# I watched The Terminator last night **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486 "2010-05-23T18:28:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/21 "2010-05-23T21:35:57Z")
I saw a picture from the filming of the bar scene in T2. When the T800 was walking naked in that bar and acting all badass, Arnold was actually wearing a pair of shorts in those silly fluorescent colors that were popular then. Found it: [http://www.arnoldheight.com/articles/article8\_4.jpg](http://www.arnoldheight.com/articles/article8_4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/22 "2010-05-23T21:45:04Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Correct me if I am wrong, but is this the one where they have the technology to send a human back from the future, but they couldn’t go thru public records beforehand (where I am sure their computers were far more advanced to what we even have today) and find the correct mother of the bad guy so Arnold looks in a phone book and goes to a house, rings the bell and shoots some poor innocent woman to death WHILE HER CHILD IS WATCHING because she might be the woman he is looking for? > > I have hated that egotistical untalented asshole Arnold ever since I saw that disgusting scene LOL. Do you also hate Anthony Hopkins because in one movie he ate a guy? To **PSXer** , was it on laserdisc? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/23 "2010-05-23T21:48:48Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Correct me if I am wrong, but is this the one where they have the technology to send a human back from the future, but they couldn’t go thru public records beforehand (where I am sure their computers were far more advanced to what we even have today) and find the correct mother of the bad guy so Arnold looks in a phone book and goes to a house, rings the bell and shoots some poor innocent woman to death WHILE HER CHILD IS WATCHING because she might be the woman he is looking for? The really rough part is that the child actor who pretended to watch her make-believe mother slaughtered by a neo-Nazi Austrian actor pretending to be a futuristic robot grew up to become Sarah Palin, who then pretended to be Govener of Alaska for a couple of years… You could look it up!!! ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/24 "2010-05-23T21:54:54Z")
unfortunately, no, I don’t have any Terminator movies on Laserdisc. I watched the Terminator on a DVD I got from the library. In this topic, someone else recommended Aliens to me, another James Cameron film. I have Alien and Aliens and Alien 3 on Laserdisc, but I have never gotten around to watching them, so I will probably watch those sometime soon. That’s not fair to hate Arnold because he was a ruthless killing machine in a movie. That’s what actors do. How could anyone not like Arnold? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/25 "2010-05-23T21:58:44Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > and find the correct mother of the bad guy so Arnold looks in a phone book and goes to a house, rings the bell and shoots some poor innocent woman to death WHILE HER CHILD IS WATCHING because she might be the woman he is looking for? I hate it when Terminators do that… ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/26 "2010-05-23T22:01:29Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > For a low budget early 80’s action movie, it holds up pretty well (even the cheesy soundtrack). I thought the only bit of cheesy music was the theme played on a piano during the sex/time loop scene. It’s on TV right now actually, so I probably should be watching, but I’ve been without internet access since Friday evening so the DVD will do. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/27 "2010-05-23T22:06:34Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Correct me if I am wrong Consider it done. ---
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/28 "2010-05-23T22:10:54Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > The really rough part is that the child actor who pretended to watch her make-believe mother slaughtered by a neo-Nazi Austrian actor pretending to be a futuristic robot grew up to become Sarah Palin, who then pretended to be Govener of Alaska for a couple of years… > > You could look it up!!! I’m curious..if he had shot the little kid also, would it bother you , or since it is just a movie, is it ok to kill innocent women AND children? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/29 "2010-05-23T22:19:20Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > I’m curious..if he had shot the little kid also, would it bother you , or since it is just a movie, is it ok to kill innocent women AND children? Why not innocent men? Why is a woman’s life more valuable than a man’s? What about Gene Hackman? In _Superman_ his character, Lex Luthor, wanted to destroy most of California. There would be women and children included among the dead. Does that mean Gene Hackman is a bad person? Jesus, I wish we were in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/30 "2010-05-23T22:20:21Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Correct me if I am wrong, but is this the one where they have the technology to send a human back from the future, but they couldn’t go thru public records beforehand (where I am sure their computers were far more advanced to what we even have today) and find the correct mother of the bad guy so Arnold looks in a phone book and goes to a house, rings the bell and shoots some poor innocent woman to death WHILE HER CHILD IS WATCHING because she might be the woman he is looking for? That’s called “being the bad guy(bot).” And they didn’t have the records because of the nuclear war. Superheated fireballs tend to be a little hard on files. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/31 "2010-05-23T22:24:50Z")
Nor is it silly for the Terminator to kill every Sarah Connor in the phone book. Most records were lost during Judgment Day, and all Skynet knew was a name and a city. Besides, better safe than sorry, and it’s not like Skynet or the Terminator had any qualms about collateral damage. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/32 "2010-05-23T22:24:55Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > I’m curious..if he had shot the little kid also, would it bother you , or since it is just a movie, is it ok to kill innocent women AND children? When I was young, I once read a Cleveland Plain Dealer story where a young brother and sister actually shoved an old lady in a RED HOT OVEN, and then ATE HER ENTIRE HOUSE while she was in the agonies of a fiery, sadistic demise… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/33 "2010-05-23T22:27:22Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > That’s called “being the bad guy(bot).” [Bad robot!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l848eXy634I) ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/34 "2010-05-23T23:10:29Z")
> [@koufax](#): > > Correct me if I am wrong, but is this the one where they have the technology to send a human back from the future, but they couldn’t go thru public records beforehand (where I am sure their computers were far more advanced to what we even have today) and find the correct mother of the bad guy so Arnold looks in a phone book and goes to a house, rings the bell and shoots some poor innocent woman to death WHILE HER CHILD IS WATCHING because she might be the woman he is looking for? They explained in the movie that most public records were destroyed in the war. All they had was her name and what city she lived in, and that’s why he was going through the phone book. ETA: Ah, I see a couple of people already addresses it above. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/35 "2010-05-23T23:13:46Z")
I think the first Terminator had a better story than T2, but worse special effects. The T2 story was still good, but not as good as T1. And the special effects didn’t take away from the movie in T2 like they did in T1. Arnold was scary as a killer robot, but the cheesy metal robot at the end of T1 was hard to take seriously. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/36 "2010-05-23T23:22:22Z")
special effects are great in T1 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/37 "2010-05-23T23:31:43Z")
> [@](#): > > special effects are great in T1 Except for the stop-motion animated skeleton at the end. I think they would have been better off with an animatronic for that, too, with either marionette strings that they then edited out, or a cantilevered arm supporting it hidden behind the figure. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/38 "2010-05-24T00:12:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Just skip over T2 and go straight to the third one. Terminator 3 is what Terminator 2 should have been. > > Although I seem to be in the minority with this opinion. I’m one of the few that doesn’t hate on the third or fourth films, but you lost me when you said skip T2. I love that one so much I’ve bought it on VHS twice and DVD three times. I don’t have a bluray player (or need one since my TV’s SD) but if I did, I’d probably get suckered into buying a few more versions. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/39 "2010-05-24T00:38:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Arnold’s crotch AKA the Schwartzenpecker 😛 ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486/40 "2010-05-24T00:45:41Z")
I could tell when the Terminator was stop motion and it was still scary it was a cool effect not cheesy everyone is spoiled by special effects these days [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-watched-the-terminator-last-night/540486.md?page=3)