Sci-Fi Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Tim

Creative Writer
Title: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Action & Adventure

First aired: 2008-01-13

Creator: Josh Friedman

Cast: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones, Shirley Manson, Brian Austin Green

Overview: The series picks up four years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day with John and Sarah Connor trying to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

 
'Terminator' TV spin-off takes new direction

Thursday, January 10 2008, 09:45 GMT
By Ben Rawson-Jones, Cult Editor

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will take a different direction from the movies, according to a consulting producer on the upcoming television spin-off.

James Middleton told Sci Fi Wire: "The Sarah Connor Chronicles is really a new expression of the franchise, and it is a denouement, really, to Sarah Connor and that character that was introduced in the first two movies."

"T3 is its own separate thing," he added. "The movie chronology in terms of the Terminator franchise will be different than the television show. The mythology has always posited that, through this aspect of time travel, events being changed in the past could change events in the present and in the future."

The series, which stars 300's Lena Headey as Connor, will debut on the Fox network in America on January 13.
 
So I watched the premiere tonight. HHHm..... so it's as if the Terminator story was made as a Lifetime Movie of the Week.

Fans who remember the movies might be a bit confused initially because it is not made clear right away that the events of the series take place between T2 & T3 and, at least according to the producers of the series, that T3 takes place in an alternate timeline entirely. So much for canon. It'll be interesting then to see how T4 handles all of this.

EDIT: In regards to T4, it looks like the next movie will be continuing the movie canon and will take place after the events of T3. That means, like some other genre franchises, there are now two different but similar timelines taking place (one in the movies and one in the TV series).

http://www.coolscifi.com/forums/sci-fi-fantasy-discussion/more-terminator-4-details-172522/
 
Summer Glau spent the hours before last night's premiere of her new series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, hanging out with fans and posing for pictures at the Los Angeles Comic Book and SciFi Convention. We were able to snag a few minutes with the newest addition to the Terminator factory line before she was whisked away in a frenzy of marketing and fandom. In the new show, Glau plays the good Terminator, sent to protect John Connor. You can catch the second hour of the two-part premiere tonight -- an hour that in our opinion kicks a lot more butt. Find out more about Summer, and hear a rumor about the all-singing, all-dancing mystery version of Firefly, in our interview.


You've been involved in Firefly, Serenity and The 4400. Are you particularly attracted to science fiction or do you choose the the projects based on the roles?
Well, scifi has sort of chosen me! The first scifi I ever auditioned for was Firefly, and it was the first television series I'd ever read for too, as a regular. Scifi fans are so loyal, they love to see their actors working, and I think that's why I keep going back to doing scifi.

The characters that you've played are all superwomen who kick ***, but they've all been "tweaked" somehow, or in some cases aren't even human. Do you feel like that's anti-feminist?
Well, look at Lena's character. She's a powerful woman, but she's normal but thrust into extreme circumstances. I like playing roles that are very vulnerable, and I think that Cameron is very vulnerable. Even though she's a robot, there's a vulnerability about her because she's alone in this new reality. She's childlike in that she's absorbing everything around her and trying to fit in and find her place. That's what's interesting to me. I don't want to play a character that is one-dimensional. I think that the women, I've played, while they're powerful, they're also vulnerable, they're emotional, and they are multi-faceted.

We've hear that Joss Whedon likes his actors to have some input in their characters, did you do that when you played River Tam in Firefly?
Oh, you heard that did you? *laughs*

Was it true?
No, not for me! We don't change anything about the characters. Although it's important for every actor to answer their own questions about our characters... we used to joke with Joss like "Hey, I have idea for this scene!" And he'd be like, "Uh, yeah. We're doing it my way." *laughs* I trust him completely, and there were days when I came for scenes and I didn't know how I was going to do them. If Joss hadn't been there, I would have been lost.

Let's say something magical happened tomorrow, and they said Firefly was coming back on the air. Would you be up for it?
You know, I never had another experience like Firefly. It was very different for me because I'd hardly worked before. I was like a little sister and it was a very safe environment for me. I've never had that since, and I would definitely go back in a heartbeat.

Your character changed the most on the show, going from an innocent, lost little girl to a superweapon who could kill everyone in the room at the drop of a hat. Did you bring some of that to the role as Cameron?
I've wanted to make them very different. My main concern when I got this role was 'How do you make people care about a robot?' I've been trying to do that in a lot of different ways. What happens in the show is that you're drawn to her and you start to care about her, but then you see her do something that is so cold, and so inhumane that it's scary. That's what I'm going for!

