Hello

Hi

I am from New Zealand.
I am a big fan of Science Fiction. I am hoping to make some new friends on here and be a part of the forums here.

I love compiling sci-fi lists and and reading them.
I am also one of the Experts on AllExpert.com answering questions in the sci-fi movie's section. It is rewarding helping people find films from their past, but it is not a great platform for making friends, it's strickly answering questions for clients, so I was hoping to be able to hang out with some sci-fi fans myself, though I don't mind adding my sci-fi knowledge here to help anyone find movies they are having difficulty finding, infact it would be nice helping others without having to be rated on my efforts.

Sci-Fi Robots are my first love and films involving them. I am currently writing an A-Z guide of fictional Robots, Androids, Cyborgs, Computers etc. and hope to publish as soon as possible.

Kerry
 
Kerry,

Welcome to Cool Sci-Fi! So by working on your guide, what is your favorite robot or android or cyborg that you've come across so far? I know that there has been so many over the years but for a 'favorite' I think I would have go old school and go with either Robby (from the Forbidden Planet era) or Gort (from The Day The Earth Stood Still).

Kevin
PS: And, don't worry, we don't rate anybody around here. ;)
 
Kerry,

Welcome to Cool Sci-Fi! So by working on your guide, what is your favorite robot or android or cyborg that you've come across so far? I know that there has been so many over the years but for a 'favorite' I think I would have go old school and go with either Robby (from the Forbidden Planet era) or Gort (from The Day The Earth Stood Still).

Kevin
PS: And, don't worry, we don't rate anybody around here. ;)

Hi Kevin

Thanks for the welcome.

The Guide I am writing has over 600 main entries, but a comprehensive list of hopefully every Fictional robot to appear in Sci-Films and TV shows.

Like you I am 'old school' to a certain degree. My favourite is the B9 robot from the TV series "Lost in Space" (1966).

However if I had to compile a Top 10 List of Sci-Fi (TV & Film) Robots B9 would be 2nd on my list behind Robby, though both were created by Robert Kinoshita. I hope to compile a list of my top 20 on here, where would the best section to put such a list or a robot thread even do you think?

My list would be something like this:

1. Robby the Robot ( Forbidden Planet)
2. B9 ( Lost In Space)
3. Maria (Metropolis)
3. Gort ( The Day The Earth Stood Still)
4. C3P0 (Star Wars)
5. R2-D2 (Star Wars)
6. Optimus Prime ( Transformers)
7. ED-209 (Robocop)
8. K-9 (Dr Who)
9. VINCENT ( The Black Hole)
10. Number #5 ( Short Circuit)

I so badly wanted a Cylon in that list, Tobor, Maximillian, 'Fixits', Iron Giant, AMEE etc..

There are a lot more earlier robot films that I could have represented but I try to mix a few classics with some contempory. To really get a decent list that would satisfy me I would need a Top 100 lol.

If my first 6 were not in anyones top 10 list of sci-fi Robots I wouldn't even consider taking it seriously.

As far as Androids, Cyborgs and Computers go, I think I'd probabally put them in a different list :smiley:

Favourite Cyborgs maybe Six Million Dollar Man or the Daleks, then there's the Terminators and the debate whether they are true cyborgs or androids. Data is one of my favourite androids and the Vison from marvel comics ( as seen in my avatar on here). Computer? No question for me has to be HAL 9000! :smiley:

Kerry
 
Hello Starbeast

Thankyou for the welcome. Looks like we share the same favourite robot :smiley:

Good to see Captain Marvel and Thanos there with the Infinity Gauntlet; though I mostly collect Avengers titles I do love the cosmic stories especially involving Cosmic Beings. Awhile back I attempted to compile a list of Marvel Cosmic Beings, abstract entities, personifications, deities, demons and above herald power-holders. Maybe I could post the list on here somewhere...

I hope to have some fun exploring the threads on here in the next few days. Thanks again!
 
