COMIC-CON 2010: Linda Hamilton signed to play mom on ‘Chuck’

At a very short (half-hour) panel for NBC’s “Chuck,” producers announced that former “Terminator” babe Linda Hamilton has been signed to play Chuck’s spy mom.

For Season 4, Hamilton will play a recurring guest-star role as Mary Bartowski, who vanished mysteriously from the life of Chuck ( Zachary Levi) when he was a boy.

“Hamilton will appear throughout the season, leading Chuck to discover that her life was shrouded in secrets,” according to a news release. “She was a spy, a CIA agent ... and that’s just the beginning.”

Hamilton, 53, is best known for originating the role of Sarah Connor in the “Terminator” films, but she also starred in the 1980s hit “Beauty and the Beast” on CBS.

Meanwhile, another “Chuck” mystery: Why Warner Bros., the studio that makes the series, decided to cut the Comic-Con panel short. Attendees in the packed house exited complaining that the presentation, which featured cast members triumphantly entering to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” was just too short.