A few months ago, Ian Goldberg announced that he wanted to write an episode inspired by the classic movie The Night Porter, an Italian film starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling, written and directed by Liliani Cavani. We all got very excited about the prospect of this, I had some vague memory of how much I liked and/or admired the film, though I could not recall a frame of it, except maybe a shot of Bogarde at the counter through the front door of the hotel, and I suspected that even that memory was unreliable.

Anyway, we embarked upon this little exercise and about three days into breaking the story, Ian confessed that he’d, in fact, never seen the movie. And so we all decided we needed to see the movie if we were going to write something inspired by it. So, cut to a week later, and the only person who actually went out and rented it and saw it was Toni Graphia, who thought it was creepy and disturbing and not as sexy as she’d hoped it would be.

I don’t know how much, in the end, the episode resembles in spirit the great French film (which I still haven’t gone back and watched), but I can say I feel it is among the best scripts we’ve produced on the series to date. This, primarily because of a couple of big sci-fi ideas it contains, and because of the profound (and uncredited) contributions from Josh.

Richard Schiff does amazing work in it, as we’ve all come to expect from him, and Brian Austin Green is a revelation. You’ll also get to see a very moving performance by Stephanie Jacobsen. Finally, Lena holds the entire episode together with a haunting, beautiful performance. She is, as always, at the heart of the show, and at the center of everything that happens. The world revolves around her and this affecting performance really resonated with me.

If you pay close attention, you’ll see Sarah revisit the old Connor house in one crucial scene. Thanks for watching!

Last night Josh, Garret, and staff writer Dan Thomsen logged in for a little chat with (more than a thousand!) fans following the episode. Even if you missed it, you can still sort through all the questions and comments on the FOX wiki site.

Some highlights from the chat?

Why does John continue to risk Riley’s life by being in a relationship with her?
Josh Friedman: I think John’s an idiot to be involved with Riley but I think he’s got his reasons.

How long will Stephanie Jacobsen’s “Jesse” be on the show for?
Josh Friedman: Stephanie will be around for a while. She’s got some work to do. We love her.

If Cromartie had another chance and it was one-on-one with Cameron, who would win?
Garret Dillahunt: I do think I’d have a chance because she’s just too weak and small. And she’d be distracted by my good looks.

How did you find out you were going to die and how did you feel about it?
Garret Dillahunt: I was only sorry that we didn’t get to do the cross-dressing episode idea that Josh had for Cromartie. I think it’s a missed opportunity.

Check out the rest of the interview for more fun scoop…

So we’re all caught up on the story of Dinah and the Brothers of Nablus, but surely there are other goodies from this week’s episode that went unnoticed? Thankfully, you’ve got us goofy folk to share what we know.

As this episode was actually shot before The Tower…, this truly marked Stephanie Jacobson’s first days on set as Jesse. In fact, the first scenes she shot on our show were with Derek in bed! Nothing says “nice to meet you” like playing footsies under the covers.

The set used for Dr. Ostrowski’s dental office is actually the reconfigured set previously used for Ellison’s FBI office (as well as Dr. Sherman’s office). It lives on one of our sound stages here on the Warner Bros studio lot.

Speaking of reusing sets, the slick hotel pool where Jesse lounges may look like a location stolen from an episode of Entourage, but it’s actually the same pool (completely redressed) that we used to shoot all of the underwater footage during Cromartie’s Johnny Cash/FBI massacre last season. Props to our good gals and guys that cleaned out all of the old blood. We tease.

When Cromartie skips ahead of the line to talk to Rita, the social worker, at the halfway house, he tries to tell her that he’s her uncle. In turn, she responds sarcastically, “And I’m Angelina Jolie.” Ironically enough (we swear we didn’t know!), Jillian Armenante, the actress, is actually close friends with the star of Changeling — and even co-starred with her in the film Girl, Interrupted!

We did intentionally script the grocery items John and Riley pick up at the store. After all, the Connors only seem to eat a few things — pancakes (see: the series Pilot) and turkey meat (see: John’s snack in Gnothi Seauton). Buy what you know.

Cameron executes the waste of space robbers in the bowling alley because they are liabilities — they know where the Connors live, who they are, etc — right in front of Sarah. If this scene mirrors another one from earlier in the series, it’s intentional. When Cameron shoots Enrique in Gnothi Seauton, Sarah struggles with it and even slaps Cameron. But Sarah doesn’t react to the murders in Brothers of Nablus. Has she simply grown accustomed to Cameron’s strategy? Or did Andy Goode rebuilding the Turk actually teach her a lesson?

Robber Tristan Dewitt’s short film is called The Lightning in My Wires and won second place in the Sandusky Film Festival, 1993. Sounds… artsy. Meanwhile, the amazingly cool film Tristan pitches his friends at the bowling alley (Abraham Lincoln fighting zombies) is an actual film that a few members of this here T:SCC writers’ office have been working on for some time now. Keep your eyes peeled for it in the future…

Brothers of Nablus was written by Ian Goldberg of What He Beheld (and Related, the WB series) fame and directed by bigtime TV director, Milan Cheylov.

And who can forget Cameron’s fight to get back her purple leather jacket? True fans will recognize that jacket from the first season (she wears it to the high school a few times), as well as this publicity photo. Ahhhh, crazy robot.

