Last night Sarah Connor and her son John resumed their struggle against Skynet in the new television series Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. We were expecting a train wreck, but witnessed the rebirth of a once-proud science fiction epic. Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker slid effortlessly into the familiar roles of pre-apocalyptic Madonna and child, both providing a near-perfect mix of steely determination and fleeting angst.

Summer Glau and Owain Yeoman performed their robotic roles admirably as protector and eliminator, respectively, of Humankind’s last hope. Ms. Glau’s terminator was far more social — and attractive — than previous models. Mr. Yeoman’s android assassin had a bit more pep than the classic T-1000, but evidenced its trademark unstoppable determination… and propensity for trenchant one-liners.

All of this high-octane acting is critical to the Chronicles‘ success, but you could be forgiven for thinking “we all know the future looks bright for Skynet, so why bother?” Here’s why: A time travel twist in the pilot’s final act effectively erases a few key facts we thought we new about the future, and promises to breathe new life into the Terminator timeline.

The bad news is that an excellent genre series on FOX usually lasts just long enough to gather a rabid following before it’s scheduled into oblivion. The good news is Terminator 3 now officially never happened.