# Best android or robot in a movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2017, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133 "2017-05-21T11:21:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/21 "2017-05-21T21:01:51Z")
Jenny, in MY LIFE AS A TEENAGE ROBOT. [https://www.google.com/search?q=my+life+as+a+teenage+robot+jenny&rlz=1C9BKJA\_enUS620US620&hl=en-US&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3kLWd8IHUAhXCCMAKHUJTB0IQ\_AUICSgB&biw=1024&bih=653#imgrc=9OQlMGUwoBUV8M:](https://www.google.com/search?q=my+life+as+a+teenage+robot+jenny&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS620US620&hl=en-US&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3kLWd8IHUAhXCCMAKHUJTB0IQ_AUICSgB&biw=1024&bih=653#imgrc=9OQlMGUwoBUV8M:) And I’ve always loved the robot in the 1939 Bela Lugosi serial THE PHANTOM CREEPS, which I’ve never watched. Should I? [https://www.google.com/search?q=phantom+creeps+robot&rlz=1C9BKJA\_enUS620US620&hl=en-US&prmd=ivsn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHx47p8IHUAhWBBsAKHQ20AnYQ\_AUICSgB&biw=1024&bih=653#imgrc=8TzJIVWbiJ7kGM:](https://www.google.com/search?q=phantom+creeps+robot&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS620US620&hl=en-US&prmd=ivsn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHx47p8IHUAhWBBsAKHQ20AnYQ_AUICSgB&biw=1024&bih=653#imgrc=8TzJIVWbiJ7kGM:) Also Astro Boy. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/22 "2017-05-21T21:03:55Z")
As far as androids go, I’ll take the Julie Newmar-bot from MY LIVING DOLL. [https://www.google.com/search?q=my+living+doll&rlz=1C9BKJA\_enUS620US620&hl=en-US&prmd=visn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitureP8YHUAhWEKsAKHb7dAtQQ\_AUICigC&biw=1024&bih=653#imgrc=QvOEQgNsANzEAM:](https://www.google.com/search?q=my+living+doll&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS620US620&hl=en-US&prmd=visn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitureP8YHUAhWEKsAKHb7dAtQQ_AUICigC&biw=1024&bih=653#imgrc=QvOEQgNsANzEAM:) ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/23 "2017-05-21T21:17:41Z")
Hedonismbot. Or Marilyn Monrobot. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/24 "2017-05-21T21:38:21Z")
I agree with several already listed, especially Johnny Five. Not mentioned yet is the robotic Talking Judy Doll from “Laugh-In”. You know Judy Carne was likely not wearing a bra under all that. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/25 "2017-05-21T21:39:53Z")
Regarding realistic androids, the simple fact also remains that making one indistinguishable from a human would be a masterwork of technology so someone will want to hit that mark. And others will want to own it simply to have the best. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/26 "2017-05-21T21:46:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Number Five is alive! > > He’s got a plausible origin (designed by the Department of Defense to replace human soldiers) and a plausible design (arms, hands, and sensors on top of a tank-tread chassis). There’s a reason given for him not behaving as programmed (the lightning strike, followed by his own reprogramming of himself). And once he finds himself with free will, he makes good choices. He’s my choice as well. Although Huey, Dewey, and Louie from Silent Running will always have a warm spot in my heart. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/27 "2017-05-21T21:56:16Z")
I retain a strong emotional attachment to the Huey, Louie & Dewey drones from **Silent Running** despite not having seen the film in at least 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/28 "2017-05-21T21:59:37Z")
I loved the robot designs in The Black Hole as a kid, especially VINCENT and BOB. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/29 "2017-05-21T22:10:34Z")
Add my vote for Johnny 5, with a runner-up nod to R2D2. “Malfunction…I need input!” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/30 "2017-05-21T22:13:19Z")
