Comic-Con '08 Sarah Connor Panel (spoilers)

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Comic-Con: A bombshell from the 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' panel

Jul 26, 2008, 03:56 PM | by Whitney Pastorek
Categories: Comic-Con 2008, Television

Series creator Josh Friedman moderated his own T:SCC panel at Comic-Con today, which kicked off with a clip reel — put together just for us — that included a few bits from the first season and a lot of what's to come in season 2. Cam (Summer Glau) has survived the truck explosion that ended last spring's run (oh, like that's a shock), and the Turk (increasingly-sentient chess computer) is in the hands of some very high-tech baddies, including new cast member Shirley "Garbage" Manson. We saw some nice craziness from James "Sarkissian" Urbaniak and some nice butching up on the part of Thomas "John Connor" Dekker (who came to the panel dressed as Bruce Springsteen, circa 1984, and has cut off his emo bangs). We also saw a lot of shooting and car-flipping and, well, more of the same awesome same. If you read my TV Watches last season, you'll know I started off ambivalent about this show, but the smile on my face after the clip reel is proof positive it's grown
on me.

The cast spent much of the start of the panel cracking each other up, before Friedman and Dekker got substantive to discuss John's transformation from a mopey, PTSD-afflicted teen into someone we'll believe could be a leader of men. "The second-season John Connor is nothing like the first-season John Connor," said Friedman. ("Thank you!" called out some dude in the audience.) Other info relayed: John gets out a bit from his mom's overbearing clutches this fall; Lena Headey (pictured, who plays the title role) is "chuffed" to have Manson in the cast; Brian Austin Green (a.k.a. BAG) just keeps getting hotter — and would like to thank everyone who hated the fact that he was cast but embraced the character. ("I'm still waiting for that embrace," said Dekker.)

In season 2, say the producers, the universe has been expanded, and the core group we met last spring will be rubbing shoulders with the real world. We'll see the Connor family crumble, and what that stress does to a mom — even as Skynet continues to evolve. Some of the actors — Dekker and Headey, especially — may be directing some of the show's online content going forward, and they're writing Richard T. Jones' Christian faith into the show as part of Agent Ellison's character.

And here's the biggest bombshell: Today's panel was comprised of Manson, Jones, Garrett Dillahunt (Cromartie, the bad Term), BAG, Dekker, Glau, and Headey — we were told this season, ONE OF THEM WILL DIE. The cast didn't know about this, and flew into a tizzy that effectively derailed the proceedings for a while. ("But I just bought a house..." whimpered Dekker.) Even money's on newbie Manson to kick it, of course, but maybe BAG's trying to make it to that 90210 remake after all?
Comic-Con: A bombshell from the 'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' panel | PopWatch Blog | EW.com (http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/07/comic-con-termi.html)

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Sarah Connor Producer Tells io9 The Terminators' Deepest Secrets

Josh Friedman is the creator of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, one of last season's most interesting scifi shows, complete with time traveling, kickass Terminator fights, and Heathers riffs. Plus, next season, the cast will be joined by Shirley "Garbage" Manson and Busy "Freaks And Geeks" Phillips. We had a chance to sit down with Friedman for a one-on-one talk at Comic-Con, to talk about where the show is going. And he told us the one word you'll never hear on his show.


io9: You've said that season two will feature John Connor stepping up and becoming more of the hero we know he's going to be. How do we build up John Connor without tearing down Sarah Connor?

Friedman: I don't know that you don't. I think, dramatically, when you're looking for conflict, to keep characters always with the same problems and the same attitudes gets boring. Everyone knows what Sarah Connor is, and that the thing that's most important to her is her son. And it's not about making her a good hero or tough or alpha, it's really about how you can be the toughest person around, and if your primary relationship, in her case with John, is suffering in some way. She still kicks ass, we have a lot of that, but how important is that if you have a problem in your primary relationship? So it's less about john becoming a hero, and more about John moving away from home and becoming an adult. It's just more problematic when he does that.

io9: We've been wondering. What is this thing with Terminators having names? Like Cromartie? He uses that name in the first episode when he's masquerading as a school teacher, and it becomes his name for the rest of the series.

Friedman: It becomes his name for the rest of the series, for those who need to call him something. Obviously, they don't have real names — it just helps us identify them.

I have something which I've never told anybody, which I will tell you: I am determined to never use the word "Terminator" in the show. I don't like it in the dialogue — it sounds weird to me. I think it was when I was watching The Sopranos, and I realized after five years, that I had never heard the word "Mafia." And finally it was said once, and the guy who says it gets killed. And it was really interesting that they'd never said that word. After our first episode [of Sarah Connor] I realized I never used it in that episode, and I said I'm going to see if I can go without it.

io9: So we know nobody named Connor will die on this show, and they'll never avert Judgment Day. Is the show's suspense mostly around the other characters? Does Brian Austin Green have a target painted on his forehead? Or is more about the relationships?

