sarah connor chronicles

For those who didn't catch it when it went live on Friday, we've got the first Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles video podcast right here.

The podcast features producer Josh Friedman giving a tour of his office that, for some reason, looks pretty drab except for a giant plastic cow in a corner. After revealing that the cow might appear on the show, Friedman introduces a clip from the mid-season premiere that features Sarah talking to Kyle Reese, played by Jonathan Jackson. Check it out after the jump.

Thomas Dekker has confirmed that his character, John Connor, will meet a very important family member in the mid-season premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

I'm sure most of you die-hard Terminator fans have already guessed who this family member is. Click through for the answer and a few more minor T:TSCC spoilers that came straight from the savior of humanity himself.

• At 8, ABC has I Want A Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown, followed by a new, two-hour 20/20.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory, then new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck and Heroes, then the series finale of My Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8, then a new Prison Break.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World at 8.
• AMC has the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol at 8, followed by the movie Prancer.
• Also at 8: Food Network has Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Christmas, then Wintertime Treats Unwrapped.
• At 8:30, ESPN has a new Monday Night Football, the Browns vs. the Eagles.
• At 9, Lifetime has the movie Secret Santa.
• History Channel has a new Cities of the Underground at 9, followed by a new Ancient Discoveries.
• Hallmark has the movie A Town Without Christmas at 9.
• At 9:30, Nickelodeon has a Christmas episode of Home Improvement.
• At 10, MTV has a new episode of The Hills.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8 ABC has A Charlie Brown Christmas, followed by the series finale of Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, then new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck, Heroes, and My Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8, followed by a new Prison Break.
• There's a new Gossip Girl on The CW at 8, then a new Privileged.
• USA Network has a new Monday Night RAW at 8.
• Also at 8: BBC America has a new Top Gear.
• At 9, Food Network has the special Dear Food Network: Holiday Desserts.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup Presents.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has Shrek the Halls, followed by How The Grinch Stole Christmas, two new episodes of Samantha Who? and a new Boston Legal.
• NBC has a new Chuck at 8, then new episodes of and HeroesMy Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has new episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Prison Break. .
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, then a new Privileged.
• There's a new Good Eats on Food Network at 8.
• Also at 8: TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• History has a new Cities of the Underground at 9, followed by a new Ancient Discoveries.
• Food Network has a new Unwrapped at 9.
• At 10, MTV has a new episode of The Hills.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, followed by new Thanksgiving episodes of Samantha Who? and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, then new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has a new Thanksgiving episode of Chuck, then new episodes of Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8, then a new Prison Break.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World at 8.
• History Channel has a new Thanksgiving episode of Modern Marvels.
• At 8:30, ESPN has Monday Night Football, the Packers/Saints game.
• At 9, The CW has a new One Tree Hill.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• Hallmark has the movie All I Want For Christmas at 9.
• At 10, MTV has a new episode of The Hills.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
• There's a new episode of The Soup Presents at 10 on E!

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

No one's watching Terminator, the Dollhouse problems persist, and too many of my favorite shows are on hiatus until next year. Grrr! Argh! Still, I love TV, and now's the time to look on the bright side and give thanks for all the good stuff I've watched this season.

This year, I'm thankful for:

Battlestar Galactica – This last season has been challenging but thrilling to watch. Actually, that about sums up the entire run of the series. I'm confident that the final eps will be as good as what came before.

Netfilx Watch Instantly for Mac – I'm catching up with Doctor Who, Dead Like Me, and revisiting old eps of Joy Mohr's Action. I've never been so happy to be a beta tester.

Two things are clear to me after watching a new clip from next week's ep of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. First, the show isn't shying away from its recent dive into nerds-only territory. Second, Derek Reese is about to snap.

The clip builds on the bizarre conversation Derek (Brian Austin Green) had with Jesse (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen) last week about time travel. He suggested that they might have each come from two different cyborg-infested future realities. (Yeah, like I said, it's nerdy). Now, Derek seems more paranoid than ever while talking to John (Thomas Dekker) about the mysterious three dots. We already know that Derek tried to kill himself once before. Is he headed for another breakdown? Monday can't come soon enough.

The last few episodes of Sarah Connor have been some of the best genre TV I've seen all year. It's a shame that the show probably won't be renewed for a third season. I know I'm being pessimistic here, but the writing seems to be on the wall.

First of all, is that even the right phrasing? Is DVR also a verb? Is TiVo? Probably not. Maybe it should be "shows I always record but never watch" instead.

