BOY IN THE BUBBLE
So where was I?
Oh. Right.
I had this little scary robot show and for whatever reason couldn't convince enough people that it was a) scary enough b) robot enough or c) in English. Add that dim sum combo of factors to a red bean paste of non-monetizable early adopters dvring the show like motherfuckers and now I'm unemployed.
Everyone says having your show cancelled is like a death but I've been dead before and at least when you're dead you don't get thrown off the Warner Bros. lot for haunting your old parking space. They probably mean it's like the death of a friend or a family member but that shit only hurts when it's YOUR friend or family member and even then it's mitigated by age, lifestyle and whether that person was a Hollywood friend or a real one and whether that family member left you money.
Losing your show is more like a surprise divorce where you get served papers in the morning and your (ex)wife is fucking Human Target by three in the afternoon using the same time slot your child was conceived in and also where she did that one thing that one time on your birthday.
People say the bright side to losing your show is gaining time to spend with your family but I'm pretty sure that waking up next to your ex-showrunner spouse whom you haven't seen for two and a half years is pretty close to waking up next to that special someone you met the night before at Carlos n' Charlie's in Cancun on Spring Break.
WIFE: Oh...It's you.
EX-SHOWRUNNER: Hey baby.
WIFE: You look...different than I remember.
EX-SHOWRUNNER: I've gone a little grey.
WIFE: Or a little fat.
EX-SHOWRUNNER: Pretty sure it's grey.
WIFE: Pretty sure...fat. Was I...drunk?
EX-SHOWRUNNER: Drunk? When?
WIFE: I don't know. The whole time?
You should own your self-inflicted wounds if for no other reason than a) they are yours and b) you inflicted them, you dumb motherfucker, but I do want to say in my own defense that it takes a special kind of someone to work seventy hours a week where it is HALLOWEEN 24FUCKING7 and not pack on a few--
WIFE: Dozen.
A dozen--
WIFE: A few dozen.
a few dozen pounds fine I get it. A few dozen pounds consisting mainly of but not limited to: Chocolate Pop Tarts, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, double-decker PB&Js, pink and white animal cookies, duck sandwiches, maricopa almonds, stinky cheese, french bread, deer in a thai curry peppercorn sauce, trail mix with the peanuts picked out, breakfast sausage, pistachios, Diet Coke, large Jamba Juices, those little Butterfingers, lox when we had Zvi the Israeli P.A., and sushi.
And I'm willing to own that. Especially the sushi part.
One of the hardest parts of having your show cancelled is the part BEFORE it's cancelled, when it's "on the bubble". The absolute hardest part of that, besides the phrase "on the bubble," is everyone gets it in their head that you actually know what's happening with your show and you're just not telling them. No one believes the show's fate is in the air, they believe the fate's been decided, you know the fate, but you're just not sharing it with anybody. Now understand this: at any one time on a show there are over TWO HUNDRED people working on a show. OVER TWO HUNDRED FAMILIES DERIVING THEIR INCOME FROM YOUR LITTLE CREATIVE ENDEAVOR.
What kind of fucking asshole would I be if I knew they were all going to be out of work in a month but just didn't feel it was politically expedient to tell them?
CONSCIENCE: Hey. Buddy. That grip's wife is having a baby in two months. He's thinking of leaving to work on a feature.
ASSHOLE ME: We're cancelled in two weeks.
CONSCIENCE: We gotta tell him.
ASSHOLE ME: Nah. People leaving. Bad for morale. Not politically expedient.
Who but a heartless cocksucker would stop someone from getting other work knowing they had no future at their current job? (Other than William Morris and Endeavor, that is.)
But I progress.
I guess there were signs that the show was in trouble (other than the 1.3 rating and the four share). First there was the day I was in my office and looked up to see Chuck Lorre and a Warner Bros. facilities manager standing in my doorway pointing to various features and using their hands to take "air measurements." (Chuck tried to play it off like waving to me God Bless him, but I know an air measurement when I see it.)
I know what you're all thinking: Chuck Lorre needs office space? What the fuck for? Doesn't he already have office space spread out all over half the fucking studio? Isn't it enough that Charlie Sheen's trailer is the size of Waylon Jennings' tour bus and it blocks the best way to ride a golf cart from a certain scary robot writer's office to a particular scary robot sound stage? There's only 2 and half men for fuck's sake, and one of them's like, six years old or something.
You think MR. CHUCK FUCKING LORRE that just because you've pimped my show on Big Bang that you can stand out in my hallway with a basket waiting for the guillotine to fall and my head to roll right to you? Do you think you can do that? Air measurer?
Damn right you can. You're Chuck fucking Lorre and you own my ass.
But Chuck didn't take my office--I believe he said something about my private bathroom having a non-platinum sink--and what I thought was good news soon became anything but. Because while you may be a bubble show to your family and your fans, as far as the studio goes the minute your show wraps you are a deadbeat renter who's already forfeited his cleaning deposit.
It was Open Season on the Sarah Connor Suite as My Room of Ones Own soon became the Potential Room of Any Jackass Pilot Producer who Thought His Show was getting Picked Up. And believe me, there's a lot of those assholes. Poking their heads in, hopped up on good test scores in the key demos, power-drunk and showing off their spanking new laminated Warner Bros. ID card hanging off a lanyard like a slutty USC freshman and her Spring Weekend mug.
And yet. No one took it.
I was starting to feel like Grandma's hand-knit afghan at the garage sale that starts out a keepsake you couldn't part with but ends up as the substitute for styrofoam peanuts when you need to wrap up the six matching sunflower pattern kitchen glasses your mother gave you when you left for college.
Eventually I cracked and started taking the whole thing personally. I'd hear them coming and start screaming "Vultures! Vultures! Come in vultures!" It was that John Irving novel with the orphans and the older ones just know they're fucked and they start rejecting the parents before they can be rejected--
(It's here that I just want to note that I haven't read "that John Irving novel" but I'm pretty sure I saw a movie based on "a John Irving novel" and I feel like that scene was in the movie and should've been if it wasn't.)
--I really did this. Forget the John Irving thing. I really did yell this at people. No one thought it was funny. Well. I did.
I also considered renting the office back from Warner Bros., myself. It was a romantic gesture, or a lazy one, as I had a huge stuffed cow and a Lego Tower of Babel that I couldn't fit into the back of my Chrysler. As it turns out, the studio will rent you back their offices, but at THE SAME RATE THE PRODUCTION PAYS, which, while I can't remember the exact amount, worked out to something around $450,000 a month. But that did include the private bathroom with the non-platinum sink.
Eventually the day came when I was evicted from the room I'd written thirty episodes of my very first television show. I packed a very large SUV with a very large amount of computer equipment, scripts, DVDs, Sarah Connor memorabilia, something that may or may not have been many half-empty tequila bottles, some office supplies I don't want to talk about, and possibly some gum and trail mix. Despite the show NOT yet being cancelled, I was the last person to leave the empty building and would've turned the lights out if I was paying for the electricity.
I drove up to the security gate and prepared to be waved through, knowing there was a good chance this was the last time I'd be on this lot in my capacity as Executive Producer of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It was after 8:00 and that meant I was guaranteed a "trunk check," a phenomenal Hellerian ritual by which the guards checked your trunk and NO MATTER WHAT WAS IN THERE let you leave the lot. I had never known ANYONE to EVER explain themselves regarding the contents of their trunk during the trunk check ritual. I think this has even happened:
GUARD: Trunk please.
ANONYMOUS TV PRODUCER: Sure, Frank. How's the kids?
GUARD/FRANK: Good. Good. (Checks trunk) Is that Bugs Bunny in there?
ANONYMOUS TV PRODUCER: Yeah. I roofied him.
GUARD/FRANK: Sure. Yeah. Looks that way.
ANONYMOUS TV PRODUCER: I'll probably bring him back tomorrow.
GUARD/FRANK: All righty. Make sure to call him a drive on, though. Otherwise we can't let him on.
ANONYMOUS TV PRODUCER: Of course. I'm no rookie, Frank.
So on my final official day on the lot I pull to the guard shack with my SUV full of EVERYTHING.
GUARD: Hey. How're you tonight?
ME: Last night, Frank. Last night on the lot.
GUARD: Looks that way. That your whole office in there?
ME: Pretty much.
As I start to pull away--
GUARD: You got your property sheet?
ME: Excuse me?
GUARD: Your property sheet. Like an inventory sheet. With all of this inventoried and signed off on by the production.
ME: What?
GUARD: I'm gonna have to ask you to turn around and return to the lot, go to your production offices, and get an executive to inventory all of this, certify it as yours, and then sign the sheet. Then you can leave.
ME: Frank. Let me explain something. There is nobody else. I'm it.
GUARD: Well someone is going to have to list, certify, and sign.
ME: Someone? Like who someone?
GUARD: Someone. A producer. Someone.
And then it hit me.
ME: Frank! I'm that someone! It's my show! I am the someone that I'm looking for!
GUARD: Wait. Who are you?
ME: I'm Josh Friedman, Frank! And until I drive past this guard shack I am the Executive Producer of this tv show! I am the someone! Can't I give myself permission to leave?
At which point Frank went to the guard shack. A line of cars had formed behind me, wondering what kind of fuck up was holding up the line at nine o' clock at night. Frank returned with a form, in triplicate.
GUARD: List the items. Certify they're yours. Sign off.
ME: I am, in essence, authorizing myself to leave and thus no longer be the Executive Producer.
GUARD: As far as we're concerned, yes.
ME: Works for me.
And so I did. And so I had. And so I wasn't.
As I drove off I rummaged through the questionable office supplies for a piece of gum. Stuck it in my mouth, accelerating onto Barham Blvd. into the night. I blew a bubble.
It would be another month before it popped.
Oh. Right.
I had this little scary robot show and for whatever reason couldn't convince enough people that it was a) scary enough b) robot enough or c) in English. Add that dim sum combo of factors to a red bean paste of non-monetizable early adopters dvring the show like motherfuckers and now I'm unemployed.
