The Terminator

The Terminator is a 1984 sci-fi action film which became the break-through role for former body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger. Directed by James Cameron, the premise of the movie is that a "cybernetic organism" (living tissue over an android skeleton) the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 800 Series Terminator (played by Schwarzenegger), has been transported back in time from 2029 A.D. to May 12, 1984 to assassinate a woman named Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton). At the same time a man, Kyle Reese (played by Michael Biehn), is sent back to protect Connor from the cyborg. Issues raised by the film include time travel, causal loops, and artificial intelligence.

Inspirations

Some aspects of the story were sufficiently similar to two episodes of the TV series The Outer Limits — both episodes written by Harlan Ellison — that Ellison pursued legal action against Cameron. Cameron settled out of court and acknowledged Ellison's work in the film's credits. The episodes in question were called "Soldier" (which involves a specially-trained man sent back in time to assassinate a rival) and "Demon With A Glass Hand" (concerning a time traveler who suffers memory loss and relies on a computer chip implanted in his body to give him information about his mission). There is also some similarity between the concept of Skynet and the evil intelligence featured in Ellison's short story, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream".

Related Topics:
The Outer Limits - Harlan Ellison - Computer chip - Evil - I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

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The subject matter of both films seem to be inspired by the writing of Philip K. Dick. His story Second Variety features a post apocalyptic world where enemy robots wear rubber skin to pose as humans. In the film, Reese mentions an older series of Terminator (the 600 series) which had rubber skin and were easily distinguishable from actual humans.

Related Topics:
Philip K. Dick - Second Variety

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A similar plot of a killer machine sent back in time to change history was seen in a fairly obscure film from 1966 entitled Cyborg 2087.

Related Topics:
1966 - Cyborg 2087

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