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Top Five Fictional Robots

As science continues to push past all barriers of what humans previously thought was possible, the human imagination is constantly fascinated with its progress. This fascination can be found over and over again in literature and popular culture, where robots and other pieces of technology quickly and frequently became central fixtures. With science advancing everyday, it’s no wonder that robots have become just another avenue to tell rich stories. Below are five of the more famous and fun robots that have graced television and the movies over the years.

1. The Robot from Lost in Space.

Best known for its incredibly quotable line, “Danger, Will Robinson, danger!”, this robot was a charming and bizarre sort of Lassie to the directionally challenged Robinson family. Armed with super strength and some fun weapons, this robot nevertheless often displayed human-like tendencies, like sadness and laughter.

2. Rosie from The Jetsons.

Another holdover from a time when technology was seen as a generally wonderful thing, Rosie is an endearing house robot that serves the Jetson family. She is outdated, but beloved by the family much like a pet. A believer in strict discipline and the occasional bit of sage advice, Rosie is a silly bit of fun that entranced children everywhere.

3. The Daleks.

First seen in the 1963 Doctor Who serial entitled The Daleks, these fearsome robotic creatures that resemble trashcans with plungers attached to them have become the longest running scifi villains of all time. They are perhaps the first time that technology was portrayed as a potentially bad thing, showing that the very definition of a robot is something that has no humanity.

4. The Terminator.

Going through four movie incarnations and a television show, the Terminator is actually an entire mythos created by the 1984 movie. Often acting as an agent of the nefarious robotic SkyNet, the Terminator is a nearly unstoppable machine often intent on nothing but the destruction of humankind. Though occasionally, good Terminators are also present, having been reprogrammed by someone in the future to help try and save the world, these fearsome robots show the true potential that robots have to be destructive instead of helpful and have us constantly asking ourselves how much technology is really too much?

5. Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Portrayed with brilliance by Brent Spiner, Data is a sentient android that serves as second officer and chief operations officer aboard the U.S.S.Enterprise. His brilliance at computation helped the crew in day to day tasks, but he often struggled with the nuances of human emotion and motivation. This character allowed the series to often reflect on what it means to be human. Later in the series, Data received an “emotion” chip that could let him experience some kind of simulation of human emotions. Ironically, this often only complicated matters and could even make Data an unreliable member of the crew when they needed him most.

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43 Responses to “Top Five Fictional Robots”

  1. Tapestry6 says:

    Jeanie
    Mortica
    MaryAnn
    Shirley
    Emma
    who is Anna Marie?
    Judy
    Elly
    Patty

  2. martillo Martini says:

    Firstly, these are old. They are extreme views, and not representative of each individual feminist.

  3. overcast says:

    Ahh, I thought you were going in the heaven direction with this, where one cant sin, or mess up in any way, so I'd say your point is valid on more than one level. According to various doctrines, he wants the sapient beings to choose to follow his strict edicts, and their reward is the autonomous ability to follow those edicts in a separate existence, forever. Its seems more like a case of working hard for robot status, as it were.

  4. Jillie Bean says:

    so you join the racism Trunki, watch your trunk and two spheres going haywire, your account shall go suspended , thta's separate and i will also harass you, so double agony on the cards for you.

  5. General D. Ypsilanti says:

    An article in the Norfolk, Va. newspaper, some years ago, had to do with the
    difficult upbringing of navy family's children. With one parent gone much of the time
    and not in touch with the family when home. She was probably taught to not
    talk back to her parents, and the example they set was austere and apt to
    bring out hostile feelings. Coming from a navy family she knew the drill
    but did not ever learn the compassion required to supervise others.

  6. Liam says:

    This question does not belong in a Health category…

    Try finding it on YouTube, if you can then just download some software preferably on download.com called YouTube To MP3 Converter.
    This will allow you to get any YouTube video and transfer it into audio and store it on your computer (Its good for music as well, I use it all the time, used it to get eminems new album)
    Hope I helped

  7. Anon Twelve says:

    Feminism is dangerous. All modern feminism, if taken seriously can become radicalism. Just because some feminists haven't gone off the edge doesn't mean that the foundation of their ideology doesn't endorse being a complete misandrist lunatic.

