Cameron, also known as a T-900 TOK715 Terminator, is a fictional character on the Fox television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which is a spin-off of the Terminator film franchise. Cameron first appeared in the series' pilot episode as an unknown model of Terminator—a fictional type of android envisioned as a soldier and assassin. Cameron is portrayed by actress Summer Glau who, in 2008, won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television for her performance.
Although initially referred to as Cameron Phillips, that surname was used only in the pilot episode. Since then, she generally poses as John Connor's sister and, accordingly, uses whatever surname is being used by the Connors at the time. In the first season, that name is Baum, an in-episode homage to L. Frank Baum, whose novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Sarah used to read to John when he was a young boy.
Cameron is a "Terminator Class TOK715" (the first instance of the word "Class" as terminators are usually categorized by "Series" or "Model"), model T889-F, a cyborg from the apocalyptic future described in the timeline of the Terminator universe, in which a self-aware computer program, Skynet, launches a nuclear destruction and wages war against a rebellion led by John Connor. Cameron's living tissue model template was based on Allison Young, a human Resistance fighter close to John Connor, allowing her to replace Allison in an attempt to infiltrate John's camp. Cameron is the most realistic cyborg yet encountered, with detailed programming of social behavior. Similar to the T-X, Cameron has the blue eyes in the pilot episode. However in "Born to Run", her eyes changed to red like other Terminator models. Later, the series creator Josh Friedman stated that the "blue glow" of her eyes is actually caused by some type of software, and the lens of her eyes are red like the ones on models T-800 and T-888.
In the pilot, Cameron is sent back in time to 1999 by John to protect John and his mother, and if possible to prevent the creation of Skynet. Cameron's role is that of John's guardian, much like Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in the second, third and fifth films, and Grace in the sixth film.
Character concept
Cameron was named in homage to Terminator film franchise creator James Cameron, whose original Terminator character concept was referenced by series creator Josh Friedman as he created the character. James Cameron envisioned Terminators as robotic, humanoid infiltration units "that could blend in with humanity". In keeping with this idea, Friedman introduced his character as the most advanced model of Terminator, whose ascendancy over other models was defined by its ability to mimic human behavior. The decision to make the character appear to be a teenaged female with a small physical stature was also influenced by James Cameron's infiltrator idea. According to consulting producer James Middleton, "Terminators—and this is from [James] Cameron's vision of the mythology—are actually infiltrators. If that is the case, then what better infiltrator than a beautiful, petite teenage girl?"
Cameron's background story was introduced in the season two episode "Allison from Palmdale", which was written by co-executive producer Toni Graphia. Graphia's conception of Cameron's past was heavily influenced by a scene Friedman originally wrote only for the actresses auditioning for the role of Cameron. The scene detailed Cameron revealing to John how, in the future, she came to find and attempt to kill him after torturing a resistance fighter for information on his location. Finding that the story within the scene aligned with the show's mythology and also answered fan questions about Cameron's origins, Graphia fitted the scene's content into "Allison from Palmdale", giving the resistance fighter from Friedman's scene a name (Allison Young) and adding the plot detail concerning Cameron's external appearance being based upon that of the resistance fighter.