Showrunner Josh Friedman recently spoke to Wired Magazine about grounding The Sarah Connor Chronicles in reality and the real relationships that anchor the series.
“…before I could actually start writing the show, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I had to have an operation to remove the tumor, which meant I couldn’t write it for that season. So I had a couple of months when I couldn’t do anything, and I was in pain. I had this crisis — I went to a therapist, and I said, ‘What am I doing? I’m going to write a fucking show about a scary robot? Who cares?’ But when she calmed me down, I started reflecting upon it, and I realized that this show really was about my life. It was about mortality. The first voiceover I ever wrote for the series started with ‘I will die. I will die, and so will you. Death gives no man a pass.’ That’s what the Terminators are — they’re death coming to get us.”
Meanwhile, he had this to say this morning about the ongoing visual FX development: “Man-oh-man-oh-shevitz…” (which was apparently him quoting an Ellroy novel he just informed me).
Nice article… And I didn’t know about the cancer thing. I hope those damn tumors stay away Josh, I am praying for you.
As for the visual FX… does that mean we are being treated to some nice goodies in the next eps..??! I sure hope so
Josh, my well wishes to you and your health. I hope you will remain cancer free. I’m really happy with how the entire show is going. I am truly entertained! I hope there will be a season 3.
Sorry, I know this is off topic…
Hadley, I just put 2 and 2 together the other day and realized that you’re the same Hadley that produced and co-wrote The Sophisticates with Lena. The film looks really funny. I’m looking forward to seeing Lena’s directorial debut. Any idea when we will get to see this film?
Josh,
Sorry to hear of the medical problem. Please know that you have the heart-felt wishes and prayers of all the fans for a swift, complete and lasting recovery. You have inspired millions of people with T/SCC. Thank you for persevering throughout the tough times in your life. We can all learn something from that. To us, the characters in the series are real, but we must also understand the difference between fiction and reality. That your fictional characters take up so much of our time is a tribute to the quality of your work. The fate of Sarah, John, Cameron and all the rest, means little if the real people who make all the drama possible are suffering. Best wishes for a long and prosperous future. Thanks for including us in the loop. Be well.
Josh….stay healthy!!
Love the journey that you have taken us so far with SCC and can’t wait to see what you have in store for us for many seasons to come.
Josh
Oh wow, kidney cancer. Cancer, no matter what kind, sucks. My thoughts go out to you and I hope you stay cancer free for all eternity. I’m really excited for the upcoming episodes and the “Man-oh-man-oh-shevitz…” makes me giggle with excitment. I cannot wait, and I’m looking forward to what direction you will take the story WHEN we get a third season
Best of wishes from a big fan from Canada
We’re all praying for you. I know you’re recovered and you’re stronger than cancer. Thank you for making millions of us happy and giving us your all. We are truly grateful you allow us to “escape” our troubles at least once a week.
Yes Josh, we pray for God’s blessings for you and continued good health and recovery.
Wow. That was a good read over there at Wired even though it was short. Didn’t know about the cancer either. My dad is also a cancer survivor after an operation and treatments.
Got to meet Josh at the Golden Apple event, which was great fun. It was very satisfying to be able to tell him in person how much I like the show. You never know about email, letters, blog posts or whatever, so there’s nothing like being able to tell them in person. James Middleton too. A ton of respect for those guys.
Josh wish you the best of health and wanted to comment on your message to the Jameron Haters in your blog post a few weeks back.
You were spot on , with that dig to all the haters with never ending whining because there is not enough robo “dollhouse” in your show. Fans of terminator get drowned out at the official wiki because of this bunch.
To Josh, thanks for being strong enough to do what you do — sharing your vision of Terminator.
We all appredciate that; I believe even the bashers/haters do, too.
The best health for you Josh. I had no idea. You can fight through it though. Multiple people in my life have been affected by cancer and it can be done; you can fight through it. Best of luck Josh! We all love you and we pray for you. You are a true genius; you gave us TSCC, my number one passion. Words cannot epress my gratitude. Thank you Josh.
Cancer flee in Jesus Name! I also claim a 3rd, 4th, and 5th season in Jesus Name!
