After the debacle of Terminator 3, my heart sank when I heard they were making a Terminator TV Series. However, the ads during the build-up looked positive and I was so happy to find something that ain't too bad at all.

The start is a little confusing. It is set between T2 and T3 with Sarah Connor and her now teenage son trying to lie low and not be detected by the government. They are on the run as they were blamed for the death of the Cyberdyne guy in T2. Of course another baddie Terminator comes back along with a goodie one in the shape of a hot teenage chick.

Lots of fighting, shooting and near escapes ensue and the whole thing races along with very enjoyable gusto without too much of the belly-button gazing that could have happened (and would be a lot cheaper to make).

Things then get very odd whereby they use a time machine left by other resistance fighters in a bank vault to leap forward to the present day. The reason for this is to somehow leap over the bit where Sarah Connor dies from cancer. All a bit too slick for my liking but it makes it easier to do cars/fashion I guess.

Of course being Terminator, every time you think one of the baddies is dead, they come back. There are some marvellous scenes of the metallic T888 re-growing skin over his skeleton etc. In fact, those parts would fit right into a movie. The chick Terminator improves over the first few episodes and the actress does a great job of just being slightly non-human. Will be see human-cyborg relations at some point?

The biggest problem for most people is of course the use of Lena Headey instead of Linda Hamilton. Initially she grates but very quickly grows on you. I do wish she'd pumped up more for the part tho. The scenes of her doing chin lifts look like torture for her. I don't like the John Connor actor but then I've never liked any of them. Do they all have to pout so much?

This is easily one of the best action series to come out of the US in a long time. When you look at the awfulness of The Bionic Woman, this reminds you of what could have been.