Friedman: [Laughs] I think partially, it's the relationships. I think when someone says the apocalypse is not going to be averted, well, yes. They're going to try as hard as they can to avert it. In the first movie... the Terminator's not coming back to stop John Connor because John Connor is going to stop the Apoclaypse. [Connor] is going to save mankind. Skynet is, in a way, a rapid dog chase around the dog park. [The real issue is] will this boy in our show become what he needs to be to save the future? Skynet is probably inevitable.

By sending back a Terminator [Summer Glau] to be with John Connor, you're changing his character inherently, and what does that change him into? And what dos that mean? Is he becoming a different leader in the future? And i think this year we will see more ramifications from his relationship with [Glau's] Cameron. He has sent her back to help and protect, but the intensity of that relationship can't but affect him in the future, and I think that is something that is problematic.

[B]io9: So how does that affect him? Does it make him more emotionless, because he's spending his formative years hanging out with a robot? More cautious, because he's living with a bodyguard?

Friedman: I don't know that those are the only two choices. It may make him more dependent on machines, than the original iteration of John Connor. John and Sarah have completely different attitudes towards Terminators: Sarah hates them, she's like a racist. They come back and try to kill her. the function of Terminators in the movies was always as a father figure. Terminator 3 sort of abandoned that family dynamic, and who is this Terminator to John. So I think John has always had a more open idea about what they can do, he's repogrammed some and sent them back because he thinks of them as a little more mutable, which I think is potentially problematic or complicating his attitude to them in the future.

[B]io9: So the show really isn't about stopping Skynet?

Friedman: [It's more about the fact that] we're going to die, what are we going to do from now until then? How are we going to live our lives? that's what the show's about: what are you going to do with your day knowing you're going to die? They think they can stop [Skynet], but we as fans think they're not going to stop it. But hopefully we're interested in watching them try to stop it. And are they going to be in any shape to deal with what happens next?

io9: So one of the most exciting things for me about the early SCC episodes was the Heathers riff, with the hazing and the girl who kills herself. And then it vanished. What happened to it?

Friedman: I was disappointed. It was mostly cut for length. I was on strike from episode 2 to episode 9 in terms of editing. There were a couple of rough cuts of episodes 2, 3 and 4 when I left. We had shot most of the season, and I did not edit most of them. We had [high school] storylines that extended through most of those episodes. It always ended up being the things that got cut when it went long. I made all the writers watch Brick before we started. I was such a fan of it. High school is dangerous. It's dangerous on that Heathers level, interpersonally, and also it's a scary place. There was no safe place for John. You couldn't say, send him to high school, and have him say: "Mom's off saving the world, and I'm off with my wacky robot sister." The suicide and the blackmailing — I wanted it to be life and death, and I had a plan for it.

io9: So is that stuff gone in season two?

Friedman: This year, it's pretty much gone. For a while anyway. [It's a tough question] Do you cut away from Sarah being chased by a cyborg, to John in English class? We tried to make them kiss each other. We had a Heroes writer on our staff. I said to her, "We're taking the cheerleader, we're putting her on the roof, and we're having her jump. And she's dying." I wanted people to realize it's not going to be a fun place.

io9: Some people ask why is John in high school in the first place? Why isn't he hiding in a bunker?

Friedman: That would be a show where they're not going to learn anything. John Connor is a leader of people, he's not just a guy in a tank. He has to convince people to do stuff. How does that boy learn how to lead? And yet not be so above the radar where it's a problem? He's not a hothouse flower. How does that guy know how to lead people if he's just under his mother's wing all the time? That was how I rationalized it. [At first, I didn't want to have John in school at all.] I just wrestled with it. And then I had a really good plan.

io9: So there's a new love interest for John, and Cameron gets jealous?

Friedman: I'm always going to look at John and who's on one shoulder, and who's on the other shoulder, and what are they whispering to him? There are various triangles. This is a kid that everyone wants a piece of in some way, and everyone wants to influence in some way, and [there's kind of a battle for his ear. And who's going to influence him?

io9: One thing i liked in season one was the focus on the female characters in episodes like the [I]Heathers episode and the "I married a Terminator episode." Is that going to continue?

Friedman: I think it is a feminist show, in a very matter of fact way. Sarah is who she is. Cameron is not technically female, but she's a representation of a female. Shirley Manson is in the show now. She's in a lot of episodes. [At this point, he gestured at Manson, doing another interview, and I realized that I'd been sitting two feet away from her for half an hour without noticing.]

