preguntas frecuentes for
The Terminator (1984)

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Terminator can be found at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/parentalguide.

No. The film screenplay was written by director James Cameron, although Cameron admitted that his inspiration for The Terminator were two episodes from the 1960s television science fiction series The Outer Limits: The Outer Limits: Soldier (#2.1) and The Outer Limits: Demon with a Glass Hand (#2.5).

A Terminator is a cyborg or "cybernetic organism" composed of a combination of "hyperalloys" and living tissue.

A Terminator's primary function is as a soldier. It can also serve as an infiltration-unit and an assassin. Under certain circumstances, they can be reprogrammed to serve human interests.

From the 1984 film:

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REESE: The Terminator's an infiltration unit. Part man, part machine. Underneath, it's a combat chassis, hyperalloy, fully armored. Very tough...

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Terminators were designed by Skynet for the purpose of carrying out the destruction of humankind.

Skynet is an artificially intelligent computer network. Originally designed as a military defense system, "Skynet became self-aware at 2:14am EDT August 29, 1997." Shortly after achieving sentience, Skynet determines that all of humanity is a threat to its existence and begins the systematic extermination of mankind. In so doing, Skynet also sets in motion the future events that will result in it's own creation. Skynet, despite being largely unseen, is the primary antagonist of the Terminator series.

While this conundrum has been widely believed to be a plot hole in the story, it is actually indicative of the paradoxical nature of time travel itself.

The "Connor Paradox" is best explained via the "Novikov self-consistency principle" of time travel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novikov_self-consistency_principle

This was most likely an error or omission in Skynet's programming of The Terminator - directed energy weapons had not been invented yet in 1984.

As said by Reese in the film, the terminator is covered in living tissue, allowing it to go back in time as a living organism.