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Who are your favorite non-humanoid robots, AI, and computers in sci-fi movies?

Started by fadedsailor932 · Jun 3, 2003 · 👁 8 views · 70 replies

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fadedsailor932 Active MemberOP

101 messages
joined Oct 2004

#1 · Jun 3, 2003

...non-humans, robots, computers, or whatever else in sci-fi and fantasy movies?

For me, just like the avatar says, it’s HAL 9000—totally cool. He’s got that soothing voice (kind of like a therapist), but he won't play games (even though they screw him over in the end)...

BTW...is it just a coincidence or was it intentional, that little trick where if you shift each letter in H A L back one spot in the alphabet, you get
I B M

Jack Harris3 Regular

451 messages
joined Dec 2002

#2 · Jun 3, 2003

R2-D2 😁

lonescout2 Active Member

57 messages
joined Dec 2002

#3 · Jun 3, 2003

I suspect the connection between HAL 9000 and IBM was purely coincidental, though I can't say for certain.
My personal favorite has to be...

It's hard to say...

R2-D2 is an absolute classic, and the parent figure from the extraterrestrial film was a fascinating concept. Even the Red Queen from Resident Evil had its merits.

However, if we are being honest, the EMH from Star Trek is superior—nothing else even comes close.😉

Richard Hernandez13 Regular

269 messages
joined May 2004

#4 · Jun 3, 2003

I’ve always felt that HAL 9000 should probably stand for something like Heuristic Algorithmic, or some variation of that kind of thing.

Jack Harris3 Regular

451 messages
joined Dec 2002

#5 · Jun 3, 2003

HAL 9000: "This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it."

Bowman: "I don't know what you're talking about, HAL 9000."

HAL 9000: "I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen."

I never really checked who was actually providing the voiceover, but honestly... it totally works.
The Germans synchronized it and went with a female voice. 😲👎
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against women, but a female voice just doesn't feel right for HAL 9000... 😁

Jack Harris3 Regular

451 messages
joined Dec 2002

#6 · Jun 3, 2003

There’s a common theory floating around that the name was actually a clever nod to IBM—you know, because if you look at the alphabet, H comes right before I, A comes before B, and L comes before M. But Arthur C. Clarke always shut that down... he even had one of his characters explicitly deny the whole thing in the sequel, 2001: A Space Odyssey. According to him, the name is actually just short for a heuristic algorithmic computer.

John Hall4 Newcomer

3 messages
joined Feb 2004

#7 · Jun 3, 2003

That spherical extraterrestrial from the movie Dark Star.

crimsonjackal8 Member

41 messages
joined Feb 2003

#8 · Jun 3, 2003

1. Roy Batty
2. R2-D2 & C3PO - Star Wars
3. HAL 9000 - 2001: A Space Odyssey
4. Terminator

Though, there are two other instances that sort of sit right on the edge of this list—more like extreme outliers, really:

1. Seven of Nine🙏 🙏 🙏
2. Darth Vader🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

graniteangler10 Member

20 messages
joined Dec 2002

#9 · Jun 3, 2003

Roy Batty in Blade Runner

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

Jessica Nguyen85 Active Member

162 messages
joined Jul 2003

#10 · Jun 3, 2003

The Matrix 😉

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#11 · Jun 3, 2003

fadedsailor932 said:By the way... is it just me, or is it totally intentional how if you shift each letter in H A L back by one in the alphabet, you end up with I B M?

Whatever ACC was thinking, I honestly feel like HAL was just a clever excuse—you have to remember that back when he was writing the Odyssey, IBM was basically untouchable, a total titan. And let's be real, they still kind of are.

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#12 · Jun 3, 2003

crimsonjackal8 said:But honestly, those two are just edge cases—it's more about the extremes:

1. 7 of 9 Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero One
2. Darthh Vader

Oh, for sure... 👍

Out of all the robots, the T-1000 and T-1000 are definitely my favorites—I mean, they are hands down the coolest robots ever!
As for the others... hmm... Andromeda 🙂 isn't just gorgeous, she's actually pretty dangerous too, 👍

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#13 · Jun 3, 2003

Gillad suggested "forbidden planets" to Mariachija over in that other thread.. 👍

Does anyone remember the name of the robot from that movie?
I'm pretty sure I asked this a few months back—someone even posted a photo to help me out🙏

Melissa Moore32 Active Member

127 messages
joined Jan 2004

#14 · Jun 3, 2003

Ugh... honestly, I’m having a hard time picking just one. They all kind of blur together for me.

But I guess R2-D2 is definitely my favorite, probably sitting right at the top of my list. Sadly, I can't really think of many other examples besides the ones we've already mentioned.

Actually, I just remembered Holy from "Red Dwarf." 😁 👍 Now there's one sarcastic A.I.

Come on, guys, dig a little deeper. I know those "laws of robotics" exist, but I'm drawing a total blank on any others.

BTW, what do you mean by non-humanoids? Are you talking about things that aren't human, or things that don't have a human shape—or maybe both?

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#15 · Jun 3, 2003

Red Dwarf! 🙏 man, oh man

Glad you brought that up—Rimmer really is unbeatable with that "H" on his forehead... 😁 🙏

Richard Hernandez13 Regular

269 messages
joined May 2004

#16 · Jun 3, 2003

That robotics stuff from Langov's "Metropolis".

Melissa Moore32 Active Member

127 messages
joined Jan 2004

#17 · Jun 3, 2003

Richard Hernandez13 said:That robotics stuff from Langov's "Metropolis."

Great minds think alike. 👍 I guess I just thought of Tim from Tezukin Metropolis first.

But honestly, I didn't want to go down the anime rabbit hole. Once you start talking about robots, there’s just no end to it. 😁

Anyway, come on guys, let's hear some cool robots from movies. There have to be way more than the ones we've already mentioned.

Actually, I just remembered one: "Johnny 5" from "Short Circuit"

Michelle Alvarez8 Regular

299 messages
joined Nov 2015

#18 · Jun 3, 2003

Quote : Tufir ii

Melissa Moore32 said:Oh man, I just had a sudden flashback to Johnny 5 from Short Circuit!

Wait, isn't that the robot who used to hang out with those kids? The one with the little caterpillar! 😲
Man, what a classic! I seriously lost it when that robot died... just heartbreaking. But hey—I was there right at the beginning, wasn't I? 🙂

So, you know how in Power Rangers—those robot animals that all combine to form one massive robot? Pretty wild, right? 😁

Melissa Moore32 Active Member

127 messages
joined Jan 2004

#19 · Jun 3, 2003

Michelle Alvarez8 said:That’s that one Robot who used to hang out with those kids—he actually had a little caterpillar! 😲
Man, what a classic. I honestly don't think I've ever cried harder than when that Robot died... it was brutal. But hey, at least I was there from the very beginning. 🙂

He had a caterpillar, but he didn't really hang out with the kids.

I think you're talking about that one movie where the runaway Robot basically becomes "alive."

Steve Guttenberg stars in this movie.

I swear, I am just so done with all of you. Seriously. 😁

Check out this page on IMDb for Short Circuit. I guess it’s worth a look if you're into that kind of thing.(1986)

Richard Hernandez13 Regular

269 messages
joined May 2004

#20 · Jun 3, 2003

That tiny little Robot from Star Wars—he basically looks like a small box on legs.
I can't quite remember if he actually popped up in the Star Wars movies, but he was definitely in those Jedi Knight games, and I always had such a blast playing with him.

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