History Series / TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles

* FingerlessGloves: Cameron finds a way to include these in just about all of her outfits, which is a [[MythologyGag nod]] to the pair that the T-800 wore in the original movie.

* AndIMustScream: John Henry gets turned off [[spoiler: after being controlled remotely by a rival AI]] and feels himself powering down, slowly and painfully.

* AllJustADream: Sarah has frequent nightmares. The most notable one is the opener of the pilot.

* ABNegative : See the page's entry for details. In "Dungeons&Dragons," we find out Sarah is Type O- but can't give blood to Derek, yet John has the same blood type and can, a case of CriticalResearchFailure.

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

** The character of Queeg in season 2's "Today is the Day Pt 1 and 2" might be a reference to the character Queequeg, in ''Literature/MobyDick''. It's definitely a nod to ''Literature/MutinyOnTheBounty''.

''Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'' is a science-fiction series set in the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' universe that aired in 2008-2009. It's set after [[Film/TheTerminator the first]] [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay two films]], and although it acknowledges some plot elements of [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines the third movie]], it goes in a different [[AlternateContinuity direction]]. Sarah and John are still on the run from the FBI, a new Terminator, and their own sorry social lives--that is, until Cameron (Creator/SummerGlau) shows up to [[TimeTravel bring them from 1999 to 2007]] in order to stop [=SkyNet=] from being built.

* AdultFear: When John Henry, [[spoiler: in the recycled body of Cromartie, led little girl Savannah to his basement. "Would you like to play hide and seek?" Oh no, not the innocence.]]

** Shirley Manson also played an android [[note: (or rather, a gynoid)]] in the music video for the 1999 song "The World is Not Enough"

** Shirley Manson also played a [[RobotGirl]] in the music video for the 1999 song "The World is Not Enough"

** Cromartie is a T-888, slightly more advanced than Arnold's T-800, and [[FanonDiscontinuity thankfully unrelated]] to Arnie's MadeOfExplodium T-850 from ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines.''

Both seasons are available on DVD, as well as in rotation on [[http://www.thewb.com/shows/terminator-the-sarah-connor-chronicles the WB's official site]]. There have been fan petitions to bring it back, but so far none have been successful. Creator/SyFy has picked up the rights to both seasons to start airing them on April 7th 2011, and it may be interesting to note that they advertised it as a "series première".

* AbortedArc: Thanks to the writers' strike, most of the plot lines opened up in Season 1 were left hanging. We never got to find out what happened with Jordon, the girl who committed suicide over the graffiti (though it's implied she was sleeping with the guidance counselor), or what happened at Cheri Weston's old school and why her father was keeping her under lock and key. And poor Morris never got to go to the prom with Cameron. The producers explained that they never found the "normal life" storylines very satisfying, and decided they were just cluttering up the show.

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Rendered somewhat confusing when it appears that everyone else is getting plenty of nookie in the future.

** You can't help but think of the sci-fi classic ''ABoyAndHisDog'' upon seeing that last shot of [[spoiler: Allison Young]] in the future with an EvilDetectingDog at the end of "Born to Run".

''Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'' is a science-fiction series set in the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' universe that aired in 2008-2009. It's set after [[Film/TheTerminator the first]] [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay two films]], and although it acknowledges some plot elements of [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines the third movie]], it goes in a different [[AlternateContinuity direction.]] Sarah and John are still on the run from the FBI, a new Terminator, and their own sorry social lives--that is, until Cameron (Creator/SummerGlau) shows up to [[TimeTravel bring them from 1999 to 2007]] in order to stop [=SkyNet=] from being built.

Now has a [[Recap/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles recap page.]]

* {{Anti Hero}}es - Definitely. The whole cast pushing the envelope as far as they possibly can without quite making the show about {{Villain Protagonist}}s. Sarah Connor even tells somebody at one point, "Yes we ''are'' some kind of terrorist group." For fans of the [[DarkerAndEdgier Dark And the Edgy]] this show was far, far too good to last.

%%* BackStory

* CastingGag: [[{{Garbage}} Shirley Manson's]] interview comments about [[UrineTrouble a certain fetish]] are well-known. It can't be a coincidence that her character morphs into a urinal.

* CloudCuckooLander: Cameron's out-of-the-blue comments early in the series, and her even more out-of-the-blue commentary ''after'' [[spoiler:her chip was damaged.]]

* DanceBattler: [[TheCastShowoff Cameron]], [[Creator/SummerGlau of course.]] She even takes dancing lessons.

%%* DeadExMachina: When Kyle Reese appears to Sarah.

* DeadPersonImpersonation / KillAndReplace: Cameron impersonating Allison, and the machines impersonating Vick, [[spoiler: Greenway]] and [[spoiler:Weaver]].

%%* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE2Ru9oqMck This]].

* FanService:

** TheSixthRanger : Jessie, who shows up last and ultimately betrays the group.

* FlashBack: Monkeywrenched: Derek has a FlashBack, but since he comes from the future -- or one possible future -- it's hard to know what to call it.
* FoodPorn : All the fighters from the future eat and eat when they come back, particularly [[spoiler: Riley]] and Jessie, who "can't stop eating" Chinese food from the food court at the mall. According to the DVD commentary, this is also AuthorAppeal , as the writer who wrote the line also loves food court Chinese food. Inverted with Sarah, as the only food she seems to be able to make is pancakes and PB&J.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Mr. Ferguson Is Ill Today" is filled up to the gills with little clues as to [[spoiler: Riley's origin from the future.]]

