And, as a matter of fact…he was inspired by real-life robots being developed with similar structures and a similar rationale.
No love for the robots from Flesh Gordon?
(mildly NSFW)
I am going with The Voice Input Child Identicant (V.I.C.I.) from Small World 0.o
Colossus in Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
He’s a computer, not a robot, so maybe it doesn’t qualify.
He’s really effective because the movie ends with him winning.
And he doesn’t mess around when he wants something done:
“This is the voice of world control. I bring you peace. It may be the peace of plenty and content or the peace of unburied death.
The choice is yours.
Obey me and live or disobey me and die.”
I should have put a “Not Safe For Work” spoiler box around that link. Sorry. I have reported myself.
Sounds like Anthony Boucher’s two “usuform” stories. “Q. U. R.” from Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1943 and “Robinc.” from Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1943. Both are in Boucher’s collected sf stories, The Compleat Werewolf.
Certainly not the “best” or “greatest” but the Daleks deserve a mention - at least for perseverance for all these years of Dr Who.
Would you consider the Tardis a robot?
The robot in The Colossus of New York was fucking terrifying.
You beat me to it. I was going to say…
<sigh> Nevermind.
This all applies - for certain levels of ‘good’ choices - to Ava of Ex Machina. I still think that’s the best SF movie of the century (so far) in terms of presenting something truly alien. She/It is designed, achieves sentience, and makes choices to deal with her situation and alter it. They may be amoral - they may not - but they’re good choices that achieve her goals. In my experience, more than half of humans can’t do that at any level.
I don’t see either of these guys listed yet, so:
Andrew Martin from Bicentennial Man and Sonny from I, Robot for me.
Second vote for Louie, Dewey, and Huey!
aaaa give me good ol’ Dick Gautier any day.
I’ll go with Leon Kowalski instead. A little rougher around the edges, but his “Wake up, it’s time to die” line is one of my all time favourites.
Actually you’re the third vote, and I’ll be the fourth.
Aw, poor Dewey - all left on his own, at the end.
But to drop the mike, I give you Rabbot
ETA: forgot how fuckin maudlin the music for that S.R. scene was.