Mild expectations

It's week two of the modern nerdfecta, with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse and Battlestar Galactica airing back to back to back on a Friday night.

I'm avoiding most all spoilers these days, so I don't have any insidery info on what will transpire. But I can offer a few thoughts on what I would "like" to see this evening:

T:TSSC

• More 'splodey. Nope.
  
• Lots more Cameron that we've had the last few eps. A little more, but not as much as we would want.
  
• Some hint that something - anything - will ever happen with Riley and Jesse (fine actresses and eye candy though they may be). Nada.
  
• John Henry and Catherine gut Ellison like a fish. Sadly, no.

It will be interesting to see the ratings on this one. Like a lot of TSSC lately, this was a quieter, more meditative piece. Everyone is doing strong character work, but the plot needs to advance more quickly. Weaver was chilling once again in the interactions with "her" daughter.

Dollhouse

• No glitches in the doll imprinting. If this starts to happen every week, it undermines the credibility of the whole show. The "problem" with the engagement wasn't the imprinting, which was nice. And I realize something has to go "wrong" with the engagements we see, or else there wouldn't be a show. (We just don't want to get into always thinking "how many damned murders can occur in Cabot Cove?"). The only real "glitch" is the fact that Echo is retaining some memories, which is a central concept of the show.
  
• More evidence that Eliza can handle the multiplicity the role(s) demands. Tomboyish extreme chick was right in her wheelhouse, so no complaints.
  
• More Acker. (This will be a standard request). A little Acker here, and as expected, she was good.
  
• A little more about the "reasons why" people go to the Dollhouse, vs. a "real" hooker, negotiator, playmate, brain surgeon or whatever. (I provided some possible cover for this in my review last week, when the general consensus I've read elsewhere is that the reasoning is wafer thin. And it is. But help us out here, Joss). We got some of this in various snippets of dialogue. I'd love to have it all laid out, though, so we can move past this objection.
  
• More giggles. “Four brothers, none of them Democrats.”
  

More later on Dollhouse.

BSG

• Keep on keepin' on man, 'cause you're blowing my frakkin' mind each and every week. Yep.
  
• Anyone else sign up for those texts from BSG, with little teasers and quizzes? Well, I want to get one, and with the correct answer, receive an illustrated and annotated history of the human and Cylon civilizations, from their beginnings right up to the present. Too much to ask? Or maybe I should just shoot myself in the head, since that seemed to work wonders for Anders. Nope. But I did register to win a KFC Frak Pak.
  
• Some hints about what the frak Starbuck is. Nope.
  
• Lots of juicy dialogue with Ellen realizing just what her "kids" and "lover" have been up to.. Oh, there was juicy dialogue galore here tonight, as scripted by Jane Espenson. Compared to the balls to the wall mutiny, and the exposition-heavy "No Exit," this was improv night at the Chuckle Factory. "How many dead chicks are out there?" "I'm gonna go to the head. Do something constructive -- a little project I've been working on." "Any mythic revelations?" "Nope. Nothing to report, sir." Almost anything Baltar said or did. BSG doesn't have as many "light" moments as other genre shows, but when it does, I enjoy them immensely.