Terminator (franchise)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Terminator series is a franchise encompassing a series of science fiction films and ancillary media concerning battles between Skynet's artificially intelligent machine network, and John Connor's Tech-Com forces and the rest of the human race. Skynet's most well-known products in its genocidal goals are the various terminator models, such as the original "Terminator" character, portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger in three films.

Contents 1 Films 1.1 The Terminator 1.2 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1.3 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines 1.4 Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins 2 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles 3 Cast and characters 4 Other media 4.1 Books 4.2 Comics and graphic novels 4.3 Games 4.4 Attraction 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Films

[edit] The Terminator

Main article: The Terminator

The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Michael Biehn. It is the first work in the Terminator franchise. In the film, machines take over the world in the near future, directed by the artificially intelligent computer Skynet. With its sole mission to completely annihilate humanity, it develops cyborg assassins called Terminators that look exactly like humans. A man named John Connor starts the Tech-Com resistance to defeat them and free humanity. With a human victory imminent, the machines' only choice is to send a terminator back in time to kill John's mother, Sarah, before he is born, preventing the resistance from ever being founded. With the fate of humanity at stake, John sends soldier Kyle Reese back to protect his mother and ensure his own existence.

[edit] Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Main article: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the 1991 sequel to the original Terminator film, written, directed, and produced by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, and Robert Patrick. After the machines failed to prevent John Connor from being born, they try again, this time attempting to kill him as a child with a more advanced terminator, the T-1000. As before, John sends back a protector for his younger self, a reprogrammed Terminator, identical to the one from the previous film. After ten years of preparing for the future war, Sarah decides to use the same tactics the machines used on her: prevent Skynet from being invented by destroying Cyberdyne Systems before they create it.

[edit] Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Main article: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is the 2003 sequel to the record breaking Terminator 2, directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, and Kristanna Loken. As a result of the destruction of Cyberdyne at the end of T2, the Skynet takeover has been postponed, but not averted. In a last attempt to ensure a machine victory, a new terminator, the T-X, is sent back to kill as many high ranking resistance officers as possible, including John Connor and his future wife Kate. After the future Connor is terminated by an identical model to his previous protector, Kate reprograms it and sends it back to save them both from the T-X.

[edit] Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins

Main article: Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins is the upcoming fourth installment to the Terminator film series, scheduled to be released on May 22, 2009.^[1] It is written by David Campbell Wilson, John Brancato, and Michael Ferris, directed by Joseph "McG" McGinty Nichol,^[2] and stars actor Christian Bale as John Connor.^[3] Anton Yelchin is playing a young Kyle Reese, who befriends Marcus, an early Terminator.^[4] Sam Worthington is playing Marcus; he was personally recommended to McG by Terminator creator James Cameron.^[5] Josh Brolin and Mariusz Pudzianowski have been mentioned in a possible role as the Terminator.^[6][7] Moon Bloodgood is reported to be the female lead of the film. She will play "a no-nonsense and battle-hardened member of the resistance".^[8][9] Shooting of the film began on May 5, 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.^[10] Stan Winston will supervise the visual effects.^[11]

[edit] Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Main article: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

A television series titled Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles airs on the FOX network, with Lena Headey as Sarah Connor and Thomas Dekker as John Connor. The series, created by Josh Friedman, centers on Sarah and John after Terminator 2 as they try to "live under the radar" after the explosion at Cyberdyne. Summer Glau plays a female Terminator protecting the Connors, with at least one more Terminator villain. Executive producer James Middleton confirmed in Variety that the series will contain a link to Terminator 4.^[12]

[edit] Cast and characters

Character	Film/Series
	The Terminator	Terminator 2: Judgment Day	Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines	Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles	Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins
The Terminator	Arnold Schwarzenegger
Kyle Reese	Michael Biehn1			Jonathan Jackson2	Anton Yelchin
Sarah Connor	Linda Hamilton			Lena Headey
Peter Silberman	Earl Boen			Bruce Davison3
John Connor		Edward Furlong4	Nick Stahl	Thomas Dekker5	Christian Bale
T-1000		Robert Patrick
Miles Dyson		Joe Morton		Phil Morris
Kate Brewster			Claire Danes		Bryce Dallas Howard
T-X			Kristanna Loken
Cameron Phillips				Summer Glau
Derek Reese				Brian Austin Green6
Cromartie				Owain Yeoman Garret Dillahunt
Marcus[4][5]					Sam Worthington
Barnes[13]					Common

Note 1: A vision of Reese appears only in the extended cut of T2.

