Difference between revisions of "Terminator"

Latest revision as of 10:46, October 21, 2025

Terminator is a science fiction franchise which tells the story of a human resistance against machines that have taken over the world. The franchise has spawned several movies; a television series; and numerous other media such as comics, graphic novels, books and video games.

"Terminator" is also a term for the humanoid robot characters which appear throughout the series; most notably, for the characters played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The franchise and its characters have been referenced and parodied several times on The Simpsons.

References[edit]

Episodes[edit]

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference 2 27 "Principal Charming" When Marge asks Homer to help find a husband for Selma, Homer evaluates the single men he knows. As he does so, facts about the men appear on-screen, similar to the Terminator's heads-up display. 3 50 "Homer Alone" A morning of the family being increasingly demanding (and stressing out Marge) gets even worse when Bart and Lisa miss the bus and Marge has to take them to school. The kids keep bickering all through the drive. When they arrive at school, Marge glares at them and tells them to "GET! OUT!", in a manner reminiscent of the Terminator in the first movie and of the T-1000 in Terminator 2. 4 74 "I Love Lisa" During the Presidents' Day Pageant at Springfield Elementary School, Bart plays the role of John Wilkes Booth assassinating Abraham Lincoln (played by Milhouse). Bart plays the part as the Terminator, however, and as he shoots, he says, "Hasta la vista, Abey", referencing one of the Terminator's catchphrases. 5 89 "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" A Terminator video game is seen at the Noiseland Video Arcade. 97 "Homer Loves Flanders" When Homer visits Ned, he walks through the hedge, similar to the T-1000 morphing its way through the locked gate in the mental hospital scene of Terminator 2. Ned then quickly loads his family into his car and drives away. However, Homer pursues, catches up, and uses two golf clubs to latch onto the back of the car, also similar to the T-1000. Finally, the music playing as Ned gets away from Homer is similar to the music from the movie's chase scenes. 6 107 "Itchy & Scratchy Land" As the Itchy & Scratchy robots look at park visitors and each other, information about what they see appears on a display, similar to the Terminator. 109 "Treehouse of Horror V" During the "Time and Punishment" segment, when Ned Flanders addresses everyone via video, the screen rises up from the kitchen floor, similar to the T-1000's appearance in the mental hospital scene of Terminator 2. 123 "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" Santa's Little Helper's escape from the family car (as well as the scene's music) parody the T-1000 from Terminator 2. 7 134 "Treehouse of Horror VI" In the "Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace" segment, Groundskeeper Willie morphs into several objects in quick succession as he sinks into the sand, similar to the T-1000's death scene in Terminator 2. 138 "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" In an outtake from "Burns' Heir", Homer tries to persuade Bart to return home and Mr. Burns sics the Robotic Richard Simmons on him. The robot frightens Homer away, but then turns on Burns, Smithers and Bart. Smithers shoots the robot in the head with a shotgun, inflicting a huge wound that quickly "heals", similar to the T-1000 in the steel mill scene of Terminator 2. 10 208 "When You Dish Upon a Star" Homer tries unsuccessfully to pitch a movie script he has written, titled The Terminizor: An Erotic Thriller. The movie is about "a killer robot driving instructor who goes back in time for some reason". 11 235 "Grift of the Magi" Homer, Bart and Lisa gather up all the Funzo toys in town and throw them into the Springfield Tire Fire. Shortly after that, one of the Funzos rises up from the flames and tries to attack the family, similar to the Terminator at the end of the first movie. 