Everyone says having your show cancelled is like a death but I've been dead before and at least when you're dead you don't get thrown off the Warner Bros. lot for haunting your old parking space. They probably mean it's like the death of a friend or a family member but that shit only hurts when it's YOUR friend or family member and even then it's mitigated by age, lifestyle and whether that person was a Hollywood friend or a real one and whether that family member left you money.
Losing your show is more like a surprise divorce where you get served papers in the morning and your (ex)wife is fucking Human Target by three in the afternoon using the same time slot your child was conceived in and also where she did that one thing that one time on your birthday.
People say the bright side to losing your show is gaining time to spend with your family but I'm pretty sure that waking up next to your ex-showrunner spouse whom you haven't seen for two and a half years is pretty close to waking up next to that special someone you met the night before at Carlos n' Charlie's in Cancun on Spring Break.
WIFE: Oh...It's you.
EX-SHOWRUNNER: Hey baby.
WIFE: You look...different than I remember.
EX-SHOWRUNNER: I've gone a little grey.
WIFE: Or a little fat.
EX-SHOWRUNNER: Pretty sure it's grey.
WIFE: Pretty sure...fat. Was I...drunk?
EX-SHOWRUNNER: Drunk? When?
WIFE: I don't know. The whole time?
You should own your self-inflicted wounds if for no other reason than a) they are yours and b) you inflicted them, you dumb motherfucker, but I do want to say in my own defense that it takes a special kind of someone to work seventy hours a week where it is HALLOWEEN 24FUCKING7 and not pack on a few--
WIFE: Dozen.
A dozen--
WIFE: A few dozen.
a few dozen pounds fine I get it. A few dozen pounds consisting mainly of but not limited to: Chocolate Pop Tarts, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, double-decker PB&Js, pink and white animal cookies, duck sandwiches, maricopa almonds, stinky cheese, french bread, deer in a thai curry peppercorn sauce, trail mix with the peanuts picked out, breakfast sausage, pistachios, Diet Coke, large Jamba Juices, those little Butterfingers, lox when we had Zvi the Israeli P.A., and sushi.
And I'm willing to own that. Especially the sushi part.
One of the hardest parts of having your show cancelled is the part BEFORE it's cancelled, when it's "on the bubble". The absolute hardest part of that, besides the phrase "on the bubble," is everyone gets it in their head that you actually know what's happening with your show and you're just not telling them. No one believes the show's fate is in the air, they believe the fate's been decided, you know the fate, but you're just not sharing it with anybody. Now understand this: at any one time on a show there are over TWO HUNDRED people working on a show. OVER TWO HUNDRED FAMILIES DERIVING THEIR INCOME FROM YOUR LITTLE CREATIVE ENDEAVOR.
What kind of fucking asshole would I be if I knew they were all going to be out of work in a month but just didn't feel it was politically expedient to tell them?
CONSCIENCE: Hey. Buddy. That grip's wife is having a baby in two months. He's thinking of leaving to work on a feature.
ASSHOLE ME: We're cancelled in two weeks.
CONSCIENCE: We gotta tell him.
ASSHOLE ME: Nah. People leaving. Bad for morale. Not politically expedient.
Who but a heartless cocksucker would stop someone from getting other work knowing they had no future at their current job? (Other than William Morris and Endeavor, that is.)
But I progress.
I guess there were signs that the show was in trouble (other than the 1.3 rating and the four share). First there was the day I was in my office and looked up to see Chuck Lorre and a Warner Bros. facilities manager standing in my doorway pointing to various features and using their hands to take "air measurements." (Chuck tried to play it off like waving to me God Bless him, but I know an air measurement when I see it.)
I know what you're all thinking: Chuck Lorre needs office space? What the fuck for? Doesn't he already have office space spread out all over half the fucking studio? Isn't it enough that Charlie Sheen's trailer is the size of Waylon Jennings' tour bus and it blocks the best way to ride a golf cart from a certain scary robot writer's office to a particular scary robot sound stage? There's only 2 and half men for fuck's sake, and one of them's like, six years old or something.
You think MR. CHUCK FUCKING LORRE that just because you've pimped my show on Big Bang that you can stand out in my hallway with a basket waiting for the guillotine to fall and my head to roll right to you? Do you think you can do that? Air measurer?
Damn right you can. You're Chuck fucking Lorre and you own my ass.
But Chuck didn't take my office--I believe he said something about my private bathroom having a non-platinum sink--and what I thought was good news soon became anything but. Because while you may be a bubble show to your family and your fans, as far as the studio goes the minute your show wraps you are a deadbeat renter who's already forfeited his cleaning deposit.
It was Open Season on the Sarah Connor Suite as My Room of Ones Own soon became the Potential Room of Any Jackass Pilot Producer who Thought His Show was getting Picked Up. And believe me, there's a lot of those assholes. Poking their heads in, hopped up on good test scores in the key demos, power-drunk and showing off their spanking new laminated Warner Bros. ID card hanging off a lanyard like a slutty USC freshman and her Spring Weekend mug.
And yet. No one took it.
I was starting to feel like Grandma's hand-knit afghan at the garage sale that starts out a keepsake you couldn't part with but ends up as the substitute for styrofoam peanuts when you need to wrap up the six matching sunflower pattern kitchen glasses your mother gave you when you left for college.
Eventually I cracked and started taking the whole thing personally. I'd hear them coming and start screaming "Vultures! Vultures! Come in vultures!" It was that John Irving novel with the orphans and the older ones just know they're fucked and they start rejecting the parents before they can be rejected--
(It's here that I just want to note that I haven't read "that John Irving novel" but I'm pretty sure I saw a movie based on "a John Irving novel" and I feel like that scene was in the movie and should've been if it wasn't.)
--I really did this. Forget the John Irving thing. I really did yell this at people. No one thought it was funny. Well. I did.
I also considered renting the office back from Warner Bros., myself. It was a romantic gesture, or a lazy one, as I had a huge stuffed cow and a Lego Tower of Babel that I couldn't fit into the back of my Chrysler. As it turns out, the studio will rent you back their offices, but at THE SAME RATE THE PRODUCTION PAYS, which, while I can't remember the exact amount, worked out to something around $450,000 a month. But that did include the private bathroom with the non-platinum sink.
Eventually the day came when I was evicted from the room I'd written thirty episodes of my very first television show. I packed a very large SUV with a very large amount of computer equipment, scripts, DVDs, Sarah Connor memorabilia, something that may or may not have been many half-empty tequila bottles, some office supplies I don't want to talk about, and possibly some gum and trail mix. Despite the show NOT yet being cancelled, I was the last person to leave the empty building and would've turned the lights out if I was paying for the electricity.
I drove up to the security gate and prepared to be waved through, knowing there was a good chance this was the last time I'd be on this lot in my capacity as Executive Producer of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. It was after 8:00 and that meant I was guaranteed a "trunk check," a phenomenal Hellerian ritual by which the guards checked your trunk and NO MATTER WHAT WAS IN THERE let you leave the lot. I had never known ANYONE to EVER explain themselves regarding the contents of their trunk during the trunk check ritual. I think this has even happened:
GUARD: Trunk please.
ANONYMOUS TV PRODUCER: Sure, Frank. How's the kids?
GUARD/FRANK: Good. Good. (Checks trunk) Is that Bugs Bunny in there?
ANONYMOUS TV PRODUCER: Yeah. I roofied him.
GUARD/FRANK: Sure. Yeah. Looks that way.
ANONYMOUS TV PRODUCER: I'll probably bring him back tomorrow.
GUARD/FRANK: All righty. Make sure to call him a drive on, though. Otherwise we can't let him on.
ANONYMOUS TV PRODUCER: Of course. I'm no rookie, Frank.
So on my final official day on the lot I pull to the guard shack with my SUV full of EVERYTHING.
GUARD: Hey. How're you tonight?
ME: Last night, Frank. Last night on the lot.
GUARD: Looks that way. That your whole office in there?
ME: Pretty much.
As I start to pull away--
GUARD: You got your property sheet?
ME: Excuse me?
GUARD: Your property sheet. Like an inventory sheet. With all of this inventoried and signed off on by the production.
ME: What?
GUARD: I'm gonna have to ask you to turn around and return to the lot, go to your production offices, and get an executive to inventory all of this, certify it as yours, and then sign the sheet. Then you can leave.
ME: Frank. Let me explain something. There is nobody else. I'm it.
GUARD: Well someone is going to have to list, certify, and sign.
ME: Someone? Like who someone?
GUARD: Someone. A producer. Someone.
And then it hit me.
ME: Frank! I'm that someone! It's my show! I am the someone that I'm looking for!
GUARD: Wait. Who are you?
ME: I'm Josh Friedman, Frank! And until I drive past this guard shack I am the Executive Producer of this tv show! I am the someone! Can't I give myself permission to leave?
At which point Frank went to the guard shack. A line of cars had formed behind me, wondering what kind of fuck up was holding up the line at nine o' clock at night. Frank returned with a form, in triplicate.
GUARD: List the items. Certify they're yours. Sign off.
ME: I am, in essence, authorizing myself to leave and thus no longer be the Executive Producer.
GUARD: As far as we're concerned, yes.
ME: Works for me.
And so I did. And so I had. And so I wasn't.
As I drove off I rummaged through the questionable office supplies for a piece of gum. Stuck it in my mouth, accelerating onto Barham Blvd. into the night. I blew a bubble.
It would be another month before it popped.
posted by josh at 1:30 AM
411 Comments:
You've been amazing Josh. That's all I can really say. You did an amazing job with TSCC. You stuck to your guns and your vision and a) I loved it and b) I admire your awesomeness for it. Thank you for 31 kick-ass awesome episodes!
Thanks for the great show, Josh, and best wishes for the future.
Ok, but tell us how you really feel.
Sorry, I had to :p
In all seriousness it sounds like you put up with a lot of undeserved crap. It sucks even more when fans put you down for quitting on us. You've put up with more than anyone should have to probably. Anyone I. Their right mind would have gave up a while ago. I'm still hopeful for some kind of miricle renewal of some sort but it sounds like it's not a battle worth fighting for anymore in your case. Everyone who matters wants to give you a hard time.
i think that TSCC has the most loyal fans ever. Its thanks to your amazing writing that that happened - Don't lose faith the fans haven't - we expect TSCC back !!!