A bit late to the party but Welcome all the same.

Robby has to be my FAVorite Robot but for concept I really like Bicentennial Man.

I also liked the dozer bot in I Robot (the Will Smith one)

The terminator was cool.

Are you limited to just movie and tv robots or are you going to include robots from literature and real ones? Asimov?

Would you consider the ship from Flight of the Navigator a robot?

As for lists - I have posted many, many lists both here and elsewhere.

Have you ever done searches on Listverse?

Top 10 Greatest Robots In Movies - Listverse

Top 10 Coolest Transformers - Listverse

and what about the "Rockem Sockem" Robots?
 
Favourite Cyborgs maybe Six Million Dollar Man or the Daleks, then there's the Terminators and the debate whether they are true cyborgs or androids. Data is one of my favourite androids and the Vison from marvel comics ( as seen in my avatar on here). Computer? No question for me has to be HAL 9000!
The terminators are not cyborgs. They are robots covered in a meat bag. They can still function without the meat bag.

An android is a robot. A robot that has the features of a human but no organic material. With no organics - it is a mechanism - a robot. Just very advanced.

I personally don't like Hal9000.
I like- (In no particular order)
Nerissa - Serious Sam
Cortana - Halo
The Star Trek Computers
Iron Man's Computer
The Tron System
The Matrix
Colossus
Joshua
The Red Queen
S1m0ne
Fortress of Solitude
Ziggy
The Alien from Virus
The Computer in Gamer
The Lawnmower Man facility
and more...
 
A bit late to the party but Welcome all the same.

Robby has to be my FAVorite Robot but for concept I really like Bicentennial Man.

I also liked the dozer bot in I Robot (the Will Smith one)

The terminator was cool.

Are you limited to just movie and tv robots or are you going to include robots from literature and real ones? Asimov?

Would you consider the ship from Flight of the Navigator a robot?

As for lists - I have posted many, many lists both here and elsewhere.

Have you ever done searches on Listverse?

Top 10 Greatest Robots In Movies - Listverse

Top 10 Coolest Transformers - Listverse

and what about the "Rockem Sockem" Robots?

Thanks for the welcome.

I have compiled many sci-fi lists on many sites and forums aswell. Yes I have seen many of the sites dedicated to lists. I have been disappointed with a lot of the robot lists I have seen to date though, but i guess you can't please everyone.

The book I am writing the A-Z guide will only have every TV, Movie robot, android cyborg etc. with a few well known exceptions from comics and games, otherwise the book would never get finished, even now I have literally hundreds of entries, some I will have to leave out and simply list at the back of the book. Each entry is a profile of the character so you can imagine the time it is taking to put this project together. I believe I have a list of every TV & movie robot I have put together since I started compiling my list in 1990 till now, and there are always more to aad.

I can not add no-fictional robots to my list or book at this time, though I do enjoy the concept of them.

Yes I do consider "Max" The FotN Ship a robot.

The Rockem Sockem toy game will not be included in my book but I have them included in my overall list of all fictional robots.

I really had to draw the line somewhere as there are enough TV & Film robots as it is, more than is listed on wikipedia and other sites that have tried to list them all.

The terminators are not cyborgs. They are robots covered in a meat bag. They can still function without the meat bag.

An android is a robot. A robot that has the features of a human but no organic material. With no organics - it is a mechanism - a robot. Just very advanced.

I personally don't like Hal9000.
I like- (In no particular order)
Nerissa - Serious Sam
Cortana - Halo
The Star Trek Computers
Iron Man's Computer
The Tron System
The Matrix
Colossus
Joshua
The Red Queen
S1m0ne
Fortress of Solitude
Ziggy
The Alien from Virus
The Computer in Gamer
The Lawnmower Man facility
and more...

