# Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series
*Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series* is a six-episode American animated web series released in 2009 as a prequel to the film *Terminator Salvation*. It was produced by rendering real-time computer animation inside the engine of the *Terminator Salvation* video game, a technique known as machinima, and follows the resistance fighter Blair Williams on a mission set before the events of the film.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Six animated webisodes made with the game engine and assets of *Terminator Salvation: The Videogame*[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) |
| Run | First aired May 18, 2009; final episode June 24, 2009; average runtime about 12 minutes[2](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/terminator-salvation-the-machinima-series) |
| Creative team | Story by Andy Shapiro; directed by Tor Helmstein (with Ian Kirby); produced in association with McG and Machinima Inc.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) • [3](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/terminator_salvation_machinima_series-directed_by_tor_helmstein_ian_kirby) |
| Lead voice | Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams, the role she plays in the film[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) |
| Setting | The future war in 2016, before the film's events; sources describe it as two years, or two and a half years, before the movie[4](https://www.terminator.popapostle.com/html/episodes/Machinima.htm) • [1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) |
| Distribution | iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand, Xbox Live, and the Sony PlayStation Network; later a DVD release[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) • [3](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/terminator_salvation_machinima_series-directed_by_tor_helmstein_ian_kirby) |
| Reception | IMDb rating 5.3/10 from 738 user votes[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446633/ratings/) |
## Spoilers
### Story and voice cast
The story is set during the future war in 2016, before the film. Blair Williams, an A-10 pilot and resistance fighter, is sent to a decimated Los Angeles, a known hot zone after the nuclear destruction of Judgment Day, to find a threat called "The Ghost" that is interfering with Resistance communications and leaving fighters defenseless against Skynet's machines.[7](https://terminator.fandom.com/wiki/Terminator_Salvation%3A_The_Machinima_Series) • [8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aTmkMpUm8I) The Ghost turns out to be a man named Laz Howard, who has discovered a method of scrambling [Terminator](https://www.edgepedia.org/terminator) signals; the same ability that incapacitates the machines also disrupts Resistance communications, leaving Blair to question whether he is working with them.[7](https://terminator.fandom.com/wiki/Terminator_Salvation%3A_The_Machinima_Series) • [3](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/terminator_salvation_machinima_series-directed_by_tor_helmstein_ian_kirby)
[Moon Bloodgood](https://www.edgepedia.org/moon-bloodgood) voices Blair Williams, repeating her role from the film, with [Cam Clarke](https://www.edgepedia.org/cam-clarke) as Laz Howard and [Jim Meskimen](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-meskimen) as Command; Dee Bradley Baker and Heather Halley supply additional voices.[7](https://terminator.fandom.com/wiki/Terminator_Salvation%3A_The_Machinima_Series) • [2](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/terminator-salvation-the-machinima-series) The press release frames the series as revealing the genesis of Blair Williams's involvement with John Connor's resistance unit, though the story itself does not feature John Connor.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series)
The six episodes average about 12 minutes each, telling a story of roughly 72 to 74 minutes in total.[2](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/terminator-salvation-the-machinima-series) • [4](https://www.terminator.popapostle.com/html/episodes/Machinima.htm) • [9](https://www.scmp.com/article/687232/get-game) Episode 1 opens in the midst of the action and then jumps back three days, with the story catching up to its opening moments only in the final episode.[4](https://www.terminator.popapostle.com/html/episodes/Machinima.htm)
## Production and release
The series was announced on May 19, 2009 by Halcyon Games, a division of The Halcyon Company, together with Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, which described it as the first full-length machinima series.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) It was produced in association with McG, director of *Terminator Salvation*, and Machinima Inc., and was entirely produced using assets from the *Terminator Salvation* video game, a third-person shooter built on Grin AB's Diesel engine.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series)
