Interview: Josh Friedman on 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' present and future

March 02, 02:34 PM

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will have its two-hour season finale on Monday (March 3) night with a pair of episodes that reach a satisfying conclusion, but which weren't the way series creator Josh Friedman intended to end the show's first season.

"Well, you know it's serendipitous," Friedman says on the eve of the finale. "I wasn't there. I was on strike and so this is the number of episodes that we had reached; we had only written up to this number and produced up to this number when I went out on strike. So it happens that a lot of stuff locks in and comes together during these last two episodes and frankly, that's just dumb luck. If we would have gone one episode more or one episode less I think it would be probably less satisfying."

Originally ordered for 13 episodes, the extension of the popular Terminator franchise saw its first season trimmed to nine episodes due to the strike, but Friedman isn't sure that the events arced out for those last four episodes will actually make up the foundation for the start of a hypothetical second season.

"I'm kind of thinking about that all right now," he reflects. "Again, the strike is such a weird situation, but the school of thought is, well, you could start next year picking up almost where you left off, but sometimes what the next episode, episode 10 isn't necessarily right for a season-two premiere. So I think you have to rethink how much continuity, not continuity, but how much carryover you're going to have from where you plan or it gives you a chance to sit back and say, alright, what can we do for season two? I have a plan going forward. It's just how we integrate that into the beginning of season two."

After attracting boffo ratings for its exhaustively hyped two-night premiere Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has settled into a much smaller audience in recent weeks and its fortunes are decidedly up in the air as the end of the season approaches. FOX has already made substantial commitments to sci-fi tinged pilots from J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon and Friedman doesn't know what to expect looking forward.

"As to the ratings, you know I don't know what to make of it, really," he tells reporters on a recent conference call. "I think that the show has done well for a new show and for a new drama. There are not many that do very well or haven't been doing very well, certainly in the last strike era. And we do very well in certain demographics. We do very well in DVR. We do very well on downloads. I think for our type of show that is a big chunk. We were one of the top five shows being TiVoed right now, which is how I watch the show because otherwise no one would know that I'm watching."

There's another key factor that Friedman wants to emphasize.

"You know it's not actually an expensive show to produce. In fact, I think we're below the budget of many action shows that are on TV right now. In fact, our budget is much more in line with your basic drama that you would find on any network. So I don't think that cost at this point plays much of a factor."

In terms of spoilers for the finale, Friedman will mostly promise, "I'll just say there's a lot of chickens and a lot of roosting."

Some other highlights of Friedman's chat with the press:

On giving out plot information: I'm a fascist about spoilers. I'm the biggest pain in the ass to the marketing and promotion department, and I think they were very happy that I was on strike for 14 weeks. ... Since I've gotten back I get these little e-mails and they say, 'Can we show this?' And I say, 'No.' If I had my way the commercials would be 30 seconds of black with the words 'Sarah Connor' on them.

On tackling the show's trickier time travel aspects: I try not to abuse the time travel too much I think we think about it all the time. I've been in the writer's room and there will be points, it happens at least once a day where all of a sudden we just go quiet and everyone stares at each other because we completely tilted like a pinball machine because we can't wrap our brain around what we're trying to do. I think that I have a pretty specific idea as to what I believe the rules of our universe are and I try not to violate them. I think that chaos theory abounds and that's always my argument, a specific geek argument, why doesn't Skynet just send... well they can't send a nuclear bomb back. I think even Skynet probably at this point understands that the causality is so complicated that it's unclear as to what any one thing might do. So I think to do something en masse is a very -- they might end up destroying themselves, when they need the humans as much as the humans need them to kind of—well, they need the humans more right now, until later, once they're created, then who knows.

On balancing audiences for the show: [T]here are two groups of people I think who watch these shows, there are the real sci-fi people who watch these shows and then there's everybody else. It seems that everybody else has probably never seen Battlestar Galactica and probably can't remember Blade Runner and couldn't tell you what was going on. So they're all fascinated by it, and then you have the people who've seen every episode of Star Trek and watch that episode where... and they're like, 'Oh they're going down this road,' because we've seen this road, and you sort of have a responsibility on the one hand, I think, to try to explore it in the ways that it most obviously occurs. And then I think to the people who've seen these things before, which includes me, you want to keep those people interested so you want to explore it in the ways that we haven't seen it before.

On ditched plans to bring back Kyle Reese [rather than brother Derek, as currently played by Brian Austin Green] for the series: I'm not going to say how I was going to do it but I had an idea but it was one of those things that probably worked really well on paper, and I could easily explain it to you if we sit down for ten minutes. But I think if it was probably something that was a bit of bridge too far for an audience, and again, Kyle is sort of a sacred cow and I think one thing to see him in the future and it's another to see him in the present. I don't know, I still hold out hope that somehow I'll figure out to get him back, but every time I ever brought it up everyone looked at me like I was completely insane. I listen to everyone every once in a while when it's unanimous.

