"and hey, maybe Josh didn't want to get involved with cross promotion because it'd get complicated, and he figured it was bad enough just trying to deal with one timeline, and not have to worry about shoving hints at another one in there as well.

you think TSCC is hard to watch for the casual observer? TSCC is hard to CREATE. think about that. there is no reason the show should be dumbed down for the average viewers purposes. maybe your gf just has a short attention span.

but the only people the show is worth writing for are watching it religiously and I can tell you right now, we'll be just fine."

"It's not a matter of dumbing it down. It is a matter of CONSISTENCY:

The show is not about Sarah protecting her son or trying to stop Skynet.

It's not about John growing into becoming the great saviour of humanity

and it it's not about the very interesting new protector cybord sent back from the future.

So she tuned OUT. I get refreshments and reminders to let her know when a fight scene comes on - and this from a babe that digs sports and WANTS to go to see blockbuster action movies. So she knows when something is being palmed off on her that is less than what it could be. Like the "Dune" movie after I made her read all three books in the trilogy. Or "Battlefield Earth."

Look I LIKE their clever ideas. I just want them to fit in with what we KNOW Terminator is all about. But their too busy being clever writers to lay the good, solid foundation this series needs. Or maybe their victims of the writer's strike, or the suits and Fox intervening. I don't know. I just know that something is not quite right, and the show IS suffering, because IF it gets cxl'd then the whole thing is a moot point - and we may NEVER know what the hell Josh was trying to do.

So the first priority for Josh AS the EP is "the show MUST go on." If that means being a whore and calling JCam and McG and the governor to do mock PSA's to build up interest and viewrship, DO IT! And the NEXT step is make sure you give viewers the BEST of the Terminator-based world that you can, not a bunch of NEW stuff they don't understand with very little of the stuff they do. That really doesn't work.

"

"I think the B9 is going to be a lot more close to home, regarding what we "know" about the Terminator universe. You are correct, they've done a lot of dancing around with miscellaneous side stories and new characters. Granted, plot development and character development are great, but like you said, we should've had more of the Terminator "flavor" to go along with this new twist. I think these next 9 are going to be similar to what we've seen in S1.

And I meet you half way on the abundance of resources at Josh's disposal. As was quoted, there could be a lot of strings attached with cross promotions, and it might get menacing having to throw hints or bits in here or there regarding T4. However, I think we know it's going to be close regarding S3 (hoping), and how many opportunities arises for a show and movie to benefit from each other like this, given release dates and whatnot. On one hand, I understand Josh's point of view, but on the other, if he has exhausted all resources and possibilities; it may be worth looking into to ensure the survival of the show (IF it is in danger - he could be waiting it out to see how the first few episodes of B9 do).

It IS a VERY unorthodox idea, crossing like that, even if the same company is making it (are they both WB?). But interesting nonetheless."

">I think Josh thinks he's in competition with McG and feels he shouldn't have to worship at the shrine of JCam.

Huh? WTF? Josh has nothing to prove! Neither to McG nor James Cameron.

And why are you saying that McG controls the T-verse?! Neither him or Friedman does. Why McG would have an upper hand on Friedman for this?!"

"I have faith.

I feel that the show exists in a little box of time after T2 and before anything else, especially T4. Josh can do anything he wants inside the box.

He has introduced a lot of unresolved plot lines that bothered me and sounds like you, too. But this is the discord that sweetens the melody when everything comes together.

This is the art. After everything comes together, I trust you will feel better and we will see that the show hasn't had to move out of its box either, and it plugs in where it should in the T-verse. I hope your current unhappiness will be a testament to his art when the season is over. Maybe you'll look back and say, "Damn, that all worked out so well, better than I expected."

Personally, I had been greatly frustrated with all the unexplained elements of the show. To my relief, I have worked out for myself one way that everything can resolve consistently, Not saying I know what the writers have put down, but at least now I feel I can rest, inasmuch as I know that satisfying resolutions exist. I have faith that they have chosen one to show us in the back nine.

Hang in there, baby."

"I agree on both counts. You've seen the documentary Zietgeist? (sp?) covers the TV topic at the end..."