Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this series picks up right where the first two Terminator movies left off, centering on the never-ending conflict between Sarah Connor and her son and the indestructible robotic assassins that want to kill them. There's plenty of action, including car chases, explosions, fistfights, and gunfights. But it's not just mindless violence; because the show focuses on Sarah's efforts to protect her son at all costs (so he can grow up to lead the human resistance), it has a strong narrative framework to support all the smash-'em-up scenes. Plus, with her take-no-prisoners attitude, Sarah is one of Hollywood's most interesting female characters; here, she's joined by Cameron, a tough female terminator. By contrast, teenage John is still unformed, and, though earnest, he can also be rash and immature. This series, as the name says, is all about the women.
Sexual
Content
No sex, but teen John Connor certainly seems to have some chemistry with his attractive robotic protector, Cameron (and she shows a little bit of cyborg skin, but nothing sensitive). Characters sometimes travel through time and must be completely naked for the trip, but there's no explicit nudity.
Violence
The Terminators are plenty tough, and it gets pretty rough when two machines go at it. Expect some serious brawling, shown in explicit detail -- though, since they're indestructible, there isn't much gore. When humans take on the Terminators, expect lots of big explosions as they try bigger and bigger guns, usually with little effect -- and sometimes followed by the unnerving sight of a robotic skeleton rising from the wreckage of a blast that seems like it could have destroyed anything. When a Terminator has the upper hand, it's ruthless and aggressive, killing quickly and efficiently, and leaving corpses in its wake, sometimes in a bloody mess. Some of the robots' wounds appear bloody temporarily, but they don't feel pain.
Language
Includes words like "hell," "crap," "whore," and "bitch."
Social
Behavior
Sarah Connor and her son, John, are fighting to prevent a future apocalypse that nobody else really believes will happen, and they're willing to break the law to accomplish their ends if necessary. Those ends could include murdering people to prevent them from inventing dangerous machines, stealing to support their guerilla efforts, or robbing a bank. The Connors are fugitives, forced to live underground using fake identities and fake papers and often must lie to the authorities who think their wild tales of unstoppable machines are simply symptoms of mental illness. The show features two strong female characters.
Consumerism
Part of the successful Terminator movie franchise.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Some background/social drinking.
