# I, Robot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125 "2004-03-24T14:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/21 "2004-04-14T10:45:57Z")
[http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/i\_robot/](http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/i_robot/) I could just vomit with rage. Exactly wrong in every way. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/22 "2004-04-14T10:46:47Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > Oh, I don’t know, **'Xappy** , I could see Will Smith in any number of Asimovian hero roles. In fact, I think he’d make a great Lije Bailey. I mean, can’t you see him dealing with those snobby spacers? Especially dealing with those uber-snobs on Solaria? That would be cool. Except that part of the gimmick was that the Spacers were so powerful that Lije _had_ to be polite and act all subservient. He _couldn’t_ be a smart-ass or they’d blockade/embargo Earth. This added tons of tension as Lije’s frustration rose but he still had to be polite. I like Will Smith, but I can’t see him in that role–and if you just let him be a typical wisecracking detective you’ve blown the thing that gives the novel it’s unique flavor. Fenris ---
**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:** [April 14, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/23 "2004-04-14T11:44:02Z")
Harlan Ellison wrote a screenplay for **I, Robot** many years ago. They published an illustrated version of it about a decade ago. If they’d filmed that, I would’ve been impressed. Elllison rendered it without being episodic, without narration, and without any of the other crutches often used to explain or shoehorn a complex story into a standard movie time-slot. One SF writer I spoke to hated Ellison’s screenplay with a vengeance, but I suspect the upcoming film will be a far more worthy target for his ire. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/24 "2004-04-14T15:04:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Harlan Ellison wrote a screenplay for **I, Robot** many years ago. They published an illustrated version of it about a decade ago. FWIW, I got my hands on a copy of this last year, and didn’t put it down once I started it. It was fantastic, and I’d highly recommend it- especially for anyone who’s a fan of both Ellison and Asimov. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/25 "2004-04-14T16:12:17Z")
It looks plenty cool – however, it also seems to have almost nothing to do with anything Asimov ever wrote. Couldn’t they have done a cool kick-ass robot movie (assuming this one is decently watchable on its own merits) and not raped Asimov’s material to do it? He must be turning over in his grave. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/26 "2004-04-14T16:15:26Z")
CalMeacham: Asimov himself gushed over Ellison’s adaptation of his Robot stories – so what did your SF writer friend dislike? Out his/her identity! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/27 "2004-04-14T20:51:53Z")
> [@smoke](#): > > FWIW, I got my hands on a copy of this last year, and didn’t put it down once I started it. It was fantastic, and I’d highly recommend it- especially for anyone who’s a fan of both Ellison and Asimov. I just re-read this a few weeks ago (yeah, I got a copy), and I think it needs a minor rewrite or two. The “climactic revelation” could be seen from a parsec away, even for someone who’s never read the original Asimov stories. And the folks who say Ellison’s bits had more sex and titilation than Asimov’s stuff are correct. The ironic part, of course, is that Ellison’s script ostensibly got killed because the visual effects were (at the time) nigh-near impossible to do. Nowadays, it’d be a cakewalk. George Lucas could atone for his sins just by working with Ellison to make the movie a reality… ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/28 "2004-04-15T15:11:59Z")
I like how the robots’ eyes turn red when they’re being bad. You know, so you can TELL that they’re bad. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/29 "2004-04-15T22:24:39Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > And the folks who say Ellison’s bits had more sex and titilation than Asimov’s stuff are correct. I don’t think I’ve read anyone with less sex and titilation that Asimov. He could write it. He couldn’t do love scenes either. I can’t imagine a author less suited to Hollywood. Well, yes I can, but Asimov is right up there in the “Not Blockbuster Material” stakes. They **must** have trodden all over “I, Robot” to make a film Will Smith would go within a 100 miles of. I recently listened to a radio adaptation of Asimov’s “Foundation & Empire”. It was dull, dull, dull. The paint on my walls went wet, just to provide me with some excitement afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/30 "2004-04-15T22:35:46Z")
> [@](#): > > He could write it **Couldn’t**. Couldn’t write it. When are they going to fix the smack smiley? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/31 "2004-04-16T15:25:55Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > The full [trailer’s](http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/i_robot/) out, and I’ve got the giggles. > > And just for anyone who might still try to say we should wait for the movie before pronouncing it crap, it’s credited writers are Akiva “Batman and Robin” Goldsman and Jeff “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” Vintar. Yeah, that was me in the last thread. Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![joshmaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a587f6/32.png) [@joshmaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joshmaker)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/32 "2004-04-16T16:27:45Z")
