Fox satisfied with T:SCC, staffing started for Season 2

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-15 04:14pm

Alright, the Hollywood reporter had an interview with Kevin Reilly, president of Fox entertainment.

You can read it in full here, but I found it to be pretty short.

Here is the relevant part:

THR: Among Fox's freshman shows, "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" and "Back To You" are expected to come back next fall. Any others viewers shouldn't count out?
Reilly: They're really the lead candidates at this point. We've already started staffing on 'Sarah Connor.' Although it was an unusual season, it will end up finishing by far and away the strongest new drama of the season. Other shows have not gotten the traction. Just because competition is softer doesn't mean audience has to watch a show.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2008-04-15 04:26pm

Sweet! Now to get ahold of and watch every episode after the first two that I haven't had a chance to watch yet...

Peptuck · Post by **Peptuck** » 2008-04-15 04:46pm

Summer Glau had best be coming back after that cliffhangerthat ended the first season. Otherwise, I'll be rightly miffed.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-15 04:55pm

All the sources I know say she will. Note that this was supposed to be a midseason finale and that she was contracted and still is under contract for more episodes than the one they shot.

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2008-04-15 07:47pm

YES.

Several of my favorite shows were on the rocks this season(Supernatural, SCC, Boston Legal), and so far 2 of the three made the cut. Although I'm not holding my breath on Boston Legal.

This show constantly surprised me with its handling of the franchise. Feels like a fully acceptable follow up to T2, unlike T3 which I enjoyed as an action flick only.

Sidewinder · Post by **Sidewinder** » 2008-04-16 12:55am

Peptuck wrote:Summer Glau had best be coming back after that cliffhanger that ended the first season.

Considering her VERY IMPORTANT role as eye candy (yeah, I know, women are more than that, but the unfortunate fact is female characters are often stuck with that role, even in these days), we can probably say she definitely will, barring a major fuckup on either party's part, e.g., Summer Glau getting a drug conviction or the producers of 'Sarah Connor Chronicles' suddenly deciding they just don't like her.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2008-04-16 03:07am

I can imagine all the fatties turning off the instant Glau leaves, so that'd be a hilarious ratings graph to look at.

BEWBS DOWN

RATINGS DOWN

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-04-16 04:01pm

Stark wrote:I can imagine all the fatties turning off the instant Glau leaves, so that'd be a hilarious ratings graph to look at.

BEWBS DOWN

RATINGS DOWN

Duh. Boobs are what kept Voyager on the air.

Anarchist Bunny
I haven't seen Boston Legal since the first season... I thought it had a strong following. What happened?

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2008-04-16 05:21pm

havokeff wrote:
Stark wrote:I can imagine all the fatties turning off the instant Glau leaves, so that'd be a hilarious ratings graph to look at.

BEWBS DOWN

RATINGS DOWN
Duh. Boobs are what kept Voyager on the air.

You should've said "kept Voyager afloat",

Anyway, I wasn't impressed by what I saw, and less impressed by someone on here even raising the question of whether a terminator could become pregnant, I mean, Jesus Christ (said as Mr. Slave would). Maybe it'll get better if they get a budget injection.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-16 06:03pm

havokeff wrote:Anarchist Bunny
I haven't seen Boston Legal since the first season... I thought it had a strong following. What happened?

I guess it could have something to do with the fact that except for Shatner and Spader everyone else from the original cast seems to be gone.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-16 06:04pm

Ghetto edit: Zuul/Rye, what didn't you like about SCC specifically?

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2008-04-16 06:56pm

I've only seen bits out of order, so perhaps I'm being unfair, but I hated the climax of the terminator beating the SWAT guys. Not because I thought they should've won or anything like that, but it was extremely boringly choreographed that seemed to abandon the core of urgent action that Terminator films have. By comparison, if I hadn't seen the rest of Terminator and Terminator 2 and then I suddenly came in at the assault on the police station or cyberdyne, I would have my pants blown clean off by the awesomeness, this was a bunch of guys in SWAT costumes entering a flat and then jumping in a pool.