Wow, now I am kind of depressed... I am so sorry for you and for every single person who put love and hard work into TSCC... TSCC was and still is one of my favorites and I was again surprised what (in my eyes) bland shows make it to their 6th season and more and what awesome, one of a kind captivating shows get canceled after only a few...
Thanks to ALL who dedicated themselves to this show... Thank you Josh for staying with the fans... we all are grieving with you, which probably doesn't make it any easier, as you are one of those to suffer most...
Greetings from a fan from Germany and thanks for this personal and quite depressing Blog...BiancaS
I was there one time when you came to the savethescc chat room. But what I've read after the cancellation, everything I've seen you and others say, I'm proud as hell of this show and of you. I enjoyed TSCC more than any other TV show I've ever seen, and I am unbelievably glad you decided you and the other writers would be inspired and creative and not make a show about weekly 40min doses of action shots and CGI effects. You brought your own flavour to the franchise, and this show should have gone so much longer, I thought it would after the first episode I ever watched. And I'm not going to say that I'm broken-hearted about this ending, because quite clearly no one is feeling it more than you are right now. I'm just going to say that this isn't right, but it's happened anyway. Thank you so much, forever. And good luck, for all that helps.
Oh, and despite your misery/anger, that was entertaining as hell. I'm at a loss as to whether I cry or laugh so loud I get found up for still being awake.
Hello Josh!
I read your post, some part was difficult to understand for me (I'm from Italy) but I really understand how much love you put in your job.
I admire you, I really loved TSCC, the vision you introduced in Terminator franchise.
It's really a pity that a lot of people didn't understood that.
I'm still hoping for a pickup even if it seems that WB is much more interested in Salvation then in this beautiful piece of art.
I hope they'll wakeup and realize theri mistakes...
Keep the faith!
Like others have said, reading this made me laugh while still feeling somewhat depressed.
I'm rewatching the show a lot recently and saw salvation yesterday - while it was entertaining, it can not live up to the quality of the show - this is a show that will live forever even if it never comes back. We (the fans) can still hope for some kind of miracle, but if that miracle never comes i'd just like to thank you and express how amazing and thought-provoking this show is.
TSCC is the first show i've ever considered myself "a loyal fan" of, and the first show which has ever made me get in touch with other fans online. You should be insanely proud of what you and the rest of the cast and crew achieved here.
All I ask is that if a miracle is possible, please make it happen. Sadly, it probably isn't possible by this point, but I still see the fans holding strong and waiting - they're waiting because of your genius.
Josh,
As a whole, the show was truly amazing. I really enjoyed seeing John Conner begin to become the man he would have to be, and how Cameron was a major part of this.
Please, do not let the story die. Even if FOX is too blind to see the potential, please push on and have the story published another way. Perhaps a book series, comic series, animated series, something!
I would buy them without hesitation.
I wish all of you the best.
First of all, I wish to tell that finding Summer Glau to the show was great. I did not notice it was River Tam before something like this January or so as she is a far better actress than I thought when watching Firefly, which was not nearly as great as TSSC.
The story was awesome.
Although I did not like the shocker-kind-of beginning with the cge robots, also some of the Lena centric episodes had too little Cameron in them (someone at TrekBBS told, the writers had spoken with fans at scc and listened to their suggestions, hopefully those fans were not the reason for too much Lena as the overwhelming majority loves Cameron as far as I can tell)
I consider this the very best tv show so far. Apparently also more like the original Terminator should have been than the movies were.
I give it 9.2/10. (McGyver would be 8/10 and Blade Runner, although not a tv show 9.85/10, without the rain and some of the scenes done differently it would have 10 out of ten.)
Hi Josh,
thank you for all that, T:SCC, Your show was (and STILL is) awesome.
You managed to get the most out of this superb cast, crew and franchise.
Obviously, there is something wrong in TV ratings shit, but I won't get into this.
I've never been so proud to be an active fan of T:SCC, and I still try to make magic happens... Please don't scrap your notes, drafts, all these things may be usefull someday (specially the big cow ;).... At least I really hope so.
You know it, The Resistance... Is Still fightin' !
Hope you'll feel better soon, hope to see you again commenting next T... next show.
You are welcome anytime, anyday, on savethescc chatroom,
Kind regards,
M_33.
I watched every show and I was ready for more. Strangely enough, the prospect of another movie leaves me cold; like the concept now lends itself more to the episodic ongoing struggle than to another big-budget cataclysm.
Hi Josh,
please forgive all your fans for ranting! We just wanted you to stand and fight with us together. Some people interpreted your behaviour as a disturbing lack of faith (in the renewal of TSCC).
But your post enlights us all now!
Thank you for your words.
Greetz
Alex
Thanks for producing some really memorable TV. I watched almost every episode live, bought S1 DVD, will get S2 DVD, and spent way too much much time on a certain tscc wiki.
I can't believe its over, but if its over, then I wish you the best of luck with any future endeavors.
chrizby1
Snakes on a plane, JF. It's all just snakes on a muthafrakkin plane.
Don't stop believing.
Hey Josh,
Thank you.
I hope you find a new job and that you see 31 eps of TSCC as a good thing.
Whats the best thing. To have your art to be liked by a mass or really loved by a few?
I guess in TV business we know the answer o that.
Btw, i saw Salvation yesterday and i so much missed (your) Sarah, John, Derek, Cathrine, John Henry and ofc Cameron. I just kept thinking about it during the movie..
Thanks for the last laugh, sir. I know it's mostly at your own expense, but... You're damned good at what you do. Carry on. Sally forth. Drew... Barrymore (I lost it somewhere there). You'll be back. It's just a damn shame a show as entertaining and exhilarating and genuinely well done as T:SCC will not. Nobody knows nothin, and the fact that people watch TWO AND A HALF MEN just proves the point. Chin up. Eyes forward. March. Godspeed, sir.
Man, a love your show! Thank you for the 31 episodes of a quality TV. It is such a shame that FOX cancelled it, but hey, as they say, hope dies last... and I am still hoping for some closure.
Just know that your work is appreciated by fans all over the world, even from small countries that most people have no idea where they are :)
With regards, Michu, TSCC fan from Poland
You introduced me to a show that not only made me feel harder than I've ever felt for any characters ever before, but I tried to save it. Never before have I fought for a television show. But for SCC I did and I will continue to do so. It didn't deserve its fate. And neither did you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me two seasons of the most amazing television I have ever seen. Thanks for carrying on this franchise and taking it to the lengths you did and thank YOU for believing in it with us fans when others chose not to. Good luck with everything you do.... :)
It makes me sad when someone like you produces an excellent and engaging television show that gets cancelled in it's prime.
TSCC was on my 'must watch' list, and from the very first season it grabbed me and kept me interested.
All the best on your future endeavors because whatever you produce I'm sure I'll be watching.
I watched 4 shows religiously in the last year.
TSCC
Lost
Mad Men
The Wire (might be slightly over a year now)
I think all of those shows, in their peaks, achieve the same kind of greatness and gave me a reason to go out of my way to find them.
I wish more people felt the same.
Thank you for sharing your dream with us, TSCC was, and is, one of the best scifi shows i had the pleasure of watching, take care and good luck
The show was awesome! My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Seems Fox has a habit of getting rid of shows just when they hit their stride... And BTW, I'm unemployed too... it's been almost 8 months... learn to love yourself, and enjoy the extra time on your hands! Learn something new every day, and you'll be fine!
Josh, this made me smile wryly. Who knew? If it's any consolation, I'll be buying the DVDs.
I loved the show, I hate that it was canceled and I will watch the hell out of whatever you work on next
also
excelent blog entry
Thanks for a great show, Josh. I had my doubts about turning Terminator into a TV series, but you guys did a good job, all things considered.
I'd be interested to know if you think T:tSCC would have been picked up for another year if season 2 had been as short as season 1. I kind of prefer the 12/13-episode format myself, and felt T:tSCC would have benefitted from a quicker, sharper hit (with NO mid-season hiatus and timeslot change!)
Have to admit the slow-burn vibe the show had took some getting used to. Once I did my appreciation for the show increased as the I really enjoyed the almost self destructive humans battling against hard logic motivations of the machines. Very evident in the sub episode. Shame you didn't get to carry on but the finale was very cleverly done so as to not leave us hanging. Thanks to you and your crew.
I loved the show and I am very sorry of its premature demise. It must be a great challenge to make all the connections, all the nuances work so well, in harmony. As someone above said, there must be some other medium this great story can be continued, be it comics, web or print media. I hope such a thing would happen. When I found out the the show is cancelled, I felt like a little boy who had lost a real friend. Anyway, thanks for everything and best wishes from Istanbul, Turkey. Sorry for my bad English.
hey, a devoted fan from norway here. i am genuinely so sad and disappointed that one of the best, most intelligent, creepy and heart rending shows in quite a few years has been cancelled by greedy fox execs. i'm gonna buy the two seasons on dvd and hold them dear. were it up to me, i would get you all the platinum sinks you could stand to look at. i'm gonna keep telling all my friends about the show, and i'll be looking out for whatever comes next for you Josh. that's at least something to look forward to!
Josh, TSCC was an amazing show. I feel your pain. Just know that all the hard work you put in will never be forgotten. Best of luck to you!
Brilliant and Sad post. I was sad to see your show go. I loved it.
Don't beat yourself up Josh! I loved your show, all of it. Your vision of the show gave us something truly special; you told the story you wanted to tell and I have great respect for that. Thank you for giving us this amazing show and best of luck in all your future endeavors.
What a great way to end what was a brilliant show. It's bitter sweet.
Thanks for the great show. It is now firmly placed in the Pantheon of my favorite shows that died too soon.
See what happens when you neglect your blog?
Hope you've learned your lesson for the next one, which will be soon and made of awesome.
Your show was stupendous and deserved to stick around for much longer than it did. The utter garbage that was the Terminator:Salvation story is nothing compared to the storyline created for T:TSCC.
