Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Reviewed by:
Robbie Throckmorton

The Skinny: Last year's surprise hit returns with an explosive episode that picks up where its truncated freshman season left off: with cyborg babe Cameron (Summer Glau) blown up by a car bomb, perhaps leaving Sarah (Lena Headey) and John (Thomas Dekker) to fend for themselves.

The Good: We're just psyched that the show is back, since it was really finding its stride—oddly, thanks to the addition of Brian Austin Green—when the stupid writers' strike ruined our lives. Green's a regular now, so we should get even more freedom-fighter-style ass kicking and enough time-traveling, gun-slinging action to make Arnold crap his adult Pampers. The opening and closing scenes in the debut episode are plain awesome, for very different reasons.

The Bad: Everything between those two badass bookends is somewhat forgettable. We do see how the face-off between Cromartie (Garret Dillahunt) and Ellison (Richard T. James) works out and the other cliff-hangers are resolved, but the episode just isn't as fulfilling as some of the show's finest first-season outings. We'll chalk it up to Season One's abrupt end, and expect the writers to catch up.

Recycled Garbage: Shirley Manson joins the show this season as the CEO of a high-tech company willing to shell out big bucks to buy the Turk (the computer that may become Skynet, for you noobs). She's a shockingly awesome addition, and also lends her pipes to a cover of "Samson and Delilah," which plays under the opening sequence.

Watch, Ignore, or Read a Book Instead? If you're a Terminator fan (small screen or big), you can't miss the first episode. You should already be hooked, but if not, watch and you will be.

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