Note 2: Skyler Gisondo portrays an eight years old Kyle Reese and another young actor, who is uncredited, plays a four years old Kyle Reese on the episode " What He Beheld".

Note 3: He is credited as Dr. Silverman in the series but referred to as Silberman by the characters and in writing.

Note 4: Michael Edwards stars as an older John Connor in a brief, nonspeaking role, and Dalton Abbot plays the infant John Connor.

Note 5: John DeVito plays a younger John Connor in a brief, nonspeaking role on the flashback scene of the episode "Queen's Gambit".

Note 6: Ryan Kelley plays a fifteen years old Derek Reese on " What He Beheld" and another young actor, who is uncredited, as an eleven years old Derek on the same episode.

[edit] Other media

There have been several book series and graphic novels associated with the Terminator series. The films have been novelized as well.

[edit] Books

• The Terminator (first novelization) by Shaun Hutson (1984)
• The Terminator (second novelization) by Randall Frakes (1991)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day novelization by Randall Frakes (1991)
  • T2: Infiltrator series by S.M. Stirling
    • T2: Infiltrator (2002)
    • T2: Rising Storm (2003)
    • T2: The Future War (2004)
  • Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles by Russell Blackford
    • Dark Futures (2002)
    • An Evil Hour (2003)
    • Times of Trouble (2003)
  • Terminator 2: Hour of the Wolf by Mark W. Tiedemann (2004)
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines novelization by David Hagberg (2003)
  • T3: Terminator Dreams by Aaron Allston (2004)
  • T3: Terminator Hunt by Aaron Allston (2005)
• T-2: Judgment Day Book of the Film by Cameron/Wisher (1991)
• The Making of T-2: Judgment Day by Shay/Duncan (1991)
• Terminator 3: ROTM - Prima's Offical Strategy Guide (2003)

Stirling, Blackford and Allston's individual series are of separate continuity. Tiedemann's novel follows on from Blackford's.

[edit] Comics and graphic novels

In 1988, NOW Comics published an ongoing series with John Connor as the main character in 2029, after sending Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect his mother. The seventeen issue series was followed by two limited series.^[14][15][16]

Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights in 1990 and published The Terminator (titled Tempest in trade paperbacks to distinguish itself), where a group of human soldiers and four Terminators come to the present, to respectively kill or protect the developers of Skynet. One of the Terminators is Dudley, a human doctor with cybernetic implants, and he betrays his group as he feels he can make a difference in the past.^[17] In the following year's sequel Secondary Objectives, the surviving Terminator leader, C890.L, is reprogrammed to destroy another Terminator sent to aid him and kill Sarah Connor.^[18] In the immediate follow-up The Enemy Within, C890.L rebuilds and modifies himself to become more dangerous than ever, while a team of human assassins attempt to return to the past and kill a Skynet developer.^[19] The 1992 Endgame concludes this arc, with human colonel Mary Randall, having lost Dudley and her soldiers in the final battle with C890.L, protecting Sarah Connor as she goes into labor. Sarah gives birth to a girl named Jane, whose future leadership means Skynet is quickly defeated and never develops time travel.^[20]

Dark Horse published a 1992 one-shot written by James Dale Robinson and drawn by Matt Wagner. It followed a female Terminator and a resistance fighter battling for the life of another Sarah Connor: Sarah Lang, who has married artist Michael Connor and intends to kill him for his money.^[21] The following year they published the limited series Hunters and Killers, set during the war, where special Terminators with ceramic skeletons and genuine organs are created to impersonate leaders in the Russian resistance.^[22] Another limited series was published in 1998, focusing on the misadventures of two malfunctioning Terminators in Death Valley. They kill a man named Ken Norden, mistakening his wife Sara and son Jon for the Connors.^[23] This set up the following year's comic The Dark Years, where Jon Norden fights alongside John Connor in 2030. In The Dark Years, another Terminator is sent to eliminate John and his mother in 1999.^[24]