Many have mentioned the 31 episodes. It struck me that there was a time that many spoke just as reverently about the original 79 episodes (including the pilot) of Star Trek.
And a few years and lots of syndication later, there are movies with the original cast, cartoons, books, SNL skits, four iterations of TV shows about future or previous generations of Trek, movies with the next generation of Trek, and newly rebooted movies featuring new good-lookings on the JJ-version of the USS Enterprise NCC 1701.
I get the feeling that some enterprising person with a vision and a plan can find a way to sell more TSCC via books, online productions, fan features, graphic novels, films... etc.
JOSH - not sure if you read the comments here, but if you have not emotionally exited the Terminator-verse yet, you may consider submitting your name as a replacement for a certain new Terminator film director.
If we are to see more Terminator films, I would much rather see your vision than anyone else's (short of J.Cameron).
You know, I started watching your show not merely expecting, but practically hoping to hate it. Linda Hamilton had made the role so much her own that the very concept just didn't make sense to me. And then deliberately violating established continuity? Madness!
So you can imagine my surprise when, at some point in the series I can no longer identify, I found myself actually annoyed that I had to wait a whole seven days to find out what happened next, and had come to consider the T3 continuity well and appropriately replaced. This moment of realization is when I started recommending the show to others.
Fox seems to be willing to start shows with long storylines that unfold at their own appropriate pace, but it's not willing to see them through. It's got so when such a show starts on Fox, I have to decide whether to start watching it, knowing that there's virtually no likelihood I'll see the whole story.
Thanks to you and everyone who worked on it for a show that surpassed my expectations by a country mile, and consistently surprised and entertained me. I'm renting it and rewatching it with my highly skeptical wife, but three episodes in, she was convinced.
You'll Be Back.
Hopefully you'll be able to pack all your shit back into that suv... and then go through this cancellation Hell one more time.
Most of us only see from a fan's perspective, your entry allows us to see a little from the other side also. I know it's not the same but we feel the pain too.
TSCC really was the only show whose fate actually mattered to me. You put together a great staff and a great cast. We'll miss them dearly.
Thanks for all the love and work you put into the project, Josh. We loved the result.
Hey, Josh,
It is refreshing as hell to see someone write about this business as honestly as you do. Always has been. Always will be. I'm sorry about the show. It was pretty goddamn good, and it sounds like the experience you had making it was grand.
We all eagerly look forward to what comes next.
Best,
Josh
Thanks so much for some wonderful storytelling, Josh. The story lines were great. The casting was inspired. Who would have thought Brian Austin Green would have done such a great job? Or that Summer Glau could so deftly give emotion to a supposedly emotionless character? Shirley Manson? Unexpected, and spot-on brilliant.
Thomas Dekker, Lena Headey, Richard Jones and Garret Dillahunt did such a great job.
In fact, everybody did.
Kudos for your work. And the whole 200-odd souls who worked on the show.
You did good. And you made some TV that was loved. Small comfort, perhaps, but I hope there is some comfort in that.
Lose some weight, lick your wounds for a little while, and find another project that you love.
Then and go kick some butt, and let us enjoy the fruits of your labors.
My boyfriend and I just finished watching season one and we loved it, so were sad to hear that the show got cancelled. At least there's still season two, but I hope that you get to tell the rest of your story someday, be it through books or comics or whatever medium. The bottom line for me is that after nine years of being a Terminator fan, TSCC has involved some of the most innovative storytelling I've seen in the mythos, something you can always be proud of.
Thank you for 1.5 years of really excellent television. There is so much crap on TV that gets renewed year after year; it's so unfair when intelligent programming like T:SCC gets unceremoniously dumped.
Of course, FOX has a way of treating special programs like this (cough Firefly cough).
I'll miss my weekly Terminator fix.
Oh, Josh. Thanks for the awesome show and this hilarious post, which has started my morning off on a bright note. Um, not because of the content but because of the execution.
Yeah man, you did great with the Terminatorverse. Hope to see your work again real soon.
You did a fantastic job with TSCC Josh. You really proved that there were MANY stories left to be told in the Terminator franchise. Its a long shot I know but a lot of us are still fighting for the show. If nothing else it's nice to be a thorn in WB's and Fox's side for the time being. You truly created one of my favorite shows and you should also know that your story is alive and well in the world of Fan Fiction. I wish you well and I'm sure we'll see you writing again for another show very soon.
P.S. TSCC was better than Terminator Salvation!
We've got a saying over here in England, Josh: don't let the bastards grind you down.
You did a great job on T:SCC ... and you've built up a groundswell of goodwill that will be there for you on your next project.
Can't wait for it!
Hi Josh, just wanted to say that I haven't followed any TV show as religiously as I have TSCC. You've even helped inspire me to start writing fan fiction so ... thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks for 2 seasons that in their best moments are totally awesome.
mr_green
You guys did extraordinary work on SCC, and I hate the bullshit that went down this spring with FOX. It makes me heartsick that "Dollhouse" continues while they axed a brilliantly written series with one of absolutely the best female leads I've ever seen on telly. Between SCC and "The Middleman" the last two years, I was in Chicks Kick Ass Literally and Figuratively fangirl HEAVEN. And I probably ought to have known it was too good to last... But goddam, what a ride it was. I'd buy another ticket to that ride in a heartbeat.
Nothing can take away for me the enjoyment I got from those hours of telly. And I'm clinging to that right now (along with some very creative revenge fantasies).
But whatever project you work on next, seeing your name in the credits is going to get my ass in front of the televisions, because I know I'm going to get something amazing.
a truly great show that treated its audience with respect and created a thoughtful adult storyline,compared to some of the other crap that HAS got renewed it really doesn't seem right...you & the whole crew deserved another season
I watched every episode. You were not the only one wondering until the last moment of the bubble days.
Thanks for the 2 seasons. Hey, at least it was 2...
Maybe now you'll know what Whedon knows. Having your show on FOX is not a good thing, no matter how good your show is. Talk to Ron D. Moore after his new Fox shows gets canned. Yeah, BSG Moore is gonna have his show canned. Its not your lack of experience or success, but the fact that you're show was on Fox. SyFy would have had TSCC on for 5 seasons.
Thank YOU! and if you can thank THEM from me. Absolutely amAzing! I will continue to send my emails, and my ticket stubs. Even though I kinda feel like someone trying to handle a french horn and read sodden sheet music off of a deck chair stamped 'Titanic' somewhere in north atlantic. Thank you for proving to me that there is STILL some tv worth watching.
Thank you for making such a wonderful show. I think Fox allows such great shows to be made and then cancels them to allow their executives to feed on the tears of the innocent. I hope you get another show soon!
Thank you.
That was both sad and awesome. Thank you for the wonderful show while it lasted, was definitely a huge bright spot in a sea of mediocrity.
it such a shame TSCC got cancelled. Great show. I wish it could be saved still. Thanks for your thoughts on how you got shafted. Keep writing. always.
Thanks for making the first show I've really cared about in years!
I came across TSCC on Hulu late into the first season, half expecting a cheesy action show to fall asleep to. But not only was I surprised, but it become the first show I can remember that I actually cared about (and was excited) coming back to week after week.
So thank you for providing a sci-fi experience that didn't feel cheap or lame. I can't wait to get the DVDs and experience whatever else you have to offer!
I have really loved your show, TSCC. I had to start haunting websites for my fix when one ep/wk just wasn't enough and during the long midseason absence. I have never done that for any other show. I had to download a player and rewatch eps online, I have never done that before, either. TSCC is so deep I keep finding things I missed the first (and second, etc.) viewing. I have met online, people from all over the world that really love the show and a very few for whom there weren't enough explosions and titty shots.
Hardly ever have I seen any show or movie that had such strong, physical, female roles and I have always been drawn to fiction like that. Where the fuck was NOW when the ratings were dropping, they should have been pimping your show?
I will really miss this show and I will prob wear out my DVDs and have to get new ones. I am already jonesing to find out what happens to the gang in what would have been the third season. Fanfic just isn't enough.
Fuck, I would buy a third season by subscription, PPV, DVD, online, wev, just to find out.
I am really glad I accidentally found this show when it was first on TV so I could watch from the beginning, unlike Firefly that I had to see only on DVD because I had never heard of it when it was on. I still say Fox sucks!
Thanks for the great show,
starkiller
Josh,
I applaud your show... it was an excellent vision to carry on the Terminator mantle from T2. Your show made me think, made me wonder, and occassionally made me laugh.
Having seen T4 last weekend on a lark, I walked out wishing they spent the money on giving you more airtime. Short of ranting on about how much better you linked the John of T2 to the John of today, I will say this:
I will certainly watch your next show.
I was a huge fan of the show and am sad to see if gone. You are an amazing writer and I can't wait to watch whatever you write next!
I loved the show, the term "cult classic" is probably a dirty word in television, but a small fiercely loyal following is an acheivement.If it helps any, almost any episode of TSCC is better than the current Terminator Salvation movie, which is "OK". "Samson and Delilah left me sitting on the couch, shaking in amazed disbeleif. No TV show has ever done that.
Tell Chuck Lorre the answer is No.
First, let me thank you for the best continuation of the Terminator Franchise since T2. I am still in mourning by the loss of this television show.
But...
Josh, don't forget you only lost your viewers when your show was moved to Fridays. FOX can lie all they want about trying to get viewers and we here on "teh interwebs" can delude ourselves into thinking that all of America (the only country that counts when it comes to the outdated Nielsen Ratings) has access to Hulu.com or a DVR or bittorrent or what-have-you, but the fact remains that not everyone watches TV on Friday nights. Not everyone has access to the internet, especially a broadband connection. And not everyone has a DVR. You lost half your viewers when you got moved to the Friday Night Time Slot of Death, and as long as TSCC remained on Fridays there was no way in hell you would get the viewers you need.
If WB would give the show another chance and NOT put the show on Fridays you will once again have a hit on your hands.
Sad part is the Suits will never see it that way. And we will never get this incredible show back on the air (doesn't mean I and the other members of "The Resistance" won't stop fighting).