  8. twilightfanatic says:

    I enjoyed The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

  9. campbelp2002 says:

    I have his book, "New Guide to Science," in front of me, I have gone over every section when he dwells on energy and its use, there is no mention of the state of the supply of energy in the year 2000.

  10. luis besa says:

    I am innocent.

  11. CarSurfer220 says:

    White: Matt Damon
    Black: Will smith
    Asian- Jackie Chan
    Hispanic- Andy Garcia
    Woman- Angelina Jolie

  12. AALUNGA- SAVE OUR PLANET says:

    We have to appreciate the efforts of the top-brain scientists who continue in making quality and cheap ICs so that we can enjoy to the fullest, the technological-reliable lives.

  13. N8 says:

    It's called Medabots.

    The kid's name was Ikki, and his Medabot was Metabee.
    http://www.anime-planet.com/anime/medabots

  14. lenghartk says:

    Okay so first of all, that's kinda crazy that you can get suspended or they can force you to clan your school. What you should do first is tell your mom, and then she can take it from there. You're already in a lot of trouble for a stupid reason, so you should just get it over with.

  15. Tina Colada ( new account) says:

    well i cant tell you my favorite movie by brent spiner. because i don't no who this guy is. well bye

  16. Sir K says:

    Agnostic, although how would i know that? lolz

    Here's my interpretation:

    The atheist is the carpenter and the agnostic is the walrus. When the carpenter says he knows where the clams are, that equates to he knows the answer to "does God exist or not?'. The walrus quickly responds, "I doubt that!". The onion's in the carpenter's eyes represent the atheists' blind faith which for the walrus is represented by the seaweed in the face, which the walrus rejects. It's also clear that the carpenter is atheist and the walrus agnostic when he says "Awareness of doubt . . . defiles all sense of Atheism about you." The frustration of the carpenter toward the walrus is representative of the frustration atheists feel towards agnostics for not believing there is no God. The liberation the walrus feels is the liberation of not having delusional beliefs. The carpenter shouting "You might be on fire!" represents atheists' fear of the unknown. I suppose walruses are looked at as stupid animals, so the walrus is a representation of atheists' view that agnostics are foolish for not being atheists.

    The only part that I'm having trouble forming an interpretation for is when the carpenter says "Death results in Certainty, so portion control is paramount in matter of spirituality." Whoever wrote this story is very clever.

  17. Rock Star says:

    You shouldn't care what other people think, and be friends with her. If she relapses, be strong enough not to relapse with her.

  18. Kway says:

    I agree..

  19. Matt Flaschen says:

    They will detect your site automatically, as soon as it has incoming links. You don't even need robots.txt for this. The only purpose of the robots.txt is to exclude pages you don't want robots to visit (in your case /_private/, /_vti_bin/, etc.) So just be patient and the bots will come.

  20. Star Gazer says:

    they simply called him "robot" but I heard he was modeled after "robbie the robot" from another show.

  21. Lore says:

    i like this quote. it's obviously an opinion question

  22. trela07 says:

    I know why the caged bird sings and the color purple are really good, but my favorite is to kill a mockingbird.

  23. Logan says:

    Independence Day
    Star Trek: Nemesis

  24. The Bearded One says:

    Right here, right now.

  25. Aεryn Sun says:

    Independance Day

  26. ashleyhammonds01 says:

    This Aint a Scene, It's an Arms Race
    Fall Out Boy

    I am an arms dealer
    Fitting you with weapons in the form of words.
    (Don't really care wish I was)
    As long as the room keeps singing
    That just the business (bidness) I'm in

    This aint a scene, its a goddamn arms race
    This aint a scene, its a goddamn arms race
    This aint a scene, its a goddamn arms race

    I'm not a shoulder to cry on, but I digress

    I'm a leading man
    And the lies I weave
    Are oh so intricate
    (oh so intricate)

    I'm a leading man
    And the lies I weave
    Are oh so intricate
    (oh so intricate)