* ICannotSelfTerminate: Cameron [[spoiler: gives John a kill-switch for a bomb in her head at the end of "Ourselves Alone."]]
* IdiotBall: Heroes suffer from these from time to time in order to lead to development of additional plot arcs. Particularly, in [[spoiler: ep. 208 protagonists decide to bury Cromartie’s body instead of taking it with them right away, giving it a chance to disappear; and in ep. 213 Sarah decides to check and “infiltrate” a secret military front without any additional backup.]]

** In "Ourselves Alone", Cameron says the line: "What am I going to do with you?" a total of [[RuleOfThree three times]]. The first time she says it, she's addressing a bird that she accidentally kills when her hand malfunctions. The next two times, she says it to [[spoiler: Riley.]]

* KissOfDeath: A liquid-metal terminator disguised as a beautiful woman seduces a man...then sends a liquid-metal tongue/tentacle down his throat to strangle his heart through his esophagus to kill him in a way that mimics a heart attack. See also FetishFuel.

* ManipulativeBitch: Jesse, who [[spoiler: deliberately introduced Riley to John so that Cameron would feel threatened by Riley and thus be forced to kill her.]]

* NotUsingTheZedWord: Terminators are almost always referred to as "machines" or "metal." Justified; "machine" is shorter and simpler to say, and "metal" is a short, derogatory term used by the resistance for all machines. Anyone who's been around soldiers knows that they come up with nicknames for any enemy they fight.

* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: Subverted by Derek Reese, who [[JustShootHim simply shoots.]]

** Catherine Weaver's body can, in addition to taking any shape, apparently impersonate human touch well enough to pass a full body makeout session. In a very... non-Terminator way, "Weaver" engages in this, complete with sound effects for a considerable period of time before [[spoiler:literally going down the mark's throat and choking his vital organs to death.]]

** Sarah spots a tortoise on its back and flips it right side up. She and Cameron then have a discussion about whether artificial beings can feel [[Film/BladeRunner empathy.]]
** Cromartie, the main Terminator villain in the first season, stole the identity of an actor who previously starred in a movie about [[ConanTheBarbarian a barbarian]].

** There's a student at the military academy in "Goodbye To All That" who wants to fight in a war. Derek Reese berates him for this, having seen action himself. The students name? [[Film/FullMetalJacket Pyle, of course.]]

* TakingAThirdOption: In "The Turk," Sarah has trouble bringing herself to murder Andy Good, an unassuming cell phone salesman who built the chess-playing supercomputer referred to in the episode's title. At the end, it appears that she's going to go through with it, but she decides to [[spoiler: burn down his house instead, thus destroying the Turk.]]

%%* TemporalSickness: [[Literature/ToSayNothingOfTheDog Time-lag]].

* TookALevelInBadass: John, during the season 2 premiere. And he's taken another level in the episode "Last Voyage of the Jimmy Carter" where it's revealed [[spoiler:John learned of Riley's true origin, and he tracked her back to Jesse. His speech to her is a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for him.]]

* TheVoiceless: TheUnnamed girl (her name is Chola) employed as a lookout by Carlos never speaks a word on screen. [[EmotionlessGirl Cameron]] appears to identify with this, because she lets her live in "What He Beheld". Subverted when they bring her back to deliver a speech in the finale.

* UnusualEuphemism: From the pilot: "You might want to put those back in the holster." Cameron is [[InnocentFanserviceGirl initially confused.]]

%%* SeriesMascot: Take a guess...

%%** Derek does this sometimes.

** There are a few references to ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', such as Sarah calling Cameron "Tin Man" in the second episode as well as adopting the surname Baum (after Creator/LFrankBaum, the author of [[Literature/LandOfOz the books]]). In "Goodbye to All That" (itself a LiteraryAllusionTitle to a line from one of the books), one scene has Sarah and a boy she rescued reading a passage from the original book.

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** Sarah: In the shootout in the first episode, Cromartie shoots at Sarah and she dives behind a chair. Later, when police are investigating the scene, Ellison comments that [[CrazyPrepared the chair was lined with Kevlar.]]
** When "John" enters the room, it turns out that Cromartie immediately opened fire on a disgused ''Cameron'' instead... leading him to have a major OhCrap moment as he realises that John is ''clearly'' aware of the Terminator's use of the voice trick.
** Ellison repeatedly demonstrates this, though only later does he learn the actual ''truth''.

** The character of Queeg in season 2's "Today is the Day Pt 1 and 2" might be a reference to the character Queequeg in ''Literature/MobyDick''.

* ProductPlacement: John Henry playing with {{Bionicle}} figures and even acknowledging the storyline behind them.

** John Henry frequently plays with {{Franchise/BIONICLE}} toys while trying to develop his imagination.

** John Henry, subtly. Even Weaver, with regard to Savannah. Ellison, but not entirely for the better.