Robots have long been a fascination in science fiction television, and Apple TV+‘sMurderbotjust debuted one of the most iconic robot characters in sci-fi TV history. For almost as long as the concept has been around, robots have enchanted viewers the world over. There’s an exceptionally long list oficonic robots in moviesand television, from Data inStar Trek: The Next Generationto Bender inFuturamaand countless others. There are even entire shows centered around robot or android characters, from HBO’sWestworldtoThe Six Million Dollar Man.
Joining the list of the most iconic robots in sci-fi television history is no easy feat, butMurderbotis a very strong contender.Murderbotis based onThe Murderbot Diariesby Martha Wells, a series of Hugo and Nebula Award-winning sci-fi novels. The Apple TV+ show follows the titular Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård), a security android, or SecUnit, contracted to protect a group of human scientists who are in way over their heads on a deadly expedition. What makes Murderbot such an iconic robotic character, however, is how utterly weird it is.
Apple TV+’s Murderbot Is Another Example Of An Iconic TV Robot
Murderbot Is Such A Charming, Relatable, & Lovable Character That It Is Already An Iconic TV Robot
When I say Murderbot is a weird character, I mean it in the most complimentary way possible. Murderbot is a security android who is often paranoid, haunted by a traumatic past, and utterly socially inept with the very humans it has to protect. Contrary to its name - and as Murderbot says itself - it is a “terrible failure” at being a “heartless killing machine.“There’s so much to love about Murderbot, from its love of trashy television likeThe Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moonto its begrudging love of humans despite being utterly annoyed by them, that it’s impossible to list all the SecUnits many virtues.
As with all fictional robots, Murderbot has a lot more to say about humanity than its opaque helmet and synthetic components let on.Through its titular SecUnit,Murderbottells a story about the intrinsic horror of slavery, overcoming traumatic events, learning to let others love you, coming out of your shell, and so much more. It’s beautiful and heart-wrenching and hilarious all at the same time, and none of it would be possible without Murderbot itself. Murderbot is weird and reclusive and obsessed with bad TV, which is precisely why it’s such an iconic robot character in science fiction.
Most of the reason Murderbot is an icon of science fiction comes from Martha Wells’ books, but Paul and Chris Weitz are no slouches, either.Apple TV+‘sMurderbotperfectly cast Alexander Skarsgård, and the acclaimed actor brings the SecUnit to life in a truly extraordinary way.Murderbothas even added its own flair to Wells’ writing, and most of its additions are superb expansions of the original story and characters. There’s a reasonMurderbothas 97% onRotten Tomatoes: it managed to translate one of the best robots in sci-fi literature into one of the best robots in sci-fi television.
How Murderbot Compares To Some Of TV’s Other Best Robot Characters
Murderbot Shares Many Qualities With A Wide Variety Of TV’s Most Iconic Robots & Androids
A big part of the reason Murderbot is already a classic TV robot, even after just four episodes of the Apple TV+ show, is that it has so many great parts of other iconic robot characters. Murderbot’s dry, sarcastic humor isn’t as over-the-top asFuturama’s Bender, but they’re equally hilarious. Murderbot’s also not as analytical and philosophical asStar Trek: The Next Generation’s Data, but they’re equally lovable.Murderbotalso raises the same questions about humanity’s stewardship over our own creation asWestworlddoes. It’s like Martha Wells reviewed the last few decades of sci-fi robots and chose all the best parts to include in Murderbot.
The Perimeter
July 11
Murderbot essentially ticks all the boxes of that nebulous idea of what makes a robotic character good. It holds a flame to the humorous and profound parts of the human experience that only a machine could. It uses its incredible technological powers for awesome action scenes and truly shocking twists. Most importantly, however, Murderbot feels more like a human than a robot, and it makes you care about it from the very beginning. I have no doubt thatMurderbotwill soon go down as one of the best robots in science fiction television history.