12 261 "Day of the Jackanapes" After Mr. Teeny blows up the network executives, the execs re-form into pools of liquid metal which come together and form human shapes, similar to the T-1000 in Terminator 2. 14 300 "The Strong Arms of the Ma" At Rainier Wolfcastle's bankruptcy garage sale, Lenny finds a cybernetic arm that resembles the Terminator's. 15 322 "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-bot" One of Killhammad Aieee's previous opponents (in a video that Bart and Homer watch) resembles a Terminator endoskeleton. 16 352 "The Heartbroke Kid" Homer has a brief fantasy about a robotic Marge. The "Marge-bot", as he calls her, looks like the Terminator, and when Homer tells her he's "ready for some lovin'", she quickly opens fire on him with a machine gun. 18 381 "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em" The Zoominator roller coaster is a pun on the Terminator. 20 436 "Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe" The restaurant Pasta La Vista, Baby is a reference to the catchphrase of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in Terminator 2, "Hasta la vista, baby". 21 445 "Treehouse of Horror XX" During the segment "Don't Have a Cow, Mankind", the Simpson home is about to be overrun by Munchers when Rainier Wolfcastle bursts through the front door and says "Come with me if you want to live!", echoing one of the franchise's catchphrases. 461 "To Surveil with Love" During the video where Nigel Bakerbutcher shows the surveillance network he previously set up in London, Mary Poppins is seen floating down to the ground. After she lands, however, she sheds her human disguise and reveals herself to really be a camera-equipped robot endoskeleton that resembles the Terminator. 23 487 "The Falcon and the D'ohman" When Wayne Slater mentions having flashbacks to a nightmarish past, Homer says he has flash-forwards to a nightmarish future. In the Homer-envisioned future, his and several other people's jobs have been taken by a Robot which resembles a Terminator endoskeleton and carries a minigun-sized raygun, similar to the Terminator who invades the humans' underground hideout in the future in The Terminator. Homer complains about the situation, and when the robot takes aim at him, Homer quickly blames other people, whom the robot blasts with the gun, disintegrating them. 499 "The Daughter Also Rises" On MythCrackers. a stuffed bear is shot out of a cannon. Its fur comes off, revealing a robot skeleton that resembles the Terminator's. 24 522 "Gorgeous Grampa" When Mr. Burns sings "High to Be Loathed", he mentions "Terminators 1, 2 and 3" (referring respectively to the T-800 or Series 800 from The Terminator, the T-1000 from Terminator 2 and the T-X from Terminator 3) and casts their shadows, along with many other famous villain characters. 25 548 "Days of Future Future" After Bart's kids set fire to Homer's robot body, he resembles a Terminator skeleton from Terminator. 550 "Brick Like Me" When Lego Bart rebuilds Springfield Elementary School to suit his own taste, among the features he adds are Terminator gym teachers. 26 558 "Simpsorama" Bender has been sent back in time to kill Homer, similar to Skynet sending Terminators back in time to kill members of the human resistance. 31 673 "Hail to the Teeth" Several of the Marge robots look like Terminators. 32 685 "Undercover Burns" Mr. Burns fights the robot Fred Kranepool in a factory setting, mirroring the final showdown between the two Terminators in Terminator 2. Kranepool is also split in half, but keeps fighting, just like the evil Terminator in Terminator 2. 35 752 "A Mid-Childhood Night's Dream" The explosion at the playground is a parody of a scene from Terminator 2: Judgment Day. 760 "Do the Wrong Thing" Dean Belichick says that the Houston Astros are dreaming up ways to cheat, a reference to the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal. He then shows a picture of an Astros player being a robot, which resembles a Terminator. 36 773 "Treehouse of Horror XXXV" The moment when Denim appears in the alley is a parody of The Terminator. 37 793 "Treehouse of Horror XXXVI" In "The Last Days of Crisco", Homer yells "Hasta la grease-ta!" when he attacks the Fatberg, a reference to the Terminator catchphrase "hasta la vista, baby."

