"George W Harris" <gharrus@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:reumq39l1i4d4arf2sadlgqek9t8cochk1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On Thu, 7 Feb 2008 12:34:48 -0500, "KalElFan" <kalelfan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> wrote:
>
> :Not necessarily. The two writing constraints that the show now has,
> :in terms of the time travel element, can be described as:
> :
> : (i) the human protector from the first movie (John Connor's father),
> : must go back to circa 1982 and conceive John. The Terminator
> : must also go back to be the nemesis back then; and
>
> May, 1984, actually. That's solidly established.
The first movie came out in 1984 and perhaps May, 1984 was specifically
mentioned at some point as the month Reese and Connor conceived John?
Given the changes that we've seen, I think it's possible for this series
to alter that a bit depending what age they want John to be at this point.
If he were only born in February 1985 then he was 14 in 1999 and still
14 after the jump to late 2007. I get the impression they want him to be
16 or 17 at this point, which would mean more like 1982 when he was
conceived.
The main point is that his existence is part of a time loop, and some of
the assertions or excuses in other posts don't address that. Suggesting
we just don't think about it, or using semantics that try to avoid or wish
away the inherent paradox, will be insufficient for the core base that
gets
the issue. If the core base recognized and demonstrated that what the
original poster said is true, or what WGF said is true (and jojo pointed
out the consequences of), then it will seep out and the series eventually
gets a rep for being massively dumb, or not knowing its time travel ass
from its cause and effect elbow.
Fortunately, the TV series writers seem to get this. If John Connor
is smart enough to successfully lead the resistance that saves humanity
he'll be smart enough to understand the paradox of his own existence,
and adept at tinkering with the timeline. Cameron's dialogue when
she told Sarah she would have died had they not jumped forward 8
years, is strong evidence that Future John Connor understands very
well the iterative changes he's making, even to the point of saving his
mother in the process. The machines too would be taking care not
to make changes that might jeopardize their own existence.
I think the constraints I mentioned, and that the series seems to be
observing, are actually major storytelling strengths of the show. It
may be that both John and Sarah Connor, as well as Cameron,
Reese, the FBI guy in this series, and others, are all successful in
avoiding Judgment Day, and prevailing over the Skynet/machine
threats. But they do so in a way that respects the central premise
and backstory of the iconic first movie, and massively successful
second one -- the two Cameron movies. The 4th movie would
also get to play before this series has run its course.
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