Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Season 2 (2009)

It's common for a second season to introduce new characters and explore new threats. Sometimes it falls flat. Fans reject the new faces and resent the disruption it causes. Sometimes it works. The new additions fill a gap that wasn't initially apparent, or create a triangle of conflict that heightens the drama. In this case it's neither of those things. Instead, it puts a face to an element that was already evident in Season One but remained unseen. It's a decent idea badly executed, in part because of the lack of originality and also because it's Shirley Manson of the band Garbage. Shirley is a great vocalist, but less successful as an actress; her character is two dimensional and she doesn't yet have the experience to make it any less flat. She improves as it progresses but not enough.

She's just one of a trio of new female faces. The other two are written in to tug apart the collective Connor 'family'. Again, it's good in theory, but it forces the series to return to the chase mechanic of the films, which is an element that's overused, predictable and contrary to the initial premise. It also doesn't help that the women are often written as being irritating and offensive.

Add a run of bad scripts that deviate drastically from the formula to explore some ridiculous conceits, some past/future filler that feels like padding in an already poorly stitched garment, and you have a season of huge disappointment. It falls to Cromartie and Agent Ellison to keep the show on track, but mostly TSCC turned into a bona fide damp squib.

The final episode is the opposite of everything I've said so far. It has edge of the seat excitement and captures (even surpasses) the greatness of Season One. It almost makes up for the chore that watching the previous twenty-one episodes felt like. It really was the FINAL episode. Fox didn't renew the it for a third Season.

22 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

2½ shit-kicking boots out of 5