# Best Robot?



## gully_foyle (May 10, 2007)

There's been threads on Best Spaceship, Favourite Monster and Sexiest Male/Female/Small Furry Green Thing. Has there been a Best Robot thread? If not then I vote;
ED209
R2D2
Roy Batty
Marvin (from the TV HHGTTG)
Bender
Ash
Klaatu

What constitutes a robot? Humanoids, androids, automatons, simulacra, etc.

Cyborgs don't count, but who am I to dictate? Nominate them freely. My only favourite cyborg is Murphy/Robocop.


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## Culhwch (May 10, 2007)

Bender for sure.


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## Joel007 (May 10, 2007)

Well, ones I remember are...

Robbie
Bishop
Data
Kryten
R2-D2
C-3PO
Terminator(s)
Marvin
Fembots
HAL
Rutger?
Jonny5

I'd love to put Asimov's robots, especially the 3 ZZ ones that went to Jupiter, but I don't remember enough about them. 

My favs are R2D2, Bender, Jonny 5, Data, and Marvin.


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## Taltos (May 10, 2007)

3 words: R. Daneel Olivaw - and that's it


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## gully_foyle (May 10, 2007)

I think HAL belongs in the Best Evil Computer thread, along with Colossus, Mother, Proteus, WOPR and the MCP from Tron.

Also I left off my Best Robot list the evil son of a tin can in Hardware.


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## BookStop (May 10, 2007)

Don't forget 

*Cherry 2000*
*Sonny*
*Robocop*
*Andrew* in Bicentennial Man
*David* and *Gigilo Joe* in AI
*Jinx* in Spacecamp
*Rachel* in Blade Runner
*The Stepford Wives*
The *Tin Man* in WoOZ


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## that old guy (May 10, 2007)

Joel007 said:


> Fembots


 
LOL, good lord. I'd forgotten all about them on the Bionic Woman. Though I guess the younger generation only knows them via Austin Powers.  

The only one I can add off the top of my head:

Huey and Dewey from Silent Running


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## Connavar (May 10, 2007)

Bender would smoke them all


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## Talysia (May 10, 2007)

Definitely Bender.  Oh, and Red Dwarf's Kryten.


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## mosaix (May 10, 2007)

No question - Kryten from Red Dwarf. I'm with you on this Talysia. His sense of humour is second to none.

"You know what it means if we go to red alert?"

"No, what?"

"I'll have to change the bulb!"


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## Kostmayer (May 10, 2007)

Zax, from Benji Zax and the Alien Prince.  Oh, and Robbie, the talking Bourbon dispenser


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## tangaloomababe (May 10, 2007)

Originally posted by Taltos.


> 3 words: R. Daneel Olivaw - and that's it


 
I am a big fan of Daneel,my fav asimov character I think. But I also like Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty ( a marvellous character).  You would have to mention Arnie as Terminator (only the first one though).
But I am in agreement with others who have already mentioned him:

_*"I am Bender, please insert Girder"*_


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## j d worthington (May 10, 2007)

gully_foyle said:


> ED209
> R2D2
> Roy Batty
> Marvin (from the TV HHGTTG)
> ...


 
One correction: that last should be Gort, not Klaatu. Klaatu was Michael Rennie's character.

As for my own personal favorites:

Adam Link
Robbie (both the movies' and Asimov's)
Stephen Byerley
Andrew (or Andrew Martin -- "The Bicentennial Man")
Trent ("Demon with a Glass Hand")

There are others, but those are the ones that come to mind right off...


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## Erin99 (May 10, 2007)

Another vote for Bender! He's the ultimate robot. 

Second: Kryten, definitely!


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## gully_foyle (May 11, 2007)

I am ashamed. How could I have left Kryten off my list? 

*Rimmer: I'm invoking Spacecorps regulation 234 stroke 62.
Kryten: But sir, where are we going to find two live chickens and
a rabbi?*


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## manephelien (May 14, 2007)

R. Daneel Olivaw, definitely. Also R2/D2.


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## fantasy noob (May 14, 2007)

NORBY!!!!! obviously and does the ghola dincan idaho count


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## Pyan (May 14, 2007)

*Kryten, Marvin *or* Bender* - too close to call!


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## Allegra (May 14, 2007)

Marvin may be not the best but he is my favourite.


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## j d worthington (May 14, 2007)

fantasy noob said:


> NORBY!!!!! obviously and does the ghola dincan idaho count


 
I wouldn't consider the ghola a robot, despite the use of the Tleilaxu eyes. Aside from that aspect of his makeup (making him at most a cyborg... about like any other case of artificial eyes or even a pacemaker), he's entirely organic... a clone who has been reeducated (on a cellular level at times), but very much human.


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## Quokka (May 15, 2007)

_Kryten_ and _Bender_ are definately up there. 

_Tetsuwan Atomu_ aka _Astroboy_, one of the earliest examples of what would go on to be known as Anime and you've got to wonder how many of the Japanese now involved in robotics were inspired in part by watching _Astroboy_ as children.

