Bite my shiny metal ass! Best TV robots ever | television

An underrated Fox TV spinoff of the film franchise, starring Firefly’s Summer Glau as Cameron, a Terminator sent from the future to protect resistance fighter Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her teenage son John (Thomas Dekker). Named in honor of original director James Cameron, the ballet-dancing killer cyborg could mimic human behaviors better than any previous model, and was even able to eat. Naturally, John soon developed romantic feelings for his metal bodyguard. Her enemies included, brilliantly, Garbage’s Shirley Manson as the shape-shifting Terminator. It was canned after two seasons despite a fan campaign.

16. Robot B-9 (Lost in Space, 1965-1968)

“Danger, Will Robinson!” This benevolent robot protected the Robinson family as they roamed the galaxy in the classic CBS series, warning them of hidden dangers on alien planets. Often confused with Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet (schoolboy error), the accordion- and claw-armed B-9 had a love-hate relationship with the evil Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris), who was partial to insulting him uniformly – see “You Bubble-Headed Fool”, “You Tin-Plated Traitor” and “You Transistor-Toad”.

15. Dolores Abernathy (Westworld, 2016-2022)

HBO’s remake of Michael Crichton’s 1973 film was visually sumptuous, frighteningly dystopian, and quickly disappeared from its biomechanical background, becoming impenetrably complex. The Wild West amusement park was populated by robots, who were designed to be hunted or seduced by high-paying human guests, but who gradually developed dangerous levels of consciousness. Rancher’s daughter, Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), experiences flashes of past trauma at the hands of the evil Man in Black (Ed Harris), leading her to join the robot rebellion. Hardware!

Boogie, Boogie, Boogie! After making his debut on ITV’s children’s show The Saturday Banana, breakout character Metal Mickey has landed his own star vehicle. Created, controlled and voiced by musician Johnny Edwards – a former bandmate of David Bowie – the 5-foot-tall robot lived with the Wilberforces, helping with chores, while grandmother Irene Handel looked on suspiciously. His favorite sweets were Atomic Thunderbuster sweets, which were briefly on sale in real life – in a bit of clever merchandising. The Saturday series was directed by Edward’s friend, Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, and attracted 12 million viewers at its peak. He even had a buckskin song named in his honor. “She sells hearts and he sells sweets…”

13. Robot killer (Murderbot, 2025-present)

Alexander Skarsgård was suitably imposing and stone-faced in the Apple TV comedy, based on the Martha Wells novels. We follow his security robot, or “SecUnit”, who hacks his own software and hides his newfound independence as he protects a team of scientists on their mission to map an alien planet. Murderbot mocks “stupid humans” while binge-watching reruns of a Star Trek-like series called The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. The bored but sarcastic character is widely believed to be coded as autistic and genderqueer. Season 2 is in production.

12. Mia, also known as Anita (Humans, 2015-2018)

The BAFTA Award-winning Channel 4 drama has served as both a high-profile sci-fi series and a symbol of society’s attitude towards migrant workers. The anthropomorphic robot maid Mia (Gemma Chan) had glowing green eyes and was named Anita by her owners, the Hawkins family, but she eventually “woke up” and joined the fight for robot freedom. In preparation for the role, Chan was sent to “Synth School” to rid herself of human physical tics. “It was a relief to come home and slack off,” she said.

11. Android Ash (Black Mirror, Come Back, 2013)

This melancholy early episode of Charlie Brooker’s anthology remains among its best. When Ash (Domhnall Gleeson) is killed in a car accident, his pregnant girlfriend Martha (Hayley Atwell) signs up for a service that uses his social media posts and online footprint to create an artificial intelligence imitation. At first, she alleviated her grief by interacting with the virtual Ash via instant messages and video calls. The next step was the arrival of the synthetic version of Android. What could go wrong?

10. Ig-11 (The Mandalorian, 2019-2023)

Star Wars viewers first met “Eyegee” when he was a deadly droid assassin trying to capture Baby Yoda. He was destroyed by the titular bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) but revived as IG-12 – now reprogrammed by the wise farmer Ugnaught Kuiil (Nick Nolte) to be “nurse and protector” of the adorable green Grogu. Taika Waititi gave his voice acting as a cross between Apple’s Siri and Hal from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

9. Eto Demerzel (The Foundation, 2021-present)

This “gynoid”, or humanoid robot who presents to the female, has arrived in Apple’s version of Isaac Asimov as a royal advisor to the triumvirate running to clone Emperor Cleon. By season 2, it was revealed that Demerzel (played by Finnish actress Laura Byrne) was the real power behind the Imperial throne. Having lived for over 20,000 years, she is the last remaining survivor of the Robot Wars and now leads humanity’s survival. gulp.

