James Cameron only made the first twoTerminatormovies before stepping away, and while they spawned more sequels that allowed Arnold Schwarzenegger to return, one lesser-known project without the iconic actor is better than them all. TheTerminatormovieshave been pretty divisive since the franchise-starting writer/director made his exit afterTerminator 2: Judgment Day. Aspects of the canon likeTerminator’s time travel ruleshave been retconned and rewritten countless times, resulting in almost everything post-Judgment Dayapproaching the description of a nonsensical mess. However, a brilliant sequel from 2008 does exist outside the film series.
UntilNetflix addedTerminator Zeroto the main canonin 2024, fans of the franchise had been waiting patiently for a story that lived up to the brilliance of Cameron’sTerminatormovies. Thankfully, the anime is finally delivering the long-overdue goods and fulfilling the need for a rewardingTerminatorproject. However,Zeroisn’t technically a sequel, as it’s happening in 1997 alongside established events from the movies - namely, the launch of Skynet. So,Terminator’s other TV show from 16 years ago holds onto its unique titleas the bestJudgment Daysequel.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles Remains The Most Underrated Terminator Property
The Judgment Day follow-up was canceled far too soon
Some people may not even know it exists, butThe Sarah Connor Chronicleslasted two seasons between 2008 and 2009. Unfortunately, the show ended after just 31 episodes. It was heavily praised by those who watched it, but it ultimately didn’t attract enough viewers to viably continue.It acted as a sequel toJudgment Day, ignoring the events of 2003’sTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Similarly, subsequent movie sequels didn’t acknowledge what happened in the show.
The Most Advanced Terminator Model Was Introduced 16 Years Ago & Has Yet To Be Topped
The Terminator franchise revealed the most advanced version of the killer robot 16 years ago, and so far no other model in the franchise comes close.
Frustratingly,The Sarah Connor Chroniclesseason 2’s cliffhanger endingwill likely never be resolved. Although the show lacked the same standard of special effects and other advantages of the franchise’s high-budget feature films, it was incredibly underrated and was brought to an end that was not only incomplete but also arrived much sooner than it should have done. Of course,it was made so long afterJudgment Daythat all the characters had to be recast,but the decision-making in that regard was also excellent.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles Was A Better Sequel To T2 Than Rise Of The Machines
The Sarah Connor Chronicleswas intended as a replacement forRise of the Machines, and it’s far superior to the movie in almost every way. The show doesn’t change anything aboutJudgment Day’s endingbut instead attempts to continue the very same story.Rise of the Machine’s massive retcon of the second movie’s finale just didn’t work- nor did the story of the three other movies that followed it. In short,The Sarah Connor Chroniclesmay now be an ill-treated footnote in the history of theTerminatorfranchise, but that doesn’t stop it being excellent.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Cast
This spinoff of the Terminator franchise follows Sarah Connor, her son John, and Cameron, a Terminator reprogrammed to protect John. Pursued by time-traveling Terminator assassins, they must cope with life on the run as well as the impending threat of Skynet.
