Top 20 Screen Robots
Then buzz it up
April 27th, 2008 at 13:00 by David Schwartz
Why do we love robots so much?
Well, we all love machines, right? Especially the ones which make our lives easier. Let’s face it, most of us can’t be separated from our iPods, laptops and iPhones these days. But how about when they turn against us? The time when our TV and cinema screens were full of clunky dustbins and oversized toasters just happy to help has long gone.
Now robots look more like supermodels and want to wipe us out. In fact, some of them are more hard-on than hard disc. Well, that’s progress for you. But we still love them, right? Despite the fact they want to kill us.
Anyway, hecklerspray has decided to come up with the 20 models from TV and cinema that are a cut above. Enjoy!
20. Max
No one is safe from Max’s deadly whisk – not even Norman Bates. If you’ve never seen Black Hole, get it out now.
19. Metal Mickey
Ok, this was a crap British TV series during the 80s, so we apologise to US readers who are scratching their heads right now. But it has got us feeling nostalgic. Sad, we know.
18. Gort
About eight foot tall and with a penchant for melting things, Gort is one robot you don’t want to mess with. In the 1951 film The Day The Earth Stood Still, Gort and his friend Klaatu come down to earth to tell us to stop being nasty to each other – or else! It’s actually quite frightening.
17. The Iron Giant
Vin Diesel as a huge, lovable robot who saves mankind? The world has gone mad. But the film is a real tear-jerker. Not surprisingly for a film based on Ted Hughes‘ brilliant book The Iron Man, which he wrote for his kids to help them get through their mother’s (Sylvia Plath) suicide. Not that any of us at hecklerspray were bawling near the end. Much.
16. Robby the Robot
This huge dustbin from Forbidden Planet is the kind we could all do with. He cooks, cleans, drives and even tells jokes. Maybe we should get him for Hecklerspray Towers.
15. Johnny-5
OK, after watching Short Circuit, who didn’t want your very own robot buddy – with a cool laser gun? Even if he did look like a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
14. Data
A robot who wants to be a human. How flattering. Needs to sort out his bad complexion though.
13. Maria
Amazing that a robot in a film (Metropolis) set in 1927 can actually look more futuristic than a lot of them do today.
12. ED 209
Has a robot ever made a better introduction? Just brilliant.
11. C-3PO
OK, so he’s R2D2’s not-so-straight man, but the pompous git is still one of the best characters in Star Wars.
10. MechaGodzilla
How can you improve on Godzilla? Make him out of metal and give him more weapons. We were almost sad when the real Godzilla defeated him.
9. Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner)
“Wake up! Time to die.” Does Rutger Hauer dream of electric sheep? Who cares! He’s simply brilliant in this film.
8. T-1000
The shape-shifting assassin from Terminator 2 almost eclipses Arnie has the hardest bastard in the universe.
7. Cylons
We used to think we knew the cylons. They were big, shiny robots that said ‘by your command’ a lot. Now they are sexy, sultry supermodels that seduce you – now that’s progress.
6. Bender
How can anyone not love a robot that smokes cigars, drinks too much and tells jokes? He’s certainly the best thing in Futurama. Not sure about the name though.
5. Robocop
There was a (very short) time when he was the biggest movie star in the world. He’s still pretty cool today.
4. T-800 (Arnie from Terminator)
Robotic actions, emotionless delivery of dialogue – talk about the perfect role for Arnie. Shame his acting technique did not improve after that.
3. Marvin the Paranoid Android
Possibly the most popular character in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Marvin takes robot personalities to a new, er, low – very low.“Life? Don’t talk to me about life!”
2. Optimus Prime
Never has a truck been so cool.
1. R2-D2
Surely, the outright winner and the hero of Star Wars.
April 27th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
o come on! johnny 5 should have come way higher than #15!
April 28th, 2008 at 12:58 am
Uh…Milton from Office Space? Hello?
Are you guys even trying? Office Space.
Space. Robots. Milton. Get a clue. Haters.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Seeing some of the original TV series of the hitchhiker’s guide makes me realise how truly crap the movie was.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Some good ones here but what?! No IG-88??!
April 28th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I think the Star Wars countdown brought a decidedly unsavoury element to this site, as demonstrated above.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
MILTON FORM OFFICE SPACE!!!!
TAKE-ME-TO-YOUR-STAPLER
April 28th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
gir - I thought Milton said,
“Staple me to your leader.”
Maybe that was just the Latvian release.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Great list, nicely constructed, but you missed OSOMO.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
“Staple me to your leader.”
THAT IS A COMMON MISTRANSLATION INEASTERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGTES BUT IT COULD BE WORSE IN FARSI IT WAS TRANSLATED AS “STAPLE YOUR HEAD TO ME”
April 29th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Uh, Metropolis was MADE in 1927, it wasn’t SET in 1927. I think it was just set in “the future,” if they even say for sure.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
[...] the tour - the top 20 screen robots. I can’t believe they didn’t include Giant Robot (well..I guess I can) but at least [...]
April 30th, 2008 at 4:23 am
What? where are huey, duey and louie from Silent Running?
Ah well, at least Gort made the list.
April 30th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Robocop was a cyborg, not a robot; does he really count?
Bump him and add the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT) from Knight Rider.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
OK, nice to include Max, but the clip doesn’t have Max in it at all.
April 30th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Warning! Warnuing! What about Robot from Lost in Space? I don’t believe it even had a name.
April 30th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Yeah, where’s the “Danger, danger, Will Robinson!!” robot??? He was the best!
May 1st, 2008 at 12:24 am
And what about Rosie, the Jetsons’ robot-maid? If ever we can have a personal robot, the rest of these entries can just rust. I would much rather have Rosie!!
May 1st, 2008 at 3:38 am
What about Heimi from the original Get Smart? He’s got to be better than MechaGodzilla.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
huh? Where’s HAL?
(Dave: HAL! HAL! No! Don’t kill the makers of the list!)
(HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.)
*laser beams*
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Roy (Rutger Hauer) in Blade runner was not a “robot”. He, and the rest of the replicants, were synthetic humans. They were flesh and blood. Bigger, stronger & faster but not machines.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:24 pm
How could you forget Bishop from Aliens? I thought for sure he’d make this list, he’s so cool, that scene when he’s doing that knife trick and just barely knicks himself, classic.
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:20 am
I liked Vickie from Small Wonder. Wished she were on this list.
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:16 am
What about the show Doctor Who? They had a GAZILLION robots, especially the Daleks who keep coming back!
May 3rd, 2008 at 7:00 am
Bender’s full name is Bender Bending Rodriguez. Go Futurama!
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Where are Tom Servo and Crow from MST3K?? Funniest Robots Ever!!
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Am I the only person that saw I, Robot? What about Sonny?
May 4th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Roy Batty is not a robot.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Great list, but you forgot Kryten from Red Dwarf, or K-9 from Doctor Who, the little metal dog that kicks ass.
May 26th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
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