I have to agree with you on the Terminators. I consider them androids (while they are in human form and simply robots when the flesh is removed.) I don't buy into the fact that they qualify as cyborgs just because the tissue on them is "living" etc. In my opinion cyborgs are living beings i.e human, animals etc. born of flesh and blood that have been grafted with cybernetic or mechanical parts or implanted with such to enhance them physically to help the live or perform better. In the sence of Steve Austin, The Borg, Robocop etc.

Personally I would rank HAL 9000 at the top of any list of fictional computers.

When you say Star Trek Computers are you referring to LCARS (The Federation Computer Interface)?

I liked JARVIS too, the computer in Tony Starks residence, which is a compliment also to the Avengers buttler in the Marvel comics.

Nice list too by the way.
 
... and what about the "Rockem Sockem" Robots?
OOooh, a childhoold favorite! :cool:


Would you consider the ship from Flight of the Navigator a robot?
Yes I do consider "Max" The FotN Ship a robot.
Nice thought on the ship. :cool: That could almost create a whole new category upon itself.

Some quick thoughts would be...
- Ship from Flight of The Navigator
- Ship from Andromeda (who later took human form)
- TARDIS from Doctor Who (it being sentient has been explored in a few episodes over the years)
- Ship from Farscape (heck, it even gave birth!)
- Ship from Lexx (another ship that gave birth)
- The Cylon Raiders from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica
 
Thanx, Your book sounds like something I would buy for my collection. I have a few of Barlowe's books and the Comic Book Encyclopedia as well as a few others. I have a few robots in a book of Vintage Toys I bought awhile ago but no definitive robot works.

We just need to agree to disagree on the HAL 9000 thing. Its flaw would have manifested before the ship even left orbit. If you think about the basic conditions that allowed the flaw to exist in the first place. The Logic paradigms are off to allow the flaw to even exist. I don't really like 2001 or 2010. I like how they depicted the physics but the story is felgercarb. The movie is just so...B o r i n g.

You nailed the description of a cyborg in my opinion! Your book is going to be really good!

As for defining a Robot: A robot would be any device, construct or mechanism that is programmed or sentient to interact with the world. (a general description)
Consider this; If in some part of the Universe or in our distant future we achieve the ability to construct a device comprised of nano machines with a sentient singularity and that construct achieve what we consider life - would it be a robot? Example? Star Trek the Motion Picture - Illea bot.

When you say Star Trek Computers are you referring to LCARS
Yea

You stay focused and when you publish make sure you post about it here!
 
Some quick thoughts would be...
- Ship from Flight of The Navigator
- Ship from Andromeda (who later took human form)
- TARDIS from Doctor Who (it being sentient has been explored in a few episodes over the years)
- Ship from Farscape (heck, it even gave birth!)
- Ship from Lexx (another ship that gave birth)
- The Cylon Raiders from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica

Very Nice Kevin!
 
Thanx, Your book sounds like something I would buy for my collection. I have a few of Barlowe's books and the Comic Book Encyclopedia as well as a few others. I have a few robots in a book of Vintage Toys I bought awhile ago but no definitive robot works.

We just need to agree to disagree on the HAL 9000 thing. Its flaw would have manifested before the ship even left orbit. If you think about the basic conditions that allowed the flaw to exist in the first place. The Logic paradigms are off to allow the flaw to even exist. I don't really like 2001 or 2010. I like how they depicted the physics but the story is felgercarb. The movie is just so...B o r i n g.

You nailed the description of a cyborg in my opinion! Your book is going to be really good!

As for defining a Robot: A robot would be any device, construct or mechanism that is programmed or sentient to interact with the world. (a general description)
Consider this; If in some part of the Universe or in our distant future we achieve the ability to construct a device comprised of nano machines with a sentient singularity and that construct achieve what we consider life - would it be a robot? Example? Star Trek the Motion Picture - Illea bot.

Yea

You stay focused and when you publish make sure you post about it here!

