# I, Robot Sequel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 19, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268 "2008-02-19T16:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/41 "2008-02-20T01:04:51Z")
I’ll chime in on loving the book and liking the movie as well. I actually liked that they incorporated the larger (albeit in a very general sense) theme Asimov addressed of robots beginning to interpret the laws for themselves. VIKI had access to enough information to see that she would not be achieving the greatest “good” for humans by following the strictest definition of allowing absolutely no harm to come to any humans. The last story in the book (for anyone who hasn’t read it, it’s a collection of 6 or 7 short tales about robots, each set further along the robot development timescale) has giant robot supercomputers that are trying to figure out ways to orchestrate human action in the world (in a general sense) through the various governments so as to minimize suffering. They don’t lead robot rebellions like in the movie, but they manage to sway human behavior nonetheless. I don’t understand why people thought the movie was a reversal of what Asimov was trying to do. I actually thought it followed the larger themes fairly well. That being said, it would have been nice to see some of those stories on the screen, but it certainly wasn’t a total departure from the book. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/42 "2008-02-21T03:29:19Z")
No one’s come up with this yet? For shame! I, Robot 0000 0010 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/43 "2008-02-21T05:13:54Z")
**I, Robot - You, Meatbag!** **Three Laws and a Baby** I, too, enjoyed Will Smith’s _I, Robot_, even though it had very little to do with Asimov’s stories other than the Three Laws of Robotics, the names of Susan Calvin and Dr. Alfred Lanning, and U.S. Robotics. However, VIKI’s decisions and course of action seem to owe more than a little to Asimov’s late robot story, “Zeroth Law.” That said, I’d rather see Hollywood produce Harlan Ellison’s screenplay for _I, Robot_ (although they’d have to change the name a bit) than do a sequel. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/44 "2008-02-21T05:21:45Z")
Oh for Robot’s sake: **Robot Me**! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/45 "2008-02-21T06:11:29Z")
I would go for **I, Robot, You Jane** except Joss Whedon hit that one up something like 10 or 11 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/46 "2008-02-21T15:02:41Z")
[QUOTE=BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed] I don’t understand why people thought the movie was a reversal of what Asimov was trying to do. I actually thought it followed the larger themes fairly well. That being said, it would have been nice to see some of those stories on the screen, but it certainly wasn’t a total departure from the book. [/QUOTE] My admittedly-minor-but-telling-complaint: Making a movie where Susan Calvin is accurately described by another character as “shit hot” is the moral equivalent of digging up Isaac’s corpse and using the skull to store mints and other candies. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/47 "2008-02-21T15:59:24Z")
They could just do a mulligan and make the film again. Then they could call it: **I, Reboot**. Or do the German version:\*\* Das Robot\*\*. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/48 "2008-02-21T16:10:51Z")
[QUOTE=muldoonthief] My admittedly-minor-but-telling-complaint: Making a movie where Susan Calvin is accurately described by another character as “shit hot” is the moral equivalent of digging up Isaac’s corpse and using the skull to store mints and other candies. [/QUOTE] OK, granted, but the masses need the love story! Yeah alright, it bothered the crap out of me too, but at least the robots’ consideration of the 3 laws was intact. I mean, I know it didn’t go as nearly in depth into the exploration of them as the book did, but my expectations were really low. And besides, wasn’t this the first book to introduce the 3 laws? I think Asimov got much more in depth into their interpretation in subsequent novels. And quit cussin! is that Asimov skull candy dish available on ebay? ---
**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:** [February 21, 2008, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/49 "2008-02-21T16:14:51Z")
> [@](#): > > They could just do a mulligan and make the film again. Then they could call it: > I, Reboot. Psst – look up to my Post #7. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/50 "2008-02-21T16:20:26Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] Or do the German version:\*\* Das Robot\*\*. [/QUOTE] I was thinking, **Das Rooboot**. Perhaps in the sequel the robots will simply experience a communications system malfunction. It will be called, **I, Robot 2: The Amp Wire Strikes Back!** ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/51 "2008-02-21T16:22:03Z")
I, Robot 2 - _Positronic_ Boogaloo J, Robot ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/52 "2008-02-21T16:32:10Z")
[QUOTE=BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed] OK, granted, but the masses need the love story! Yeah alright, it bothered the crap out of me too, but at least the robots’ consideration of the 3 laws was intact. I mean, I know it didn’t go as nearly in depth into the exploration of them as the book did, but my expectations were really low. And besides, wasn’t this the first book to introduce the 3 laws? I think Asimov got much more in depth into their interpretation in subsequent novels. And quit cussin! is that Asimov skull candy dish available on ebay? [/QUOTE] At the risk of hijacking this thread - all the stories dealt directly with the 3 laws, and reasons why they weren’t quite as straightforward as you’d think. Even though Asimov did more work on the 3 laws later, and more shades of interpretation - spoilers for other Asimov work follow: e.g. Daneel Olivaw could lay hands on someone attacking another human, even to the point of doing them a slight injury to prevent them from doing a far greater injury on a human - it wasn’t until the 80’s when the whole Zeroth Law business and injuring humans to protect _humanity_ came into play, when he decided to tie the Robot universe and Foundation universe together. Sorry about the cussin. It is a direct quote from the movie though. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/53 "2008-02-21T16:56:06Z")
**I, Robot Will Never Die** (for any Amory Wars fans out there.) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/54 "2008-02-21T17:46:42Z")
**Me, Myself and I, Robot** ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/55 "2008-02-21T19:40:37Z")
**I, Legend** - Will Smith in a post-apacalyptic New York that is populated by zombie robot vampires ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/56 "2008-02-21T19:48:04Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] Psst – look up to my Post #7. [/QUOTE] It needed a setup. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/57 "2008-02-21T20:46:37Z")
\*\*Bob and Carol and Ted and I, Robot Robotarella I, Robot Have Got Mail I, Robot Strikes Back Things To Do In Denver When You’re I, Robot\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/58 "2008-02-21T21:10:03Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] **Bob and Carol and Ted and I, Robot** [/QUOTE] **The Cook, the Thief, his Wife, and I, Robot** ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/59 "2008-02-21T21:13:31Z")
**I, Robot from Outer Space I, Robot, the Hands of Fate I, Robot Conquers the Martians Beneath the planet of I, Robot Come back to the Five and Dime Store, I, Robot, I, Robot To I, Robot, with Love From I, Robot, with Love I, Robot, who shagged me** ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268/60 "2008-02-21T21:23:41Z")
**I Robot Horror Picture Show Eating I Robot Eat, Drink, I Robot, Woman My Life as I Robot I Robot and the Chocolate Factory Like Water for I Robot William Shakespeare’s I Robothello** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot-sequel/438268.md?page=4)