The depressing part is that Alex Proyas proved he could do smart, stylish science fiction when he directed [Dark City](http://suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1998/02/022704.html). So, when I heard that he directed _I, Robot_ I was ecstatic. Then, when I saw the trailer, I was crestfallen. Of course, the movie might be good, but at first glance it looks like not only a waste of great source material, but a waste of a fantastic director as well. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/33 "2004-04-16T16:57:52Z")
Perhaps we Asimov fans can take some hope from the example of _The Bicentennial Man_ of a few years ago. The trailers made it look like a stupid futuristic comedy with Robin Williams as a robot. I gave it a miss in theaters and it wasn’t until I saw it on cable years later that I realized it was based on an Asimov story _I had read_. In fact, the film was a fairly accurate and thoughtful adaptation of the story, about the struggle of a robot to understand what being human means, and ultimately to become human. It was nicely written and acted, and the ending was quite moving. But the moron marketing people positioned it as a comedy by excerpting just about the only 30 seconds of the film with any laughs. In so doing they drew in people looking for a comedy and undoubtedly disappointed most of them, since they probably weren’t looking for a 130-minute inquiry on human nature. The marketers also kept away the Asimov fans and others interested in the serious theme of the film. Thus, many of the people who saw the film didn’t like it, and many who would have liked it didn’t see it. Brilliant. So perhaps the marketers of _I, Robot_ have similarly distorted its true nature. But I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/34 "2004-04-16T18:19:36Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > I don’t think I’ve read anyone with less sex and titilation that Asimov. He could write it. He couldn’t do love scenes either. Oh, I dunno… the aliens of “The Gods Themselves” seemed to get it on quite a bit… ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/35 "2004-04-16T19:10:25Z")
Is that the one that had the species with three sexes? That was a pretty inventive concept, if not terribly erotic. It’s been quite a while since I’ve read any of Asimov’s fiction, and even longer since reading Heinlein, but I clearly remember the thrill I got as a young teenager in the late sixties reading a love scene in _Tunnel in the Sky_. I don’t think I’ve re-read it since then, so it’s probably incredibly tame by current standards, but it was pretty hot stuff for naive little me back then. One does get the sense that Bob may have had a more interesting love life than Isaac. But appearances can be deceiving, I suppose. What’s that old proverb: He who speaks does not know; he who knows does not speak. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/36 "2004-04-16T19:57:19Z")
> [@](#): > > but I clearly remember the thrill I got as a young teenager in the late sixties reading a love scene in Tunnel in the Sky. You must have had a different edition than I do. The closest thing I can remember to any reference to sex in that book was at the family dinner table at the end… “Uh, Rod, this girl Caroline you speak so glowingly of… You two weren’t, um, romantically attached, were you?” “No.” (paraphrased from memory). ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/37 "2004-04-16T21:17:21Z")
Well, Jeez, it’s been thirty-five years, so my memory is a little hazy. Maybe it wasn’t it a love scene _per se_, but don’t they send a young man and a young woman off to a planet on a training mission alone together? Maybe the _implication_ that they must have been getting it on was enough of a turn on for the adolescent me. Or I could be thinking of a completely different story. I don’t remember. I still have my old copy of _Tunnel_ on the shelf. I’ll have to read it again. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/38 "2004-04-16T23:17:47Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > One does get the sense that Bob may have had a more interesting love life than Isaac. But appearances can be deceiving, I suppose. I admit, I was floored when I read Asimov’s autobiography **I, Asimov** ) and found out he had frequently been foolin’ around… ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/39 "2004-04-17T06:38:21Z")
I got the distinct feeling that ol’ Isaac was something of a playa reading between the lines of some of the female fan letters sent in to The Good Doctor waaaaaay back when I used to subscribe to Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. I suspect that his reputation, natural charm and powerful intellect would broadly appeal to certain types of women. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125/40 "2004-04-17T18:39:11Z")
My stuntman friend “The undictator” has been working on I, Robot for the past year or so, and every time he told me what he was doing at work, I just laughed and laughed. This film has _absolutely nothing_ to do with Asimov’s ideas or stories in any way whatsoever. None. Which will piss off everyone who goes to see it expecting an Asimov story. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-robot/236125.md?page=3)