New Terminator TV Series.......

[Mitch Henessey]

Skydance Prods. and Annapurna Pictures, the companies behind the upcoming Terminator film trilogy, are expanding the franchise to television with a TV series to be done in conjunction with the first rebooted Terminator film slated for release in 2015. The series will be written and exec produced by feature scribes Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor), with the writers of the upcoming Terminator movie Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier serving as executive producers.

The series will follow a critical moment from the original 1984 Terminator movie, taking it in a completely different direction that the film. Plot details about the upcoming Terminator movie are being kept under wraps, but it too is expected to be tied to the first movie. As the rebooted film trilogy and the new television series progress, the two narratives will be designed to intersect with each other. (Thus the head-on involvement in the series of the new film’s writers Kalogridis and Lussier.) For now, Paramount, which is Skydance and Annapurna’s partner on the feature trilogy, is not involved in the TV series, but that could change down the line. Paramount is returning to television, recently relaunching a TV division. Skydance too recently expanded into television, landing its first series, The Manhattan Project, on WGN America. The companies’ plan to intertwine the narratives of movies and TV series is reminiscent of Marvel’s efforts with Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and movies like Thor and The Avengers – but on a bigger scale. Imagine attempted to do something as ambitious with the adaptation of Stephen King’s Dark Tower, which was envisioned as a movie trilogy with TV series bridging the films, but the project didn’t get off the ground. The Terminator TV series will be produced by Megan Ellison of Annapurna and David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross of Skydance.

The blockbuster Terminator franchise, which has earned more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office, has spawned a TV series before: Fox’s 2008 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Casting of the Sarah Connor role in the upcoming film is now underway, with Arnold Schwarzenegger booked for a return as the title character. Stentz and Miller also wrote the upcoming films Starship Troopers and The Fall Guy. Their series credits include Fox’s Fringe.

http://www.deadline.com/2013/12/terminator-tv-series-movie-connection/

This reminds me of how they used season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles to promote that piece of shit Terminator: Salvation. Season 2 wasn't a direct tie-in to Salvation, but the method of promotion was the same for the most part.

Anyway, call me whiny, but I'd rather have a season 3 of TTSCC instead. Sorry, but this wreaks of failure in my eyes, because the SOLE purpose of this is to help promote the upcoming reboot. Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I had to give up on Marvel: Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. after three episodes, because it was too bland, and well, boring. It's not a good sign of things to come, if they're using Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a measuring stick

The VAST majority of Terminator fans are already skeptical about the reboot, because we haven't seen a good/great Terminator film since Judgement Day, and Cameron is busy with Avatar sequels, so you can't count on him to set things straight. The pilot will pop a big rating, but they've got some big shoes to fill, if they're hoping to surpass TTSCC.

Thoughts?

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

The more they add, the more they take away.

When I read this yesterday I saw they were using a picture of Kyle to promote the story. Now it seems as if that could be a red herring but if they make a spin-off from the first film in the TV series universe then that would seem to me like they are negating what happened in the second film.

Time-travel is a tricky enough concept in the science fiction world, but adding more and more layers and possibilities to it just waters down what preceded it.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

if they make a spin-off from the first film in the TV series universe then that would seem to me like they are negating what happened in the second film.

Never really thought about this until now, and you can't dismiss or gloss over the storylines in Judgement Day. The movie itself is too well known and praised for that. If we're talking about Salvation or Rise Of The Machines, then yeah, go right ahead, because I'm sure we wouldn't care.

And yeah, Terminator usually beats the time travel stuff into the ground with sending Arnie and his nemeses to the past to protect and kill John. Also, as much as I love TTSCC, time travel was big focal point in season 2.

But there's a chance we could see a refreshing tweak, IF they actually place John, Sarah, and others in the future during the war, or the past for a significant amount of time. And when I say a significant amount of time, I'm not talking about flashbacks or one episode, make it count with three or more episodes. Give the stories more time to develop in another time period to emphasize the importance of the time travel dynamic, so it's not limited to a cheap gimmick.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

The more they add, the more they take away.

When I read this yesterday I saw they were using a picture of Kyle to promote the story. Now it seems as if that could be a red herring but if they make a spin-off from the first film in the TV series universe then that would seem to me like they are negating what happened in the second film.

Time-travel is a tricky enough concept in the science fiction world, but adding more and more layers and possibilities to it just waters down what preceded it.

I agree completely. I understand why they're doing it. The Terminator franchise is extremely profitable. The more they keep doing spin-offs, prequels, movies not tied to the others, the more confusing it gets and the more watered down it gets. The concept of the franchise is great but now it's getting a little ridiculous, IMO. This TV series COULD be successful, but I can't get on board with negating the events in the second film OR trying to backtrack and explain stuff after the fact.