Comics[edit]

Picture Comic issue Story name Reference Simpsons Comics Simpsons Comics #44 Identity Crisis When Homer sees Flanders, he views him through a Head-Up display. Simpsons Comics #193 Man vs. Beast vs. Food In the food reality show Stuff Me, the bacon-and fudge "challenge dish" that Gus Gustavson eats at The Old Bacon-Fudge Hut is called the "Fudginator", a wordplay on Terminator. Simpsons Comics #222 Now You Wiggum, Now You Don't! Ms. Hoover has a blind date with a parkour instructor. When he picks her up at school, he leaps through the open classroom window and says to her, "Come with me if you want to live ... and love!", echoing one of the franchise's catchphrases. The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #3 The Immigration of the Body Snatchers A police officer reveals himself to be a robot ghost clone sent from the future to shoot everyone twice. Bart Simpson Bart Simpson #31 Handy Pop Culture Quotes for All Occasions! Comic Book Guy cites the T800 Terminator's "I'll be back" line as an appropriate quote for "attending to nature", that is, taking a bathroom break during a gaming session. Bart Simpson #37 The Ten-Inator The title of the story (in which Doctor Colossus invents a device that transforms all the adults in Springfield into ten-year-olds) is a pun on Terminator. Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book #1 The Death of Comic Book Guy! (Part One) When the contestants for the competition to become the next Lard Lad are dunked in coffee, Comic Book Guy and Graphic Novel Kid both say that "it's just like the end of Terminator 2!" Simpsons Comics One-Shot Wonders Chief Wiggum's Felonious Funnies 1 Future Cop! In his dream of being a cop in the future, Chief Wiggum and his partner Officer Cornelius respond to a dispute between neighbors in Terminator Town. One of the neighbors is a Terminator endoskeleton, and the other is a Terminator wearing a human disguise. The endosleleton's backyard landscaping consists of a layer of human skulls, which is a recurring visual in post-Judgement Day scenes from the films. The disguise-wearing Terminator says he was going to pick up the dog poop in the endoskeleton's yard later and "I told him I'd be back!", echoing one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator catchphrases. After Wiggum and Cornelius leave, Wiggum comments that his first two visits to Terminator Town were great, but "Every time I've been back since, it's just gotten lamer and lamer", a reference to the consensus among Terminator fans and critics that the third and later movies weren't as good as the first two.

Books[edit]

Picture Book Reference Comic Book Guy's Book of Pop Culture Comic Book Guy cites the T800 Terminator's "I'll be back" line as one of the greatest quotes of all time.

Games[edit]

Picture Game Reference The Simpsons Game At the end of Enter the Cheatrix, Donkey Kong is knocked into green goo. As he sinks, he sticks an arm up out of the goo and gives a thumbs-up sign, similar to the Terminator's death scene in Terminator 2.

Common Cast and Crew[edit]

Cast[edit]

Picture Name Role in Terminator Role on The Simpsons Harlan Ellison On the original The Outer Limits TV series, Ellison wrote the episode "Soldier" which originally aired in 1964 and to which The Terminator had substantial plot similarities. Ellison received an "Acknowledgement to the works of" credit in home video releases of The Terminator. Voiced himself in the season 25 episode "Married to the Blob". J. K. Simmons Played Detective O'Brien in Terminator Genisys. Reprised his role as J. Jonah Jameson in "Moe'N'a Lisa", voiced a tabloid editor in "Homerazzi", JJ Gruff in the season 29 episode "3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage", Dr. Jessup in the season 30 episode "Daddicus Finch" and Victor Kleskow in the season 30 episode "Girl's in the Band". Paul Winfield Played Police Lieutenant Ed Traxler in The Terminator. Voiced Lucius Sweet in "The Homer They Fall" and "The Trouble with Trillions".

Crew[edit]

Picture Name Role in Terminator Role on The Simpsons Sean Applegate Visual effects (as head animator of Fantasy II Film Effects) in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Character designer for 18 episodes in season 4. Lorne Balfe Composed the music for Terminator Genisys. Composed additional music for The Simpsons Movie and for the album The Simpsons Movie: The Music. Danny Elfman Composed the music for Terminator Salvation. Composed the Simpsons theme song. Phillip Hartmann Special effects technician in Terminator 2. Set and prop designer for the stop-motion puppet segment in the season 23 episode "Ned 'n Edna's Blend Agenda".

External links[edit]

• Terminator (franchise) at Wikipedia
• Terminator (character concept) at Wikipedia