Androids and Robots in Science Fiction Films
The struggle with human facsimilies has
been a major theme within science fiction
writing since Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein in
1818. In the cinema, this theme was intensified
with such filma as Metropolis and The Day The
Earth Stood Still (1951), Forbidden Planet
(1956), and 2001 : A Space Odyssey (1968). In
the latter, the red-eyed computer, H.A.L. 9000,
does not have the physical appearance of a human
being, but its placid, synthesised voice spoke
eloquently (much like Roy Batty) in warm and
appealing tones.

This trend continued in the early 1970s:
the implacable super-computer Colossus, in The
Forbin Project (1969), the petulant nuclear bomb
in Dark Star (1974), the berserk gunslinger in
Westworld (1973), the living dolls of The
Stepford Wives (1974), all gave the machine a
voice to touch the conscience. In Star Wars
(1979), the heroes are two querulous androids
called C-3PO and R2-D2; the latter having the
appearance of a diminutive washing machine, but
still maintaining human traits.

In Saturn 3 (1980), a monstrous chrome bi-
pedal robot lusted after Farah Fawcett-Majors
(in competition with Kirk Douglas), and a
household computer had sex with Julie Christie
in Donald Cammell's Demon Seed (1977). Robots
and androids were also a vital component of
Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). Walt Disney's
production of The Black Hole (1979), and other
less cerebral films such as Battlestar Galactica
(1978) and Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century
(1979).

Star Trek - The Motion Picture (1979),
hypnotically intertwines a film directed by
Robert Wise, a story by Alan Dean Foster and
special effects created by Douglas Trumbull.
The machine called V'Ger reproduces an identical
replica of a female crew member (Persis
Khambatta) on board the starship Enterprise.
This V'Ger computer is revealed in the climax of
the film to be a Voyager space probe launched by
N.A.S.A. in the 1970s. During its incredible
journey throught the cosmos, the probe
encountered a planet populated by sophisticated
machines. These superior machines naturally

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