Yes we will disagree on Hal 9000. I never liked the movie 2001 etc. however I won't discriminate against any robot, cyborg, computer etc. because it is written in a felgercarb movie with flawed plot lines or even a b-movie. If I was to do that many of my favourite robots would be disqaulified with guilt by association. There are many things to hate and love about many sci-fi characters, and Hal is no exception. The basic concept with it is very good in my opinion and with a bit of fine tuning it could have been great.
What needs to be remembered is, we are dealing with science fiction here and in I think a lot of people take it too seriously instead of enjoying the whole genre. To be honest I love the robots more than the films they come from, but that's just me.

Illia from Star Trek the motion picture was a Deltan who was later killed and a mechanical duplicate was made of her called an android probe.

As far as robots are concerned, in the general term we could lump anything into that catergory if we wanted to and I guess it depends on what definition we want to follow. I n my book I will not be biased towards any robot etc. regardless of whether it is from a blockbuster or b-movie, and further more my definition of a robot will be my own for the book despite what others my try to deem a robot. A robot will be any mechanical being outwardly and inwardly, usually metallic looking with machanical parts with a few exceptions. In the general term I could lump most of beings in my book into that catergory but I am dividing them into catergories :

(This is a rough definition)

1. Robots ( generally metallic outer bodies or shells with machinary and/or energy sources inside that allows them to function, many are sentient or programed to appear as such, some may be simply Mechas that may go into their own catergory with battle suits etc.).

2. Androids (outwardly looking humanoid bodies with machines on the inside)

3. Computers (mostly sentient, mostly non-mobile, though some may fit into catergory 1 by being able to control ships parts like MAX etc. which makes them virtually robots.

4. Cyborgs (living flesh and boned beings with cybernetic implants and/or limbs/mechanical parts that are a part of them to enhance their ability or vital for their existence.

5. C G I ( computer generated beings)

6. Misc ( don't really fit into neither of the previous catergories.

There will be many that can fit into more than one catergory.

The idea of my book is to be the first of it's kind and I have yet to see a book as thorough as it or one even attempted! I have been slaving and studying at it for years and want it to be the best robot reference material of it's kind. I have already completed over 130 pages working from a list of 900 characters and am only getting up to C now. There are about four to five characters per page. The format is as such:

Example...
ASH

**image**

Life Form: Android
Played By: Ian Holm
Type: Hyperdyne Systems 120/A2 (ID# 111/C2/01X)
Function: Science Officer


Ash was an older model android science officer aboard the commercial towing vessel Nostromo. The crew of the Nostromo were unaware that Ash was an android and that he was planted on the ship by a science company to carry out a hidden mission called Special Order 937: etc....

This ofcourse is just an example of how my book will be. I have put a lot of time and work into this book for many years now.
 
Example...
ASH

**image**

Life Form: Android
Played By: Ian Holm
Type: Hyperdyne Systems 120/A2 (ID# 111/C2/01X)
Function: Science Officer

Just a note you might want to consider. You should put the Film credits and film title for each entry. Taking reference from Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials, He listed the book that introduced the species and quoted the text that first described it. (Man, I gotta get that book back out!)
You might consider referencing all the movies the entry appears in, like Robby The Robot. You might even mention that Robby has his own IMdb entry
Robby the Robot - IMDb

And for heavens sake don't forget Johnny 5! LOL
 
All the films, credits, years etc... will be included. I have all that sort of information, but what I posted here is an example, ofcourse I am not going to post too much of my book online for obvious reasons. I have included intersting facts aswell. I have ll the appearances that Robby has made on other shows like Lost In Space of course both Robby and B-9 were designed by the same man:smiley: plus all his appearances on anthology shows, films, ads and various TV shows.