James Ellroy? Ever read My Dark Places? Take a walk on the dark side in the strangest memoir I’ve ever read. S3 should have a scene that takes place in the Night Owl Cafe.
Best wishes for a sustained recovery. Hang in there baby!
may it be gone forever! many positive thoughts out there for you, Josh. be well.
Amen Ashley.
Hi man,
we care all about your health !
it’s not easy work TSCC out with such weight in heart …you’re so strong!
With your work you give a lot of people unforgettabl moments and feelings; you take this characters to us, you inspired us and make us live in TSCC world.
I write from italy, and i really enjoy this show every friday; also in such difficult day, in such absurd conditions, fightin with useless ratings…i’m here, we all are here supportin’ you, the cast, crew and show, and waitin for next !
It’s the best show right now, and it’s your stuff ! You’re great
You inspired me to write down my first screenplay.
We are here, waitin for you givin’ us 3rd season !
And it will kick ass ! As i hope…
Best of luck !
I will add my well wishes for your health as well, Josh.
We love you!
My best wishes to you.
I understand where Friedman is pulling his ideas, but it doesn’t make them good ones.
The facts? TSCC is Fox’s worst performing scripted show. It’s not even remotely close to being on the bubble.
When a viewer thinks of Terminator they think of “Scary Robots”. The target audience was interested in cyborgs, action, and excitement. This wasn’t the time to play with emo teenage angst, the psychoanalysis of Sarah Connor over several episodes, or devoting most of season two into side plots.
Now John Connor just finally became a likeable character. You didn’t focus on developing John soon enough, and it’s too late. You’re turning Sarah into a villain, whiny and weak, who’s obnoxious to Cameron. Speaking of Cameron, she was mostly scenery in the back nine. You underutilized the fan favorite, and actress that could have brought in more viewers.
Finally, you took way too long to wrap up the Riley/Jesse story.
I wish you the best Friedman in regards to health, but your insight into the Terminator franchise is so very wrong.
Hmm, maybe it didn’t fit in with expectations of some people, but for those us who do enjoy it, it’s been a great show.
Whiny and weak would be as far as you could get from my descriptions of this Sarah Connor. She is absolutely kick ass.
Josh and the team created THE best Sarah Connor yet. No question about it.
Funny how people say there was no Cam in the back nine. There were HUGE episodes featuring Cameron. She’s been right there. Some good ones coming up too, you can tell by the previews.
Josh-
I read this and was blown away - my respect for you goes even higher and not just because you make a kick ass show about ‘robots…and religion and art and poetry and humanity’ as Thomas Dekker once said. Best wishes for your future and continued health.
Josh, you might have thought ‘Who cares?’ at some point about SCC. Who would care about a show about robots? Well, I care. And I still do. This show gives an audience what I believe is fantastically complex and innovative writing, incredible actors and a cast and crew that really seems to love their jobs.
To me, SCC reminds us of what it is to be human, the importance of being human and how to never loose touch with that side of oneself. If one does, there’s severe, sad, emotional consequences.
So, does a TV show really matter? Does it matter in the big scheme of the world if SCC goes on? Certainly not in the face of life and death and everyday challenges. Does it matter what lessons I learn from being inspired by a TV show? It certainly does.
Josh I think most of the fans wish you well ,and luck with your health.
you did create a show that makes people think, and wonder . and it is a show most of us will remember for a long time.
with all its faults, it is still the best show on tv to me.
I also watch heroes, lost, bsg, and others , and this show is much better than those shows.
I agree that it could be better, but as is it is still the best show on tv , ……just my opinion.
maybe if you get a chance at S-3 you can make it more appealing to a wider audince , or just those pesky “neilsen ” veiwers.
something OT of interest I found on wiki
Way 4 JF or anyone to cure Cancer or other dibilitating dis-eases!
Yesterday, 11:43 PM EDT | Post edited: Yesterday, 11:43 PM EDT
ShelterWolf wrote:
“Maybe he should look into some energy therapy that kills cancer cells: http://futuretechtoday.net/cmd.php?”
coachck
“Actually, alkaline ionized water will do the trick. Cancer cells thrive in an acidic state, which is what our bodies are, mainly bc of the food and liquids we drink - even bottled and tap water. But they don’t grow in an alkaline one. Units to make this start at $800 on Ebay, but small price to pay for good health. You can Google for more info, but Korea and Japan have been using for two decades with increadble results in millions of cases, so no mystery about validity of the technology. AMA in USA and TPTB that make money on providing treatment but no cure prefer to continue to “corner the market” on Kemo, hospitals, Dr,’s etc, rather than have findings be known. This water also “cures” a number of other dis-eases, but AMA has patent on word cure!”