Hello, friends of the Terminator blog. Ian Goldberg here – last year, I wrote What he Beheld. You might remember it as the episode where those poor SWAT team members did a little synchronized swimming routine, apocalypse style, to the musical stylings of Mr. Johnny Cash. I also wrote tonight’s episode, Brothers of Nablus. I can’t tell you much about it, other than it is undoubtedly our most Jewish episode yet. What’s that, you ask? Where does Judaism fit into the Terminator canon? You writers give us a hero with the initials J.C., loads of eloquent dialogue about the resurrection, and the book of Revelations – now you want to throw Jewish theology into the mix too?

To give you a little background, Nablus was conceived around a pretty simple idea – what would happen if the Connors got robbed? Without spoiling anything for you, we decided to make it a kind of “noir” Elmore Leonard-y episode, while still maintaining the tone and feel of our show. As I was writing the script, I really wanted to use a story from the Bible. I had no idea which one, or where it would fit in, just that I wanted to use it as a metaphor for what was going on with the Connors. I consulted Zvi, our trusty writer’s PA, who also happens to be an Israeli Talmudic scholar in his own right. And Zvi turned me onto the story of the Brothers of Nablus – which you can find in Genesis, chapter 34. Again, I won’t spoil anything for you, but basically it’s a really badass story about a group of brothers who enact a bloody revenge plot on the man who raped their sister. Revenge! Family! Blood! Sounded pretty Terminator-y to me, and so I used it. As to what exactly it means in the context of the rest of the episode, I guess you’ll just have to tune in and see…

As you know, tonight’s new episode is entitled Brothers of Nablus. But what exactly is Nablus?

Wikipedia describes Nablus as “a city in the northern West Bank, north of Jerusalem. Located in the strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a commercial and cultural center.” Click the link to get a good history lesson.

Happy Halloween from everyone here at Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles!

Don’t forget — we’re back on the air next Monday (and for so many weeks in a row!) with an all new episode.

Brothers of Nablus
Monday - 8PM/7PMc
FOX

(And thanks to the FOX wiki for the goofy Pumpkinator!)

You asked so we deliver. Our long-delayed podcast for The Tower Is Tall but the Fall Is Short featuring writer Denise Thé and Executive Producer Josh Friedman.

Bloggerific Staff Writer (and author of this coming week’s The Tower…) Denise Thé on set on the FIRST day of production, season one. We all stood about watching the first scene being shot for Gnothi Seauton — Sarah throwing Cameron against the front door of their old house: “You told me we’d be safe! Safe! Does that look like safe?…”

Hello T:SCC fans! My name is Denise Thé. I’m the third staff writer on The Sarah Connor Chronicles and I wrote this coming Monday’s episode, The Tower Is Tall But The Fall Is Short. I’m feeling nostalgic today, so please forgive if this blog is overly sentimental, over dramatic, or let’s face it, over written.

It all started June 1st of 2007, that’s when I got the call that I’d gotten the job on Sarah Connor. I had gone to an interview the day before with a churning stomach and sweaty palms. My agents had described Josh Friedman as a crazy genius; they weren’t wrong. My mind reeled as he laid out his vision of the show. I tried not to beg but the only thought screaming in my head was… please, please let me be a part of this.

What I didn’t know at the time was that the date was symbolic and just the beginning in a long line of firsts. You see, this is my first time on a writing staff and The Tower is my first produced episode of T.V. I was so excited on my first day of work that I actually used “jazz hands.” Josh promptly warned me that there would be a limit to the amount of enthusiasm the office could take.

The Tower is the first of our episodes to be directed by a woman – the very talented Tawnia McKiernan. In the episode, Cameron fights a female Terminator – our first female-on-female Terminator fight. It’s a knock down, blow-your-hair back, jab-your-eye out (literally) fight scene. Be sure to watch closely – the arm and leg twists are not special effects! It’s also the first peek at The Turk since Samson and Delilah. The first insight into Weaver’s relationship with her daughter, Savannah. And at long last… the first time we address the mystery of who killed Sarkissian.

Which brings me to the final first – TSCC’s first on-screen love scene. Those of you who have read The Tower’s logline know that “a woman from Derek’s past surprises him in the present.” Now that’s a fine sounding logline. Simple. Straightforward. Not in the least bit confusing. But technically, Derek’s past is the future (at least one version of it). So then would you say that this mystery woman is from the past or the future or both?

Let me be the first to say, time travel confuses the hell out of me (something I neglected to mention in my interview). We’ve had endless mind numbing, headache inducing discussions about time travel in the writer’s room. Luckily, Ash and Zack can patiently talk anyone down from a time-travel ledge.

But like it or not, time travel is very real in the Connor’s world. I for one like it. I like the idea that Sarah and John can jump forward in time – over Sarah’s cancer and toward the birth of Skynet. I like that Derek can jump back in time and see himself and Kyle as young innocents playing baseball. I like the idea that time is flexible - like a limber contortionist in a permanent back bend. These firsts continue to happen over and over again. The first time John learned how to play chess. The first time Derek hit a ball out of the park. The first time Sarah held John as a baby in her arms. And the first time I walked through our office doors and sat down in the writer’s room. I like this idea because there is no real end, only beginnings. Only firsts…

We had a very special surprise guest with an important connection to the Terminator franchise swing by our set today. Here he is posing just minutes ago between Dungeons and Dragons and Goodbye to All That writers Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller. Any guesses?

Big hint: one of our characters is “named” after him in the first season.

Update: Well done, commenters K8ie and Joseph H! For your answer, look no further…