Tag: Terminator franchise

space of time dimension concept,universe,illusion,time theory

^{Type
post

Gary Varner
Date
November 8, 2025

Categorized
Science Fiction

Tagged
Dresden FIles (2000 and following), Hard vs soft magic, Return of the King (1955), Terminator franchise, Time travel in science fiction}

Time Travel: The Threat of Escalation in the Terminator Series

_{Part 3: The Terminator series writers never new whether there would be a sequel, and that had implications for how they plotted time travel} _{Gary Varner
November 8, 2025

9

Science Fiction}

Shrouding the story rules in mystery only works with soft magic systems where the story focus is on something other than the system.

Time travel. Jump into the time portal in hours. High quality illustration

^{Type
post

Gary Varner
Date
October 25, 2025

Categorized
Science Fiction

Tagged
Matrix franchise, Terminator franchise, Time travel}

The Pluses and the Perils of Time Travel in Science Fiction

_{Time travel can be treated as a form or hard or soft “magic” but it is important not to confuse the two} _{Gary Varner
October 25, 2025

6

Science Fiction}

Soft magic is vague and incidental; hard magic imposes rules on the story. Too often in science fiction, these rules get broken.

Intense lightning storm over dark clouds nature image atmospheric dramatic weather phenomenon

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post

Gary Varner
Date
July 5, 2025

Categorized
Science Fiction

Tagged
A Sound of Thunder (2005), Terminator franchise, Time travel (in science fiction)}

A Sound of Thunder: Comparing the Film With the Short Story

_{What’s the same? What’s changed? What works and what doesn’t} _{Gary Varner
July 5, 2025

7

Science Fiction}

I compliment the writers for constructing a scenario where it is actually conceivable for time travelers to enter the past without altering it.

Fictional illustration of a giant robot stands in a destroyed stadium.

^{Type
post

Gary Varner
Date
February 22, 2025

Categorized
Science Fiction

Tagged
John Connor (Terminator Salvation 2009), Marcus in Terminator Salvation (2009), Retcon, Terminator franchise, Terminator: Salvation (2009)}

Terminator Salvation: Parting Thoughts on a Classic Technique

_{What the film does wrong, it does wrong in spectacular fashion, but what it does right is also done in spectacular fashion} _{Gary Varner
February 22, 2025

9

Science Fiction}

A real problem in cinema is that bad story writing is often treated as successful because it is wafted along by the hype from a previous film in the series.