As someone who has had family and family friends die of cancer… I wholeheartedly wish Josh a continued clean bill of health, and wish him and his family long and happy lives.
No one deserves this awful disease. I’m praying for you, believe it or not.
As someone, like me, who may be considered a critic of this show (I think we may have been labeled “haters” and even killed off-screen by name; howdy Mr. Hack!! LOL!)… bear this in mind:
Why am I still here? Why am I still watching? Why am I still goading?
There is quality in even the least favorite episodes of mine, there are great main characters (some new, some familiar), there is a deep and passionate and wondrous story to be told… and is yet to be told in future installments.
I thought Season 1 showed great and ever growing potential from episode to episode, and now that these last few Season 2 episodes are here, I really see it again. Is it perfect? No. IMHO. Would I do some things the same way? Of course not. Would I have dealt with John and Sarah and maybe Cameron differently this season? Probably. We all have different visions and ideas (fans and writers alike). But it’s building back up again, and that gives me real hope.
And most importantly IMHO: the cast gives it their all and it shows up on screen, even those with no formal training… they are all shining brightly and you want to root for their careers and many of their characters (if there’s something worth rooting for… Jesse, I’m sorry, but you’ll always be slightly “evil” to me).
And as for “visions” of Terminator. There are similarities and differences in the creators who have helmed this story.
James Cameron on Wired:
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/17-04/ff_cameron
The Terminator world is rich and fascinating for a reason… it holds humanity up to deep scrutiny.
And our fight to be better beings than we are… will never stop.
In all truthfulness… take care.
I really liked this article, very thought provoking. Too short but very well written. And I enjoyed the little Jameron comment.
Josh I wish you all the best. Health and happiness for years to come. Hang in there.
Also thank you for bring us this amazing family unit of John, Sarah and Cameron that you have created. And yes Jameron as well!! Hands down the BEST show on television. What other show makes you think, makes you want to rewatch the episodes again and then come to sites like this to talk about what you just saw. Here’s to getting a season 3 and beyond.
On a side note…I do like that TSCC is introducing these real life issues….even if they hit very close to home for a lot of people.
I guess that is why the foster father had on that cancer run T-shirt.
Keep up the great work. Here’s to a Season 3!!!!
Here, I think, are the ,similarities:
James Cameron:
“I don’t think anything resembling The Terminator is really going to happen. There certainly aren’t going to be genocidal wars waged by machines a few generations from now. The stories function more on a symbolic level, and that’s why people key into them. They’re about us fighting our own tendency toward dehumanization. When a cop has no compassion, when a shrink has no empathy, they’ve become machines in human form. Technology is changing the whole fabric of social interaction. We’re absorbing our machines in a symbiotic way, evolving to become one with our own devices, and that’s going to continue indefinitely.”
A rich world, indeed.
Josh, thank you for sharing your struggle with us. My husband and I will be praying for you daily, and we pray that you’ll be totally cancer free. Have you ever read Psalm 121? It’s awesome. Did your struggle with cancer have anything to do with your incorporation of faith questions into the show?
We’re huge fans, and TSCC is literally the only show we watch on TV–other than PBS kids, LOL! Cailliou, Martha Speaks, and Dragon Tales ain’t got nuthin’ on you!
As a fellow survivor of the surgery to remove the kidney, urether and tumor, I learned one thing in particular; morphine is over-rated. Survival and endurance are key. Your vision of terminator has complemented the original in a way that many of us appreciated even while others cluelessly whined for the return of lovable Edward Furlong and Uncle Bob. The realization that we carry within us the seed of the terminators and our obsession with finding safety in the MIC is the ultimate folly. As long as we finance a system that only asks how and never questions why we insure the singularity that may contain little or no hope of survival. My surgery followed the catastrophe of 9/11 by one week so I remember the ashen taste of a world in chaos while fighting my own battle for survival. It gives one a singular sense of purpose.
