TSCC Terminator Producer Talks Sarah Connor Chronicles…

oh awesome!!! Here are two sites to add to your links for scifi/fantasy tv and film….and a kick axx interview with AEM of TSCC….

Via Mania.com:

Fans of sci-fi genre television seem doomed to experience rough rides on primetime networks these past few years. While some series build enough of a niche audience to survive the ratings wars, a lot fall through the Nielsen cracks. From Fox’s “Firefly” being pushed around from the beginning to ABC’s “Invasion” getting the axe to “Jericho” being pardoned only to be summarily executed a year later, there’s no shortage of genre downfalls on the major networks….

…Those cancellation reports have been coming for this particular series for sometime, with EW’s Michael Ausiello adding weight to them, when he reported that the show was leaving the airwaves because the sets were destroyed. At the time, this seemed to be a cause of alarm for fans that yet another one of their genre series was fading into TV oblivion. But if you caught the season 2 finale, you would have seen the real reason the sets were destroyed. Obviously the writers and producers couldn’t respond to rumors before the finale or they would have ruined the surprise.

But they can certainly speak out now. …

Patrick Sauriol has The Exclusive Interview at CoronaComingAttractions,  (go read the whole thing!):

…Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has taken pause after ending the season on a high note, leaving fans to speculate and wonder where a third season could take them…. If you are reminded of Battlestar Galactica that’s alright because The Sarah Connor Chronicles is proving to be cut from the same quality of cloth as BSG. Simply put, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is one of the best series on TV right now that you should be watching….

-snip-

…Fox reveals whether The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been renewed for a third season on May 18, the day it announces its fall schedule. Shortly after the airing of the season two finale I had the opportunity to talk to Ashley Edward Miller, one of the show’s co-producers and co-writer on several episodes….

One question from the interview explains the string theory premise behind the show:

CA: OK, here’s a bit of a geeky question but it just shows that the writers of the show are thinking about this stuff too. The show explains that time travel doesn’t create paradoxes, instead it creates new future timelines that seem to rewrite over the ones that Sarah, John and Derek remember. Was this a conscious decision made early on that you guys had to figure out, and then explain to the audiences (for instance, when Derek explains to Jesse that what happened in his future isn’t the same as what she remembers happened)? Does this kind of rule for time travel make it easier or harder for your team and coming up with stories?

AEM: This was a very conscious decision on Josh’s part, and it’s inherent to the premise of the show. Not to say it didn’t lead to many long, brain-torching discussions in the writer’s room. We called them “the rabbit hole” — you have to go down there, but who the fuck is the guy in the hat? You know?

Given that, rules makes it much easier to write stories. A strong rule creates drama because all the characters live within the rule. Compare the stultifying technobabble on Voyager with the elegant problem-solving of the original Star Trek — one show existed in a world where rerouting the EPS conduits could fix most anything; the other show featured characters who had to let Edith Keeler die to save the future. There’s a vast difference between the two, and I’m so happy to be part of something that leans toward the latter.

Funny that you mention Derek and Jesse, because I think that was probably the best expression of the rule in action. It turned an intellectual idea into an emotional one. We’ve all had an experience where someone we think we know turns out to be someone else entirely, in terms of who they are and what they do. People close to us can have experiences we don’t know about, that we can’t understand. Profound experiences that shape them in non-deterministic ways. Jesse lost a child. Derek executed his best friend. It’s just incredibly powerful stuff. It made every trip down the rabbit hole worth the time and effort.

Another example (filed under “happy”): Derek and John sitting on a park bench, watching young Derek and Kyle play an innocent game of baseball. In context — the looming end of the world, the tragedies that will shape those boys — is there any moment in the show that’s more lovely?

If you can’t change fate, there is no hope. I like to think that’s what this show is all about. The fans agree, I think…

On Terminator:Salvation which DOES use some TSCC mythos!!

CA: OK, how about this. Has the T:TSCC team been aware of what is revealed in Salvation or are you going in blind like most of us?

AEM: Some of us are somewhat aware, although the things we think we know are always subject to change. So I’m about as informed as your average reporter for aintitcool. One funny thing, though… apparently, Skynet in T4 processes coltan to create the endoskeleton alloy. I’m given to understand the producers thought this came from the other movies, but it’s not true. Our show originated the use of coltan as an evolutionary step for Terminator design. Higher melting point, so you can’t just toss Uncle Bob in the steel and expect him to evaporate. Take THAT, continuity mavens

WHAT TO DO TO GET SEASON THREE ON THE AIR:

… Keep up to date with what’s happening with Ashley Edward Miller and showrunner Josh Friedman on Twitter. You can also join SaveTerminator and Save the SCC on Twitter to show Fox your support for good, smart television. God knows we need more of it, right?…