What can I say? I love the robots and the fighting and the time travel. I know I haven’t seen a lot of new TV lately, so you might start to question my judgment, but I still think that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is one of the best, most promising new shows of this season.

(Up front: I’ve never been obsessed with the Terminator movies — I’ve seen them each once — but I think they’re good fun. Except for the third one, which was disappointing. You don’t have to be a superfan to like the show. But knowing about the movies — a cursory glance at wikipedia will do — may help.)

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I will rave a bit.

…so I can complain about terrible punctuation in an episode of Ugly Betty.

In last week’s episode, Daniel decides to do an alternative runway show. He makes the invitations himself. Unfortunately, the invitations say:

FASHION GET’S REAL

I almost fell out of my chair, because I am nerd and this is the type of thing that appalls me. No one read the invitation before putting it on air? The director? The actors? The producers? The studio people? No one? Really?

Instead of screaming and tearing her hair at this infuriating misuse of an apostrophe, Betty hugs Daniel. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the least believable thing this show — which once set a paintball fight in an office, and frequently has characters meet in a secret hidden love dungeon — has ever done.

This is what happens when the writers go on strike and the graphics department is left to its own devices. Or should I say “device’s”? Or “it’s”?

I feel dirty just typing that, even in jest.

Last night, when I wasn’t fast-forwarding through the already abbreviated Globes (as Kyle mentioned, my goal was to never hear Billy Bush speak extemporaneously, and I succeeded), I caught the premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I have to say, I thought it was tops. A solid A- pilot. The second “premiere hour” is tonight, so do take a look.

The story takes place between movies two and three. For those who have only seen each movie once (or never), that means that future Savior of All Mankind, John Connor, is about 15. He’s played by Thomas Dekker, who you may remember from the Zach-is-gay-no-he’s-not controversy of early Heroes episodes. He has a good sense of earnest whinyness, and he looks convincingly enough like a cross between young Edward Furlong (movie 2) and youngish Nick Stahl (movie 3). His mother, as played by Lena Headey, maintains the suspicious toughness of the movie Sarah — and her horrible haircut. I was relieved that they cast someone who can pull off the toughness, unlike the pasty and meek Bionic Woman.

But all of that’s just window dressing for the plot, which I won’t get into here because it genuinely surprised me last night and I don’t want to ruin it. Like any story involving time travel, this one’s convoluted and paradoxical, but it’s trying something new — and it’s different enough from the movie to be fresh and interesting. Suffice to say, there are good robots and there are bad robots, and there are people who are going to blow up the world, and it’s exciting and full of questions. (For example — don’t read this if you don’t want a mild spoiler — why would Future John Connor send Young John Connor a sexy young lady robot to protect him? Is he messing with his younger self? He is, isn’t he?)

Also, a robot said “Come with me if you want to live.” Always a great line.

I like to think I would’ve picked this one, personally.

And definitely not Sweet P or Victorya’s. Maybe the fun of Kit’s or the structured-ness of Jillian’s would have caught my 18-year-old eye, but who knows.

Tim, as usual, offers his measured take on the prom dresses here. Then come back and tell me which you’d choose.

The Wire’s fifth and final season begins this Sunday. I even signed up for HBO so I could watch it as it aired. Congrats to HBO for earning my patronage — it wasn’t Sex and the City or the Sopranos or even poor murdered Deadwood, it was The Wire that did it.

The first episode has been available on HBO on Demand all week, so I’ve, like, totally already seen it, and it is the greatest television show ever. I will say no more.

A scene from last night’s Project Runway…

Michael Kors: That looks like Barney Rubble.

Maggie and Kyle, turning to each other: Trouble?

I then spent the rest of the episode swearing that if Rami didn’t win it would be a travesty of justice and the end of Project Runway and me forever. His candy dress was one of the best-looking things I’ve ever seen on the show. Thankfully, I didn’t have to write any angry letters.

I’m not sure I would’ve booted Elisa if I were the judges. Sure, her dress was gross-looking, but this is at least the second time that Sweet P has brought out something that looks like crumpled paper and in no way fit, at all. And it would have been thematically appropriate to get rid of someone with “sweet” in her name. What do you think?

A while ago I went to see the new Aaron Sorkin play, The Farnsworth Invention. Just the fact that it’s a play by television impresario Aaron Sorkin would be enough for me to mention it here, but it’s also about the invention of television and the history of why we watch the way we watch. In other words, the most interesting topic in the world.

