Bearing in mind that this film is loosely based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” was Robbie the Robot Ariel, or Caliban?
Also, Robbie was often quite forthcoming about all of the function and tasks his programming equipped him to carry out. But why did he keep saying “I am monitored to [performthis function]” rather than “I am programmed to [perform this function]”? It really took me out of the movie every time he said that.
Robbie, the willing servant of Morbius (and also high tech, bright, and sunny) was pretty clearly Ariel. If there’s a Caliban in Forbidden Planet it’s
The Id Monster, which Morbius sorta kinda found already on his “island”.
I don’t know why they decided to have Robby say “monitored”, when that’s really not the correct word, however you look at it. I suspect that they thought it sounded more science fiction. Or at least thought-provokingly different.
Robby is my favorite SF movie robot, in that he obeys Asimov’s Three Laws (and the one against “harming rational beings” is actually used to drive home a major plot point at the end), and he is really a Robot, and not a metal person (as R2D2 and C3PO are). He doesn’t generally say humorous things – the humor comes from his doing things that are logical for a robot, but being comically appropriate or unexpected. On those occasions when he DOES say something funny,. I can see it as the result of the philologist (and bored, there being nobody to talk to but his infant daughter) Morbius programming it in –
(in response to Commander Adams’ statement about Altair IV’s “high oxygen content”) “I rarely use it myself sir. It promotes rust”
(in response to Altaira’s request for a new dress) “Again?” (drawn out in a mournful voice. I can REALLY see Morbius programming in exasperation tones)
Even Robby’s skill with langauges – “I am at your disposal with 147 other languages as well as their dialects and sub-tongues” – makes sense. Morbius, after all, was a philologist - “an expert in words and languages” – so I can see him spending the idle hours teaching the languages he can’t share with anyone with his creation.
It’s possible that the term “program” as applied to computers was rare. Try sticking the terms “I am programmed to,” “It is programmed to,” or even “computer program” into Google Ngram. These terms seems to be unknown before about 1950.
Yes, but Forbidden Planet came out in 1956. The writers were not only familiar with SF conventions and jargon, but big mainframes like UNIVAC were in the news.
In any event, he wouldn’t have to be “programmed” – he could have been “instructed” or even “told”. The use of “monitored” seems weird.
CalMeacham, do a Google Ngram search on the phrase “programmed to” up to the year 1956. You’ll see that there are just a few uses of the term in any books. Notice that most of the uses of “programmed to” are using a sense of the word “program” that doesn’t have anything to do with computers. Again, the term “computer program” may have been somewhat known before 1956, but the use of “program” as a verb seems to have been very rare.
Wasn’t the robot who played Robby on Lost in Space once? I seem to remember the LIS robot defeating him because he’d learned to lie being around Dr. Smith.
Twice, if I recall correctly.
Both robots were designed by the same guy, Robert Kinoshita
imdb lists Robby as being in three episodes of Lost in Space. That’s a surprise. I only recall two:
He was in two episodes of [The Twilight Zone, too*, but they altered him for both asppearances
*a LOT of Forbidden Planet stuff ended up on The Twilight Zone, including the C47D uniforms, Mornius’ car, the C47D tractor, pieces of the Krel lab, the blasters, the spaceship was used a lot of times (sometimes upside down), and even the cyclorama painting of the surface of Altair 04. The uniforms and Krel lab stuff showed up in the George Pal film Atlantis, the Lost Continent, too. But not Robby.
In addition to his disposition, there’s another point in evidence of Robby being Ariel rather than Caliban: He’s a wonderworker. Most of Prospero’s magic is accomplished with Ariel’s help, and most of Morbius’s magic is accomplished with Robbie’s help. Caliban, though he claims to know some magic, seems limited to only curses, of no greater efficacy than anyone else’s.
IANAR (I am not a robot), but this thread did cause me to wonder whether there was a definition for the word “monitor” that refers to computer programming, and it turns out that there is:
[EMAIL=“Monitor - definition of monitor by The Free Dictionary”]Monitor - definition of monitor by The Free Dictionary
Based on this info, it seems reasonable to cut the poor bucket of bolts Robby (along with his screenwriters) some slack. 
Yeah, but Wendell Wagner would call you on the 1950s use of the term.
Obviously the script writers were doing a good job of SF-type extrapolation.
I just read Dreamsongs, Vol. I, a collection of George R.R. Martin’s short stories, unproduced screenplays, musings, etc., and he mentions in passing that Forbidden Planet is his all-time #1 favorite sf film. Doesn’t explain why, though.
I just wish the screenwriter could’ve been a little more inventive in naming the starship:
Maybe it’s because he has good taste?
Well, sure, but good taste does not dictate that Forbidden Planet necessarily comes out on top of all the other great sf movies out there.
Martin was born in 1948. He saw Forbidden Planet when it came out in 1956. Consider how good it was for its time:
http://www.blastr.com/2011/03/what_are_george_rr_martin.php
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/geekend/george-r-r-martin-8-sci-fi-films-better-than-star-wars/\
Do a search on “best science fiction films of all time”. You’ll find that many people rate Forbidden Planet quite highly. It’s not surprising that Martin might rate it as the best.
Thanks; good to see his reasons. I like the movie, too, but it’s probably not even in my personal top ten sf films. To each their own!
band name!
Yes it does. Forbidden Planet and 2001: A Space Odyssey alternate for top position in my pantheon of Great SF Films.
Nothing else I’ve seen, made before or since, even comes close.
Seriously?
All this time I could have sworn a different film was close to your heart.
Seriously, I chose the name tongue in cheek.
Read the original novel of This Island Earth by Raymond F. Jones. It’s not great, but it’s a helluva lot better than the movie (which was almost contemporary with FP). They threw away most of the book (and don’t even explain the title), and even manage to screw up the part they DID taker from the book - the building of the Interociter.
One of my fantasies is remaking This Island Earth more faithfully (and intelligently). But I suspect there’s no market for it. There certainly isn’t, if the current appearance of Sharknado II: The Second One is any indication.