TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES Returns to Fox Tonight

Mayhem with a side of mass murder all set to the sounds of a haunting melodic tune bring us back into the world of TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES. Picking up where last season left us, tonight’s season 2 premiere (8pm on Fox) brings new dangers into the already tumultuous lives of Sarah and John Connor and raises questions that no one seems ready or able to answer.

In the aftermath of last season’s Jeep explosion we find Cameron rebooting herself, but this time around She-Bot awakes with a new mission, and saving John Connor and the future of the world isn’t her top priority. Will the robot sent back from the future to protect the Connors ultimately lead to their demise?  Have Derek’s suspicions about Cameron proven to be true or has this AI evolved to the point that she calls the shots?

Cromartie isn’t questioning his mission.  He’s there to destroy John Connor and ultimately human existence and nothing is going to take him off task.  As a result Agent Ellison is left to deal with the ramifications of Cromartie’s rampage that took the lives of 20 FBI agents. Armed with the knowledge that there is truth to Sarah Connor’s tales, Ellison must continue to track down the Connor’s without leading Cromartie right to them.

Meanwhile Catherine Weaver (Shirley Manson of Garbage), a CEO of an advanced Tech company looks to diversify her business portfolio – with deadly consequences.

As I’ve said many times over, I didn’t expect to like TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.  I didn’t think it was my type of show.  But it won me over last season and I found myself completely caught up in it again while watching the screener for tonight’s season 2 premiere.  The small screen show lends itself to big screen action and the character arcs are compelling enough that its easy to empathize with the plight of the Connor’s despite their futuristic circumstances.

I’m a believer in the show, but tonight’s episode isn’t perfect.  I think the writers relied a little too much on the action at the expense of the real human drama. There was one too many car crashes and a few scenes that felt so highly unrealistic in the setting of the “real world” that I was taken out of the story for a bit.  We know how strong Sarah and John Connor are, but they aren’t superhuman and at times it felt like they writers were forgetting that.

One of the issues that plagued last season was the inconsistency in the portrayal of Cameron.  Her actions often contradicted themselves and we were at times left confused as to what we could expect from her.  Tonight is more of the same.  There was a level of intended ambiguity but knowing some of the missteps with that character last season I wasn’t sure how intentional it was.  And in one particular crushing scene Cameron’s actions are poignant but completely out of character based on what we’ve been told to date.  That being said, unlike some others, I happen to be a big fan of Summer Glau’s portrayal of Cameron and I’m interested in where she brings the character this season.

I think the biggest issue that plagues tonight’s season 2 premiere is that it doesn’t lend itself to new fans.  The episode was way too confusing for a newbie to just jump right and start watching.  And the “previously on” doesn’t do enough to set the stage for the new season.  The premise of this show is confusing enough for a regular watchers none the less someone trying to get into it for the first time tonight.

I like the escapism of SARAH CONNOR and despite some of my issues with tonight’s episode, I think the show is well worthy of its place on my TiVo.  The cast is strong and the story has proven to be compelling enough to withstand the many incarnations of the franchise.  And with a schedule filled with so many TV shows that I feel like I “have to” watch, SARAH CONNOR is on my short list of shows I “want to” watch.

Tune in tonight for the Season 2 premiere at 8pm on Fox.