# Oy vay, Robot **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279 "2004-07-15T16:46:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PussyCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@PussyCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PussyCow)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/1 "2004-07-15T16:46:13Z")
Being a big Asimov fan, I am admittedly, rather perturbed by the making of the new movie “I, Robot”. It seems to me to be just another robots-taking-over-the-world movie, and will lack the philosophy and complexity of the Asimov novels. Why use the title “I, Robot” if the movie will have no real base in the way Asimov intended to portray robots, namely as dutiful to humans? Does anyone have an inside scoop on the plot of this movie? Does anyone share my disappointment in the making of this movie or want to tell me why I should embrace it? ---
**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:** [July 15, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/2 "2004-07-15T16:56:56Z")
One of the screenwriters is the guy who gave us _Batman & Robin_ and _Lost in Space_. Need I say more? ---
**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:** [July 15, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/3 "2004-07-15T17:02:22Z")
BTW, further discussion can be found here: [I, Robot: Will not suck?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=263359). ---
**Author:** ![PussyCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@PussyCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PussyCow)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/4 "2004-07-15T18:20:45Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > BTW, further discussion can be found here: [I, Robot: Will not suck?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=263359). Thanks, Jeff Olson. As you can tell, I’m new and still learning how to get around. Didn’t realize this had already been discussed. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/5 "2004-07-15T19:04:16Z")
All I can figure is that they hope to sucker in a few people whgo have heard of Asimov’s book, along with a few diehard fans who are hoping against hope that the movie will somehow resemble the book. I’m annoyed at this trend – I don’t know of any other genre where moviemakers can get away with so severely changing the plot and even the mood and philosophy of the ostensible source material as in science fiction. We’ve had more than our share of grousing on this Board about the abomination that is **starship Troopers** , but it’s also true of just about every adaptation of the works of Phillip K. Dick. There are huge changes between his stories and the films **Bl;aderunner** , **Total Recall** (which seems to be based more on Robert Sheckley’s “The Status Civilization”), and **Minority Report**. (It may be true of **Paycheck** and the movie based on “Second Variety” – but I haven’t seen them yet.) Older SF workd fare even worse. Any similarity between the works of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Allen Poe (yes-- he wrote SF. And Verne acknowledged his debt to Poe) is probably coincidental, except for a very few well-made exceptions. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/6 "2004-07-15T19:15:07Z")
> [@PussyCow](#): > > Thanks, Jeff Olson. Quite welcome. > [@](#): > > _As you can tell, I’m new and still learning how to get around. Didn’t realize this had already been discussed._ Not really your fault, you can’t search until you pay your dues ($14.95/year). Although, in this case the previous thread in question was only on the next page. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/7 "2004-07-15T19:16:54Z")
Welcome to the SDMB too, BTW. Enjoy your stay. ---
**Author:** ![stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/858c86/32.png) [@stately\_plump\_buck\_mulligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stately_plump_buck_mulligan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/8 "2004-07-15T19:20:07Z")
Nice username. God bless Cal Worthington. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/9 "2004-07-15T19:53:13Z")
By the way, the title of this thread recalls the book **Oi, Robot** , published by the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. It contained the results of various contests they ran, and the one referred to by the title was a contest where you had to add one letter to an SF title to get something new. A lot of people apparently submitted **Hi, Robot** , and the choice of **Oi,Robot** (using the Greek Oi, rather than the Yiddish Oy) must have stood out from the pack. I suspect that "Oy, Robot is gonna be a good comment on the film. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/10 "2004-07-15T20:01:57Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > …it’s also true of just about every adaptation of the works of Phillip K. Dick. There are huge changes between his stories and the films… One refreshing exception being _Confessions d’un Barjo_, which is the most faithful adaptation of a PKD novel (_Confessions of a Crap Artist_) to date – if you can get past its being a French-language film. (And that it’s not a science fiction story.) ---
**Author:** ![PussyCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@PussyCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PussyCow)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/11 "2004-07-16T18:45:35Z")
> [@stately plump buck mulligan](#): > > Nice username. > > God bless Cal Worthington. Holy cow, stately plump buck mulligan! How did you pick that up? I didn’t even remember the dealer’s name. I was just a kid and I remember hearing those commercials and always thinking, “is he saying ‘pussycow’?” I eventually came to the conclusion he was saying “Go see Cow”. Which still didn’t make sense. He was saying “Go see Cal”. But I thought it was just me. Gosh man, I am impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/12 "2004-07-16T19:34:34Z")
I suspect that the movie may in fact suck, but I take comfort in the thought that some people who had not read the book might do so now, and then might read other books by Asimov. (The book is 19 on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)’s list of bestselling paperback fiction.) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/13 "2004-07-16T20:38:46Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I suspect that the movie may in fact suck, but I take comfort in the thought that some people who had not read the book might do so now, and then might read other books by Asimov. (The book is 19 on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)’s list of bestselling paperback fiction.) AND…!!! If they read _Monkey Planet, Lord of the Flies_, and watch Romero’s movies… THEN THE FLYING ROBOT ZOMBIE MONKEY BUTLER REVOLUTION CAN BEGIN!!! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/14 "2004-07-16T20:57:29Z")
Barring friends dragging me, there’s no way I’ll see I, Robot. But if somebody made _Oy, Robot_, I’d be there in a heartbeat. The villain could be a robot Mel Brooks- it’d be great! ---
**Author:** ![PussyCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@PussyCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PussyCow)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/15 "2004-07-16T21:04:39Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Barring friends dragging me, there’s no way I’ll see I, Robot. But if somebody made _Oy, Robot_, I’d be there in a heartbeat. The villain could be a robot Mel Brooks- it’d be great! Ooh. I like that idea. And if the robots tried to break one of the laws they’d start schvitzing and short-cicuit themselves. ;j ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/16 "2004-07-16T21:07:37Z")
Any Doper Asimov nerds seen it yet? ---
**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:** [July 16, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/17 "2004-07-16T21:24:34Z")
A Doper has seen in but I wouldn’t go calling [Johnny Bravo](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=266728) a “nerd” if he’s anything his [namesake](http://www.cartoonnetwork.com.mx/johnnybravo/). ---
**Author:** ![PussyCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/22d042/32.png) [@PussyCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PussyCow)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/18 "2004-07-16T21:44:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > but it’s also true of just about every adaptation of the works of Phillip K. Dick. … (It may be true of **Paycheck** and the movie based on “Second Variety” – but I haven’t seen them yet.) I saw “Paycheck” and thought it was pretty good. However, I never read the story. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/19 "2004-07-16T23:51:56Z")
> [@PussyCow](#): > > I saw “Paycheck” and thought it was pretty good. However, I never read the story. For starters there weren’t _nearly_ as many motorcycle chase scenes. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279/20 "2004-07-17T00:01:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > We’ve had more than our share of grousing on this Board about the abomination that is **starship Troopers** , but it’s also true of just about every adaptation of the works of Phillip K. Dick. There are huge changes between his stories and the films **Bl;aderunner** , **Total Recall** (which seems to be based more on Robert Sheckley’s “The Status Civilization”), and **Minority Report**. (It may be true of **Paycheck** and the movie based on “Second Variety” – but I haven’t seen them yet.) Yeah, but VALIS kicked ass! Am I the only one who saw that? That was a real movie, right? Guys? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oy-vay-robot/255279.md?page=2)