Other bits are just vague niggles that I can't quite put my finger on since it's been a while since I watched it and wasn't that interested. I also don't recall Reece mentioning he had a brother, he clearly idolised John, didn't have any girlfriends or anything. I also had some annoying small things that I couldn't get over, like how the characters look nothing like their movie incarnations ( as an aside I wonder how much Lisa Hamilton would actually cost, I can't think of much else she's done since T2, but she might be too old now anyway).

If I watched another episode, it'd probably all come flooding back.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-16 10:27pm

Zuul wrote:I've only seen bits out of order, so perhaps I'm being unfair, but I hated the climax of the terminator beating the SWAT guys. Not because I thought they should've won or anything like that, but it was extremely boringly choreographed that seemed to abandon the core of urgent action that Terminator films have. By comparison, if I hadn't seen the rest of Terminator and Terminator 2 and then I suddenly came in at the assault on the police station or cyberdyne, I would have my pants blown clean off by the awesomeness, this was a bunch of guys in SWAT costumes entering a flat and then jumping in a pool.

Well, I had my pants blown off by the awesomness of that scene, because it was so unlike any other typical action scene TV is saturated with. I loved that scene.

But I guess personal taste is just that - personal.

Other bits are just vague niggles that I can't quite put my finger on since it's been a while since I watched it and wasn't that interested. I also don't recall Reece mentioning he had a brother, he clearly idolised John, didn't have any girlfriends or anything. I also had some annoying small things that I couldn't get over, like how the characters look nothing like their movie incarnations ( as an aside I wonder how much Lisa Hamilton would actually cost, I can't think of much else she's done since T2, but she might be too old now anyway).

She would be. And the characters do not look like their movie incarnations, true. However I guess one has to take what actors one can get. I do prefer Dekker and Headey to Hamilton and whats-his-name though, because Hamilton never really impressed me in the role at all. But again, personal taste.

TithonusSyndrome · Post by **TithonusSyndrome** » 2008-04-17 01:16am

I'm also pretty sure Hamilton just doesn't want to do the role again. The reason they wrote her as dead in T3 was because they couldn't get her. I guess beggars can be choosers.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-21 05:40pm

And it is official:

Fox has renewed T:SCC for a second season, which will be 13 episodes long. Confirmed by both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

I wonder why they didn't order more than 13 episodes. Prison Break got 22 despite its rather...disappointing third season.

frogcurry · Post by **frogcurry** » 2008-04-21 07:46pm

On the plus side, it might mean that they can start broadcasting sooner if they are shooting a shorter run.

Any specific reason why Summer Glau has ended up with such a sci-fi heavy CV, or is it co-incidence?

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2008-04-22 12:58am

Full-legnth seasons are too long for a continuity-heavy drama anyway. They always end up dragging before the end. 13 is a good number of episodes that gives them enough time to cover a lot of ground while still keeping the pace up.

Peptuck · Post by **Peptuck** » 2008-04-22 01:40am

From a more pessimistic standpoint, ordering only thirteen episodes means they take less of a financial hit if they decide to cancel the season. I'm personally most concerned as to when the schedule the new season; if it ends up on the Friday Night Death Slot, I'm going to get worried.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-22 05:05pm

And the press release:

FOX TAKES BACK THE FUTURE WITH A SECOND SEASON OF “TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES”

This Season’s No. 1 New Scripted Series Returns with All New Episodes

Brian Austin Green Joins the Cast as a Series Regular

FOX has picked up 13 episodes of TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES (T:SCC) for the 2008-2009 season.

The explosive, season-ending cliffhanger left CAMERON (Summer Glau) rocked by a car bomb and SARAH CONNOR (Lena Headey) close to locating an important Skynet component. Viewers were left with unanswered questions regarding DEREK’s (Brian Austin Green) true intentions and JOHN’s (Thomas Dekker) fate as the savior of mankind. These questions and more will be answered in season two of TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES.

