I, Robot

I, Robot is directed by Leon Benson and adapted to screenplay by Robert C. Dennis from the story written by Eando Binder. It stars Howard da Silva, Ford Rainey, Marianna Hill and Leonard Nimoy. Music is by Harry Lubin and cinematography by Kenneth Peach.

Season 2 - Episode 9

Originally a very short story in Amazing Stories, it would influence Isaac Asimov and in turn see a big screen blockbuster released in 2004. Plot sees a robot named Adam Link on trial for the murder of his creator. Defence attorney Thurman Cutler (da Silva) comes out of retirement to not only try and prove Link is innocent, but to put on trial the workings of a machine in a human world, and that of the human condition of acceptance, growing and learning one self.

A super episode, one of the better entries in series 2, the messages it gives remain pertinent as ever, the court case with its legal wrangling's holds strong interest, and the finale is socko - with the closing narration striking a mighty chord. 9/10

This episode is rather surprising because unlike a typical episode of "The Outer Limits", the special effects appear very good--as if the budget was rather large--which it was not. It's about a robot--and for a 1960s show, the robot is quite effective. Had the robot been cheesy looking, the episode would have been a lot less effective.

The show begins with the police chasing a robot across the countryside. Apparently 'Mr. Link' is assumed to have killed its creator. But the robot gives up without a fight and the Sheriff plans on having the mechanical man disassembled. An opportunistic newspaper reporter (Leonard Nimoy) wants to exploit this as a story and convinces the dead professor's niece to get the creation a lawyer (Howard De Silva). And much of the rest of the show consists of a court hearing to determine what to do next.

All in all, an effective and interesting show. It also helped having De Silva, as he was a gifted actor. It also helped that it was written well--with a real sense of heart. My only question is how did they do this show without driving Isaac Asimov crazy?! After all, he wrote the book "I, Robot" over a decade earlier and the show had an awful lot of similarities--yet Asimov isn't credited at all. Hmmmmm.

By the way, if you see the show don't you think that the character of the little girl was amazingly stupid?! One of the only weaknesses I saw in the story, actually.

This is a nice episode. The problem is too much familiarity. The idea of proving an artificial intelligence is sentient is one of those staples of science fiction. Perhaps Asimov did it first, but the arguments are always the same. There is no question of the power of these things (in this case a really cheap looking robot) is at issue. It has to do with the protections we have from these man-made creatures. Could they have acted violently, given these safeguards? Everything is in how nuanced the trial works, how aggressive the negative forces are, and what the motivations of the bad guys are. Commander Data went through a couple of these on Next Generation an ultimately it seems to be an overzealous soldier type who sees an android or robot as one who does the wishes of others. I've always wondered if we would be so callous if such beings existed, at least in such an advanced state as this. Of course, emotions are frequently an issue to be debated as they seem to be at the separation point. Anyway, the trial is a lot of fun and the episode is quite satisfying.

A humanoid robot, named Adam Link is out on trial for allegedly murdering his creator, Doc. The prosecution argue that Adam could have malfunctioned, the defence make the case that a robot cannot lie.

It's a staggeringly imaginative and clever storyline for the time, you can't help but wonder if a 1964 audience had any concept of the advancements in technology that would be made.

It's a very memorable episode, sixty years old, and it still makes you think, makes you wonder if we're going too far with technology.

It's nicely made, I really liked the design of Adam, simple and functional, they didn't go too over the top.

It's perhaps guilty of being a little syrupy and over sympathetic, but that I'm sure was intentional, in a bid to give Adam Link some very human like qualities.

Very well acted, Leonard Nimoy is as cool and collected as always, it's hard to be too critical here.

8/10.

This is one of the best episodes I've seen of the original The Outer Limits, this time the only negatives being those derived from the culture and the time period. It is excessively human-centric, it oversimplifies, there are inconsistencies, it can get over-dramatic and it is *way* too obvious about the Frankenstein parallel(seriously; they literally say it several times), and that all hurts it. This is also essentially black and white, and winds up being preachy; however, after the hicks of the beginning, this does actually give arguments to both sides, and makes those that we are meant to disagree with be more than the standard one-note "evil" types. The writing isn't flawless, but it's pretty good, and manages to be clever(if not every attempt works, and some of it feels smarmy, because banter on the screen was "in" back then), and this does have points presented and lines of dialog that are memorable. Nimoy is cool as always, and the acting in general is fairly solid. While the humor varies a tad, there definitely is a laugh or two to be had in this. The effects are nice enough, and there are great details on the robot suit. I recommend this to any fan of science fiction as a forum in which to express thoughts that might seem controversial. 8/10