The Terminator

The Terminator (1984)

1 mistake since 25 Jan '26, 15:43

★★★★☆

(19 votes)

Other mistake: When Reese looks up Sarah's address in the phone book, it is on the right side of the book. Same thing for Sarah. However, when the Terminator checks the phone book, the names are on the left. Maybe in 1984, Los Angeles had multiple versions of the phone book to cause this "error," but if not, that is the issue.

posty

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: According to a quick search, there were multiple versions of the phonebook available in the 1980s. The most common difference was between versions that held exclusively white pages (residential numbers) and versions that had both white and yellow pages (business numbers), which probably had different formats. But in 1984, there even was a break in AT&T's monopoly on phonebook publishing, causing a widespread number of different phonebook versions to appear, especially in Southern California (according to AI).

lionhead

Suggested correction: Something can't be classed as a mistake without supporting evidence. Maybe it can, but if not, that's the issue.

This is a completely nonsensical "correction." Not only does the corrector openly state that they may be incorrect about what's required, but the "supporting evidence" they ask for is what's seen in the film.

TedStixon

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Question: How exactly do both the Terminator and Kyle find addresses? We are led to believe that is the reason for the phone books, but none of the addresses in the phone books match up to the addresses where either the first Sarah is killed, nor the apartment of our Sarah.

Answer: Gonna be totally honest... that might just be nothing more than a simple continuity error. They accidentally made a phonebook prop that didn't match up with the locations where they shot, and assumed most people wouldn't notice or care. (And to be even more honest, I never noticed it until I saw this question today.)

TedStixon

Answer: My two cents: The T-800 Terminator does indeed, rip out the page of a phonebook for the address, but remember, he was looking for any and all Sarah Connors, not a specific address. He did not know which Sarah would give birth to John Connor, so by process of elimination he began terminating any woman with the name Sarah Connor. He did plug the first Sarah Connor (a housewife), then went to kill the other Sarah Connors in the phone book.

Scott215

I already gave that answer, but apparently that's not what the question is asking.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: Kyle, as we are shown, uses a police computer to find the addresses. The T800 just uses the phonebook as you mentioned. He rips the page out and takes it with him.

Ssiscool ★

Except 2 of the addresses in the phone book don't match. So how does the Terminator find them using the phonebook?

Bishop73

The Terminator is just blindly killing everyone in the phone book whose name is Sarah Connor (apparently a common name). Process of elimination. So, the day he arrives, unrelated women named Sarah Connor start dropping like flies, and the police believe it's the work of a serial killer. Our heroine Sarah Connor barely escapes this sweeping extermination by sheer luck and Kyle's intervention.

Charles Austin Miller

You just described the plot. Were you trying to answer the question? Because the question still stands. (As it is, it's either a mistake or plot hole in the film).

Bishop73

Perhaps I'm not getting the question. What is meant by "none of the addresses in the phone books match up"? Match up to what, the murder scene addresses? I wasn't aware that the murder scene addresses were prominently displayed.

Charles Austin Miller

Exactly. The addresses seen don't match. Specifically the first Sarah Connor's house number is "14239", but in the phonebook it is listed as "1823." And the real Sarah Connor lives in an apartment but the phonebook doesn't list an apartment number.

Bishop73

Perhaps though this all doesn't matter because phone books can quickly become outdated, the phone book he found could be over a year old. Someone moves but can still be listed in the phone book with their old address. He could have gone to the addresses but found someone else living there and then asked where the previous owner might be, and he was told (or he forced them). This might be how he found all the Sarah Connors.

lionhead

Are any of the Sarahs listed as living at 1823? I've not got access to the film right now to check.

Ssiscool ★

The first is listed as "1823." The second is "2816." The 3rd is "309." Although after reviewing the scene and thinking about it, for "309" (which is supposedly our Sarah J Connor), the full address isn't actually seen and the apartment number could have been listed.

Bishop73

Reese never uses a police computer; that's the T-1000 in Terminator 2. He rips out the page from the phonebook. The T800 also uses the phonebook but is never shown ripping out a page.

No! Kyle and the T800 both use the phone book. The Terminator even pulls away a guy who was on the phone ("Hey man! You got a serious attitude problem!") Kyle rips out a page, not the T800. It's the T-1000 in T2 that uses a police computer.

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