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Pop Culture Flashback: The Terminator – He’ll be Back (Oct. 26)

On this day in pop culture history, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred as the “Terminator” for the first time. “I’ll be back” he said. And he did. Over and over again.

October 26, 2026

On this day in pop culture history, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred as the “Terminator” for the first time. “I’ll be back” he said. And he did. Over and over again.

1984 – The ‘Terminator’ Comes to Earth for the First Time

James Cameron’s iconic science fiction movie, The Terminator which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, was released in theaters on this day. Schwarzenegger was the “terminator,” a cyborg from the year 2029 sent to 1984 to kill the woman who would one day be the mother of the son – a hero who would become a “savior against machines.”

Terminator was the top film for two weeks and received favorable reviews from fans and critics alike. So popular, the film inspired five sequels (Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in 2003, Terminator Salvation in 2009; Terminator Genisys in 2015 and Terminator: Dark Fate in 2015) as well as the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which only ran for two seasons.

Will he be back? Hasn’t he already done enough?

OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY:

TV SERIES DEBUTS

1988 – Rob and Laura Together Again…Sort Of

Mary Tyler Moore holding flowers and Dick Van Dyke and Barry Van Dyke dancing — Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke and Barry Van Dyke *(CBS via TVDB)*

Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore made a good pair for the original Dyke Van Dyke Show during the 1960s, so CBS thought that they would try it again – but in two separate sitcoms, both of which debuted on this day. The network might have done better if instead they tried to reboot the original show.

Annie McGuire did the better of the two which starred Tyler Moore as a newlywed to Nick McGuire (Denis Arndt). She had a job in politics while he worked in engineering. Both had kids from previous marriages and parents with differing political views of their own. Despite its good reviews and stylistic approach to modern sitcom, the show just couldn’t bring in the ratings.

The Van Dyke Show was called that because it starred not one Van Dyke, but two. Dick shared the limelight with his son Barry (something the two would do again during Diagnosis Murder). Barry played a small regional theater owner in Pennsylvania. Dick was a Broadway veteran who gave up the big stage to work with his son on the small one. While the premise sounds good, the show got terrible reviews. It was cancelled after six episodes.

1952: Military Heroes

Artwork for the TV series Victory at Sea — *(TVDB)*

26 episodes of the Victory at Sea documentary series about warfare during World War II were shown on NBC on Sunday afternoons. The series has been credited for introducing compilation documentaries to TV audiences.

1982: Medical Heroes

St. Elsewhere is a quirky medical drama that won 13 Emmy Awards over its six seasons. It also introduced us to actors Ed Flanders, Ed Begley Jr., Howie Mandel, David Morse, Denzel Washington and Mark Harmon among others.

2015: Superhero

Before the 2026 movie disaster, Melissa Benoist starred as Supergirl on CBS. Her character was inspired by Ginger Rogers of all things. The series moved to The CW in 2016 to join that network’s block of DC Comic shows.