Anyway, thank you again for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, one of the best damn shows on television, and a truly worthy successor to James Cameron's vision (of which T3 and T4 are not).
"The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves." - Terminator/T2
Damn shame, loved the show. But I hope that means more blog entries for a while. As soon as your next project is announced, I'll be lining up.
Great post about the end of an even greater tv show. Both seasons will have an honored place on my shelf of DVDs... this is something I cannot say about the McG movie.
Thank you.
I can't add anything that hasn't already been said better than I could say it, but I do want to thank you for the amazing TSCC.
Oh, and massive (((hugs))).
I faithfully looked forward to TSCC every single week. The finale totally leaves us hanging, wondering what would come next season. I hate that we'll never know! I enjoyed your ride. You can be proud of what you did. We're all sad with you!!
Fox killing this and Firefly seals them as the worst studio ever for me.
I was so looking forward to next season! Please continue to come up with wonderful ideas so you can return soon and hire back your wonderful crew. Until then, we'll miss you all.
Okay so
1) Thanks for putting Brian Austin Green in your show and letting him be shirtless at some point.
2) Loved, loved, loved the way John met his dad in the finale. Even though another season would be better, I feel at least some sense of resolution at the way you went out. The John/Kyle introduction was handled about a million times better than it was in T4.
3) Whatever your next show is, I will watch it.
At least you can be funny about it. Hilarious, actually. Oh, and I've gotten taped up boxes past the trunk "check" so the fact that you got stopped on your last day is very very sad.
Josh, I want to thank you for all the crazy things your show made me do over the past year and a half.
Your show made me go out and buy a 42" flat screen just to watch Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Your show made me get into heated discussions with perfect strangers on the internet about everything from technology to morality, even whether or not a robot could (or should) have sex with a human being. Your show inspired to take time away from other things to write fan fiction and post fan videos on YouTube. Your show made me get involved in one campaign after another writing emails, voting in online polls, anything to keep TSCC on the air.
I don't watch a lot of television, and I've never cared enough about a TV program to actively participate the way I have with TSCC. It's been a crazy eighteen months so far, and I'm holding out hope for more in the near future.
BTW, hope you're feeling better health wise. Thanks again.
Thank you for the update, Josh. You mentioned one of the hardest parts of having your show canceled is the time just before, dealing with people who think you know what's happening and just aren't telling them. I would imagine then that a runner-up would be dealing with people shortly after it's been canceled; those of us who think that the show would have been renewed or picked up by another network if only you had fought harder. As if you could have gotten the show to return through sheer force of will.
I've had shows that I've loved canceled in the past. To this day I still can't believe that Arrested Development wasn't a smashing success. But I've never felt as strongly about a show's cancelation as I have with TSCC. I've never written letters to networks or cable companies, signed petitions, or generally campaigned for a show before TSCC. I think I now have a slightly better understanding of what it's like to be a Trekkie. And it's nice seeing the rest of the comments on this blog and knowing that I'm not the only one who feels this way.
Anyway, best of luck in the future. I'll follow whatever project you work on next. Just please, keep those TSCC notes. Who knows, maybe some day in the future when you're on that coveted "A-list" of writers and studio executives are lining up at your door you'll be able to say "You know, I think I'd like to return to that world that I started crafting so many years ago."
Thanks for a brilliant show that wasn't afraid to make its audience think. It will be seriously missed.
If we were to list all of the phenomenal, critically acclaimed, great shows that Fox has cancelled in its prime and poorly marketed, poorly managed, the list would be quite depressing.
TSCC
Arrested Development
Space: Above and Beyond (not sure if anyone remembers this, but I do. It was BSG before BSG's time)
Firefly
The Ben Stiller Show
Futurama
Dead Like Me
Dark Angel
The show will be missed. I really, really got into it and I'm completely p.o.'ed that it's gone. I'm sure you put your heart and soul into it. I would have called and let you know it was more than "on the bubble" a few weeks earlier than the official notice -- because Fox refused to let me interview you for an article -- but the paradox was, I didn't have your contact info.
Looking forward to what you're up to next, though.
Hi Josh,
Thank you for an excellent two seasons of TSCC. I'm really going to miss the show - I still can't quite believe it's gone.
You've got a lot of fans who are 100% willing to support you, and I really hope that one day you'll have the opportunity to continue the story in one form or another.
"No fate" etc.
Thank you for an amazing show. I've never been into a show more than this one and have never campaigned for one either. Thank you for bringing us quality television, something I'll still be watching years from now. I am still going to fight for this show even though it's a long shot.The best of luck to you.
Epic show. Sad to see it go. On a side note when are you going to be auctioning off / giving away some of that merchandise?
Cancelled? Noooooooooo....... TSCC is a great show. I'm sorry to see it go.
Compelling read, and an ignominious end to the only show I looked forward to watching each week. I hope beyond hope that Sci Fi or some other channel has the sense to resurrect this great series, which gave unexpected depth and humanity to an otherwise popcorn franchise (which I always enjoyed, don't get me wrong).
Good luck navigating Hollyweird in any event, though I don't suspect you'll need it with your formidable talent and vision.
Terminated all too soon....
Josh, you and your awesome crew created a show that died too soon but will live forever.
Thanks for fighting the good fight.
No Fate!
petition for a direct to dvd third season of terminator tscc
http://www.petitiononline.com/abcd94/
Thanks Josh for this great show, it's not over for us and never will, i wish you every success for the next amazing works, maybe some season 3...
Thank you for an excellent show. Politics suck, man. You guys had years left in that series.
Thanks for an extraordinary show! It had the most interesting characters since The Shield. Good luck.
all i can say is that i am still completely and utterly bewildered that that dreadful terminator salvation with the worst story lines of all 4 movies by far got the green light and this amazing show with some of the best, most creative writing ever gets cancelled! unbelievable!! but then again it was on fox so...really hope so savvy network exec somewhere she's how truly special this show is and picks it up though i guess i probably shouldn't hold my breath. thank you josh and everyone who was involved with this great show. keep your heads up!
I feel you, brother. The lead actress on my series was offered a lead on another series for the same network before I even received a call from said network informing me that my show was dead. And then they took my set walls and used them for the new show, with my show's name still stenciled on the back. Wanna have lunch? I'm really bored.
Loved the show, Josh. Sorry as hell it didn't get renewed. I'm looking forward to whatever it you've next got your name attached to.
i will truly miss your show. i am not a sci-fi fan, nor a terminator fan, yet i watched every episode of TSCC. it was by far the best written thing on tv (the episode of sarah in the van with the crazy dude...brilliant). i hope you find another outlet for your creative energies and i hope they are just as dark and interesting.
I love Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Not loved, LOVE. Present tense. You and your crew did such an amazing job telling this story that it still lives on in its fans. I saw Terminator Salvation the other day and kept looking for Derek Reese. Kept hoping for a mention of Sarah. You all did a wonderful job and I know you've said in a previous post that you're done, that there is no chance of it ever coming back, but... If perchance it does, I'm there. I am so there.
No fate...
TSCC was the first show to truly release my inner-geek since The X-Files. That's a long time for a geek to be dormant and I'd forgotten how much fun all this can be.
I've made new friends, laughed, loved and lost. You guys and gals did a fabulous job and if Fox didn't get that, then fuck 'em. You made 31 hours of the best TV show in a long, long time. People did get it, people did love it. We all lost it. Maybe we'll get it back in some shape or form, some day.
No fate.
Loved your show, hated that it got cancelled. Season 3 would have been so much more interesting than the movie was. Best wishes to you, and I hope you won't mind if I keep wishing!
Until T:SCC, I had been wondering what show was going to fill the void I had since the first 3 seasons of Alias.
Such truly_engaging_writing.
"Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low ..."
This comment has been removed by the author.
(fixed a horrifying number of misspellings)
For what it's worth, man, you did a spectacular job on those 30 episodes of your first show. I was a TSCC skeptic from the get-go, but you pulled my cynical ass in and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. You pushed Brian Austin Green past all the David Silver jokes for chirssakes!
I hope that, if I ever get my chance, I use it to make something half so good as what you made.
I also hope that someone else gives you another show posthaste. My TiVo is full of crap right now.
-David
Creator, GOLD
http://goldtheseries.com
Your show was the first TV show my entire family enjoyed and watched together since The X Files. We mourn its loss.
A tale of a man and his long denial stage. Good grief, anyone with a brain knew the show was "dead show walking" the moment it was banned to Fridays, and the only reason it got banned to Fridays, and not yanked out the air was because WB was, by then, giving it away.
o...m...g.... i love you
Josh,
I just want to thank you for bringing 31 wonderful episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles to us. You created that magical something that just sucked me in every week like no other tv show has ever done before. Bravo!!
And again...
Thank You!!
Josh - thank you. That's all. No wait. Thank you *so much*.
Now I'm done.
Defiance, man. You're one hell of a writer. If they won't bring it back, take a year-long deep breath and bring us something new. Just as brilliant, mind you.
Many, many thanks for the show.
My husband and I were so disappointed when this show got canceled. I can only imagine how you must feel, especially when so many other crappy shows are still chugging along. Having your office air-measured by a purveyor of the worst of that dreck must have been a bitter, bitter pill. I'm glad you got to take your trunk full of goodies anyway, and I look forward to your next project.
You made an awesome show - I'm not really a TV-show-fan-writing-a-message-to-the-show's-executive-producer kind of person, but I have to say that each episode was like watching a well-made movie, and I looked forward to getting my daughter to bed early, pouring an extra glass of wine for my wife so that she'd fall asleep early, then having the LCD TV and surround sound all to myself for that precious hour.
Maybe the fact that my wife wasn't into the scary robot thing is a microcosm of why the show got canceled, but greatness is not measured by how many people like something. You made a great show.
I'm also sorry TSCC ended. It was better then Salvation in my opinion. You did a great job. The whole family watched every show. I will say I'm quite pissed at Fox for this.
Holy Balls. I can't believe how many people have read this already and commented. Funny post, Mr Josh.
I'm sure this is no consolation, but TSCC will be remembered as one of those great shows that just didn't catch a large audience (proving, yet again, that the general public has lousy taste).
