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Network: FOX

Premiere: Monday, September 8, 8pm

Cast: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones, Brian Austin Green, Garret Dillahunt

Previously On Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: John and Derek shared a moment in the park.  Cameron blew up.  Cromartie killed a phalanx of authorities, but left Agent Ellison alive. 

Although Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles first season was only nine episodes, the storytelling was dense.  It felt much longer.  Show runner Josh Friedman embarked on a near impossible task when he agreed to bring the beloved Terminator franchise to television.  Fans initially resisted the idea (some still do), but the pilot assuaged doubts.  The whole of the first season was impressive.  It's a prelude, though.  Friedman and company were merely laying the base, finding out what worked and what didn't.  Entering its second season, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will only be bigger and better. 

Filling roles vacated by the likes of Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Edward Furlong and Nick Stahl was an unenviable task, but FOX cast this sucker impeccably.  Lena Headey (after what I found to be a shaky acting performance in the pilot) proved a worthy replacement for the venerable Hamilton as titular Sarah Connor.  Thomas Dekker brings the right combination of teenage angst, rebelliousness, smarts and the hint of leadership potential needed for the tricky role of John Connor.  Rather than try and find a Arnold clone for the protector terminator role, Friedman ingeniously cast Summer Glau, a slight, yet totally bad-ass lady.  Brian Austin Green was another Friedman decision that had fans irate, but who quickly proved his critics wrong, producing an unexpectedly gritty performance as Derek Reese, John's uncle. 

The first season wasn't perfect (in nine episodes, how could it be?), but it was great at times, and showed tremendous potential.  I fully expect season 2 to bring the goods, and would be surprised if it didn't.  It's rare that a great action series graces our television screens.  Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the exception. 


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of FOX)