_Optimus Prime_, unbelievably cool to a 7 year old boy.

Honda's _Asimo, _Giving me hope that one day I wont have to pick up my own washing.

and my favourite real robots _Spirit_ and _Opportunity_, expected to last about 3 months they are still rolling over the red planet 3 years later  .


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## fantasy noob (May 15, 2007)

well thx for clearing that up i just read the part where he gets his history back i feel like an idiot and i still stand by what i said NORBY rules


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## JDP (May 15, 2007)

I am the best robot.


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## Gothic_Angelica (May 15, 2007)

I can't decide between:

Marvin, Kryton, Bender, R2D2 and C-3PO

Gothic x


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## fantasy noob (May 16, 2007)

i retract my earlier state ment and g.i.r is the best robot if gir and norby were fused together it would make the ultimate robot comic releif


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## mosaix (May 25, 2007)

Gothic_Angelica said:


> I can't decide between:
> 
> Marvin, Kryton, Bender, R2D2 and C-3PO
> 
> Gothic x



No contest - Kryten. The only one to have an umbilical attachment for doing the vacuuming!


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## Talysia (May 25, 2007)

mosaix said:


> No contest - Kryten. The only one to have an umbilical attachment for doing the vacuuming!


 

Lol!  I forgot about that.  Very useful, those mechanoids! 

Now that I think about it, the Skutters were great robots, too.  Even if they weren't the most sophisticated.


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## Sathai (May 26, 2007)

R2 D2. The cutest robot ever.


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## Tau Zero (May 26, 2007)

Quokka said:


> _Tetsuwan Atomu_ aka _Astroboy_, one of the earliest examples of what would go on to be known as Anime and you've got to wonder how many of the Japanese now involved in robotics were inspired in part by watching _Astroboy_ as children.


 
I would go with Astroboy. But you probably guessed that from looking at my avatar!


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## j d worthington (May 28, 2007)

that old guy said:


> Huey and Dewey from Silent Running


And Louie. Glad to see a mention of them. A good few years before R2D2, these little guys made one heck of an impression, without any intelligible dialogue or humanoid appearance,  the Drones from Silent Running nonetheless were deeply realized characters on their own... and a heck of a lot more complex emotionally. You could drive an entire fleet of trucks through the logical flaws in that film, but somehow it still remains a wonderful film, due in no small part to those who played these little drones....

(Here's to Steve Brown, Mark Persons, Cheryl Sparks, and Larry Whisenhunt!)


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## littlemissattitude (May 28, 2007)

gully_foyle said:


> Klaatu



Umm....Klaatu was the spaceman, played by Michael Rennie.  The robot in _The Day the Earth Stood Still_ was called Gort.

And, yes, Gort is right up there as a very cool robot.

Still, I have to confess to having a very soft spot for Robot, from _Lost in Space_ (the original series; don't know anything about the movie, since I refuse to see it).  Robot was just cool.

Oh, and while on the subject of _The Day the Earth Stood Still_...did you know they're working on a remake?  I shudder at the very possibility.


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## j d worthington (May 28, 2007)

littlemissattitude said:


> Oh, and while on the subject of _The Day the Earth Stood Still_...did you know they're working on a remake? I shudder at the very possibility.


 
Oh.... Dear.... Gawd.....


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## HardScienceFan (May 28, 2007)

Klaatu
Kryten,hands down,LMAO simply when he entered a scene...,let alone his remarks
Who played,him,I believe he was Welsh,that's about all I know/seem to remember
Best sidekicks thread,anyone?????


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## Quokka (May 30, 2007)

For most of the series Kryten was played by Robert Llewellyn, if you've ever seen Scrapheap Challenge, he was the main presenter. I spent ages trying to picture him as Kryten but he looks and sounds so different. 

I was shocked to read there had been an american version but I checked it out and imdb and it turns out that it never made it pass the pilot stage, thankfully .


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## Wyrm Publishing (May 30, 2007)

Hands down, it has to be B-9, the robot from the Lost in Space TV show.


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## ilthaniel (Jun 13, 2007)

R. Daneel Olivaw and Roy Batty. But what about Major Kusanagi? She may not be seen as a robot, but she's as close as you can get, I guess...


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## Tabasco (Jun 14, 2007)

mosaix said:


> No contest - Kryten. The only one to have an umbilical attachment for doing the vacuuming!


 

Dude... Rosie from the Jetsons would own this guy at vacuuming! She had a mean streak in her. Bender beware!


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## Alurny (Jun 18, 2007)

Bender is the only one who springs to mind for all the obvious reasons!


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## Connavar (Jun 18, 2007)

Bender is the best and the funniest robot i have seen and read.


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## Jason_Taverner (Jun 18, 2007)

bender or robocop, who I not sure if you can really class as a robot but he was cool


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## Briareus Delta (Jun 19, 2007)

Marvin and Kryten, definitely. With an honourable mention to Speedy (from Asimovs I, Robot)


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## Triceratops (Jun 19, 2007)

Awe, heck. I had to look up Kryten to see what y'all were talking about. Okay, got it.