I included Johnny 5 amongst my top 10 so I'm not likely to leave him out of my book... have you noticed that WALL-E looks... hmmm never mind. :smiley:

You don't have to worry about the obvious ones it's more the b-movie ones that nobodies heard of that proved the most difficult like Terminator rip-offs and Robocop copy cats. I would truely love to post my whole robot A-Z list on here to give you an idea of the magnitude of it. Imagine a any list on the net that has tried to list every robot, android, ect, you can think of then tripple it maybe! ( Because you can bet I have seen every list online to hunt done every possible robot over the space of 20 years). Some very obscure. Many will not make main entires but the complete list will be entered at the back of the book. This is the kind of book I have been waiting for someone to write my whole life, since I first saw B-9 on TV when I was 5 years old. Since then I have read, watched, studied and breathed robots! Noone wrote the book a sci-fi robot fan like myself could only dream of, so I am.

It may not be perfect for everyone, and it may need a lot of updating and revising at a later date, but once it's born it can grow into what I hope is the ultimate sci-fi robot refrence book! There needs to be a book like this.

I wish someone would do like wise with a sci-fi spaceships guide, I wanted to do that too but this book is a huge project and I just don't have time enough to do it. I have the lists, just not the time to turn them all into guides.

Thanks for the links too, I appreciate the help!
 
Have you read any of the topics regarding publishing? We have a grand library of publishing helper topics but I can't find them - probably in the archives. I believe there was even one or two on choosing the cover art and binding styles. Have you chosen a publisher yet? I know Barlowe used the Workman Publishing Company
http://www.workman.com/
and
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers: World-Leading Book Publisher

Links I know - I have over 5000 bookmarks and 2/3 of those relate to speculative fiction. Most of the rest are science and art.

Who is doing your art? Remember to get permission to use images and to credit the sources. Your book will be a commercial venture so copyrights will come into play. Not trying to harp on you - just sometimes people forget about the little things and their work gets rejected and they lose hope. I don't want that to happen. Anything published concerning the movie industry is a legal minefield. I recently read about a pizza store that got sued by Toho because they advertised a Godzilla Pizza and all they infringed upon was the word Godzilla! I'm just saying, you gotta be careful.
Oh yea, Did you include MechaGodzilla?
Also find out if the display style of the entries are copyright. In the Comic Book Encyclopedia they displayed their entries skewed from center. I read that they had issue with copyright on their original layout. I'm just saying...
If you are only at the Cs when do you think this grand reference to robots will hit the stores? 2013, 2015? I want it NOW!
 
Have you read any of the topics regarding publishing? We have a grand library of publishing helper topics but I can't find them - probably in the archives. I believe there was even one or two on choosing the cover art and binding styles. Have you chosen a publisher yet? I know Barlowe used the Workman Publishing Company
http://www.workman.com/
and
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers: World-Leading Book Publisher

Links I know - I have over 5000 bookmarks and 2/3 of those relate to speculative fiction. Most of the rest are science and art.

Who is doing your art? Remember to get permission to use images and to credit the sources. Your book will be a commercial venture so copyrights will come into play. Not trying to harp on you - just sometimes people forget about the little things and their work gets rejected and they lose hope. I don't want that to happen. Anything published concerning the movie industry is a legal minefield. I recently read about a pizza store that got sued by Toho because they advertised a Godzilla Pizza and all they infringed upon was the word Godzilla! I'm just saying, you gotta be careful.
Oh yea, Did you include MechaGodzilla?
Also find out if the display style of the entries are copyright. In the Comic Book Encyclopedia they displayed their entries skewed from center. I read that they had issue with copyright on their original layout. I'm just saying...
If you are only at the Cs when do you think this grand reference to robots will hit the stores? 2013, 2015? I want it NOW!

Yeah well the copyrights for images are the least of my problems right now, getting it finished by the end of 2012 is my goal befor I can even think about anything else.

Mecha-Godzilla and Mecha-Kong.;)

I promise you one thing, whether I get an independent publisher, POD publish or resort to self-publishing, I'll see you get a copy in some form or another:smiley:

I appreciate the encouragement, thank you! :smiley:
 
Ok, Cool!

What about the robot on the Godzilla The Series - that weird yellow thing?

and lets never forget all the robots on Johnny Quest
 
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