8. Sir Killalot (Robot Wars, 1998-2018)

The popular BBC Two series, which attracted 6 million viewers at its peak, saw teams of amateur robots send their remote-controlled creations into battle. Sir Killalot was the chosen ‘home robot’ for the show. Topped by his distinctive armored helmet, he boasts a rotating drilling spear, broad jaws, powerful arms, and hydraulic crushing claws. He could, and sometimes did, cut an opponent in half. He even released a pop song called Robot Wars (Android Love), credited to Sir Killalot vs Robo Babe. It reached number 51 in the UK Singles Chart.

7. number six (Battlestar Galactica, 2004-2009)

“Are you alive? Prove it.” The most memorable human Cylon in the space opera reboot was the statue of Six – named after Patrick McGoohan’s character from The Prisoner and portrayed by former Canadian model Tricia Helfer. She used sex and seduction to force government scientist Gaius Baltar to give up the defense secrets that helped the Skin Jobs overcome their human creators.

6. vision (Wanda Vision, 2021)

Marvel’s stylish miniseries was more avant-garde than anyone expected. Brave, confident, and lovingly crafted, it follows newlyweds Wanda “Scarlet Witch” Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and super-powered android Vision (Paul Bettany) in the idyllic suburb of Westview. The stake-fenced lives were peachy until their false reality began to distort and move through various decades of sitcom tropes. His spin-off company, VisionQuest, is scheduled to launch in October.

5. K-9 (Doctor Who, 1977-2010)

Yes, sir! The robotic canine companion first wandered through space and time alongside the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), before appearing in several spin-offs and 21st century revivals. The loyal cybernetic hound has proven himself useful in combating alien enemies, thanks to his encyclopedic knowledge and a powerful laser weapon hidden in his nose. Good boy.

4. Marvin the terrified robot (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 1981)

The prototype was created by Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as part of a program to give robots personalities, and he is depressed and bored because his planet-sized brain is never challenged enough and he is stuck doing menial tasks. In Douglas Adams’ sci-fi comedy, hapless Marvin travels through space with the last living man from Earth, Arthur Dent. Radiohead named one of the tracks on OK Computer after him. He still didn’t cheer for him.

3. Kryten (Red Dwarf, 1988-present)

“Turn my tits around and send me to Alaska!” He plays Robert “Scrapheap Challenge” Llewellyn, a block-headed sewer mechanic — duly nicknamed “Captain Bog-bot” and “Commander U-Bend” — traveling aboard the titular mining ship with a crew of fellow misfits. Kryten will gladly humble himself to serve humanity, although as he loses his obedience programs, he soon learns to lie and insult people. In fact, he has achieved the dubious honor of being the first robot in science fiction history to give a human the finger. Sming hell.

2. Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1987-1994)

In director Gene Roddenberry’s first reboot of 1960s Space Western, albino-like android Data (Brent Spiner) fulfills the same function as Mr. Spock in the original film — a big-brained outsider struggling to understand the emotions of his fellow humans. The second officer aboard the USS Enterprise was more emotional than any normal artificial life form. He kept a pet cat, had romantic affairs (memorably declaring that he was versed in “a wide range of pleasures”), and even had an evil twin. Because he longed to become a full human, Data became the beating heart of the show. Even though he didn’t have a heart.

1. Bender (Futurama, 1999-present)

In the words of the Tin Horror itself, Bender’s story is a lot like yours – except more interesting because it involves robots. In Matt Groening’s science fiction sitcom, Bender Bender Rodriquez is a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, cigar-chomping, womanizing, work-shy, kleptomaniac, nihilistic, ill-tempered robot, originally programmed to bend steel beams. Named after the character Judd Nelson from The Breakfast Club – and also the inspiration for Bart Simpson’s slogan “Eat my shorts” – he becomes the first friend that protagonist Fry makes after being trapped in a cryogenic tube for a thousand years. And if you don’t agree with his No. 1 status, you can bite his shiny metal ass.