2: Judgement Daysequeleven without Schwarzenegger’s presence. Taking place afterTerminator 2: Judgment Day’s ending, the show followed Lena Headey’s version of Sarah as she and John scrambled to stop Skynet’s invention.
Without the means to pull off ambitious set-pieces full of constant vehicular mayhem,The Sarah Connor Chronicleswas forced to spend time with Sarah and John Connor.
As a TV show,The Sarah Connor Chroniclesinevitably lacked the blockbuster budget of the franchise’s big-screen offerings. However, this was arguably a good thing for the show. Without the means to pull off ambitious set-pieces full of constant vehicular mayhem,The Sarah Connor Chronicleswas forced to spend time with Sarah and John Connor as they worked tirelessly to save the world from its dark future.Headey’s recast version of Sarah Connorseems like a risky addition at first, but the star makes the role her own and revels in the darker edge she soon showcased again inGame of Thrones.
100%
89%
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95%
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
70%
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86%
33%
54%
26%
52%
82%
79%
By the timeThe Sarah Connor Chroniclestakes place, the title character is even more of a hardened survivor than she was inTerminator 2: Judgment Day. The hopelessly confused, but undeniably resilient heroine of the original movie has been replaced by a cold-blooded action heroine who will do anything to ensure her son’s survival. However, this doesn’t meanThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesis devoid of heart or humor. Thomas Dekker’s John Connor humanizes Headey’s Sarah, while Summer Glad’s reprogrammed Terminator Cameron effectively reinvents the franchise’s android assassins.
How The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ Timeline Works (And Is It Canon?)
The Sarah Connor Chronicles Reworks The Franchise Timeline But Remains Consistent
The Sarah Connor ChronicleignoresTerminator 3: Rise of the Machinesby beginning after the ending ofTerminator 2: Judgment Daybut then immediately jumping ahead to the 2000s. This justifies the show recasting Sarah and John, but the second season’s references to Sarah’s cancer mean that the series could still align with the timeline laid out byTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Admittedly, this is made more problematic whenThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesenvisions a world without John Connorin its ambitious finale.
The Sarah Connor Chroniclesended on a cliffhanger since its prohibitively high budget and dwindling ratings made the show an unsustainable investment.
At the end of season 2, John is sent to a future where no one recognizes him as the leader of the human resistance. It seems possible that he doesn’t exist in this timeline at all, although he may just have never become the human resistance leader in this version of reality. Whatever the case, this unfamiliar timeline is a worrying place for John to end up, andThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesended on a cliffhanger since its prohibitively high budget and dwindling ratings made the show an unsustainable investment.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles Was So Much Better Than The Movies We Got After T2
The Terminator Series Never Recaptured Its Early Success After Judgment Day
It is hard to tell ifThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesis part of the franchise’s canon thanks to its unresolved cliffhanger ending. If John had returned from his sojourn into a strange alternate timeline, the show could technically still have ended up leading into the events ofTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines. However, this became somewhat irrelevant whenTerminator: Genisysrecast Sarah Connoragain and rewrote the entire timeline of the series as a result.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Perfect Replacement As The Terminator Is So Obvious, I Can’t Believe It Hasn’t Happened Yet
For the first time in decades an ideal replacement for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s original T-800 is available, so I can’t believe they haven’t been cast.
This reboot offered viewers a new version of Sarah who befriended the T-800 that was sent to protect her as a child, eventually referring to Schwarzenegger’s killer robot as “Pops.” WhileTerminator: Genisyswas a critical failure,Terminator: Dark Fatewas a bigger financial flop despite its attempts to inject some gravity and brutality back into the series.NeitherTerminator: Genisys,Terminator: Dark Fate, nor evenTerminator: Salvationsucceeded in rebooting the movie series, makingThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesthe last truly greatTerminatorproject for a long time.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles Is Not The Only Great Terminator TV Show
Netflix’s Anime Terminator Zero Was A Similarly Successful Spinoff
Fortunately, 2024 saw theTerminatorfranchise once again find its feet. Sadly, this once again only occurred on the small screen instead of in the multiplex.Netflix’s anime seriesTerminator Zeroreinvigorated the series with an entirely original story that mercifully steered clear of the Connor family. Instead of recasting Sarah and John to revisit their plot for the umpteenth time,Terminator Zerofocused on Malcolm Lee, an engineer working on Skynet’s competitor, and his family. As Lee attempted to escape Timothy Olyphant’s cold-eyed Terminator, a Skyent soldier from the future tried to ensure Skynet could never reach its disastrous launch date.
Terminator Zerofeatured compelling characters and a new take on the franchise’s mythology that didn’t get bogged down in alternate timelines and confusing lore.
Terminator Zeromay have been animated and the firstTerminatorproject to drop the Connor family’s story entirely but, in many ways, the Netflix show was still a fitting successor toThe Sarah Connor Chronicles. Like the underrated live-action TV series,Terminator Zerofeatured compelling characters and a new take on the franchise’s mythology that didn’t get bogged down in alternate timelines and confusing lore.Terminator Zeroalso seemed more concerned with telling a fresh, original story than bringing backTerminatorfan favorites, something that elevatedThe Sarah Connor Chroniclesabove most of the franchise’s movies.
