The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I think the show succeeds in two ways. First off, it provides Summer Glau with a really challenging role in that she has to play an AI being who is very, very close to reaching what Raymond Kurzweill and others have called the Singularity – when an AI becomes more intelligent than its human creators. In one episode in particular, Season 2, episode 4, entitled Allison From Palmdale, she falls into a disassociative fugue state in which she, the cyborg, cannot distinguish between her AI self and the human she is modelled on. Apart from being a tour de force of acting on Ms.Glau’s part, she provides a really interesting portrayal of the types of identity issues might arise with an AI that is so close to being “human”. And that is just one of many episodes. She is thrilling and compelling to watch throughout.

Secondly, it has a strong cast of characters who never lose sight of their purpose which is to fight Skynet. It isn’t just a cast of gung-ho, scrappy fighters taking on the terminator of the week. It is much more than that as the story threads take up the entire two seasons and we see much in the way of character development in the milieu of a very troubled family facing incredible challenges.

It takes a while to get into it. It really requires some work but I believe it is well worth it.