- Good news for “Gleeks” everywhere: Glee’s second season has been expanded from the normal 22 episodes to 25! Meanwhile, the season one finale’s airdate has been announced as Tuesday, June 8. (Ausiello)

- Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dollhouse) has been cast in the remake of The Rockford Files for NBC and producer David Shore (House). (Ausiello)

- James Marsters (Buffy, Smallville) has been cast as the main antagonist in CBS’ remake of Hawaii Five-O.  (AICN)

- Summer Glau (Firefly, Terminator: TSCC) has been cast as the lead in The Cape, a superhero pilot for NBC. (THR)

- True Blood returns for its third season June 13 on HBO. (Variety)

- Finally, check out this preview for the new HBO series Boardwalk Empire the creator of The Sopranos and director Martin Scorsese:

I joke, I joke, I kid, I kid. During the Dollhouse panel, Alien Ressurection and Titan A.E. screenwriter Joss Whedon hinted that two of his frequent collaberators may be joining the cast of his newest-series. That’s a “maybe” by the way, but it does make sense. Denisof was a cast member of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, while Summer Glau won serious geek cred as the blank-stared, super-powered River Tan on Firefly and Serniety and a similar charecter, Cameron on The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Now, I stopped watching Dollhouse after Man on the Street, but I am looking forward to checking out the series on DVD and have no qualms about jumping on baord the bandwagon come Season 2 time. But I really hope Glau isn’t playing the same, emotionless, little-girl-lost charecter she played on Firefly and SSC. Come on Joss, let the girl stretch! Remember how much fun you used to let Sarah Michelle Geller have?

Speaking of Buffy, how fun is it gonna be to see Denisof and Dollhouse star Eliza Dusku reunite?

“Born to Run” was an episode that showed what this show was meant to be: a story about the future leader of the resistance, his mother and his protector. I don’t think many will disagree when I say that so many episodes of T:SCC fell short this season. Most of them revolved around Sarah Connor. This show excelled when it dealt with the dynamic of John and his mother and protector, and of the mystery that surrounds the beautiful but deadly Catherine Weaver. This final episode encompassed all of that, as well as answered so many questions. Yet just enough were left unanswered to keep the audience from feeling spoon fed the finale. And on the incredible long shot that the series is picked up for a third season, there is possibly more story to tell.

Erroneous characters like Jesse and Riley added story that in the end didn’t do much to further the overall arc. If nothing else, they were tools used to make John stand up and start becoming the leader he is destined to be. But even in that vein, it went on longer than was necessary.

Extraneous characters started dropping like flies over the last few episodes, and it was done absolutely perfectly. Riley’s death was necessary, Jesse’s disappearance added intrigue (is she dead or not?), Charley’s death added to character growth,and Derek’s death was sudden and painful (hello, Wash all over again!). And each did more to further the story than a single episode that revolved around Sarah’s three stupid dots ever did.

This finale was utterly brilliant with spots of comedy (”I’m sure you’ve considered he can roll any number he wants.”), action, and superb homages to the original films. Jeffrey Pierce’s (Charlie Jade) T-888 going into a gun store and Summer Glau’s Cameron taking out a police station were done in such a way that they nodded to the films, yet still made each scene their own.

Also, characters from previous episodes were brought in and used to add authenticity to the series. Father Bonilla returns as an intermediary between mother and son. Just as he sheltered them in the season two opener, he helped them again. Chola returns as the strong and finally not-so-silent aide to the Conners,  giving some advice to John and Cameron from Sarah.

We can’t talk about the finale without mentioning Catherine Weaver and John Henry. Catherine (Shirley Manson) became a favorite character of mine simply for the fact she always seemed to be learning, yet was always one step ahead of everyone else. She was ambiguous at best, deadly at worst. And the moment we realize that she is in charge of helping to stop SkyNet and that John Henry is a vital tool to that end, the series achieved its potential. That reveal made everything click into place.

Speaking of John Henry, I do want to take a moment to applaud Garret Dillahunt. These are the performances that are overlooked because they “just sci-fi shows.” His transformation from cheesy out-of-work actor, to deadly terminator, to child-like fascination were so subtle they were flawless. He brought a heart to John Henry that didn’t belong. His brutal honesty matched Catherine’s coolness and the scenes between the two were always charged with intensity.

But to return to the episode itself, the ending was much more along the lines I like. Answers with a side of equivocation. John Henry scraps Cameron for parts. Catherine takes John to the future to take his role among the resistance, then disappears. John sees his father face-to-face and meets the human version of Cameron who we can be sure now is the love of his life.  And with a final spark we hear Sarah’s final words to him, “I love you, too.”

Though Fox is still calling this T:SCC’s season finale, this was undoubtedly the series finale. Wwitching nights did nothing to improve the series continued ratings drops. As a matter of fact, it’s been released that the only reason we saw a season two in the first place was because Warner Brothers reduced its fees to keep the show on to help promote its upcoming Terminator: Salvation. WB isn’t likely to reduce their fees again for a show that barely stayed alive all season long.

And I am good with that. It seems clearly evident that Josh Friedman and company knew their fate and left the series in such a way that the ending stands as a solid explanation for how things came to be as we know them. Considering this was a series that several months ago I was ready to walk away from, I couldn’t be more pleased with the ending and would almost be disappointed if it tried to go any further. This ending was a thing of beauty and I am glad to have been along for the ride. This, my friends, is some of television at its best.

However, apparently someone at Fox has seen fit to smile on the fans of the show, giving it a full season pickup for the remainder of the year. We can only hope that executives will have enough foresight to give the show a try in a different slot. If it continues to go against Chuck, I unfortunately see one or both suffering for it in the end.

However, the article which can be found over at IGN, also offers up some possible bad news. Apparently, the original schedule release showed 24 returning to be paired with Dollhouse on Monday nights. Terminator being suddenly renewed may indicate that Dollhouse has been delayed to the point that it won’t be ready to go when it is supposed to. This is a bit of a good news bad news scenario. Hopefully, we will get to see both Summer and Joss shine on Fox this year. Is that too much to ask?