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Terminator: How Sarah Connor Chronicles Paid Tribute to Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger never appeared on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but the show did pay a sly tribute to him during season 2. If there's one person most closely associated with the storied Terminator multimedia franchise, even more than creator James Cameron, it's Schwarzenegger. That's quite understandable, as Schwarzenegger's outings as both a villainous and heroic T-800 model cyborg in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day are arguably his most iconic performances ever, and occurred when he was at the top of his game as an action star.
For as much criticism as the Austrian Oak has received at times for his lack of acting range, in the right role, Schwarzenegger can deliver in truly extraordinary ways, as seen in the Terminator movies and his other best works. Schwarzenegger isn't Daniel Day Lewis, but he's never claimed to be, and really doesn't seem to take himself that seriously. He's content simply to entertain audiences, whether that's with a surprisingly human murder-bot in Terminator 2, a wisecracking spy in True Lies, or a comedically naive overachiever in Twins.
Sadly though, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles didn't end up lasting long enough on FOX to try and work out a Schwarzenegger cameo, a thing that star Lena Headey reportedly really wanted to make happen. The show did at least manage to incorporate an amusing nod to the former Governator.
Terminator: How Sarah Connor Chronicles Paid Tribute To Arnold Schwarzenegger
In the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles episode "Self Made Man," which aired as episode 11 of season 2, Cameron (Summer Glau), the Terminator currently protecting John Connor, learns that a T-888 model Terminator had been sent back in time to accomplish an assassination mission. Unfortunately for it, the machine went back too far, landing in 1920. After inadvertently altering the events that will lead to its ultimate goal, the Terminator creates a new identity, and sets out to wait the near-century necessary to take out its target: the governor of California.
This Terminator was set to kill the governor on New Year's Eve 2010, which would've meant that the governor in question would've been Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, as he didn't leave office until 2011. The Sarah Connor Chronicles doesn't name the governor, presumably to avoid an instance of celebrity paradox, but it's pretty obviously meant to be a shout out to the man who quickly became the face of the Terminator franchise. Notably, Cameron ultimately prevents the time-displaced Terminator from accomplishing its deadly goal, essentially saving the in-universe Governator's life. Hasta la vista, baby.