I look forward to seeing what you do next!
In the meantime, maybe you can post more often? I'd love to hear about your experiences working in television!
I thin what fans hated most was the insane cliffhanger the show ended on. Had the last episode been different i honestly believe the move to get it renewed would not have been half as strong. I guess some people feel that they are owed a resolution, in whatever form it is (even a quick blog post on what direction you planned to take the show would be something)
Your workplace sounds almost as heartless and cutthroat as the grim future you wrote about so well... The good news is that heartless cutthroat-ness notwithstanding, you are clearly destined to bounce quite well from this setback. This blog entry alone thoroughly kicks Chuck Lorre's "vanity card"-writing ass. [And I say this as someone who enjoys said vanity cards nearly every week.]
I hope to be watching your work again very soon!
Josh-
Thanks for the post. Great to have a little of the inside view.
We will keep fighting to reassemble this cast and crew if for nothing more than a 2 hour TV movie project (the minimum) so we can get Camie out of Limbo.
As unlikely as it seems, other fan movements have had even greater success than that, so dont discount us out of hand.
Please, please throw us a crumb of something positive for the future, not false hope, but anything at all positive.
Thanks.
Josh, you have to write a book! Brilliant read. :)
Hello Josh and greetings from Canada. Reading your post has left me even more depressed from the loss of TSCC. But I would like to say thank you Josh for all of your hard work and for putting together a great television series. TSCC is and always will be one of my favourite television series. Take care and all the best for the future.
Now that's a show I would watch! And rewatch. And tell all my friends to watch. In fact, I'd breath, and watch that show. That's all.
Well, i don't think it is surprising.
A well written, intelligent product does not appeal to the masses. Who (mostly)watch television these days?
i better don't describe them....
You can claim to have atracted a lot of people who used to think that television was for the "mental impaired" to watch a show. If that's not a success i don't know what that is..
Thanks for your honest and great work, i don't remember being in such pain for a week waiting for a television program since the 80's.
Thank you for one of the most intelligent, yet intriguing shows that has even been put on television.
Hi Josh: A couple of years ago, I sat next to you at Azami while you waited for your to-go order. As an aspiring TV writer and a BIG fan Of TSCC, I was dying to talk to you, but you were editing scripts feverishly, and I didn't want to disturb you. So I just wanted to say: although Azami now looks like a hungover frat boy after a 3-day bender, thanks to you TSCC never lost one bit of its beautiful, heartbreaking, hilarious complexity. Thank you for so many hours of truly awesome television.
Josh I know You read a lot of boring crap like that one I'm still writing but You and Your crew did an amazing job and as a (faraway, Hungarian!) fan of Your excellent show I seriously ask You to do everything to put Your show back on any channels or for dvd releases. This fucked up business needs guys like You and You (should) know it. It'll take time but Your fans are really desperate (just have a glance at fox's tscc wiki's threads), they/we'll do everything we can. Maybe it's a year or two but try man, don't give up on that, You are The Josh Friedman, this name is a trademark and sooner or later more and more people will recognize that. I'm sure You have enough will and mental power to win Your battles and to finally bring us back one of our favourite tv shows. Please do it before Lost ends, because after that there won't be nearly anything to whatch (ok, but Dexter, I know, I know but from that scary robot type I mean). And just one more sentence: it wasn't this fucked up James Cameron idea (those films are horrible), nor the speciall effects, big explosions, shooting at each other etc. what made Your show unique and special. It was (ok, now it's more than one more sentence) the way it was written, and the way Your brilliant actresses and actors (especially the outstanding Summer Glau, Lena Heady, Richard T. Jones, BAG and last but not least Garret Dillahunt) did their jobs. Sorry for my poor english and please don't give up if You're still reading this shit what I deeply doubt.
best wishes from the east side of the world: danton
I also loved TSCC.Hope to see u soon in another amazing show.
Too bad TSCC didnt have enough audience :(
well I used my forumer pseudoname but didn't want to,
I was Gabriel from Hungary
Hi Josh-
Thanks for an incredible two years of ball busting work by yourself and an incredible cast and crew. You gave us a show that revived the Terminator franchise for me (after the awfulness of T3) and gave the fantastic Lena, Thomas, Summer, BAG, Shirley, Richard T. and all some of the best work of their careers.
Like many have said here, I've been a devoted, die-hard fan of the show since before it first aired and have never cared for/fought for and loved a show so deeply. SCC will always be one of my favorite shows of all time. I felt compelled to drop everything at a moment's notice and fly down to LA for Golden Apple comic store signings, get in line at 3am at Comic Con to get a good seat at the SCC panel, and now I'm contemplating my SCC themed tattoo...:D I'm not kidding!
Part of what made the cancellation so hard for me was that I've been able to meet the cast and folks like Rob Hall, James Middleton and yourself and express my appreciation for a job well done - I could tell how much you loved working on SCC and it made me a more dedicated and appreciative fan in return. I don't know what I was more depressed about with the cancellation - the fact that we fans will never know the rest of the story after that jaw dropping, brain melting cliffhanger at the end of S2 or the fact that several hundred people had lost their jobs due to the callousness of a network that cares only for money, not great stories, a dedicated fan base or a kick ass cast/crew.
But when I start ranting, I remember that I've made friends for life (that I met in that insanely long Comic Con line!) and have 31 of the best hours on television that you gave us. No network or studio takes that away from me, and I hope you feel the same about your own experience as creator of SCC.
You've got a fan for life from my end. I can't wait to see what you come up with in the future!
Best of luck!
THANK YOU for the outstanding series. This show was incredible and brillant.
Josh, what the WB did to you was unjust. But please always remember that what you did was amazing. Never regret the choices you made for the show, because you did it all right.
Every storyline, every actor casted, every character developed, every change from the Terminator franchise, every car and wall destroyed. It was perfect. Do not doubt it or regret it. You have rebuilt Terminator canon to its best.
I am just sad the SCIFI channel will not pick it up. Ratings would be good there.
This show is excellent quality TV. I hope you are able to find something else that will make you happy. Don't let any idiot bring you down. I wish you the best, you earned it.
Season 1 was fantastic. Season 2 was filled with religious mumbo-jumbo only to end with a terrific finale. Only if the show had more "termination" and less "religious salvation" the audience wouldn't have tuned out. TSCC was a good show that fell flat in season 2. Sad but true.
How about continuing your f-in awesome show as animation, streamable on the web for a fee. I would shell out cash for your art anyday.
just found this blog by mistake...had to post a THANK YOU. hated that the show ended...that was a big mistake by the network...but wanted to tell you i loved SCC. the season/series ender was amazing.
There is a certain quality of restful contemplation knowing that the rich and vaguely famous also lead lives unquiet desperation.
On the bright side, there is now time for exercise.
My weekends just arn't the same without a TSCC to watch. It was truly one of the best things on TV. Thank you for giving me hours of wonderful excellent entertainment.
Also, this was a very interesting read. Really gave me a better understanding of what it is like to have a show canceled.
TSCC IS one of the best shows on television. Thanks for making a show so hard core yet understandable. I wish it was on this summer.
also, you need a hug. *hug*
I was shocked when I heard the show was dropped. TSCC is one of the best if not the very best tv series I have ever watched. I am still clinging to hope that the show will return at some point for season three.
So, a stand up career should be what you tackle next. Forget scary or robot enough, you are funny enough!
I just wanted to say thank you for the amazing show. I came upon it not having had any interest in anything Terminator-related and really fell in love. It breaks my heart a bit not to be able to see where things would have gone with all of the characters, especially after the phenomenal finale episode. Best of luck to you, and PLEASE come back to television SOON.
i thought TSCC was amazing and have been forcing it on people here in oz. secretly i wish TSCC had been renewed instead of Dollhouse (cause in my head it was going to be one or the other)
Hi Josh,
Thank you for what you have done with the Terminator universe. Now that T4 is out, many people agree that TSCC is better than the movie...
I knew that all along!
Why people were complaining all the time??? "There is no Arnold, not enough action, John is emo, Cameron is not in the show anymore..." And it goes on and on.
Damn! It was the best sci-fi series I've ever seen on TV. I like all episode and I have listen all episode at least 3-4 times each. This is art. This is passion.
Josh, I will follow you in your next endeavor.
Thanks again for 2 seasons of TSCC. I'm grateful.
Etienne from Canada
Dude, that was seriously the best post ever. Best of luck to you, man. I will watch anything you put on the air. Seriously. Film some corn growing, I'll watch it, dude.
That´s too bad man.You and the TSCC crew made a great show.I thank you for that.I hope you find work soon and continue to work on the industry or somewhere else.
Thanks for a great show, man.
Everyone else has pretty much nailed it...Your unceremonious dumping by Fox blows all kinds of goats, but thank you for two of the best season of television I've ever seen. You wrote characters I cared a lot about, and explored the Terminator universe and its issues in a way no one else could.
I'll be watching for the next project. Good luck!
Thanks for the show.
Looking forward to whatever you do next.
Respectfully, I submit you should hold on - with new shows such as "Mental" and "Glee" it can only be a matter of time before Fox will be dying to have TSCC back. Even "Bones" is boring. I mean, how many times can "American Idol" and "So You Think You can Dance" carry the schedule?
Can't thank you enough for daring to transcend the sea of stale dog shit that is television. They say that the best revenge is success, and you've got lots more of that ahead of you. Get some rest, get re-acquainted with your family, and when you're ready for more, whatever it is, we'll be here.
Wasn't Family Guy canned a few times and came back due to DVD sales? I never watched TSCC on TV, but I fully intend to get the DVD box set (probably tonight). If enough people pick up a copy, I'm sure you chaps will be back in business.
Good luck.
Josh, we're not letting you off the hook that easy and we're not giving up on you and your story. We're still campaiging the WB for more, they're fans out here who want more TSCC in any format - it doesn't matter if its direct to video releases we just want more. Hang in there Baby! We're fighting for you. And Remember, you have millions of fans backing you. That makes you a pretty powerful man.
I'm really going to miss TSCC, but I'll keep a keen eye out for anything else you're involved with. If you're name's attached to something, that's enough for me to check it out.