We actually have another character, played by Busy Phillips [from Freaks And Geeks], a character who lives next Sarah who is 8 months pregnant. The actor actually is 8 months pregnant, she is only in 3 or 4 episodes before she gives birth. We really show her body and show her pregnancy, which for me is a really interesting thing. I've taken a lot of flack from people who think she's too pregnant on the show. We have an episode where she's wearing a skirt and a bikini top. And you realize, you never see that on television. You never see pregnant women on television. You see fake pregnant women on television. It's throwing some people off. You see some of the dailies, and people are like, "She's huge." In these scenes with Sarah and John Connor, who are these little dark lean pieces of beef jerky. It's important for people to see that, if you're going to put on the sexy robots, you need to put on other representations of women and the female form. Not for political reasons — I do it because it works on the show, and there's a reason thematically. She's like the alternate version of Sarah Connor, if Sarah wasn't Sarah Connor. She's a single mother, pregnant with a son. She's Sarah, if everything was okay. That's kind of what I wanted to do, and really show how full she is of life and how the other characters are death-oriented. I think this show does work for women, I think it should work more than it does, and I'm pretty sure it will.

io9: Will Busy Phillips be in more episodes after she gives birth?

Friedman: I hope so.
Sarah Connor Chronicles: Sarah Connor Producer Tells io9 The Terminators' Deepest Secrets (http://io9.com/5029402/sarah-connor-producer-tells-io9-the-terminators-deepest-secrets)




Shirley Manson Talks TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES

July 31st, 2008

Following Saturday’s TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES panel at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con, the TV Addict [alongside a few other fellow media types] were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to interview some of the cast and creative team from the show.

First up, Shirley Manson, who joins the cast this season as Catherine Weaver. A high-powered CEO of a major technology company that we’re pretty sure has something to do with the rise of the machines and that little future war Sarah Connor and Co. seem so intent on stopping.

The first question, a no-brainer. How on earth does the lead singer of GARBAGE end up on TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES?
Shirley Manson: While I wasn’t looking to officially get into acting, it’s something I have always wanted to do. Then one day, Josh Friedman [TERMINATOR’S Executive Producer] called me up and asked if I’d be interested in auditioning for the show. I got the part before I understood the full implications of what I had gotten myself into! I feel very fortunate though, because this role came at a really great time in my life, when I really felt that I needed to shake things up.

What can you tell us about the character you’re playing.
Her name is Catherine Weaver and she’s the CEO of a corporation that develops certain technologies. She’s very self-empowered, assured, singular. It’s a very cool character to play.

Should fans expect any Sarah Connor/Catherine Weaver girl fights?
Not that I know of, unless you know something I don’t. They send you the scripts in little installments, so really, I have no idea where the arc of the character goes at all. Which is very exciting I think.

Have you enjoying making the jump from singing to acting?
I’m so overwhelmed having never professionally acted. But it all seems so cool to me, like I’m six years old again playing in a sandbox. Some of my scenes are with an ensemble, while some are with Richard [Richard T. Jones who plays Agent Ellison]. In fact, I do quite a lot of scenes with Richard. Who is such a great actor that I sit their thinking how good he is, only to realize I’m supposed to be acting.

Are you finding episodic television a grind?
It doesn’t bother me. I’m not Lena [Headey] who is on set every single day. It’s a light load for me in some respects and the hours that I do work are very similar to musicians hours which I’m used to.

Winning a role of this magnitude on your first audition must be a pretty sweet way to start your acting career.
I’ll say, it’s crazy. I can’t believe it happened. It just seems so insane. My little sister said to me that it’s not fair. You get to be a rock star and then you get to be a TV star! It was funny, I feel lucky.

Does this role change the focus of your career? Should fans expect more acting and less singing from here on in? Or vice-versa.
I would like to do more acting. I certainly love the experience of it. It’s exciting and new for me. But hopefully I’ll always do music. Music has been my whole life since I was fifteen. Whether or not I do it in a public forum remains to be seen. But I don’t want to close any doors. I’m just waiting to see what happens and roll with it.

Any possibilities of doing music for the show?
No, I haven’t been approached.

How did you find your first Comic Con experience?
I loved being here and have heard about Comic Con for years. I love the whole subterranean aspect of Comic Con and identify with it. So to actually come here was really exciting for me. Before coming on stage, I actually had a nervous pit in my stomach, like I was getting ready for a gig.

Were you a fan of the films?
TERMINATOR 2 was my movie. I felt that Linda Hamilton was so intense and powerful and I just responded to that and identified with her. I was young, disenfranchised, I wanted to be Linda Hamilton. I wanted to be empowered. I wanted to be able to kick ass. I wanted to push back against the people who I felt weren’t treating me right.

How does the Catherine Weaver character fit into the story?
I don’t konw how much I’m supposed to say to be honest.

You can trust us, really, we won’t tell a soul!
I’m just keeping mum until September.
Shirley Manson Talks TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES the TV addict (http://thetvaddict.com/2008/07/31/3890/#more-3890)