Robby the Robot (as has already been mentioned) Robby really is a _robot_, and not a metal person (as , for instance, C-3PO is). He is, as Morbius says, “merely a tool”. He is, however, an exquisitely well-programmed tool, and Morbius managed to provide him with a dry sense of humor. Commander Adams: Nice planet. High oxygen content Robby:I rarely use it myself sir. It promotes rust. Much of Robby’s humor comes from his reactions which can be interpreted as human ones, but which are programmed in, or the result of mechanical reactions, or from his obliviousness to human norms: [Robby takes Cookie’s “old Rocket Bourbon” and pours the remainder into his analysis tank.] Cookie: Why you… I oughtta take a can opener to you! Robby: Quiet, please! I am analyzing (bubble sound, which sounds like a burp.) This is followed by what I suspect is one of the most underappreciated lines in the film: Robby: Ah. Relatively simple alcohol molecules mixed with fusel oil. Will sixty gallons be sufficient? Fusel oil, actually fusel alcohol or fuselol, is considered an undesirable constiutuent in fermented drinks. which may contribute to hangovers (although the jury’s out on this). Its presence contradicts Cookie’s claim that his bourbon is “the good stuff”. The sixty gallons line is Robby being generous, and not seeing the inappropriateness. When Altaira asks for a new gown, Robby responds “Again?” with a very human sense of exasperation. I could see Morbius programming this in. Robby states that he knows “187 human languages along with their various dialects and subtongues” Again, it hangs together – Morbius, after all, is a philologist. Programming languages into his home-built robot would be a test of its abilities, as well as something to fill the time when Altaira was a baby, and not much company. Finally, Robby is one of the few robots in movies that actually obeys Asimov’s Laws of Robotics (unlike, ironically, most of the robots in _I, Robot_). This is not only demonstrated explicitly, it actually is used to drive home the basic premise of the movie at the end, when Robby cannot defend them against the Altair 4 monster. Add to this Robby’s intriguing and (at the time) very original design, and you have a winner. The robot was re-used numerous times in movies and TV shows (three times on _Twilight Zone_, with alterations, twice on _Lost in Space_ – where the show’s robot was designed by the same guy – in the movie _The Invisible Boy_, and countless other times) and copied by ripoff toymakers and other filmmakers (the robot in the Czech film _Ikarie XB1_ looks to be inspired by Robby, with its glass dome, rotating spheres, and lack of a human face). All in all a very satisfying robot, and one that clearly IS a robot, and not merely a metal person. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/31 "2017-05-21T22:25:32Z")
R2D2 comes a close second, but ultimately, I have to go with the maschinenmensch from _Metropolis_. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/32 "2017-05-21T22:49:40Z")
Gigolo Joe from “AI” is one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/33 "2017-05-21T23:32:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Robby the Robot (as has already been mentioned) > > Robby really is a _robot_, and not a metal person (as , for instance, C-3PO is). He is, as Morbius says, “merely a tool”. He is, however, an exquisitely well-programmed tool, and Morbius managed to provide him with a dry sense of humor. > Commander Adams: Nice planet. High oxygen content > Robby:I rarely use it myself sir. It promotes rust. > Much of Robby’s humor comes from his reactions which can be interpreted as human ones, but which are programmed in, or the result of mechanical reactions, or from his obliviousness to human norms: > > [Robby takes Cookie’s “old Rocket Bourbon” and pours the remainder into his analysis tank.] > > Cookie: Why you… I oughtta take a can opener to you! > > Robby: Quiet, please! I am analyzing (bubble sound, which sounds like a burp.) > This is followed by what I suspect is one of the most underappreciated lines in the film: > > Robby: Ah. Relatively simple alcohol molecules mixed with fusel oil. Will sixty gallons be sufficient? > Fusel oil, actually fusel alcohol or fuselol, is considered an undesirable constiutuent in fermented drinks. which may contribute to hangovers (although the jury’s out on this). Its presence contradicts Cookie’s claim that his bourbon is “the good stuff”. > > The sixty gallons line is Robby being generous, and not seeing the inappropriateness. > When Altaira asks for a new gown, Robby responds “Again?” with a very human sense of exasperation. I could see Morbius programming this in. > Robby states that he knows “187 human languages along with their various dialects and subtongues” Again, it hangs together – Morbius, after all, is a philologist. Programming languages into his home-built robot would be a test of its abilities, as well as something to fill the time when Altaira was a baby, and not much company. > Finally, Robby is one of the few robots in movies that actually obeys Asimov’s Laws of