Asimov's Robots On Screen
The first screen adaptation of an Asimov robot stories was the third episode of the British television series Out of This World based on "Little Lost Robot" (1962). Dramatised by Leo Lehman and starring Maxine Audley as Susan Calvin, this is the only episode of the series known to have survived.
This was followed by a 1964 dramatision of The Caves of Steel for the BBC series Story Parade and then four episodes of the BBC television series Out of the Unknown, based on "Satisfaction Guaranteed" (1966), "Reason (in an episode titled "The Prophet", 1967), "Liar!" (1969), and The Naked Sun (1969). In these adaptations, Elijah Baley was portrayed by Peter Cushing (The Caves of Steel) and Paul Maxwell (The Naked Sun), R. Daneel Olivaw by John Carson (The Caves of Steel) and David Collings (The Naked Sun), and Susan Calvin by Beatrix Lehmann ("The Prophet") and Wendy Gifford ("Liar!"). In "Satisfaction Guaranteed", the character of Susan Calvin was renamed Dr Inge Jensen and portrayed by Ann Firbank.
In the late 1970s, Harlan Ellison wrote a screenplay based on Asimov's book I, Robot for Warner Bros.. This film project was ultimately abandoned, but Ellison's script was later published in book form as I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay (1994).
Robots, a 1988 television film based on Asimov's Robot Series, starred Stephen Rowe as Elijah Baley and Brent Barrett as R. Daneel Olivaw.
Bicentennial Man (1999) was the first theatrical movie adaptation of an Asimov story or novel, based on both Asimov's original short story and its novel expansion The Positronic Man. The film starred Robin Williams as robot Andrew Martin.
The Twentieth Century Fox motion picture I, Robot (2004) presented an original story set in Asimov's Robot universe featuring Dr Susan Calvin and other characters from Asimov's I, Robot collection. The film originated from a spec screenplay entitled 'Hardwired' written in 1995 by Jeff Vintar. While this earlier script had no direct connections with Asimov, it was considered suitably 'Asimovian' in nature (being a locked room mystery with robot suspects) to provide the basis for an I, Robot movie. Elements from several Asimov robot stories were woven into the overall storyline, including "Little Lost Robot", "The Evitable Conflict" and "Robot Dreams". The movie starred Will Smith as Dale Spooner and Bridget Moynahan as Susan Calvin.
Read more about this topic: Robot Series (Asimov)
Famous quotes containing the words asimov and/or robots:
“Knowledge is indivisible. When people grow wise in one direction, they are sure to make it easier for themselves to grow wise in other directions as well. On the other hand, when they split up knowledge, concentrate on their own field, and scorn and ignore other fields, they grow less wise—even in their own field.”
—Isaac Asimov (1920–1992)
“The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots. True enough, robots do not rebel. But given man’s nature, robots cannot live and remain sane, they become “Golems,” they will destroy their world and themselves because they cannot stand any longer the boredom of a meaningless life.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)