The Troubled Terminator Timeline
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Warner Brothers, Comic/Superhero/Geek
If Star Trek weren't the final nail in the coffin of cinematic time-travel believability, Terminator Salvation arrives in theaters this week with an all-new albeit pre-existing series of space-time conundrums. The new film, directed by McG (We Are Marshall) from a screenplay by John Brancato, Michael Ferris and an uncredited Jonah Nolan (among other ghost writers), takes place in 2018, 11 years before John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to save and impregnate his mom. But how – if at all – does Salvation fit into the rest of the series' fractured chronology?
Cinematical started at the beginning, as it were, and decided to offer a timeline of the events that take place in the Terminator series. Assuming that James Cameron's original Terminator was the centrifuge from which the rest of the films' stories were spun – not counting the TV series – check out the checkered history we put together for The Terminator and its time-troubled mythology.
1959 OR May 15, 1964 – May 11, 1965: Sarah Connor is born. (According to the script for The Terminator, Sarah is 19 years old. The 1959 date comes from Sarah's headstone in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.)
May 12, 1984: Sarah Connor is rescued from termination by Kyle Reese, a soldier in the human resistance sent back in time by John Connor, Sarah's then-unborn son.May 13, 1984: John Connor is conceived.
May 14, 1984: Kyle Reese dies.
Oct. 26, 1984: The Terminator is released in theaters by MGM / Orion Pictures.
Feb. 28, 1985: John Connor is born.
July 3, 1991: Terminator 2: Judgment Day is released in theaters by Carolco Pictures.
1995: A reprogrammed T-800 goes back in time to rescue John Connor, age 10, from the T-1000, a liquid metal android assassin also sent back in time.
August 29, 1997: The original "Judgment Day," when Skynet becomes aware and launches its nuclear weapons at Russia, effecting a global holocaust.
1997: Sarah Connor is dead. (From Sarah's headstone in Terminator 3.)
July 2, 2003: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is released in theaters by Warner Brothers.
July 24, 2004: A reprogrammed T-850 goes back in time to rescue John Connor, aged 23, and Katherine Brewster, who becomes John's wife after Skynet precipitates a global holocaust. This is the revised date for "Judgment Day." (Voiceover by Connor himself indicates that John was 13 when the T-800 first rescued him in Terminator 2, and this film takes place 10 years later, but other sources suggest he was supposed to only be 20.)May 21, 2009: Terminator Salvation is released in theaters by Warner Brothers.
2018: John Connor, age 33 per the dates in the original two films, meets Kyle Reese for the first time. The T-800 Terminator model is used by Skynet for the first time to battle Connor himself.
2029: John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to rescue his mother, Sarah Connor, from assassination by a T-800 model terminator. Reese describes the T-800 model as "new" during this time.
2032: The T-850 kills John Connor. From Terminator 3, this T-850 is reprogrammed and sent back in time by Kate Connor (formerly Brewster) to protect herself and John Connor.
So what happened, and when? The T1 John Connor, unfortunately, never talked about his childhood experiences, so we don't know if he grew up knowing that Kyle Reese would be his father, or if a second T-800 was sent back in time to protect him as a boy. If that were the case, T2 actually would have erased his existence, since eliminating or changing the date of Judgment Day changed history. But despite its many other shortcomings, T3 most deftly addresses these paradoxes: Katherine Brewster would have become John Connor's companion during adolescence if the events in T2 never happened, and additionally, her father was a military advisor who was instrumental in activating Skynet, whether Judgment Day occurred in 1997 or 2004.
The bottom line is we've been thinking about Terminator for a long time now, and we're thoroughly confused. What's new? What's old? What happened when? Who should exist and who shouldn't? Presumably there is someone who can verify some of these ambiguous details or explain how this unwieldy mess of dates, timelines and thrilling action scenes comes together cohesively. But we suspect the explanation would require a time machine, a professor of quantum physics, and a suspension of disbelief. And really, as long as stuff blows up real good, the rest doesn't matter. Or does it?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-21-2009 @ 12:35PM
The Film Yap said...
Great story! Seriously, how hard would it be for the people making these movies to do this and make sure things stay consistent?
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5-21-2009 @ 12:27PM
Jacob said...
They're movies... Can't you just watch them for that value and not think about "What's new? What's old? What happened when? Who should exist and who shouldn't?" ???
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5-21-2009 @ 12:31PM
Peter Hall said...
No.
5-21-2009 @ 12:40PM
Justin said...
I agree, they are just movies and should just be viewed and enjoyed. Unfortunately, there are forces among us (to be named "Inquisitors") who just cannot rest until something is talked to death. Of course there are others out there, like myself, who Twitter everything to death. We're all just part of the circle of life, buddy!
5-21-2009 @ 3:14PM
Kevin said...
Of course you can watch them for what they are and enjoy them. My question to you is how does talking about the holes and problems in the timeline ruin the ability to enjoy the movie? There are tons of movies that are just plain stupid but are a lot of fun to watch. Admitting that they're dumb doesn't mean that you have to say they suck, just like saying you like a movie doesn't mean you have to think its brilliant.
5-21-2009 @ 12:37PM
Phoenix Movie Bears said...
