By Joel Keller,Tv Squad
July 15,2008
TCA Report
First of all: The show will have more self-contained episodes this year. Why? Executive producer John Wirth had a very succinct answer to that: "Because we wanted to."
Second of all: Brian Austin Green and Garret Dillahunt, who had recurring roles in season one, will be permanent cast members for season two. Both, of course, are very happy to be coming back. One of the reporters, though, asked the producers about the increase in the number of characters. EP Josh Friedman said that, in discussing the show, the producers and wrters "looked for other types of people to bring to the show, maybe more real-life. Sci fi shows can get insular sometimes. It's good to see characters interact with real people every so often instead of just people who know the secret or robots."
James Middleton, who is working on both the series and the new Terminator movie that stars Christian Bale, admits that the series is working on a separate timeline from the movie. "Both the show and movie take certain inspiration from Terminator mythology, like the value of self-sacrifice, perseverence and faith. But when we deposited Sarah Connor in the present day, we instantly created a new timeline and mythology for her." He felt that the time-travel aspect of the story could potentially have created alternate timelines, anyway, so in that respect, it's consistent with the brand's overall mythology.
Summer Glau, who plays the Terminator infiltrator Cameron, was asked if people who meet her are disappointed that she can't kick someone's ass. "People always say something to me at the pharmacy, the produce section, or the airport. I always feel like I'm disappointing in real life, just reaching for the celery," she joked. She went on to say that she was "surprised and thrilled at how many people are watching our show. people are seeing the show and are really excited about it."
Thomas Dekker told the critics to expect his character, John Connor, to be a little less of a weak kid this year. "He was able, but didn't have blood in him to be a leader," he said. "The plan was to keep him young, have long hair, go to school and be normal, his essence of youth and innocence still there. A lot of that dies at the beginning of this season. (The writers are) trying to do it subtly in the script."
When Friedman was asked if he envisioned an end point for the show, he said that "when we started it I had a plan for at least four seasons; 80 episodes worth. Those things still hold true." Though he noted that when writers begin a season they don't always know where they're headed until midway through. That being said, though, "I have ideas how it'll end. I hope it doesn't for awhile."