I sense that you have been driven to realize your vision despite the conspiracy of dunces that have opposed and criticized you. A sincere “Well done” for your achievement in evolving the mythology of Terminator.
@David G.
[takes dunce cap off and throws it on the floor]
“Hey!!”
—-
Seriously though, I sympathize with you and your struggles. Though, I can only imagine what you went through, I still feel for you.
I’m glad you’re here and giving us hell.
As Dory in “Finding Nemo” always says: Keep on swimming. Keep on swimming.
Dan:
You know song lyrics (boy, do you ever); I know (some) literature. The phrase refers to a novel by a unappreciated creative genius named O’Toole whose comic masterpiece was published posthumously after his suicide. I was actually thinking of the creative cabal at Fox that insisted on the Riley romance, prompted the move to Friday nights and pushed the Summer as eye-candy advertising while the series was exploring Sarah and her inner demons.
In point of fact, you and I agree, I believe, that a dialogue-challenged Austrian former body builder gave a (gulp) extraordinary performance ending in “I know now why you cry.” Arnold made us question what it means to be human, to have a soul. In that spirit I have trusted Josh and his revisionist terminator. Certainly, the caliber of acting talent from Dean Winter to Garret Dillahunt to Lena Headey suggests he’s on to something. I even get your loyalty to the “classic” treatment of T2. But even that ending cheated-no JD-no Kyle Reese-no John Connor. Break the chain of causality, past, present or future and the connections evaporate like mist.
Although you and I have different faiths we are still true-believers. We can agree on that.
Duncan O’Toole-A Confederacy of Dunces-funny novel, tragic history whose basic message is “Keep on swimming…”
@Davd G:
Read it a while back. I did know what you were getting at, but I didn’t know where the gun barrel was pointed. LOL!
As for T2 and James Cameron, I think he didn’t break any causality. He even said, in his interview section of the T2 laserdisc that the fight for the future goes on, even if it doesn’t come in the form of a metal uprising.
Once John has been created, he will not disappear. It’s the future that’s changing… not the past. It doesn’t work like “Back to the Future” even though I love Doc Brown as much as the next geek!
James Cameron even discussed it at one point when somebody asked him at a USC Q&A session. Once John allowed his father to come back the one time to get “jiggy” with Sarah… he was set in Time. They could stop the machine JD and he’d still be there. Anyone or anything sent back before he and Sarah changed things would still be locked in place.
Sorry-doesn’t make sense but who are you going to believe? Give James Cameron credit for his exceptional visual talent-Terminator is still visually superior to its big budget sequel-”No fate but what we choose-”The events that transformed Kyle Reese into the father of mankind’s Messiah are the events of the machine apocalypse, the key element of which is Skynet sealing its own doom by trying to thwart fate by preventing the birth of its nemesis. Harlan Ellison understood causality the way Cameron understands visual imagery and a future sky swarming with HK’s. Of course, reading and understanding the message of Sophocle’s Oedipus Rex might be two different things. I stand with Greek and biblical tragedy in acknowledging that we are what fate twists us into being. “No fate” is a future cookie platitude. The Terminator mythology deserves more depth and honesty.
Afterall, even Cameron admits he moved on to more Titanic projects. A glance at the cast of characters reveals JF acknowledges the contributions of Cameron and Ellison. JC’s vision wasn’t set in stone you remember. He envisioned the terminator as a chameleon played by Lance Henricksen, the ultimate infiltrator, until Arnold was chosen, by a suit, as a far more prominent substitute. The choice of so extraordinary a physical presence allowed the terminator to evolve into the perfect embodiment of the ultimate goal of the Military-Industrial-Complex, a machine that is Death. The series has crystalized that vision of the future nightmare. In the darkness flicker the few glimmers of hope, Sarah, John, Charley and Cameron.
I realize I can’t shake your devotion to Uncle Bob and lovable Eddie but I hoped to show you that MANY of us base our loyalty to T:SCC on an emotional and intellectual foundation. Josh didn’t desecrate the temple; he rebuilt it.
Sorry to hear you’re ill, Josh. Best wishes to you and your family and hope you get well soon.