Apparently the TV deities have decreed that I'll have nothing to watch in the fall except for Better Off Ted and So You Think You Can Dance. And maybe Melrose Place?

(I've only seen one season's worth of the original Melrose Place; happily, it was the season that included the scene where Kimberly took off her wig at the end of an episode. But the new show will have my favorite character, Sydney, plus Stephanie Jacobsen! So I'll at least check it out. Though this may be a case of "a little goes a long way" -- if I recall, every time they introduced a new character in the original series, they turned out to be a psychopath within 3-4 episodes. And yet, it didn't seem to occur to anyone in the core cast to move!)

I'm still in mourning for the loss of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, with the reviews that I've seen of the new Terminator movie adding insult to injury. I figure I'll camp out in the denial stage of grief for as long as possible. To that end, here's some spoilers for the opening of the first episode of season 3:

Intro "previously on" montage of season 2 clips, set to Carry On My Wayward Son Los Angeles by X.

Opening scene in the future, picking up immediately where the finale left off. John is shocked, and Kyle starts demanding answers from him -- where did he come from? How did he get there? Why was he running around naked? John stammers and tries to stall for time. Derek takes pity on John, suggests that he must be shellshocked and that Kyle should take it easy on him. Allison reminds Derek of the intel they've been getting of human traitors working for the terminators. Kyle says they can't afford to take any risks, and pulls a gun on John!

Back in the present, Sarah, James Ellison, and Savannah Weaver are in an iconic jeep driving out of town. Sarah is tense; as Ellison keeps asking where they're going and what the plan is, Sarah gets increasingly angry and finally admits that she doesn't know what happens next. But she's still got work to do until her son returns -- bring down Skynet. Savannah asks if that will bring back John Henry and her mommy. Sarah tells Savannah not to worry, everything will be okay, but Ellison looks pensive. He turns to Sarah and asks, if we succeed in stopping Skynet, doesn't that change the future? Are you willing to stop Skynet even if that means that you'll never see your son again -- that he and his future may cease to exist completely?

Cue title sequence, cut to first commercial!

Naturally I can't reveal my source for this spoiler. But you can foster my denial -- tell me what happens next!