LAUREN PIESTER
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008

A YEAR OR two ago, I sat down and turned on the TV just in time to discover that "The Terminator" was playing on TV. I had never seen this famous movie starring the governor of California, so I decided to watch it.

Turns out, for an early '80s movie, it was pretty excellent. Then, last summer, I read in my favorite magazine, Entertainment Weekly, that a new show had been added to Fox's spring lineup for 2008: "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles."

I was at first excited. Then I realized that this had the potential to be the worst show in the history of the world, seeing as they were modeling it off a trilogy of sci-fi movies that peaked with its first installment almost 25 years ago. Nevertheless, I vowed to watch it when it finally aired.

Which is exactly what I did two Sundays ago, when it premiered. Since then, there have been two more episodes.

Um, BEST SHOW EVER.

OK, maybe not "best show ever," especially not in all caps, but it's really surprisingly good. So far, it's not cheesy, overly dramatic, cringe-worthy, perverted, or any of the other adjectives I expected it to fulfill.

It's actually a really intense, action-packed, entertaining show, and I pretty much love it.

If you have never seen the movies, you really should. In the first one, a nearly indestructible robot is sent from 2029 to 1984 with one mission: to kill a young woman named Sarah Connor. We find out that he's been sent to kill her because she is the mother of the yet-to-be-conceived John Connor, the fearless leader of the resistance to the machines that rule the world in 2029.

The show apparently takes up where the second movie, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" leaves off, but I've never seen the second one, so I'm not really sure. I've heard, however, that it is almost as good as the first one.

In the show, it's 1999. John Connor is 15. Sarah has just gotten engaged, and their life seems perfect. Sarah realizes that she can't settle down too much, because she and John are still running from these robots from the future who are trying to kill John, their soon-to-be nemesis. Mother and son pack up their stuff and move.

All within the first episode, John went to a new school, had an evil futuristic robot as a substitute teacher, met a pretty girl who was a good futuristic robot, and almost died several times. At the end of the episode, closely pursued by a Terminator, robot-girl sent herself, Sarah, and John into 2007.

OK, so, admittedly, that sounds totally ridiculous and not cool at all. Trust me, it's a good show, especially if you're a fan of the movies.

The story is interesting. The acting is excellent, even without the Governator. The special effects are way better than expected. Obviously, there aren't really giant robots with red eyes walking around, but it definitely seems like there could be.

Plus, this show is brand new and has a lot of episodes to go before it runs out, unlike most of our other favorite shows that have been hurt by the writers strike and are showing a new episode, then three reruns, then a new one, then three reruns, then a new one …

So on Monday, at 8, you should turn on Fox and watch this show. You seriously won't be disappointed. First, though, you should probably ask me to catch you up on what's happened so far, or watch them yourself.