It’s a little surprising that there hasn’t been a “Terminator” TV series before now, given how popular the franchise has been over the years, but here’s my theory as to why it finally happened: once Ahnuld took over as Governor of California, the producers decided, “Oh, well, if he’s not gonna be available to do more movies, we might as well hit the small screen.” So, we have “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” . . .
Hey, I’m psyched.
Yeah, I know, I say that a lot…but, seriously, the special effects in the pilot look sweet. Plus, what red-blooded American male can’t get into a cast which stars Lena Headey (“300”) as Sarah Connor and Summer Glau (“Serenity”) as the latest, sexiest model of Terminator? And in case you fall into a different male demographic – there, how’s that for a politically correct turn of phrase? – it’s worth noting that the shoes of John Connor are being filled by former “Heroes” star Thomas Dekker.
But if you’re a real sci-fi geek, you probably only have one question: where exactly does this series fall into the chronology of the three “Terminator” films?
Producer Josh Friedman attempts to sort out the confusion. “When we first started this,” he explains, “people said, “This takes place between ‘T2’ and ‘T3,” and I think that was incorrect. As far as I’m concerned, this is ‘T3.’ I mean, this is a continuation of what I would call the Sarah Connor trilogy. So I think anything that happens after ‘T2’ is fair game for us. And I think the ending of ‘T2,’ the exploding killing Cyberdine, killing Miles Dyson, sort of changes the timeline for anything in the future.” Friedman went on to clarify that the ultimate fate of Sarah Connor as referenced in “T3” – she succumbed to leukemia, of all things – is no longer to be considered to be a given; fellow producer James Middleton added, “We’re taking a phrase that is very important in ‘T2’: ‘No fate, but what we make.’ And this is a new fate for Sarah Connor, so we are creating an entirely new timeline.”
Of course, it will probably not surprise you to learn that, of our number, at least one person was simply unwilling to accept this answer at face value. “At the end of ‘Terminator 2,'” began a reporter, “it looked as though they had saved the future. And in ‘Terminator 3,’ basically they were stuck with the future that ‘Terminator 1’ came from. Does your show believe that that loop is inevitable, or are they still trying to change the future to the point where it never gets to the rise of the machines?”
Rather than simply saying, “I’m sorry, but answering your question would wreak havoc on the space-time continuum,” Middleton actually responded thoughtfully: “Our characters operate and fight a battle every episode based on faith that they can prevent Judgment Day. Now they’re going to do everything that they can to do that. But the odds against them are formidable. They have a formidable enemy. So how they operate every day is to fight the fight the best they can in each episode.”
(Perhaps more amazingly, the reporter accepted this answer!)
With all these references to the films, you’re probably wondering the same thing we were: what are the odds of us actually managing to see that aforementioned Governor of California on the show?
Friedman admitted, “We’ve talked a lot of about it, but the reality is that, as governor, he’s incredibly busy. As a star, you know, he’s incredibly expensive. So we have great reverence for him, but we don’t know. We just don’t know if he’s ever going to be able to.” Also something the show isn’t able to do: even show images of Schwarzenegger in his Terminator guise.
Best show-related question that never got an answer: “Thomas, Lena already talked about the pressure about filling Linda Hamilton’s shoes. How are you training to be more like Edward Furlong?”
Best non-show-related question that didn’t require an answer: “Are you familiar with the ‘Highlander’ series?” (The panel had absolutely no idea why it was funny, but, man, did the writers who’d been in attendance at the ‘New Amsterdam’ panel laugh…!)
Best non-answer to a question: when the producers were asked if there was any chance of seeing Kyle Reese – Michael Biehn’s character in the original film – coming to Sarah in dream sequences, a la his appearance in the director’s cut of “Terminator 2,” Friedman responded, “Wow, good idea. I was just thinking of that. I’ve written it down in the back room on a piece of paper with a date and time previously, pre-dating that question.”
On a more serious note, you may have read about the controversy over a scene in the original pilot which involved a school shooting. Friedman acknowledged that they’re reshooting parts of it. “We’re really sensitive to people’s concerns,” he notes, “but I think we’ll wait and see what it looks like at the end.”
And as long as we’re being serious, let’s close with Dekker’s response to the controversy over his character on “Heroes” supposedly bouncing back and forth between being gay and straight.
“You know, controversy is such a nice, fancy, dramatic term that sounds good,” said Dekker, dismissively. “I think it was something that definitely got blown out of proportion as far as what actually happened with the character, and the character was something from day one that we had set out to make in every possible way ambiguous. He was something that was supposed to be — you know, we felt that every character in the series was so clear in who they were, and it was nice to have kind of side characters that were a little more open. You didn’t know where his relationship with Claire was going. And, you know, me not appearing on the show anymore has nothing to do with anything to do with the character. They’re completely separate events.”
So why did he leave the show, then?
“Because,” replied Friedman, “we hired him.”
Fair enough.
