Things You May Not Of Know About The Terminator Franchise

So a franchise just might be dead. With the critical failure of Terminator Salvation we might just not see another bad-ass robot trying to kill those pesky little humans. But it was a fun ride filled with catch phrases and bad makeup. Do you know all there is to know about the Terminator films? I did some research on IMDB and found out some things you just might not know about the Terminator movies.

(The Terminator) O.J. Simpson was considered for the role of the Terminator, but the producers feared he was "too nice" to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer. (If they only knew).

(The Terminator) Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone both turned down the role of the Terminator.

(The Terminator) Lance Henriksen was originally considered for the role of The Terminator. Writer/director James Cameron even made early sketches showing The Terminator looking like Henriksen. The original concept was for the character to be able to blend into a crowd. Cameron approached Arnold Schwarzenegger and wanted him to play the role of Kyle Reese, but after their meeting, Schwarzenegger and Cameron both wanted Schwarzenegger to play the title role, so Henriksen was cast in the role of Det. Vukovich. Curiously, Henriksen later got to play the part of a humanoid cyborg when he played Bishop in Aliens, also directed by Cameron.

(The Terminator) In the final auditions, Linda Hamilton beat Geena Davis and Rosanna Arquette for the role of Sarah.

(The Terminator) Shots through the Terminator's vision shows a dump of the ROM assembler code for the Apple II operation system. If you own an Apple II, enter at the basic prompt: ] call -151 * p This will give you the terminator view. Other code visible is written in COBOL.

(The Terminator) Near the beginning of the movie, when Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) receives a message on her answering machine breaking her date, the voice on the machine is James Cameron's. Years later, Hamilton and Cameron got married and subsequently divorced.

(The Terminator) Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous debut line 'I'll be back' was originally scripted as 'I'll come back'.

(Terminator 2: Judgment Day) Most of Edward Furlong's voice had to be re-dubbed by Furlong again in post-production because it changed during shooting. His young voice is left intact only in the scene where he and Terminator are talking about why people cry, because James Cameron wanted it to sound dramatic and thought it was better if left intact.

(Terminator 2: Judgment Day) Linda Hamilton's twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren was used as a double in scenes involving two "Sarah Connors" (i.e., when the T1000 was imitating her), and in a scene not in the theatrical release (but on the DVD) as a mirror image of Linda.

(Terminator 2: Judgment Day) The Terminator says "I need a vacation", which Arnold Schwarzenegger previously said in Kindergarten Cop (1990). This was not in the script, but ad-libbed.

(Terminator 2: Judgment Day) According to James Cameron, Linda Hamilton suffered a permanent hearing loss in one of her ears during the elevator shootout because she had not installed her ear plugs after removing them during a trip to the restroom between takes.

(Terminator 2: Judgment Day) Lead singer of heavy metal band WASP, Blackie Lawless, was considered for the role of the liquid-metal T-1000, although his height proved to be a problem. The role of the original Terminator had been written for a man of average stature, who could easily blend in to a crowd, and James Cameron wanted to apply that original concept to dramatic effect for the T-1000. In an AOL chat, Lawless explained: "Probably the biggest regret that I have, though I didn't turn it down, was a part in Terminator 2 that Robert Patrick got. Schwarzenegger wanted me to do the part, but when he found out I was 6'4", I couldn't. I regret not being able to do that."

(Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) A number of actors were supposedly in the running for the role of the T-X, including Vin Diesel, Shaquille O'Neal, Famke Janssen, and former WWF wrestler Chyna (Joanie Laurer). Laurer's name came into the mix when she was recommended for the part by Arnold Schwarzenegger himself during an interview prior to filming.

(Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) Aside from creating the characters, James Cameron had nothing to do with this film.

(Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) Ang Lee was offered to direct the film, but turned it down to direct Hulk instead.

(Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) Besides Arnold Schwarzenegger, the only other actor to appear in all three Terminator movies is Earl Boen who always played the character of Dr. Silberman.

(Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) Ben Curtis (aka "the Dell Dude") auditioned for the role of John Connor.

(Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) When the Terminator is rebooting after destroying the Jeep Cherokee, among other things loaded is a "Quicktime Video Codec".

(Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) Linda Hamilton was initially approached to reprise her role as Sarah Connor but turned it down. A line in the movie instead has John Conner saying that Sarah died of leukemia in 1997.

(Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) The character of Kate Brewster's fiancé was originally named Scott Petersen. Due to the name's similarity to Scott Peterson (a California man convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn child in late 2002 while out fishing) and the plot of his fiancée's kidnapping, the character's name was changed to Scott Mason, although he's still listed as Scott Petersen in the credits.

(Terminator Salvation) After Claire Danes declined to reprise her role as Kate Brewster, Charlotte Gainsbourg was once attached to star before pulling out due to a scheduling conflict with another film. She has been replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard.

(Terminator Salvation) Helena Bonham Carter replaced Tilda Swinton shortly before filming was set to begin. She filmed her role in 10 days.

(Terminator Salvation) Josh Brolin was asked to play Marcus Wright, but he turned it down.

(Terminator Salvation) Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to cameo in the film, stating that a brief appearance would be cheating the audience.

30 Things You Didn't Know About "Battlestar Galactica"

30. Despite improvising the story in ten episode arcs, Ronald D. Moore and David Eick always intended for the characters to reach Earth in the final episode, albeit thousands of years before the present day. They also conceived the epilogue with "Fantasy" Six and Baltar discussing the fate of humanity in Times Square very early on, to make the fate of humanity ambiguous.

29. The concept of the "Final Five" Cylons came about from the writers wanting to depict Baltar living on a Cylon baseship. Since the identity of only seven Cylons had been revealed up to that time, Ronald D. Moore came up with the idea of the remaining five as sacred beings, and selected the four characters - Tigh, Tyroll, Tory Foster, and Anders - who would be revealed at the end of the third season. Moore also selected the identity of the Final Cylon as Ellen Tigh, and informed only Kate Vernon of his decision. Vernon and Moore had to keep the secret from the cast and much of the crew for nearly two years before shooting the episode which would reveal her identity.

28. Cavil's suicide in the series finale was suggested by Dean Stockwell. In the script, Col. Tigh (Michael Hogan) was supposed to kill Cavil during the final battle. Stockwell, however, said he thought the character would shoot himself, realizing that his Cylon faction had lost the war. Writer Ronald D. Moore and director Michael Rymer agreed.

27. Paper in the series have corners cut off. It is said that director Michael Rymer did this during the miniseries as a reference to how he had to "cut corners" financially to make the miniseries work on a limited budget.

26. Starbuck, who is played by Katee Sackhoff, was a man in the original "Battlestar Galactica" (1978) show, played by Dirk Benedict. It's also the name of the first officer aboard the Pequod in the book Moby Dick.

25. Original series star Dirk Benedict (Starbuck) has refused to participate in this revival series.

24. Richard Hatch, who plays Tom Zarek, played Apollo in the original "Battlestar Galactica" (1978).

23. Though other actresses were considered, the role of Laura Roslin was written especially for Mary McDonnell.

22. The first season was aired in the United Kingdom on SkyOne months before it aired in North America. This resulted in an increase in North Americans downloading episodes on the Internet that were made freely available by British viewers of the show. Fearing that this widespread "previewing" of the series would diminish the show's ratings once it aired in North America, executive producers Ronald D. Moore and David Eick made a written plea to fans to stop downloading episodes and wait for them to air in the United States and Canada.

21. The Battlestar Galactica and the Viper fighters are similar in design to the old show, but were revamped for the new show. The Cylon Basetar, Cylon Raider, and Cylon Centurion each had a completely new design for the new show. Also, there are only four ships that appear in the remake but not in the original: "Colonial One" (the transport used by Laura Roslin), the Olympic Carrier, Cloud 9 and the ringed passenger liner.