Terminators have crossed over with RoboCop, Superman and Alien vs. Predator. In the 1992 RoboCop versus The Terminator and 2000 Superman vs. The Terminator: Death to the Future, the heroes must prevent the war ravaged future.^[25][26] In 2000 Dark Horse also published Alien versus Predator versus The Terminator, where Skynet, who went dormant after Connor defeated them, have returned and are creating an Alien-Terminator hybrid. The Ellen Ripley clone (from Alien: Resurrection) and the Predators join forces to stop them.^[27]

Malibu Comics published twin series in 1995. One was a sequel to Terminator 2: Judgement Day, where Sarah and John encounter two T-800s and a female T-1000. The other was a prequel exploring how Connor sent Reese and the T-800 back in time, and the creation of the T-1000 (which took its default appearance from a captive soldier). The conclusions of both series were published in one issue.^[28][29]

Beckett Comics published three series to promote Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, each consisting of two issues.^[30][31][32]

The 2005 Terminator 2: Infinity comic book series by Dynamite Entertainment (a sequel to Rise of the Machines) depicts Connor in July 17, 2009. Kate Brewster died the year before, and he is aided by a future Terminator named Uncle Bob. They create a homing signal to bring together other human survivors, beginning the resistance.^[33]

[edit] Games

See also: List of Terminator computer and video games

The franchise has been expanded with many computer and video games and other game types, where many are concerned mainly with the future war, rather than the time travel.

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega Genesis, NES, Sega Master System, SNES, ZX Spectrum)
• The Terminator (1990/1991/1992/1993, Sega CD, SNES, Game Boy, DOS, Genesis, Game Gear, NES)
• T2: The Arcade Game (1992, Arcade, Amiga, DOS, Game Boy, Genesis, Game Gear, Sega Master System, SNES)
• Terminator 2029 (1992, DOS)
• Robocop versus The Terminator (1993, Game Boy, Game Gear, Genesis, Sega Master System, SNES)
• The Terminator: Rampage (1993, DOS)
• Terminator: Future Shock (1995, DOS)
• Terminator: SkyNET (1996, DOS)
• The Terminator Collectible Card Game (2000 trading card game produced by Precedence Entertainment)
• The Terminator: Dawn of Fate (2002, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
• Terminator 3: War of the Machines (2003, Windows)
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance Mobile Phones)
• Terminator 3: The Redemption (2004, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
• The Terminator, (2003 game for mobile phones)
• The Terminator: I'm Back!, (2004 sequel for mobile phones)
• Terminator 4: The Video Game (working title), (2009 game for next generation consoles)
• Terminator - LCD Video Game (1991, Tiger Electronics)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Chess Wars (1993, DOS)

[edit] Attraction

There is a theme park attraction, T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood, which was co-written by James Cameron.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Screenplays to the films

v • d • e The Terminator series Films The Terminator  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day  • Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines  • Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins Other media T2 3-D: Battle Across Time  • Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles  • Books  • Comics  • Games Characters "The Terminator" • Sarah Connor • John Connor • Kyle Reese • Cameron Phillips • Miles Dyson • Kate Brewster • Dr. Peter Silberman • James Ellison Terminators T-1 • T-70 • T-800 • T-888 • T-1000 • T-1000000 • T-X • Cameron Phillips • I-950 Locations Los Angeles • Skynet • Cyberdyne Systems • Crystal Peak • Tech-Com Cast Arnold Schwarzenegger • Linda Hamilton • Michael Biehn • Edward Furlong • Robert Patrick • Nick Stahl • Claire Danes • Kristanna Loken • Earl Boen • Lena Headey • Thomas Dekker • Summer Glau • Christian Bale • Richard T. Jones • Brian Austin Green • Bryce Dallas Howard Crew James Cameron • Jonathan Mostow • Mario Kassar • Andrew G. Vajna • Stan Winston • McG Miscellaneous I'll be back • Terminator argument