This whole post comes from the mind of JB Rockwell , who loved the idea of Flyby Five and was happily tossing ideas at me. When we got to this particular one, I (not so) jokingly said “You’d have to do this one, as I don’t think I can think of five. The robot or AI always goes evil.” Well, she proved me wrong, and got a Wayne’s World “We’re not worthy!” gif in thanks. – The commentary is mine (Lilyn’s) though.
(Psst, may be minor spoilers if you haven’t seen some of these films.)
Flyby Five, where we abandon all sense of seriousness and do silly lists about whatever pops into our heads. This segment will be posted every Wednesday we feel like posting it. This is not a serious list, nor is it a “Top 5” list. And there is every possible chance that some of these lists or the language in these lists may not be PG-13 friendly. You have been warned. -L&G
5 Times the Robot or AI Wasn’t Evil
1. R2D2 & C3P0 from Star Wars – I can’t believe these two never popped into my head. The quintessential ‘good’ robots, R2D2 and C3P0 are so sweet and innocent I can’t even find anything snarky to say about them!
2. Bishop from Aliens – After the Ashhole, pretty much everybody was expecting Bishop to be just like his evil predecessor. But, nope, much to our surprise (or lack thereof, because who would really pull that same trick twice in a row?) Bishop was a good guy.
3. Wall-E & Eve from Wall-E – Of course these two were going to be on this list! Kids movie or not, Wall-E and Eve are two of the most adorable robots around. And, let’s face it, Eve kicks serious buttocks when she needs to!
4. GERTY from Moon – Voiced by Kevin Spacey, Gerty is one of the more gritty/rundown looking electronic companions you see on sci-fi movie sets. Still, you can’t beat the simplicity. Gerty did some not-so-nice things, but it was only following orders, and in the end it comes through, even going so far as to have SAM do something to it’s system.
5. TARS from Interstellar – Tars is one of the coolest robots in terms of looks! I remember the first time I saw him moving in Interstellar I went all goggle-eyed. Yes, I’m easily amused, but still… Cool robot!!
If you can think of any other times the robot or AI didn’t turn out to be evil, feel free to list them in comments!
Good Robots or AI:
1- Robbie the Robot in ‘Forbidden Planet’.
2- Robbie the Robot again in ‘Lost in Space’.
3- The little beat up robot in the seventies Disney sci-fi not-so-classic, ‘Black Hole’.
4- K-2
5- ‘KIT’ from ‘Knight Rider’!
Evil Robots or AI:
1- HAL from Space Odyssey
2- The robots and AI in ‘Something is Wrong on Saturn 8’. {Kirk Douglas and Farah Fawcett Majors!}
3- Megatron
4- The killer satellite in ‘Cowboy Bebop’.
5- Yul Brynner in ‘Westworld’.
I only recognized 2 on your good list!
Robbie the Robot is a great add, and way to go with KIT–about the only AI I can think of in a non-sci-fi show or movie. K2 is an interesting one since he was ‘bad’ and went ‘good’ 🙂
Who is K 2?!
WHAT??!! Have you not seen Rogue One??
Nope.
Well, there’s your problem… 😀
I don’t necessarily see it as a problem. *ducks*
Asshole???!!! *dies laughing*
*grins*