Terminator (franchise)

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.

Films

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 Kyle Reese back to protect his mother and ensure his own existence.

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 before they create it.

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.

Terminator 4: Unknown Titleis expected for release in either 2009 or 2010.

Television series

A television series titled The Sarah Connor Chronicles is currently in production for the FOX network, with Lena Headey as Sarah Connor and Thomas Dekker as John Connor. The series, written and directed by David Nutter, will center on Sarah and John after Terminator 2 as they try to "live under the radar" after the explosion at Cyberdyne. Based on the trailer, Summer Glau will play a female terminator protecting the Connors, with at least one more terminator villain.

Appearances in printed media

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

Books

The Terminator (novelization) by Randall Frakes (1985)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (novelization) by Randall Frakes (1991)
- T2: Infiltrator series by S.M. Stirling
  - T2: Infiltrator (2002)
  - T2: Rising Storm (2003)
  - T2: 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)

Comics and graphic novels

Terminator: The Burning Earth graphic novel (Alex Ross)
Terminator: Tempest graphic novel (Dark Horse Comics)
The Terminator: Secondary Objectives (Dark Horse Comics)
The Terminator: The Enemy Within (Dark Horse Comics)
The Terminator: End Game (Dark Horse Comics)
The Terminator: Hunters and Killers (Dark Horse Comics)
Terminator: Rewired graphic novel (Alan Grant)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day graphic novel
The Terminator: The Dark Years (Dark Horse Comics)
RoboCop vs. The Terminator (Dark Horse Comics)
Superman vs. The Terminator: Death to the Future (Dark Horse Comics)
Aliens vs. Predator vs. The Terminator (Dark Horse Comics)
Terminator 2: Infinity (Dynamite Entertainment)

Games

The franchise has been expanded with many computer and video games, were 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, 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: 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, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
The Terminator, (2003 game for mobile phones)
The Terminator: I'm Back!, (2004 sequel for mobile phones)

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.

References

External links

Screenplays to the films