Good luck in the future - I'll be *not stalker-ish, I swear* watching.
Thank you, Josh. You touched a lot of hearts with TSCC, and I wish you all the best.
Thanks for the best show I have ever seen on television Josh. Amazing story, Amazing actors, Amazing show. When I heard it was canceled I felt like I had lost a friend, I can only imagine how you feel. Here's to you, may you be successful in whatever you do. Thanks Josh!
I like the interview better where you said: "But my show got canceled. So what do I know?"
Right.
"What kind of fucking asshole would I be if I knew they were all going to be out of work in a month but just didn't feel it was politically expedient to tell them?"
Do you want me to answer that?
Dude, you had absolutely ZERO street cred for doing this show! First, your ONLY sci-fi cred is a script for "War of the Worlds" THAT WAS NEVER USED! Second, you have ZERO broadcast TV experience, as you admit yourself!
How the hell did you get this job AND then think you could redesign the Terminator franchise all by yourself?
I call that Hubris with a big frickin' H!
Stop moaning. You screwed up. Admit it and move on.
I enjoyed the show and this blog entry. It can't mean much at a time like this but there you have it.
I wish there was something we ( as Fans) could do to make this better! Here I am all woried about missing out on a great story. I never thought of cancelation as someone loseing their job. It hit's home double ( in light of our economy) the crew, you guys, the cast don't have jobs. That sucks. I was sorry for myself and feel like a douche bag for it. I am not a religious man... but if I was, you guys would have my prayers!
I wldn;t normally comment on this sort of thing, but TSCC was an amazing show. Down here in the country in Wrstern Australia it didn't even air, I had to pick it off the Net using my download quota which I devoted exclusively to your creation. It was mature and intelligent and sometimes had hardly any action and it didn't fucking matter, yet you also somehow captured exactly the essence of the first two films. I say well done and breathe past the worst excesses of this crazy system that somehow abuses its own productivity. I work in newspapers for a living so I have some idea what it's like. I have given up hope of the show being returned and my enthusiasm for the movie has been killed by the TV show's cancellation, if that means anything. As someone who hates cutesty little 26 yr olds playing 16s, I came to appreciate Dekker's acting chops and that self-effacing smile schtick gorgeous Lena has. For fukk's sake, you even made David from 90210 cool, awesome even, and with a name like Derek. You shld think yrself a miracle worker. blackdoomdeath AT gmail.com
Well, to put it simple:
The wrong Terminator production has been canceled.
@Richard Steven Hack
Seems you and your buddy Lanie Grace think a like, she wrote damn near the same thing in a post on her site.
fmqinc com
Thanks for Summer Glau/Cameron.
Other than that, You Suck Josh!... How could you leave Cameron and your fans in such a state of limbo, escpecially when you knew the show was on critical life-support...great going Genius.
Also good choice making the 3 dreaded crazy Sarah eps...it was a perfect remedy for the struggling series...Yikes!!!!
Thanks, Josh, for one of the best shows that ever graced TV-screens.
Whilst the suits at FOX and WB just don't seem to be able to recognize its great potential in storytelling and downright awesomeness in acting the TSCC-fans from all over the world certainly do!
You gave us something special with those 31 episodes... something that will definitely not easily been forgotten by what is one of the most dedicated fan-bases I've ever come across... All the best for your future projects! Take care!
i don't watch TV. as in, unless my boyfriend or my best friend physically forces me to sit in front of the TV, i do not.
in the past 4 years, there have been 4 shows that i agreed to watch after being manhandled to the first one: Eureka, Battlestar Galatica, Dollhouse, and Sarah Conner. and The SCC only took me *one* episode to hook.
AND: i have never seen *any* of the Terminator movies. i have seen trailers for them, that is *all*. to me, SCC is the main storyline. i know *want* to see them, where i did not before, but only to see how they fit in the storyline of SCC.
how many USians in their 30's haven't seen any of the Terminators? i am weird.
and, again, i don't watch TV if i can avoid it, and SCC is one of only 4 shows i will willing watch, and is the ONLY one that will watch alone if i have to. the one that *I* pushed everyone to watch with me everyweek, after that first week...
it's rare for something to grab that well, especially a TV show. i will miss SCC and your vision, and hope mightily for some later continuation - books, maybe, books are my prefered entertainment anyway.
thank you so much for *the* most kick-assed show!
My heart broke when I heard: TSCC was cancelled by FOX.
It was amazing two years in my life. Really miss TSCC. I bought Season 1 DVD and I will buy season 2 DVD or blu-ray.
TSCC never had a chance. People want to see action, thousand robots. They didn't think. It was a television series not movie.
Anyway, I think TSCC is best series for me. I really sorry.
We will fight. We are the resistance. We will find how we will bring the show.
We will keep alive TSCC, and everybody will remember: Once we had amazing show but FOX murdered.
"There are no failures in Hollywood only people that give up too soon!" - David Carradine
I just want to thank you for your dedication to the show, to the story, and to the audience. I also appreciate you sharing this story with us. I almost didn't watch the show just because I wasn't the hugest fan of Terminator, so I was reluctant. I also admit that pretty much the original reason I tuned into the pilot was Summer. ;)And while I didn't always agree with the direction that you took the series, I enjoyed tuning in each week. I really wonder where the story would go from here, and I know you want the audience to decide, I hope it won't be seen as a dead end in Terminator canon and mythology. You've added a very human side while being respectful to the nature of the films. Nice work, Josh. Good luck on your future endeavors, and never ever listen to anyone that says you didn't give it your all.
Thank you.
Hi mate, just want you to know that I've never loved a TV show as much as I loved TSCC that it forced me to learn how to download via torrent, because I just couldn't wait for months to see the next season here in Australia. What can I do, dry out in the sun for months while waiting for the show to begin?
Funny that the local network here is currently airing TSCC teasers with metal skulls for their Season 2 promo. When it does finally air, you will get a new set of fans down under... until they watch Born To Run with its million questions, and then they learn there will be no Season 3. And then they'll look for you, read your blog, and then post here. Ad infinitum.
@Richard Steven Hack
Could you please shut your fuckin' mouth! I'm fed up and sick of reading your comments everywhere on the 'Net (TerminatorWiki, Fox's TSCC blog, TVBN, here, etc.) bashing Josh or TSCC...
Go back to TVByTheNumbers and leave us, real Terminator fans, alone. Leave Josh alone.
You know nothing. You're just full of shit. And you're shitting on Josh non stop! Give the man a break!
When you will have produced a successful TV series, you will be a bit more credible.
Until then: Go fuck yourself somewhere else!
Oh he will have a looooong break Etienne , do not worry about this LOL
I was so incredibly pained to see the show end. I was shocked at the complete intensity of the show I remember weeks prior to the ending speculating on weaver not being a malignant terminator but one with an alternate agenda and wandering why if I was wrong why skynet had sent someone a Term lookalike to take out Ellison when he was helping her. And my jaw hit the floor when Derek was taken out I actually screamed at the screen NFW. Just amazing writing. I even sat there wandering if in that last scene the very very last scene if the reason we heard sarah's voice was that it had transmitted via the bubble from the past as john left or if she had followed him. Now thanks to the idiots at fox who have now moved dollhouse to mondays where tscc should have remained we'll never know. I hated fox's head for saying they couldn't cancel yet another whedon show or he'd have 1.5 million emails complaining of its demise yet he didn't notice over 300,000 people begging to keep TSCC on air.
Hell NBC listened to the Chuck requests and brought it back and they were cancelling everything. Last season I lost Reaper, The Unit , My Own Worst Enemy, TSCC. I was only watching nowadays Chuck, Heroes, Reaper, Dollhouse, The Unit, Smallville and Supernatural. The last two because I always have.
I would trade all of the above to have just TSCC back. I am deeply saddened by its parting. May it one day return.
Hey Josh!
What an amazing show. The ride was to short. Damn! I miss it! I really, really loved TSCC. You brought a writing style to characters that I never thought I would be into.
I'm hoping someday you'll continue the story. I'll be watching for you in the future. You've got a devout fan in me.
All the best Josh!
Having watched most of the first season, I can say from my point of view:
The show was terrible. It made no sense. It treated the audience like idiots. That's why it was cancelled. It doesn't take someone with a SkyNet computer to figure that out. Lost (for someone unknown reason) can get away with this. No one else can (or should).
You may be upset that it was cancelled, but it deserved to be.
Excellent show.
Hopefully years from now you'll look back at all this and say it was an important part of your journey.
There is no one like you Josh. You've done what no one else could ever do, or will ever do again to Terminator since James Cameron. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was legendary. You are legendary.
I don't get it...how could TSCC die? I am a mild sci-fi geek (although I don't give a $h!t about the Terminator franchise) so I checked out the show and got hooked immediately. My wife is NOT a sci-fi lover, but after 2 SECOND SEASON episodes she got hooked. For some reason, the viewing public is more interested in reality schlock than fun and entertaining TV.
Josh, blog a little more, we wanna know what you're up to; and I want to see a big screen TSCC movie, WB can scrap the worn out "Terminator: 5, 6 & 7" concept.
I am a HUGE fan of TSCC and I was so sad when I heard that it got cancelled. Honestly, it broke my heart. It was amazing show, it will be in my heart forever.
Thank you.
Josh,
Your show was awesome. I'm bummed it's cancelled!!!! Let's write something together!
If I could write the season 3 opening episode of TSCC:
Split between future war and present. 6 months later John is running patrols with Derek and Kyle. Harboring his secret that Kyle is his father and that he is from the past. He starts to show them how the robots can be brought down by aiming for the chip in their heads & acting like he just figured it out. His real agenda is to find John Henry. Sarah is living off the grid, looking constantly for Jesse. Jesse knows time-travel, Jesse can re-unite her with John. Jesse breaks into her former hotel room & steals the lamp she kept adjusting. Agent Auldridge interviews Ellison, who claims to know nothing, Savanah is living at his house, adoption pending. Ellison drops her off at school, heads to work, goes down to the basement, where Cameron has a cord in the back of her head, plugged into the turk and in her best John Henry impression says "Good morning Mr. Ellison, would you like to play a game?"