The show currently ranks as the No. 1 new scripted series this season among Adults 18-49. The action packed series represents an exciting reinvention of the “Terminator” film franchise, in which the strong and intrepid Sarah discovers that protecting her son and stopping the rise of the machines is more difficult than she had ever imagined.

Produced by C2 Pictures in association with Warner Bros. Television, TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES is executive produced by Josh Friedman and John Wirth. James Middleton serves as consulting producer, while Toni Graphia serves as co-executive producer and Natalie Chaidez serves as a consulting producer for the series.

Peptuck wrote:From a more pessimistic standpoint, ordering only thirteen episodes means they take less of a financial hit if they decide to cancel the season.

According to my sources Fox ordered thirteen episodes with a +9 deal if the ratings stay solid or improve.

I'm personally most concerned as to when the schedule the new season; if it ends up on the Friday Night Death Slot, I'm going to get worried.

Yeah, like they screwed over Dark Angel....

frogcurry wrote:Any specific reason why Summer Glau has ended up with such a sci-fi heavy CV, or is it co-incidence?

SG first got her first big role as a guest star on Angel, playing a Ballerina. Joss Whedon liked her acting so much he then wrote River for her. And Josh Friedman liked her River so much he wrote Cameron for her. So those two roles were a direct consequence of her catching the eye of two show-runners (she's very lucky in that regard, not having to do any auditions at all for T:SCC and having the character written especially for her).

I am not sure whether it is personal preference on her part as I do not know her nor do I have any info on whether she likes sci-fi or just goes along with whatever roles are offered to her.

Minischoles · Post by **Minischoles** » 2008-04-22 05:34pm

I personally loved the last episode as The Man Comes Around played in the background and the police stormed the apartment with the Terminator in, it wasn't action heavy and all you saw was the Terminator annihilating the SWAT team before just walking out calmly barely hurt.

As for the series it started off slowly and a bit bad, but somewhere around the middle it just took off suddenly and got really good, i'm glad it got a new series because it was shaping up to get really good.

Peptuck · Post by **Peptuck** » 2008-04-23 03:37pm

I agree about the series starting slowly. The pilot and first episode afterward were pretty good, then the series kind of flopped for a couple of episodes afterward, and then it started picking up. By the time "Dungeons & Dragons" rolled around, I thought the series was really starting to kick ass. I've said it elsewhere, but SCC has managed to pack more character development and plot into a short season than some entire full-sized seasons of other shows.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-23 06:43pm

^I found the pilot and the following episode a bit tiring at times. When they got into school things started to look up (third episode, I believe) and it was the fifth episode that got me hooked (Queen's gambit) with the car chase and subsequent action.

ITA about the character development. The only series that comes close to that is BSG's first season.

Big Orange · Post by **Big Orange** » 2008-04-23 08:17pm

I'm really surprised and impressed by The Sarah Connor Chronicles and every episode I've seen has not been a dud, a vast improvement over Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - the scene where the FBI Hostage Rescue Team in full combat gear gets dumped into a motel swimming pool one by one was nicely done and you did not really need to know what was exactly happening once you know what a single T-800 unit is against an entire brigade of heavily armed cops from the first two Terminator movies. I was only bugged by the scene where the T-800 points a pistol at a surviving FBI agent frozen in terror (James Ellison), caculates for a few seconds, then lowers his weapon and then trudges away.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-04-23 08:24pm

^That was probably a command code by Skynet (do not kill this man) or a calculation based on the fact that the guy knew Sarah Connor and therefore might lead him to her.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2008-04-23 08:44pm

Thanas wrote:^That was probably a command code by Skynet (do not kill this man) or a calculation based on the fact that the guy knew Sarah Connor and therefore might lead him to her.

I thought the latter. The FBI guy is fairly easy to track and is on Sarah Connor's trail. Leaving him alive increases the terminator's chance of tracking down John and Sarah Connor.