Linda Hamilton best known for her role as Sarah Connor in Terminator has signed on for a recurring role on the upcoming season 4 of Chuck. Hamilton will play the long-lost mother of Chuck and Ellie.

The announcement of her role was made at Comic-Con by show producer Josh Schwartz. According to Schwartz, the decision came from huge fan support for her role in the upcoming season.

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After the bloodbath of cancelations that just came down the pike at NBC and ABC, fans of genre television may be in need of some good news. So you’ll be happy to hear that two of the nets’ cult shows have beaten the odds.

First up, ABC has decided to renew V, thanks to an upswing in the show’s quality over the last few weeks. Though V’s ratings have been comparable to the just-canceled FlashForward, insiders have been saying for weeks that only one of the alphabet net’s two scifi shows would make the cut for a second season. FlashForward has failed to crystalize a solid audience, despite a full 22-episode first season order, but V has increased its viewership in recent days, even though its first season is comprised of just 12 episodes. I’ve been impressed with V’s improvements over the final five episodes of the season; the stakes have been raised emotionally for all of the show’s characters, and as a result, we viewers are more deeply invested in the developments.

NBC, meanwhile, has given a fourth season order to Chuck, aka the-little-spy-show-that-could. As fans know all too well, Chuck was canceled after its first two seasons only to be given an 11th hour order for a third season thanks to fan efforts. The show hasn’t sealed its fate as a stable part of NBC’s lineup, but it’s enjoyed a strong critical reception this season, and its fans remain exceedingly loyal.

Both shows have been given tentative 13-episode orders for their next seasons. If either show increases or solidifies its ratings this Fall, an additional order of 9 more episodes (totaling the standard 22) will likely follow.

Chuck is looking pretty good for a fourth-season renewal, according to industry scuttlebutt, but the shows biggest fans aren’t taking any chances. The same group of fans that organized the Subway sandwich viral campaign that gave the show its third season are organizing gatherings in major cities to show their support.

Chicago, Seattle, and San Diego will host “flash mobs” of fans dressed up in “Buy More”-style clothing (short-sleeve white dress shirts, grey ties, name tags) around lunchtime this Monday. A fourth flash mob was planned for Philadelphia but has since been canceled, due to the Philly Parks & Recreation Dept. refusing to allow fans to rally there. The goal of these rallies is to convince new viewers to tune in to the show.

Though Chuck has yet to break through to “ratings hit” status, it’s been NBC’s best-rated show on Monday nights since it returned as a mid-season replacement earlier this year. The show saw a creative resurgence this year, thanks to the title character taking on a more physically active role in the weekly capers.

Here’s the when and where, to join in at the events:

Chicago
Millennium Park by the Bean
Meet at 12:15PM Central

Seattle
Seattle Center in front of the Space Needle
Meet at 12:15PM Pacific

San Diego
Horton Plaza Park
Meet at 12:15PM Pacific

Who is your favorite spy? James Bond? I guess he used to be mine but when I discovered Chuck Bartowski, there was no going back. This CIA agent is nothing like the spies that we used to know. Chuck is a Stanford kick out who never really got his due. Now he works for the Buy More, a huge electronic chain, as part of the Nerd Herd. Somewhere along the way, Chuck finds himself the bearer of all the government’s secrets when ex-college friend Bryce Larkin sends him an e-mail. Turns out that Bryce Larkin is a special CIA agent, who they thought had turned rogue. In his e-mail, he encoded the Intersect, the collection of all the government’s secrets. Thus Chuck was introduced to his life as a CIA agent.

There is more to the story than that, naturally, but I would not go into the details here. Anyhow, this TV series is more than your normal run-of-the-mill espionage action. More than the spy action, it factors in romance, family relationships, and of course, general geekiness.

In keeping with the show’s proclivity towards technology, they just released a 3D episode – something that is not all that common as of yet. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have any 3D glasses handy when I watched it. As a result, my view was a bit weird – I suppose that happens when you don’t have the glasses? It didn’t really take away from my viewing experience as the quips and Chuck’s gaffes were still there.

Anyone able to watch in 3D? How was it?