Don't know their names but:

The big old bot in Judge Dread (very cool and junkyard looking)

The bi-pedal gun platform bot in Robocop

The silver wonder in Logan's Run

And the bot in (I think it was called Saturn 5, staring Kirk Douglas)


Tri


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## j d worthington (Jun 19, 2007)

Triceratops said:


> The silver wonder in Logan's Run
> 
> And the bot in (I think it was called Saturn 5, staring Kirk Douglas)


 
I assume you mean "Box" (played by Roscoe Lee Browne), from the ice sculpture sequence, in Logan's Run? If so, I'd have to add that one to the list, as I've always been particularly fond of him/it (it's a cyborg, really, as I recall)... and Jerry Goldsmith's musical rendition for him is especially memorable, I think.

As for the one in Saturn 5... beautiful looking... but thoroughly impractical, considering the story -- too easily damaged, and with all the exposed hydraulic tubing, it could have been put out of commission too quickly to have become the menace it is supposed to be. It did _look_ neat, though....


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## HardScienceFan (Jun 19, 2007)

That' s Hollywood ,JD.
As long as it look neat.....
I remember a certain Emsh Cover for Dick's "the Defenders" with a memorable robot


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## T7000 (Jul 17, 2007)

I think the terminator is the best, although technically I think im a cyborg


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## bruno-1012 (Jul 18, 2007)

For fiction it would have to be Robby from Forbidden Planet...'Would 60 gallons be sufficient?'  when asked to duplicate some whiskey.

In real life Upuaut 2 - for both solving and starting a mystery in the same journey.


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## Tielhard (Aug 2, 2007)

I think we may have missed some really neat robots in this thread.

Way back in the time of legend there is Galatea a woman made from ivory. Then in the middle ages we get Roger Bacon’s Brazen Head although he is far from the only man of learning said to possess one. The in the sixteenth century the Golem is defending the Prague Ghetto.

The term robot is of course supposed to have originated with the Kapek play R.U.R. Rossum’s Universal Robots. Some of my favourite robots from literature include; del Rey’s Helen O’Loy, Disch’s Brave little toaster, Dee Model from the Stone Canal, the Robass & Saint Aquin and lastly  the Moravecs, Mahnmut & Orphu of Io. My all time favourite literary robots are however Iron Trilobite and his cyber deity, the great plankton harvester Roqual Maru. When we get on to comics what British boy of a certain age can forget Hammerstein and Rojaws?

In Cinema no one seems to have mentioned the Maria the Maschinenmensch from Metropolis which given that she seems to be the ancestor of all sexy gynoids I find surprising. Robbie from Forbidden Planet is high kitch but great fun. I remember as if it were yeaterday, Duey and Louie running silent through the darkness tending the last forest to the strains of a Joan Baez song. As for less humaniform robots in cinema what about the phenomenal (fnark!, fnark!) bomb from Dark Star? Fiat Lux! Better yet the Sentinel/Monolith from 2001: A Space Odessy.

From TV; Will, Dr. Smith and Robot a comedy threesome from a sixties childhood and the Skutters to clear up a Saturday night curry extravaganza.
In the real world robots still have a long way to go. From the Bristol Elsie to today’s Kismets and the latest member of the Asimo series. All great technical achievements but still far from the goal of ending humanity’s lonely existence.


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## Harpo (Aug 2, 2007)

From 2000AD comic, the ABC Warriors
ABC Warriors


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## gully_foyle (Aug 16, 2007)

Found a reasonable list: List of fictional robots and androids - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

How could I forget Yul Brynner in WestWorld? So cold.

And before Kryten, Marvin or Bender there was Hymie, the 
over sensitive robot in Get Smart.


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## TK-421 (Aug 29, 2007)

No robot beats R2D2. He is loyal, tough, strong, funny, innovative...

Yes, Bender is funny but has gotten old fast.


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## CatBar (Sep 13, 2007)

Daneel Olivaw makes my No 1 Robot! He is handsome, elegant, superbly strong, dignified, controlled, loyal....

He could go on to getting cleverer and cleverer and more self-aware - and really become my ideal 'Person'.

I'm in love, I think.


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## Cipher (Sep 17, 2007)

TK-421 said:


> No robot beats R2D2. He is loyal, tough, strong, funny, innovative...
> 
> Yes, Bender is funny but has gotten old fast.



Agree! R2D2 is my favorite too.

Also HK-47 from the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a very interesting character to say the least!


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## Steve Jordan (Sep 20, 2007)

Here's 3 that no one else has mentioned:

Tobor (Azumasan), the 8th Man

Questor

R. Dorothy Wainwright (from Big O)

And I'm glad some remembered the Metropolis' Parody, and Huey, Dewey and Louie!


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## khatab (Sep 28, 2007)

Bender Bending Rodriguez..

He's got my vote..


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## paranoid marvin (Sep 29, 2007)

Evil Robot Santa


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