No heavy hitters are out yet, but a couple of Fox shows are already set to series-record on the PVR.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (season 2)

© Fox 2008

I was cautiously optimistic about TSCC all through the first season. It seemed like the underdog premiere of the year that got a big smack in the gut with the writers' strike.

The first season kept its pace even as it was trying to define itself. Uneven as it was, it was still more watchable than the unbearable Bionic Woman.

The thing I love about TSCC is the lack of pretense. It doesn't try to stand as serious sci-fi or drama. It's more of a revival of campy 80s action shows, and that's a good thing in my book. Call it the A-Team meets Small Wonder.

Chronicles doesn't take much seriously, especially the breaches of canon lore. It's especially laughable that the actors who play mother and son are 4 years apart in age. None of that matters though since their tender relationship of protector and offspring (the thing that was woefully absent in T3) is there in spades.

I've even warmed to the ragtag cast of supporting characters, River, 90210 guy, the Rat King, they're all there. The waifish Summer Glau pulls off a pretty convincing the "Arnie look" in her ripped up leather garb in the season 2 premiere.

TV needs more goofy action, and not the painfully forced kind (*cough* Chuck *cough*). Right now The Sarah Connor Chronicles delivers the comic book action and silly plot lines I crave.

I'm going to keep watching. Oh, and if you need another reason to watch... Shirley Manson is HOT!

© Fox 2008

Fringe

© Fox 2008

Fringe is the latest creation from J.J. Abrahms (Alias, Lost, MI3, Star Trek The Movie 2008). Early comparisons peg the new series as X-Files meets the Twilight Zone.

Fringe may seem like an attempt to update the former for a new generation, but it may be even more insidious because it examines the perils of science of Human origin.

Anna Torv's Olivia Dunham comes off as a capable FBI agent, a little over her head but earnest and smart. The Australian Torv's accent is not entirely covered, but her well-tempered performance is worth watching further.

Pacey is bearable if flat (is it J.J.'s goal in life to resurrect 90s teen show "stars"?). His character, aloof genius Peter Bishop, has so far served as baby-sitter to his own father...

Walter Bishop, aka. Hubert Farnsworth, is a brilliant if dubious scientist who worked for the Military before being committed to a mental institute for 17 years. Walter provides much needed comedy to the mix since Peter and Olivia don't have the easy banter that Mulder and Sculley had just yet.

The supporting characters may be even more interesting than the leads. Lost alum Lance Reddick, plays Olivia's cryptic boss at DHS, and Blair Brown (a bit of a Terminator herself) teases tidbits of "the Pattern" as Director of the monolithic corporation MASSIVE DYNAMIC.

Two episodes in, I wont say I'm hooked yet but if the say "the Pattern" one more time...