On what he'd be hoping for in an episode order for next season: [T]hat's up to FOX. I don't know. Last year I had 22 planned and we switched it to 13 and we did nine. So I'm always... when I sit down and plan a season out, until someone tells me otherwise, I plan for 22, and if it's not going to be 22, I make adjustments. But I always plan for 22. I've had ideas for probably the first three or four years. I've got arcs for them. Sometimes it just a matter of moving things up or moving things back or seeing where it goes.

in FOX

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Comments (27)

Comments

Interesting comments, particularly on the cost to produce as word is the show costs a lot and FOX are looking for more of a return on their money. I love the show and I hope it gets a renewal. They'd be daft to axe it so soon - surely!!

Cath | Mar 2, 2008 6:00:56 PM | #

The finale aired tonight (Sunday) here in Canada and while it's a great couple of episodes, it's obvious this wasn't intended to be a finale. No spoiler except to say it'll leave a lot of people frustrated if it's cancelled. Think how Jericho fans felt after the first season cancellation and you'll get an idea. If Fox terminates it (sorry...) it'll join a long run of shows killed in their prime ... but I'm afraid it'll be a very hard sell for DVD and syndicatin.

Alex | Mar 2, 2008 8:40:54 PM | #

I hope the show gets picked up too. I'm not sure how well I fit into Fox's demographics—while I enjoy sci-fi, I mainly am interested in good storytelling and great drama. In other words, good Television. And this show fits the bill.

On the other hand, I only just realized that Lena Hedley was in "300," so perhaps I'm not hip enough for Fox (or is that a contradiction in terms?).

William Robinson | Mar 3, 2008 7:04:53 AM | #

The good news is that he's planning for the future.

Alex | Mar 3, 2008 7:25:40 AM | #

I do hope the show gets picked up. I found the series creator's comments to be insightful and appreciated.

Pete | Mar 3, 2008 7:41:14 AM | #

"There is no fate but what we make..."

If the program were to be cancelled, and that would be a BIG mistake, would it not be possible for someone from the future to return in time in order to prevent such an event? Or is cancellation inevitable? Or is that 'Judgment Day'?

In any case, I hope that the show is NOT cancelled... it is the only program I have found to be worthy of watching.

Jeffrey | Mar 3, 2008 8:19:39 AM | #

I think Lena Headly has done a great job w. the Sarah Connor character. It's hard to dispel an iconic image of Linda Hamilton doing pull-ups w. her back to the camera, but Lena pulled it off and I "buy" her in the role (Unlike the actress who tried to displace Lindsay Wagner in Bionic Woman and failed dismally).

I believe the success of the show hinged on if the TV audience would accept a new Sarah Connors and I hope they did. What do others feel about it?

alia | Mar 3, 2008 10:21:27 AM | #

I enjoy the show and hope it gets picked up however, we have to remember this is Fox.
Ihave a feeling that there isn't enough of a sleaze factor for the Murdoch Machine

dadrees | Mar 3, 2008 10:41:57 AM | #

I really like this show, and I don't have too many that I watch now. The writers strike made me realize I don't miss t.v. too much - I watch Lost, and will watch Battlestar, the Office, and How I Met Your Mother when they all return. Also, PBS has some really good English Dramas and awesome music programs (caught one about the Clash Saturday night - excellent!). I hope this one returns in the Fall, and if not to Fox, to some other network (SciFi channel?).

Sue | Mar 3, 2008 10:54:41 AM | #

If the show revolved around Summer's character I would watch it religiously but as it is the mother and that kid get on my nerves the way they are written. Sorry but I stopped watching a couple weeks ago.

DaisyRose | Mar 3, 2008 12:09:35 PM | #

After the brilliant pilot, this show really dropped off in quality. I think it'll come back and I hope it's better when it does.

Lisa | Mar 3, 2008 12:19:46 PM | #

I hope the show returns as well... it does have potential. But with FOX, nothing is certain. Especially a one-hour sci-fi/action-oriented show getting only so-so ratings.

If Fox doesn't pick it up, it would fit very nicely on the Sc-Fi channel to shore their line-up of original programming. However, I haven't recently seen too many shows crossing over to completely different companies (News Corp/FOX to GE/Universal/NBC/Sci-Fi) in quite some time.

IDR | Mar 3, 2008 2:31:16 PM | #

I hope they switch it to Cable where they can actually show Summer nude. It would certainly alleviate the tedium that the last few episodes have produced. I vote for nudity, sex, and terminator human hybrids.

Rob | Mar 3, 2008 3:25:17 PM | #

I'll be happy when it returns. It's a great series, well written and beautifully acted. You've got a fan here.