You have a background as a dancer, do you still do that?
I do, although it's not easy. I go to classes often. I have a very physical role and I have to work out a lot, but I'd much rather go to dance class than go to the gym.

Do you have any shows or projects coming up where you dance?
Well, you could ask Joss about that. We might have a little something coming up... Firefly, the musical?


Summer had to run off to her panel, but we'll be checking into this!

(Via IO9)
 
Interesting comment that even though Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has literally just started on the air that, if given the chance to work on Firefly again, that she'd...
I would definitely go back in a heartbeat.
 
EDIT: In regards to T4, it looks like the next movie will be continuing the movie canon and will take place after the events of T3. That means, like some other genre franchises, there are now two different but similar timelines taking place (one in the movies and one in the TV series).

http://www.coolscifi.com/forums/sci-fi-fantasy-discussion/more-terminator-4-details-172522/

I think it's going to be like Superman and Smallville in that way.

Overall I thought the show was ok. Really, I've had a problem since T2 with all the time travel elements. I mean, Reese says they blew it up after they sent him, so all these robots and humans shouldn't be able to go back and alter the timeline. Starlog did a "no-prize" explanation that involved Skynet and the human resistance sending back multiple groups simultaneously, which was believable for the first sequel, but begins to look ridiculous at this point. I'm glad the new movies are staying in the future at the very least.
 
Sarah Connor's Boss Says Goodbye [Terminator: Tscc]

Feeling angry and frustrated at Fox for canceling Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? One man wants you to fight that feeling, and you might want to listen to him; he's the guy behind the show.

Blogging on Fox's official Terminator blog, showrunner Josh Friedman addressed the cancellation and came out much more philosophical, and grateful, than upset:

Good shows are cancelled every year; smart shows, worthy shows, shows which move their viewers to write blogs and have viewing parties and create action figures and bury executives' email accounts under thousands of messages. I miss Deadwood and The Wire and Arrested Development but thank God that I still have Rescue Me and The Office and a recently renewed Party Down written by ex-T:SCC writer John Enbom.

Bad shows are cancelled, too. And certainly there are those who did not like what we did and had their own vision for what a Terminator TV show should be. It's easy to look at low ratings or cancellation as "failure" and for those who believe we've gone about this all wrong I'm sure today's news will only serve to confirm a world view that I would never try to change. We've written the show as best we can, executed it to the best of our abilities, and sent it out in the world knowing that we worked out asses off to do something that wouldn't be a waste of anybody's forty-three minutes.

Thanks to a brave and talented cast, a feature crew working on a TV schedule, and everyone else who I could list but won't because they know who they are. Mostly I'd like to thank those of you who've supported us and fought for us and given up hours of your life to watch our show. At the end of the day, that's what it's about. The watching.

If you're busily preparing a boycott of all Fox shows because of the news, he had a word for you, too:

I know a lot of you are angry about the cancellation and want to find a place to direct your anger and to that I say do yourself a favor and find a way to move past it. Every network wants a big fat hit, especially one with a brand name behind it, and Fox was/is no different. They supported the show, they supported my vision of the show, and they gave it plenty of time to find an audience.

He's a classy man, and here's hoping that he ends up on staff somewhere soon. Joss, need someone to help out with Dollhouse's second season?

One last thing from Josh Friedman [Fox.com]

(Via io9)
 
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It's a shame to see this one go. I think with the last few episodes they were starting to find the right pace of the show.
 
felgercarb, that was one of my favorite shows!
I agree, there were finally getting some good stuff going. Unfortunately, it was a crapshoot most of this past season. :blush:
 
The Terminator franchise arrives on TV with this serial drama. The series picks up two years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day with John and Sarah Connor (Thomas Dekker and Lena Headey) hiding from the government. After two years in one place Sarah decides they need a change of scenery and in doing so they expose themselves to FBI Agent James Ellison (Richard T. Jones) and Skynet's army of Terminators including Cameron Phillips (Summer Glau) a reprogrammed Terminator sent to protect John. She informs them that Judgment Day was not stopped and will take place in 2011. John convinces Sarah to stop hiding and fight so Cameron takes them to a time machine the resistance has set up to take them to the year Skynet was created 2007.
 
TV show information provided by The Movie Database
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