Robotics (unlike, ironically, most of the robots in _I, Robot_). This is not only demonstrated explicitly, it actually is used to drive home the basic premise of the movie at the end, when Robby cannot defend them against the Altair 4 monster. > > Add to this Robby’s intriguing and (at the time) very original design, and you have a winner. The robot was re-used numerous times in movies and TV shows (three times on _Twilight Zone_, with alterations, twice on _Lost in Space_ – where the show’s robot was designed by the same guy – in the movie _The Invisible Boy_, and countless other times) and copied by ripoff toymakers and other filmmakers (the robot in the Czech film _Ikarie XB1_ looks to be inspired by Robby, with its glass dome, rotating spheres, and lack of a human face). > > All in all a very satisfying robot, and one that clearly IS a robot, and not merely a metal person. Robby was in a _Columbo_ episode in which he was operated by a boy genius named Stephen Spielberg. The boy was named by writer Stephen Bochco as a salute to his friend, Stephen Spielberg, who had directed the first _Columbo_ episode. Robby appeared in a _Mork & Mindy_ episode in which Mork worked as a part-time security guard at a science exhibit. Mork got bored and programmed emotions into the robot, who was voiced by Roddy McDowall. But my favorite appearance by Robby in a TV show was on the _Addams Family_, where he was built by Gomez and Pugsley as an assistant to Lurch. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/34 "2017-05-21T23:34:59Z")
No love for Hymie from _Get Smart_? “Hymie, go grab a waiter.” “Right, Max.” “Hymie! Put him down!” ETA: yes, the original “Get Smart” was not a movie, but there _was_ a movie, and Hymie was in it. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/35 "2017-05-21T23:40:06Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > No love for Hymie from _Get Smart_? > > “Hymie, go grab a waiter.” > > “Right, Max.” > > “Hymie! Put him down!” > > ETA: yes, the original “Get Smart” was not a movie, but there _was_ a movie, and Hymie was in it. Played by Patrick Warburton. I was always disappointed there was never a sequel which featured Hymie more. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/36 "2017-05-22T00:08:25Z")
“My _father’s_ name was Hymie!” ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/37 "2017-05-22T07:10:20Z")
My nominee is Marvin from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Deadpan and droll similar to Robbie the robot. Trillian: Marvin… you saved our lives! Marvin: I know. Wretched, isn’t it? Marvin: I have a million ideas, but, they all point to certain death. Arthur: Thanks very much, Marv! Marvin: I’ve calculated your chance of survival, but I don’t think you’ll like it. Marvin: Here I am, brain the size of a planet, and they ask me to take you to the bridge. Call that job satisfaction, 'cause I don’t. Marvin: [as they are gazing at the wonder of Magrathea] Incredible… it’s even worse than I thought it would be. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/38 "2017-05-22T07:49:21Z")
Along the lines of Robbie - _Baymax_ from _Big Hero 6_ doesn’t really exhibit true AI, he really just follows his programming (whether that be caregiver or fighter) but is invested with a degree of humanity and humour because of it. I think he’s my favourite _recent_ robot (over Wall-E by a narrow margin). ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/39 "2017-05-22T13:44:10Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Finally, Robby is one of the few robots in movies that actually obeys Asimov’s Laws of Robotics (unlike, ironically, most of the robots in _I, Robot_). Well, to be honest, even most of Asimov’s robot stories were about ways to subvert or get around the Three Laws. It’s an easy way to get the dramatic tension. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133/40 "2017-05-22T13:56:58Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Played by Patrick Warburton. I was always disappointed there was never a sequel which featured Hymie more. I called that casting back in March of 2007. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8322897&postcount=24](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8322897&postcount=24), but for my favorite robot I have to go with Robbie from _Forbidden Planet._ My father took to to that movie back in the day. It’s one of the first movies I remember seeing in the theater. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-android-or-robot-in-a-movie/787133.md?page=3)