Not to be confused with the Sarah Jane Adventures

Saw the first episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Virgin 1 over the weekend, and have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. As far as I can tell it carries on from the second Terminator film and quietly pretends the third didn’t happen, which is probably best for all concerned. Well, it worked for Highlander. Also, like the second film, it quietly pretends Reese never said that line in the first about the time machine being destroyed after he came through so there won’t be any more time travellers, ever.

At about the 25 minute mark a fly on the wall in our living room would have heard the following:

TV: bang, boom, smash, screech of tyres
Ben (live): "Come with me if you want to live."
Good Terminator (on screen): "Come with me if you want to live."
Ben: "Yes!"
Boy: [sigh]

Reasons to enjoy The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

• Logically develops the plot of T2
• Explosions
• A really quite intelligent use of time travel
• Summer Glau as a good Terminator
• Summer Glau beating up bad guys (which fans may remember from Firefly / Serenity she does quite well)
• Summer Glau (briefly and tastefully) with no clothes on (ditto)

Pause for thought: the first Terminator movie came out in 1984. The lad playing John Connor is, by my reckoning, the fourth to hold the role, if you count the non-speaking adult John seen briefly in T2 – and the first to be younger than the series.