The Sarah Connor Chronicles

[MacGuffin]

"Terminator" Targets Tube

When the Terminator told us, "I'll be back," we didn't realize he meant after a word from our sponsors.

Fox has ordered a pilot for The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a sci-fi drama that will follow the character played in 1984's The Terminator and its 1991 sequel by Linda Hamilton as she struggles to raise her young son, John, and train him to lead humanity in the coming war with the machines.

Chronicles will be set during the time between 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which supposedly shut the door on the possibility of a computer takeover, and 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which opened that sucker right back up.

Producers Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar, who resurrected the franchise with T3 after their company, C2, reacquired the rights, tell Variety that the idea of a TV series came to them two years ago.

They hired Josh Friedman, a Hollywood writer whose most recent credits include Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and Brian De Palma's upcoming thriller The Black Dahlia, to come up with a script for the pilot. Friedman will also serve as executive producer and showrunner along with C2's senior vice president of development, James Middleton.

Middleton says Chronicles will explore what happens after Sarah is forced to go on the run with her son when the government's new computer system, SkyNet, becomes self-aware.

"She has the weight of the world on her shoulder and she also has to raise a 14-year-old son who may be the salvation of the world," he tells Variety.

Not to mention fighting off some killer cyborgs from the future who will no doubt be making an appearance, though producers note that the show will be more character-driven and less action-oriented than the films, given the budget limitations of TV.

"There's going to be a healthy dose of both [action and family drama]," Friedman tells the trade. He also vows to remain true to the Terminator mythology and mindful of the film's massive fan base.

Hamilton is not expected to reprise her role as Sarah Connor; producers are seeking a new actress for the part.

The Chronicles brain trust has declined to comment on whether everybody's favorite robot assassin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, might turn up in a guest shot on the series. His return could hinge on whether he is reelected as governor of California in 2006.

In a case of life imitating art, the Terminator franchise is hell-bent on world domination. The three films have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. The proposed TV series, which is aiming for a berth in Fox's 2006-07 lineup, doesn't mean the killer robot is saying hasta la vista to the movies. Producers have at least two more sequels in development.

If all goes according to plan, the Arnold-less T4 could begin shooting as early as next year and set up an entire new cyborg trilogy. Termination, apparently, is not an option.

[MacGuffin]

Trailer:

[Stefen]

Anyone seen this yet?

First episode that's set to air in 08 is already out on torrent sites in full DVD rip.

Who's going to be the guinea pig?

[MacGuffin]

Connor To Go Online

Fox will post the pilot episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles exclusively on Yahoo! for 24 hours beginning Jan. 4 at 9 p.m. PT/12 a.m. ET. The commercial-free premiere will also feature an exclusive introduction by star Lena Headey (Sarah Connor).

The series debuts on the Fox broadcasting network over two nights, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and Jan. 14 at 9 p.m.

The show, from Warner Brothers Television, is based on the hit SF film franchise and stars Headey as Sarah Connor, who finds that protecting her 15-year-old son, John (Thomas Dekker), and stopping the rise of the machines is more difficult than she had ever imagined.

The cast also includes Summer Glau as Cameron, an enigmatic and otherworldly high school student, and Richard T. Jones as FBI agent James Ellison.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is executive-produced by Josh Friedman and John Wirth. James Middleton serves as a consulting producer; Toni Graphia serves as co-executive producer, and Natalie Chaidez serves as a consulting producer. The pilot was directed by David Nutter.

[cron]

i saw it. it's more decent than i expected,   except for that GODAWFUL part where the substitute teacher terminator shoots the classroom and says 'class dismissed'. there's potential.

[diggler]

^yea, here and there they throw in these cringe inducing one-liners.  Some decent action for a television series, but wholly unnecessary.

it's also pretty lame how they try to make it a big surprise that the girl is actually a terminator, as if every commercial and poster didn't already advertise this

[MacGuffin]

So they repeated the Pilot last night and am in the same boat with the above reviews. It was interesting enough for me to catch up on episodes. I like Headey's take on Sarah. They've taken certain liberties with the rules Cameron laid down and the time line (Sarah would have died already based on the third film). But I have more hope for this than I ever did for Bionic Woman.

[Pas]

Pretty cheap Blu Ray season 1.... is it a buy ?

[MacGuffin]

Pretty cheap Blu Ray season 1.... is it a buy ?

I would say so. The show clearly loves these characters and respects James Cameron (even naming the Terminator after him).

[GodDamnImDaMan]

Season 2 has been amazing so far.

Except the addition of Shirley Manson, and Leven Rambin.

[MacGuffin]

God, I hope this show hasn't jumped the shark already. The past couple episodes have been one-note plots draaaaawn out to an hour. Why is Sarah playing wet nurse to an annoying, trailer-trash neighbor? And although I do like that Cameron's chip is tweeked making her untrustworthy, her personality is missing; which is strange because I wish they would stop trying to make her more human.