20. Commander Adama has a shaving mirror in his cabin. This mirror is made by IKEA, and is a model called "Fräck". This word is similar to "frak" which is the primary vulgarity in the Battlestar Galactica universe.

19. The rank structure for the officers serving in the Colonial Fleet are as follows: OFFICERS: Admiral, Commander, Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Lieutenant (junior grade), Ensign. ENLISTED: Master Chief Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, Petty Officer (1st, 2nd Class), Specialist, Deck Hand, Recruit. There are also Marines aboard Galactica which conform more closely to the traditional enlisted Marine ranks, with Sergeants, Sergeants-Major, etc. Unresolved is the question of whether the Marine officers would also adhere to the mixed rank structure.

18. Number Six (Tricia Helfer) was named after Patrick McGoohan's character in the television series "The Prisoner" (1967).

17. The telephone handset used on the bridge of the Galactica is a US Army issues field telephone used since the Korean War, known as the TA-1.

16. Jane Seymour was offered the role of Admiral Helena Cain. When she turned down the offer, Ronald D. Moore offered the role to Michelle Forbes and she accepted.

15. Adama's lighter was actually purchased at a garage sale.

14. When they created the sub plot with Helo and Boomer on Caprica the creators did not know why Boomer and the Cylons were interested in Helo. It was only about half way through the first season that they decided that the Cylons were interested in biological reproduction, an issue that has become very important to the series.

13. The phrase "so say we all", which is used as a ceremonial affirmation in the series, was ad-libbed by Edward James Olmos in a speech given by Commander Adama in the mini-series.

12. The Battlestar Pegasus set is actually the recycled set of the Jupiter 2 from The Robinsons: Lost in Space (2004) (TV). The set was purchased when the latter's pilot failed to generate a series.

11. Lucy Lawless was originally offered the role of Ellen Tigh, but rejected it feeling that she was wrong for the part. The producers so wanted her for a role on the series, however, that they later wrote the role of D'Anna Biers with Lawless in mind.

10. The term "skinjob", used to describe any of the humanoid Cylon models, is a reference to the movie Blade Runner (1982), in which Edward James Olmos also starred (and suggested Tricia Helfer watch to help her prepare) and the Nexus 6 models are described by the same moniker.

9. The combat helmets worn by the Marines are actually Giro "Bad Lieutenant" snowboarder helmets. They're made out of plastic, not Kevlar.

8. Many of the weapons used in the series are actual modern firearms, and not custom props. The Marines often use Heckler & Koch G36 rifles and Beretta CX4 carbines, Anders frequently carries a Heckler & Koch UMP submachinegun and a Desert Eagle pistol, Helo sometimes carries a South African Protecta drum-fed shotgun, and Starbuck sometimes uses a pair of Skorpion vz 61 submachineguns.

7. In the beginning of season 3, Jamie Bamber did not actually gain the weight for the role. Instead, a body double was used for some close-up shots of the rounded tummy, and Bamber wore a jowl-forming brace in his mouth. A few wide shots of his body were cheated out.

6. Occasionally, the main musical theme from The Deer Hunter (1978) can be heard. For example, in the final scene of "Scar" (episode 2.15).

5. To prepare for her role as Gina, the captive Cylon, Tricia Helfer viewed the film La ciociara (1960) to give her a better understanding of a rape victim.

4. Jon Cryer auditioned for the role of Baltar.

3. The only characters carried over from the original series are Adama, Starbuck, Apollo, Boomer, Tigh, Baltar, and (in only the miniseries and a brief cameo in one episode) Boxey.

2. Sam Shepard, Ed Harris and Harrison Ford were all considered for the role of William Adama.

1. Edward James Olmos had a clause in his contract that no strange aliens or monsters would ever appear on the show. He wanted to insure that the story stay focused on human drama.