    I wrote the gospel on giving up
    (you look pretty singing)
    Fueled by my shells have already sung
    (through the goodness of the gutter?)
    And I'll be painting your trash gold while you sleep
    Crashing out like hips and cars
    No, more like p-p-p-parties

    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race
    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race
    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race

    Bandwagons full please catch another

    I'm a leading man
    and the lies I weave
    are oh so intricate
    (oh so intricate)

    I'm a leading man
    and the lies I weave
    are oh so intricate
    (oh so intricate)

    whoahohhohhhhhohhhh
    All the boys the dance floor didn't love
    And all the girls whose lips didnt move fast enough
    Sing, until your lungs give out

    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race
    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race
    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race
    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race
    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race
    This ain't a scene, it's a goddamn arms race

    I'm a leading man
    and the lies I weave
    are oh so intricate
    (oh so intricate)

    I'm a leading man
    and the lies I weave
    are oh so intricate
    (oh so intricate)

  27. krishnamoorthynagarajan says:

    so you join the racism Trunki, watch your trunk and two spheres going haywire, your account shall go suspended , thta's separate and i will also harass you, so double agony on the cards for you.

  28. fickle 1 revamped says:

    Material Girls

  29. campbelp2002 says:

    I have his book, "New Guide to Science," in front of me, I have gone over every section when he dwells on energy and its use, there is no mention of the state of the supply of energy in the year 2000.

  30. Elwood says:

    No comma after 'personality' since 'and' is a conjunction
    I might use 'who misbehaves' instead of 'that'

    Otherwise fine!

  31. Ω Brian Ω says:

    Who? The brawny paper towel guy?

    The sage joke was one of the worst I have ever encountered. Keep up the good work.

    Walrus – agnostic
    Carpenter – sophist
    Brawny – "I am a lumberjack and I'm okay…"
    Me – Empirical Idealist believer (if you consider the Tao as deifiable.)
    You? No doubt and Cognitive Christan.

  32. Fern Elston says:

    Your little bro is 12 years old and that's all I will say about that. The Asians are disciplined because of the religion they (used to?) follow–Dao–emphasizing the good and bad in all things, patience and doing your best, and learning from your elders.

    I would think it's about as easy for an Asian person to tell a person is from Korea or Thailand as it is for an American to tell a person is from the city or country, the West or East coast, etc….

  33. Ray H says:

    "walang kumpare, walang kaibigan, walang kamag-anak"

  34. Tapestry6 says:

    I'll put my own list of pretty 60s stars.
    Sharon Tate
    Briggite Bardot

    Judy Garland was 30s, not 60s :P

  35. andrew P says:

    HR is a horizontal line

    so remove this

    <HR color=#41bb35 noShade SIZE=0>

    form the 15th line of code

  36. Summer says:

    I will not answer these questions as Atticus's speech is poignant and beautiful, and it will do you well to read it.

    It will take you approximately 5 minutes to read, which, as a matter of fact, is less time than it will take for you to wait for a answer to your homework questions.

  37. Subject 2 Change says:

    It's offensive to their "closeted" sensibilities.

  38. DrJunk says:

    That's just how the guitar goes. It take months to figure something out and the next day it seem easy.

    http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=horse+with+no+name

  39. Debbie's angel says:

    An article in the Norfolk, Va. newspaper, some years ago, had to do with the
    difficult upbringing of navy family's children. With one parent gone much of the time
    and not in touch with the family when home. She was probably taught to not
    talk back to her parents, and the example they set was austere and apt to
    bring out hostile feelings. Coming from a navy family she knew the drill
    but did not ever learn the compassion required to supervise others.

  40. Maui Guy says:

    I wonder what they would come up with for victims of sexual abuse…

  41. Kwmane J says:

    point_less has a point. but look at all the proof! examples caught on tape: Star Wars, E.T., Star Treck! seriously though look at my question. it the sorce!

  42. Michelle says:

    Not cold, just colder then some of us…

    You guys don't experience emotions nearly as much as water signs do, and it is easy for you to push emotions aside in the first place.

  43. the silverfish says:

    Have you listened to AMERICA do that song ("History: AMerica's Greatest Hits")? Sometimes if you get what it should sound like in your head and can help you recreate it.

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