November 17, 2008
After using up multiple episodes' worth of budget (this is speculative) on last week's action packed episode, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles returned tonight with a far more subdued, meditative affair. Guest star Richard Schiff put some great work in as a mysterious man from the future who Jessie corralled early in the episode. Terminator laid off the gas tonight, and it felt right. Decompression was necessary, and there was aftermath to be waded through. While not terribly exciting and relentlessly dark, audiences found themselves watching another captivating episode of Terminator, which is proving itself to be a long, on-going mythology based series, as opposed to the terminator-of-the-week scenario many envisioned at the show's outset.
November 12, 2008
After Monday's episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, show runner Josh Friedman and some of his crew held a live chat with fans and TV critics. There wasn't terribly much in big news or spoilers, but there were a few interesting tidbits here and there. Monday's episode was one of best of the series thus far, and was as close as TV gets to airing an action movie. Though the future of Terminator seems bleak after last week's announcement that come 2009, Terminator will be moving to the death slot on Friday nights, Friedman and crew remain upbeat. Battlestar Galactica thrived on Friday nights, and it's not impossible to succeed on any night. However, Terminator has received poor ratings everywhere it's been, and the smart money's on continued poor ratings once the move is made to Friday nights.
November 10, 2008
Tonight's episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles felt like the third act of an action movie. This is a compliment. The episode is the reason why loyal viewers have kept watching Terminator. I feel rewarded. In last week's episode of Terminator, Cromartie was hot on the Connors' trail. He's been searching for some time, and though it appeared to be coming to a head, the swiftness with which Cromartie appeared tonight was wholly unexpected, though not unwelcome. Fans will likely be discussing the narrative structure of tonight's episode, which took a cue from Pulp Fiction/The Rules of Attraction, though it wasn't as pronounced as the title cards may have led us to believe.
November 6, 2008
FOX released their full 2009 mid-season schedule today. A great many of you will be disappointed with what has been done. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a series who many thought would keep its time-slot come January and reap the benefits of being the lead-in for 24, will be moved to Fridays, beginning February 13. As savvy TV viewers know, Fridays are where TV shows go to die. If a network moves you from mid-week to Friday, it is a death sentence. In addition, Terminator will be joined on Friday nights by the new Joss Whedon series Dollhouse. After Firefly, you'd think that FOX would be done screwing with Whedon and his fans. Apparently not. It will be a major, major upset if Dollhouse succeeds on Friday nights.
OK. Let's get the nitty gritty out of the way before we go to the commentary (i.e. “whining”):
November 5, 2008
It's not a spoiler if the show runner announces it to a legion of fans at Comic-Con, right? Just because people are very sensitive about the s-word, I'll wait until after the jump to discuss the spoiler. I think its reasonable, although this information has been out there for months. So, until we make it to the jump, what shall we discuss? Quite an election last night, was it not? Very good speech by Senator McCain, followed by an epic speech by new president-elect Barack Obama. It's a night I will surely be telling my future children and grandchildren about. Oh, looks like we can make the jump now. Full speed ahead.
SPOILERS OF THE ANCIENT VARIETY BELOW!!!!
November 3, 2008
Richard T. Jones held the title of a regular cast member on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles since the very first episode, but he hasn't really been a regular. The character of Agent Ellison has served his purpose, but screen time has been fleeting, more often than not. Terminator show runner Josh Friedman has said time and again that the story for Terminator is fleshed out for a few seasons. They know where it's all going, and obviously James Ellison will play a significant role in the overall mythology. On tonight's episode of Terminator, we saw the beginning of what will likely be a lot prominent screen time for Mr. Richard T. Jones.
November 2, 2008
It could not have worked out better for Brian Austin Green on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. What was a controversial and much-derided casting decision among Terminator fans, turned into the most surprisingly successful return to television by any actor last year. Almost no one expected Brian Austin Green to be good on Terminator, let alone me. So, it was with incredible surprise that Brian Austin Green showed up as Derek Reese on Terminator and rocked it. Part of it was the very cool character that Josh Friedman and company created, but Green brought a lot to the table as well, hopefully putting the ghost of David Silver firmly in his past. Green is back for Terminator's second season, and at a recent press junket in Los Angeles, we got the chance to speak with the man himself about the upcoming season. You will find the full video of our interview below.
October 29, 2008
I was notified of a recent Hollywood Reporter article thanks to TV Squad today. It is, to say the least, quite interesting. The basic premise is this: the economic downturn in our economy has led to some peculiar full-season pick-ups for television shows. The main series discussed by the Hollywood Reporter is Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Though it may seem counter-intuitive that a bad economy would lead networks to renew TV shows with poor ratings, it actually makes sense in a way that I never would have thought of. As it turns out, if a show like Terminator is canceled, then advertisers get to recoup the money that they had already pledged to that specific series. Therefore, for the network, it can be a better decision to keep those promised advertising dollars than gamble on a show's replacement to garner higher advertising dollars. The economy works in mysterious ways, my friends.