As another show might put it, the facts are these: Philo T. Farnsworth, a scarcely-trained farmboy from Utah, transmitted the first moving image using the process we still use today (sort of). But he never quite got his television to work quite right, and his patent ended up embroiled in a dispute with GE/RCA/NBC and its leader, David Sarnoff. (Philo=Josh/Sam/Danny/Matt, Sarnoff=Jack Rudolph.) In the meantime, Sarnoff was busy laying the groundwork for regulating advertising and deciding what types of things would eventually be shown on television, once it eventually existed.

I know — good stuff, right? Or is that just me?

I found that I really enjoyed myself at the play, despite the things said in these reviews, which are all true. After a season of Studio 60, it may be that I am hardened to Sorkin’s ticks and pitfalls, and now accept them without question. Or it may be that I’m so engrossed in the topic that I don’t actually care that much about the “characters” or “structure.”

I’m leaning toward the latter explanation, because I was just watching a Modern Marvels on the History Channel about Wiring America and I realized I was just about excited that as I was about The Farnsworth Invention, in the exact same way.

I will say: Jimmi Simpson and Hank Azaria are killer. There’s a classic drunken, silly, romantic scene I rather enjoyed. And there was a truly amazing dramatization of the 1929 stock market crash. Make of that what you will.

The Nanny credits.

This is the greatest in the “sing-a-summary-of-the-show” genre of credit sequences, which also includes The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan’s Island, Green Acres, and of course The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. These types of credits are out of fashion now, but they’re always, always awesome.

After the great comments on my credits post of yesterday, I thought it would be interesting to talk about credit sequences of yore. In that post, I had tried to stick to shows currently on the air. But the greatness of the Freaks and Geeks credit sequence just can’t be denied.

I’m also quite fond of the original Veronica Mars credits, mostly for the awesome song. I didn’t even mind too much when they changed it for the third season, though I know that was a controversial move. Arrested Development, too, packed backstory and narration into a fun and funny little bit.

Before the aughts, credits were not nearly as diverse and creative as they are now. They were often too long, full of standard, cheesy montages, and mostly tedious. For fun, and to see what I mean, check out the credits to LA Law. A lot like Full House. And Perfect Strangers. And many, many other shows. Even ER — and, by the way, I was horrified to hear that they’d changed the theme song recently — doesn’t exactly rock the world of credit sequences.

Of course, I have a lot less personal experience with older shows, so I probably have no idea what I’m talking about. Older people, what am I missing? Was there a notoriously great/bad credit sequence that rocked/sucked in the 70s or 80s?

Though not groundbreaking compared to newer shows, I find that I’m kind of enjoying the Miami Vice credits. See if you agree.

This is an inauspicious way to return to blogging, but I just can’t help grinning every time I watch the credits to Chuck.

Even as the show itself declines in my esteem, the brilliant credit sequence only rises. It’s so… expensive. And elaborate. And catchy. Set to Cake’s “Short Skirt, Long Jacket,” which is a fun song to begin with, it animates its way into my heart despite everything that comes before or after.

It is by far the best credit sequence out there now. Some of my other favorites include House (old-fashioned imagery and a slightly spooky tune), 30 Rock (perfectly captures the zany tone, and the shot of Alec Baldwin makes me laugh every time), and The Wire (same song sung by a different person/group every season, it’s overly long like all HBO credits and the imagery is pretty standard, but it’s a great song).

The worst credit sequence offenses are perpetrated by ABC. They’ve all but done away with credits, and the atrocities that the Lost “credit sequence” unleashed on the world with imitators like Heroes and Reaper can’t be underestimated. Ugly Betty is a cute concept but annoying after one or two viewings. Pushing Daisies, a show flawless in every other regard, has no credit sequence to speak of, only that silly animation. Grey’s Anatomy has all but given up on their doctors-getting-it-on credit sequence in favor of a Lost-ish GREY’S ANATOMY fading into white while a single sequence of notes plinks suggestively.

Then there are the credit sequences that are either brilliant or demented. I’m thinking primarily of the sequence for Weeds, which makes me want to stab my own eyes out. Stop singing that song! ENOUGH! How I Met Your Mother has a fun, brief song that I like most of the time — but once in a while it’s just too much and I can’t handle the chipper friendliness any more. And the less said about the absolutely embarrassing “You know you love me… X O X O” credit sequence for Gossip Girl, the better. Poor, poor Veronica.

Am I missing any brilliant sequences? What are your bests and worsts?