Patty | Mar 3, 2008 6:56:24 PM | #

I think they miss the boat when they focus on Sarah. It's all about Cameron (Summer) for me. Loved her in Serenity.

tv | Mar 3, 2008 7:04:03 PM | #

Better show than might have been hoped for, and by quite a bit. Tonight's violence was most horrifying and powerful and original. This will be my latest test of whether or not there is god. If there is, this show will return in the fall with no evidence of fox suits having intervened into its handling. My gratitude to its makers for what they've already done. Best of luck for the future.

John | Mar 3, 2008 7:18:55 PM | #

Strong finish to a short (thanx to the writer's strike), season...okay...now we wait. Fox isn't counting on Terminator fans as much as John and Jane Doe from the mass TV market sector. They are, face it, the ones who buy what's shown on the commercials within the time slot. If the sponsors like the ratings--and they ARE decent, for a Monday--and the show has legs--the writer has THREE years of shows--then the SCC will return in 2009, or sooner if something else goes on hiatus.

Zami | Mar 3, 2008 7:22:19 PM | #

Oh, my! My husband and I love this show! We have a date every week to watch it together. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZ BRING IT BACK ................ Hopefully, Kari

kari | Mar 3, 2008 7:46:35 PM | #

are you thinking about a 2nd season?

sincerely, i was thinking about Sarah Connor Chronicles
as a mini-series between
T2 and T3, which it means only ONE season.

But with the ending of tonite's show ,im confused.

michael | Mar 3, 2008 8:03:32 PM | #

Well, FOX doesn't have a very good record with listening to dedicated fans and sci-fi shows (e.g. Serenity). And I would suspect that the show's future is called into even more question due to the announcement of a T4 movie in 2009.

Aside from all of the tv politics, this is still one of the BEST DAMN SHOWS on right now!!! There has not been a single weak espisode: from the pilot to the finale-- it just kept better and better.

Sid | Mar 3, 2008 9:16:45 PM | #

I think Summer Glau is the main character. She certainly seems to be the modern day Perseus, slayer of Fate.

After seeing her in Serenity and now this, I'd say she would make a great Aenea in Dan Simmon's Hyperion and Endymion books if every filmed up.

Mick | Mar 3, 2008 10:24:41 PM | #

We can do something about this, or at least we can try.

Pre-Emptive Strike: SAVE THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES is a Facebook group trying to organize a fight against the cancellation of this show.

Our first plan of action is as follows:

Go down to the local hardware store, pick up a handful of nuts and bolts--say something between 1/4 and 1/2 inch diameter, toss them into an enveloppe with a quick note, about why you want the show to be kept on the air.

Nuts...get it?

WRITE IN TO FOX TODAY:

10201 West Pico Boulevard
Bldg. 100, 3220
Los Angeles, CA 90035

OR CALL THEM:
310-369-1000

Steve Karmazenuk | Mar 4, 2008 4:33:03 AM | #

After reading the article and replies, I couldn't help but comment. If this series gets onto DVD, I personally believe a lot of people will buy it. Even though there is a cliff-hanging ending, I think this belongs in my DVD library. I personally hate T3 with a passion, but they ended up delivering a superior television show. If anyone was confused over the ending of the show, I would watch it again when it re-airs. I thought the producers and actors delivered a great and believable story, which I will be thinking of for days. There are several loose ends to deal with, and a 'Terminatrix' that has to answer some serious questions. There were so many great things about the show's season closure, and I hope another season can give us more insights. Since they took 'Terminator 3' out of the picture, they have a vast open range for storytelling.

"IT WILL BE BACK!" :)

Mac-888 | Mar 4, 2008 7:30:21 AM | #

Hopefully Fox doesn't do what they did to Firefly and cancel it after the first season. Too many groups like Fox, Sci-Fi and so on do this to shows that are really good but they don't think there is a draw and instead put on some stupid reality show.

Kev | Mar 4, 2008 5:32:03 PM | #

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is a "keep you on the edge of your seat" kind of show just like 24 and Prison Break. I love them all. These are some of my favorite shows and I want to see them all back. Hey, Fox, remember the X-Files? Just think what we all would have missed if it had been cancelled the first year. I hate it when networks don't give a show a decent chance. I'm almost afraid to invest time in a serialized show because I'm afraid I'll be left without a proper ending. Please keep these shows on the air. The actors are fantastic in their roles.

Linda Ratzloff | Mar 5, 2008 10:29:04 AM | #

This is probably one of my favorite shows out there. And i am one one those people that don't have cable so i have to watch it online. It was about three weeks since i was able to watch it. So i watched the last few episodes including the finale today. I didn't realize it was going to be so short. I really hope it comes back next season, cuz i gotta say this season wasn't enough.

anita | Mar 7, 2008 8:44:18 PM | #

T:SCC, was brilliantly written and cast. FOX will probably cancel it, because brilliance and TV executives have zero chance of finding each other.

Sasha | Mar 9, 2008 5:00:41 AM | #