The Troubled Terminator Timeline
Answer:
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Joshua
[PMB] Phoenix Movie Bears
www.phoenixmoviebears.com
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5-21-2009 @ 12:37PM
4thwall_Kat said...
@Jacob: well, if the movie is well done and satisfying despite these inconsistencies it'll make you overlook these things and all is well.
But if it's entertainment level is low to begin with then it's hard to keep suspension of disbelief at such an enormous level as to be able to still swallow blatant timeline problems ;).
But as I'm not the author these are just my 0.02 $.
I'm a fan of the franchise and sincerely hope that the movie will work for me on some level.
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5-21-2009 @ 12:37PM
Peter Hall said...
The problem I've always had with Terminator, and with the majority of time travel movies, is that it has no accountability for cause and effect. The series kicks off with John Connor sending Kyle Reese back in time to save his mother Sarah. In doing so Kyle impregnates Sarah, thus anachronistically creating the cause of his own effect.
That shiz don't stick unless multiple universes get involved. No one ever bothers to throw in a single line about multiple universes. Just one sentence, that's all they ever need...
As much grief as people give T3, at least it saw the benefit of explaining judgment day was inevitable, which is a fate I like, and addressing some of the bends of the wacky mobius strip that is the franchise.
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5-21-2009 @ 12:39PM
The Film Yap said...
I agree with Peter on regarding Jacob's question. I feel like if they're going to take the time to tell the story, they'd better tell it right, especially with something as chronologically complex as "Terminator."
If it's a franchise with sequels especially. The point of sequels is to continue the story. If you continue the story but ignore what came before, you're not continuing the story, you're just splashing something out there to make money using the same characters.
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5-21-2009 @ 1:02PM
Phoenix Movie Bears said...
I think the TV Series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" answers a lot of these questions. They some leaping around time in the first season. John Conner figures out who his father is and they explain that in the series. They also explain parts into the future where it could tie in with Terminator Salvation.
I suggest to watch the series, if only to get some more Terminator action!
5-21-2009 @ 1:23PM
The Film Yap said...
The timeline question is one of the central themes of the Terminator series: fate vs. free will.
It's very easy to explain away the John Connor sending his own pops to impregnate his mom idea: the fact that Connor sent back Reese in the first place changed all of history, which resulted in a different timeline altogether.
Obstensibly, the Connor from T2-Salvation isn't the same one that Reese as played by Michael Biehn in "The Terminator" knew, because assuming he hadn't gone back in time, Sarah Connor would have met who would have become the eventual father to John sometime later. In effect, telling her about the future caused a change in it, since she decided to name her son John.
The future events, then, led to the events of T2, which wiped out the original Judgment Day, but led to a later one.
But back to that question: was Judgment Day happening inevitable (i.e. fate), or a coincidence?
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5-21-2009 @ 1:40PM
cough said...
wwwoow, wait a freaking minute. That Sarah Connor was 19!? No way! I tought she was between 24-26, wich would be right if we believe the tombstone.
Also, they kill Jhon? That's a bummer.
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5-21-2009 @ 1:54PM
The Film Yap said...
The T850 (i.e Arnie) mentioned in T3 that he killed John Connor, yes.
5-21-2009 @ 1:44PM
Raffstu said...
You can't look at the sequence of events in a chronological list like that. Unless you only take the events from the first two films that happened in the "present day." In order to properly display this timeline, you'd have to use a chart like Doc does in BttF Part II. Things like Reese calling an Arnie terminator from 2029 new is rendered moot after he (and the T2 Arnie and T100) have altered the timeline. It stands to reason that since the arm of the first Terminator were left behind, the development of the tech was advanced by years, so the T800s now being new in 2018 is not a contradiction. And to be honest, John does not need to send Kyle back to the past anymore even if he continues to, as one has already been sent there from a future that no longer exists spreading his seed. If John fails to send Kyle back in this new timeline, he will not suddenly cease to exist, because in his lifetime there was always a Reese in 1984.
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5-21-2009 @ 1:57PM
The Film Yap said...
Your comment would suggest that parallel realities exist, which the Terminator series doesn't really deal with or address. This series generally has seemed to assume that there is one reality and that it can be altered, rather than the existence of multiple timelines.
Good point, though, about the tech of the arm and chip from T2.
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5-21-2009 @ 3:09PM
Jon P said...
What the hell? No spoiler warnings? No it's not implicit. Gaah and only a day out.
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5-21-2009 @ 3:22PM
robert said...
what exactly is the spoiler you needed to be warned about?
there's no spoiler details from the new movie revealed in the timeline given.
5-21-2009 @ 2:51PM
Brant said...
Excellent use of the word "effecting," as in "to bring about."
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5-21-2009 @ 3:23PM
Todd Gilchrist said...
yeah- to my knowledge there are no spoilers in this timeline from the new film. everything that appears above (i think) is only from the first three films.
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5-21-2009 @ 4:17PM
MDR said...
My view is that we are observers of the Terminator series, and what we are observing aren't different timelines but individual lifetimes. We are viewing the events that happen in the lifetimes of Sarah and John Conner. In their lifetimes, these events happen only once as they grow older. Sarah experienced the events of T1, T2, and TSSC if you include the TV show. John experienced T1, T2, TSSC, T3, and now TS. The chaos that surrounds these events can be changed but Sarah and John will never know that since they only experience the events once.
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