Anyway, Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch blog has a post about shows that we have sitting on our DVRs every single week but we never end up watching. I've been thinking about this and I don't really think there are any shows that I currently record but never watch. Every show I want to see I either watch live or watch later. There's nothing on right now that I take the time to record but don't watch. But there were shows in the past where I did this, including Traveler (I finally deleted the last several episodes, knowing I'd never get to them - I just read online what happened in the end) and Angel. The only current show I used to record is The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The first couple of episodes had me but then I lost interest. Now I don't even bother recording it because I know it's just a waste of time (I know, I know, it's a good show, blah, blah).

You must have shows that are still sitting on your DVR, right?

You never heard John McCain or Barack Obama talking about this on the campaign trail.

A lot of people were surprised that The Sarah Connor Chronicles was renewed. Not because it's a bad show or doesn't deserve to grow and all that, but just because it wasn't getting the best ratings (plus it's on FOX). Now The Hollywood Reporter has a theory: the bad economy is helping these borderline shows.

The theory is that because of the bad economy, combined with the writers strike earlier this year and advertising dollars are down across the board, networks are renewing shows that wouldn't ordinarily be renewed. Besides The Sarah Connor Chronicles, shows like Knight Rider have gotten orders for more episodes.

• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then new episodes of Samantha Who? and Boston Legal.
  
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory, followed by new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has a new Chuck at 8, then new episodes of Heroes and My Own Worst Enemy.
• FOX has new episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Prison Break.
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• TLC has two new episodes of Little People, Big World at 8.
• At 8:30, ESPN (and some ABC stations in New England) has the Patriots/Broncos game.
• Lifetime has the series premiere of Rita Rocks at 8:30.
• Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate? at 8:30, then a new Unwrapped.
  
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising the Bar.
• Travel Channel has a new Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

• At 5, TBS has the Rays/White Sox game, followed by the Red Sox/Angels game.
  
• At 8, ABC has a new Dancing with the Stars, then a new Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Big Bang Theory at 8, followed by new episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Worst Week, and CSI: Miami.
• NBC has new episodes of Chuck, Heroes, and Life.
• FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8, followed by a new Prison Break.
• At 8:30, ESPN has Monday Night Football, the Vikings vs. the Saints.
• Also at 8:30: Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate, then a new Unwrapped.
• At 9, USA has a new Monday Night RAW.
• At 10, TNT has a new Raising The Bar.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills.

Check your local TV listings for more.

After the jump, the late night talk show listings.

You know the one I'm talking about. After the writers strike ended last year in February, most of the networks made the interesting decision to just go ahead and shelve most of their freshmen series for the season, even if they'd picked up their "back nine" orders. Instead, they thought they'd launch the shows to big fanfare this fall, almost as if they were new again. Unfortunately, it looks like this plan backfired on them tremendously.

Across the board, those sophomore series that went on hiatus for more than six months are way down in the ratings. Apparently, absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder when it comes to the television landscape. It makes the instant gratification generation forget you existed. And stop caring.

• At 8, FOX has a new Sarah Connor Chronicles, followed by a new Prison Break.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal, then a new America's Toughest Jobs.
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, followed by a new One Tree Hill.
• TruTV has two new episodes of Surf & Rescue at 8.
• BBC America has a new Top Gear at 8.
• Also at 8: Nickelodeon has the series premiere of My Family's Got GUTS.
• At 8:30, ESPN has a new Monday Night Football, the Cowboys vs. the Eagles.
• Food Network has a new How'd That Get On My Plate at 8:30, followed by a new Unwrapped.
• At 9, PBS has a new History Detectives.
• TNT has the season finale of The Closer at 9, then a new Raising the Bar.
• At 10, Showtime has the season finale of Weeds.
• Food Network has a new Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at 10.
• Discovery has a new Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein at 10.
• MTV has a new episode of The Hills at 10, followed by a new Exiled.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 7, ESPN has the season premiere of Monday Night Football, with the Vikings vs. the Packers, followed by the Broncos vs. the Raiders.
  
• At 8, ABC has the season finale of High School Musical: Get in the Picture, followed by the CMA Music Festival.
• NBC has a new Deal Or No Deal at 8, followed by a new America's Toughest Jobs.
• FOX has the season premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles at 8, then a new Prison Break.
  
• The CW has a new Gossip Girl at 8, then a new One Tree Hill.
• Nickelodeon has a new Wonder Pets at 8.
• Also at 8: BBC America has a new Top Gear.
• At 9, PBS has a new History's Detectives.
• USA has a new Monday Night RAW at 9.
• TNT has a new episode of The Closer at 9, then a new Raising the Bar.
• There's a new Unwrapped on Food Network at 9.
• At 10, MTV has a new episode of The Hills.
• Discovery has a new Into the Unknown with Josh Bernstein at 10.
• Showtime has a new Weeds at 10.
• At 10:15, TCM has Dr. Strangelove.

Check your local TV listings for more.