Machinima, a portmanteau of "machine" and "cinema", describes computer-generated animation created in real time by leveraging video game engines and environments.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) McG framed the technique as a production advantage: it lets a writer and director think cinematically while executing shots that would be cost-prohibitive or impossible on a physical set.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series)
The first episode went on sale on the iTunes Store on May 18, 2009, with new episodes following weekly until the sixth on June 24, 2009.[6](https://www.macworld.com/article/196752/terminator.html) • [7](https://terminator.fandom.com/wiki/Terminator_Salvation%3A_The_Machinima_Series) Pricing was reported as $2.99 per episode in HD and $1.99 in standard definition, with a season pass at $14.99 HD or $9.99 SD, in the Warner Bros. press release; Macworld's report listed $3 HD, $2 SD, and a $15 season pass.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) • [6](https://www.macworld.com/article/196752/terminator.html) The series was also available on Amazon Video on Demand, Xbox Live, and the Sony PlayStation Network, and was later issued on DVD with a "making of" supplement and an interview with Moon Bloodgood.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series) • [3](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/terminator_salvation_machinima_series-directed_by_tor_helmstein_ian_kirby)
## Reception
The series received mixed reviews. A retrospective review praised the story and the voice acting, noting that Moon Bloodgood added depth to a character the film had treated as one-note, while criticizing the presentation: environments built from game assets looked bland, mouths hung slack during dialogue, and backgrounds and character movement had a choppy, unfinished look.[10](https://drkwaitingroom.com/2024/08/15/screen-time-terminator4/) • [3](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/terminator_salvation_machinima_series-directed_by_tor_helmstein_ian_kirby) The Exclaim! review concluded that the technology was not yet evolved enough for dynamic viewing, comparing the experience to watching someone play a sub-par video game for an hour.[3](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/terminator_salvation_machinima_series-directed_by_tor_helmstein_ian_kirby) On IMDb the series holds a 5.3/10 rating from 738 votes, with individual episode ratings between 5.6 and 6.1.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446633/ratings/)
## Place in machinima
The series marked a step from short-form fan work toward licensed mainstream narrative. Machinima had previously been known for YouTube videos using *World of Warcraft* characters, stories told in Valve's *Half-Life 2* engine, and the *Red vs. Blue* series featuring *Halo* characters; the *Terminator* production applied the same real-time game-engine technique with a studio budget, professional voice cast, and multi-platform paid distribution.[6](https://www.macworld.com/article/196752/terminator.html) Warner Bros. positioned it as a complement to the film's release rather than a replacement for conventional animation, and it remains an early example of a franchise using its own licensed game as the production medium for canonical storytelling.[1](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series)
## References
1. [WB Revives Terminator Salvation in Machinima Series, Animation World Network (Warner Bros. Digital Distribution press release), May 19, 2009](https://www.awn.com/news/wb-revives-terminator-salvation-machinima-series)
2. [Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series, TheTVDB.com](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/terminator-salvation-the-machinima-series)
3. [Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series, Exclaim!, review by Robert Bell, November 24, 2009](https://exclaim.ca/film/article/terminator_salvation_machinima_series-directed_by_tor_helmstein_ian_kirby)
4. [Terminator: Machinima, PopApostle episode study](https://www.terminator.popapostle.com/html/episodes/Machinima.htm)
5. [Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series (TV Series 2009) - Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446633/ratings/)
6. [Terminator movie spawns 'machinima' series on iTunes, Macworld, by Peter Cohen, May 18, 2009](https://www.macworld.com/article/196752/terminator.html)
7. [Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series, Terminator Wiki (Fandom)](https://terminator.fandom.com/wiki/Terminator_Salvation%3A_The_Machinima_Series)
8. [Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series Episode 1, Warner Beyond the Lot, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aTmkMpUm8I)
9. [Get in the game, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/article/687232/get-game)
10. [Screen Time: Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series, Dr. K's Waiting Room](https://drkwaitingroom.com/2024/08/15/screen-time-terminator4/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Television series based on films › Animated series based on films*
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