This blog post is terrible and hard to read, I think I understand why your show was canceled.
Thanks josh for putting up with them complete wankers/tossers/pricks... to give us 31 fantastic episodes of TSCC
Best of look with everything u do in the future, u already have a loyal group of fans ready and waiting (even here in Ireland) to watch whatever u do next be, thou maybe its best to not work with fox again eh :)
TSCC will not be forgotten any time soon an i'll still hang on to idiotic hope that episodes will magically apppear come september.
Cheers anyway for creating the best and most intelligent and entertaining show of the last 2 yrs
Josh,
i hope you read all the comments in your blog. Some comments are bad, but most of the fans thank you for your work.
I also say "Thank You, Josh!" for the show, i am very, very sad that it was cancelled.
We all know you planned a third season, but now it looks that there is no chance to do it.
Please share your secret with the fans, how the show goes on?
Write it in your blog. Or try to write a book. Please do not make an animation, it would not suitable for this show.
I'm follow on Twitter for any news.
regards from Germany
Uwe
Josh,
I've never written or anything, but this is me (Donovan), in this thread: http://forums.kffl.com/showthread.php?t=243318
I could not have loved the show more.
Thanks :)
You brought Terminator back to its amazing James Cameron Brilliance!!!
Tv is going to shit with all these mind numbing reality bullshit sad- excuses for programs.
Tscc was only one of very few shows that was clever interesting entertaining action packed and that had u relating to the characters right from the get go...............apparently these are all the characteristcs networks such as FOX don't feel make great shows.........looks like i'll be sticking to reruns.
Good Luck Josh i'll be waiting to see what you do next
Did I miss something? When did scatalogical logorrhea substitute for reasoned argument? When I encounter a cussword-laden screed, I lose all respect for the writer. In any event, this is a TV show being discussed, right? I prescribe a largish dose of perspective. Many people out there can't house and feed their families, and are fighting to survive in the REAL world. So pardon me if I refrain from the communal "Boo, hoo."
To that last anonymous poster... was a "reasoned argument" promised? I thought I was reading a blog about one writer's experience with a canceled TV show. I found it to be entertaining, informative, and moving.
As far as how it relates to the real world, my anonymous jackass friend, there are now - as Mr. Friedman pointed out - a couple hundred folks who are looking for work because a show that brought joy to hundreds of thousands (maybe millions?) of people has been cut short by myopic corporate executives.
I sincerely hope that the show will be produced again. But if not, I thank Mr. Friedman (and the other writers, as well as the entire cast and crew) for what was the best TV series in quite some time, and look forward to his future projects.
Josh, you turned me into a nerd with that show. A big freaking nerd. And I love you for it.
For what it's worth (little), I loved your show and spent an entire 10 hours driving across the flat, barren, wasteland province of Saskatchewan with my partner discussing what we thought might have happened next on the show.
Your sad, sad fan in Canada.
SCC was not just a good show, it was a great show, and I can't begin to tell you (because my facility with words? Not as good as yours) how much it meant to me to have a heroine for the first time since I was a kid - someone who would kick ass, take names, wrestle with her conscience, raise her kid, and face down idiocy day after day. When Sarah said "she is a bad bitch" I literally fist pumped and crowed, I was so jubilant.
You gave me two seasons of taking on the world in a female body and the world sitting down and shutting up. I am so grateful.
The words I have for Fox? Less kind. Mostly bitter, bitter curses.
One of the best writers I have ever met.
You can always have an office available here in Santa Monica.
Great show. Tremendous writing.
Can't wait for whatever you do next.
Lance
I really feel for you in your sorrow. But mostly I feel for myself in my sorrow for missing this show. I am pretty sure that the thing you need least of all is being fucked by selfish fans yelling for thei favourite show, but hell I don't care. Find a way to continue the show.
T:TSCC was the only show on TV I watched consistantly. I was hooked since day 1. I think it is no understatement to say that it was one of the greatest shows I have ever seen and ever will see.
Of course, a few fans are miffed at your seemingly pessimistic "It's over" attitude, but that is no excuse to go blaming you for the show getting axed. No. You did an amazing job Josh. If people want to blame you, then they can go fuck themselves. I guess what the fans really need, is for you to say something encouraging (unless there really IS nothing encouraging whatsoever).
Now, whilst Scy-Fy have passed on producing a third season T:TSCC for financial reasons, they could still get permission to air re-runs of season 1 and 2. If those did well (and DVD sales were good enough) then I'm sure they'd be able to negotiate something with WB et al. to produce a third season.
Also, Virgin Media are selling their channels (Virgin One being the channel that aired T:TSCC in the UK and Ireland). The highest bidder has been sky, bidding $100 million more than anybody else. If they bought Virgin1, they should be able to afford T:TSCC. Then there is also the possibility that Virgin1 and ScyFy work together and share costs.
Firefly fans got Serenity after one season of Firefly. T:TSCC has had two and has a huge international fanbase (which WB seem keen to ignore for some reason). A number fans would even pay money out of their own pocket for a third season.
Us true terminator fans will keep fighting for your show, man!!! Never give up, and don't let these scum-sucking basement-dwelling cry-babies get you down! We are the resistance. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.
@Josh Friedman
If none of this was your fault and you were just a victim of circumstances, then Josh I ask you, Who was running the show.
If you weren't running the show, then quit calling yourself the Executive Producer.
@Josh Friedman
If none of this was your fault and you were just a victim of circumstances, then Josh I ask you, Who was running the show.
If you weren't running the show, then quit calling yourself the Executive Producer.
Turn the TV series into paid Web content. Sell 1 million annual subscriptions at $50 for a 10-15 espisode season. Don't start production until you hit 1m in subscriptions.
If you didn't get the 1m, or whatever it would take to create the show, then don't proceed with creating more episodes.
On the Web site (password protected - only get a password with a paid subscription), sell ads to smart companies that want to reach the audience provided by TSCC.
I'd pay $50 for that. I'd pay more. I'd bet there are at least a million other people out there like me.
To the comment above about "Paid Sunscriptions"
Dude, wake the f@ck up!
They couldn't get millions of people to watch it for free.
I tried to like your show, but on first tune-in, watching a urinal morph into a terminator... you lost me right then and there.
I realize I came in late (i.e. a season) but after that for a first glimpse? It didn't matter.
You probably won't get this far, as there are a bunch of comments, but just wanted to nth the thanks for a great show.
I didn't love it unconditionally, but there was more - and more believable - character development in five minutes of TSCC than in most every other show left on TV. And where it was going by halfway through season two was getting even more interesting than the really interesting it had been.
There were just numerous aspects of the show that lead me to believe you're a damned fine show runner, and I'd pick you out of a lineup with nary a second thought.
Sorry that network TV is such a minefield of fucking jokery to work in, and I hope you manage to get up and running with another great project, and without the jackassery stopping you doing what you want.
Alas, like so many people I think I rate TV over film as a medium now, so it seems like it's far too easy to get screwed.
All the best for the future, and thanks for an amusing and insightful post in the meantime.
That was my favorite show....I watched every episode and the ones I missed I'd find them online and watch them....your story is depressing and funny - two words that should be that close together in a sentence...I knew of a lot of people who actually watched the show and liked it enough to stay on - so where the fk is Neilsen getting their fkn ratings from??? The Neilsen ratings people are who you should have ruffied and stuffed in your trunk for not putting one of those little black boxes on my TV....fkrs....It's amazing that all the trash stays on like those stupid reality shows...WTF?! You have room in your trunk for those fkrs too...Oh and if it means anything your show was a hundred times better than dreadfully boring Salvation film...too bad I can't get a fkn refund for wasting my time to see that....I knew I shouldn't have read your post...damn it...
As a fan of Terminator and a fan of YOUR Terminator, I am a loyal fan of yours. The show was amazing and I can't count the times I threw the name to people and told them to watch. "It's so good!". "Watch this show!". "It's amazing!".
I'm sorry that the show wasn't renewed and mark it as one less sweet-ass show on this fall.
I'm sure I am not the only one that will follow you to your next show.
Can you please write a comedy pilot?
That is motherfucking rough, dude. I'm so sorry.
Not to be a hater, but it's a shame that TSCC wasn't written as well as this blog entry.
The show was agonizing to watch, but your recap of getting canned was pant wettingly hilarious. i feel your pain. i know having something you're passionate about get the axe was undoubtedly frustrating. But you're obviously a talented writer. Try putting that style and excellence into a show that's actually watchable.
just remember, today's fans with their faceblogs and their tweetbooks pay attention to who runs the show and are very loyal to the WHOLE TEAM that was involved, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that you always did right by us and we're all looking forward to whatever is next. at the end of the day, you made a show that kicked a lot of ass.
Josh, we T:TSCC fans are mourning the loss of THE greatest Sci-fi Series since Firefly, and if like Firelfy there's enough power behind the movement then you should use it to drive at least a movie or feature length episode via other networks. We loved your view of the Terminator universe and we are all still hoping to have justice (vengance?) delivered by your own hand to the black -hearted assholes at FOX by picking up the 'Verse the same way as the Browncoats did and shoving your 'successful new show' down Fox's their rateable throats. In parting a wise sage once said 'If you don't like me or what I have to offer then fuck you I'm gonna take it to someone who does and shove the result up the former haters a*s!!
There is no fate but that we make! Make your fate happen!!
Much love,
Another viewer who couldn't watch it on tv so saw it online! There must be a way of measuring interweb viewing!!!
xx
Rich
Josh, I'm terribly said for your misfortune and like all TSCC fans pray that one day the show will return. I have an odd emotional attachment to the show. Maybe its that I hate the current state of my life and TSCC is the only thing that gave me hope and something to look forward too.. Good luck in all your future endeavors
@LanieGrace:STFU, you miserable troll bitch. Hope someone kicks you when you're down, someday.
@The rest of the haters: Fuck off.
@Josh: Sorry, man. The show was great, your writing was brilliant and the acting was superb. TSCC is, and will continue to be, very missed. Good luck in your future endeavors.
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