Greatest Sci-Fi Robots

OK, so this was on Sky One which is not exactly renowned for being high-class entertainment but it makes for interesting reading. In truth, the scariest thing about the program was that one of the critics on the show who had helped select the robots was my old robotics and neural nets lecturer - Noel Sharkey.

1. False Maria (Metropolis)
2. T-800 (The Terminator)
3. Bender (Futurama)
4. C3PO/R2-D2 (Star Wars)
5. Kryten (Red Dwarf)
6. Robby the Robot (Forbidden Planet)
7. Marvin the Paranoid Android (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)
8. K9 (Doctor Who)
9. Cylons (Battlestar Galactica)
10. ED209 (Robocop)

OK, the list isn't too bad. I would certainly argue that a Sci Fi list of robots has to contain Data (Star Trek) and Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still), above the likes of K9 and Ed209, but each to their own I guess.

Bender, Marvin and Kryten are inspired choices, and not altogether expected, while it's wonderful to see False Maria in her rightful place at the top. No robot has ever matched Fritz Langs creation. C3PO's looks were based on her and the inhuman movements have been copied by thousands. She was the first robot and she remains number 1.