'I Am Going To Thailand'

Back in issue 3 we named BJ Novak one of our top 10 cult actors working today. A DJ has obviously recognised his genius, taking one of his best monologues from The Office and remixing it into a stompin' dubstep track.

Mad by Name, Mad by Nature

Matthew Jaffray on why Mad Max 4 is the most cursed film in Hollywood.

Nambia, February 2003. Mad Max 4: Fury Road is in the middle of pre-production. Millions of dollars have been spent hiring hundreds of people, building expansive sets, scouting locations, leasing trailers and developing the film. The shoot is a few weeks away, and Mel Gibson is set to bring back to the screen one of cinema’s most iconic action heroes. But none of that matters because production will soon be shut down.

It seemed like the timing was perfect. The films that were a cult success in the eighties had blossomed into revered classics and Gibson was at the height of his Hollywood clout, meaning this time, there was to be a colossal budget to the tune of $104 million. To put that into perspective, all three previous films cost a combined total of under $20 million.

Security concerns regarding the war in Iraq (hello? Different continent!) saw things put on hold for a year. Ultimately though, things were scrapped altogether a few months later. This was just another disaster in a production history that would make even Terry Gilliam cringe.

In a way it’s a miracle that the now Oscar winning director George Miller even got the enthusiasm to set himself on the long road of creating a new Mad Max film. Close friend and fellow producer of the series Byron Kennedy was killed during pre-production on Beyond Thunderdome in a helicopter crash while scouting locations.

Devastated by the loss, Miller stepped down from the director’s chair to be replaced Geroge Ogilvie, though he was later persuaded to come back and film the action sequences. The result was a noticeably uneven film which remains by far the weakest of the trilogy.

When Miller eventually came round to the idea of doing the third film, there was a lot of wrangling to get the rights. Warner brothers had released Mad Max 2 and Mad Max 3 in America, but Miller wanted to do Fury Road at Fox, who offered him a huge budget, creative control and had a deal with Gibson’s company Icon. Finally, the dispute was settled when Miller agreed to step down from directing Warner’s Contact with Jodie Foster, to be replaced by Back to the Future creator Robert Zemeckis.

With the issue of the rights put to bed, Miller spent the next three years writing a script which would have to be re-written following Gibson’s departure from the role in 2004 citing his age as his desire to further his directing career as the main reasons.

Things seemed dead in the water. But in 2006, Miller declared he wasn’t finished with Mad Max and proposed to do Fury Road with a re-vamped script and a new actor cast in the role of Max Rockatansky. Tom Hardy was cast in 2009, quite a while before Inception made him a bonafide star, as well as Charlize Theron. Production was slated to begin in 2010, this time in Australia.

Yet again no camera’s rolled. Not one scene was filmed. Just days before shooting was to start, the heavens opened and a rainfall of biblical proportions dampened any chance of production. As Miller put it: "it rained the heaviest it had in 10 years. I’ll never forget the first day — we were holed up in a big sort of shed watching the rain. We couldn’t shoot."

Details of the story of Fury Road have been hotly guarded for a decade now. The casting of Tom Hardy suggests it will not be chronologically the fourth instalment but a reboot. All that’s known of Charlize Theron’s role is that she plays a one-armed woman. While the only leak about the production so far has been form a stuntman who said there are 298 stunts scheduled involving 130 vehicles and as little CGI and green screen work as possible.

Will Mad Max: Fury Road ever see the light of day? According to Miller, yes. "All the contracts are signed. It’s a locked-in film. It has been for 18 months now. We will restart pre-production later this year and begin early next year — weather permitting." But similar sentiments have been made before, after the Nambia shoot fell apart. Meanwhile Tom Hardy’s role as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises has pushed back production another few months. While the decision to shoot in 3D pushes the budget up significantly. There have even been rumours that Miller now intends to shoot two Mad Max films back to back. That it has taken 20 years to get this far, this seems quite ambitious, but here’s hoping he pulls it off.

Webcrawler

Originally Appears in Issue 6

In each issue Declan Aylward dives head first into the weird and wonderful world of the web, and reports back with his findings.

Echo Bazaar
http://echobazaar.failbettergames.com

Three decades ago, London was stolen by bats. That, intriguingly, is the stage-setter for Echo Bazaar, a ‘10 minutes a session’ browser game that bases itself on your Twitter or Facebook account, but won’t gain you the pitying and vaguely irritated looks a Farmville addiction can bring on from your friends and co-workers. Part of this is because Echo Bazaar keeps its spamming of your friends to a discreet minimum. It’s more a polite cough of an aged butler than a raucous, marketplace screech most of its ilk use to announce their presence. Mostly though, it’s the setting that will get its hooks into you. Set in an underground, alternative world that feels like Neil Gaiman and Terry Gilliam collaborated on a HP Lovecraft theme park under the supervision of Terry Pratchett, the curiously genteel Fallen London is rife with flirtatious devils, melancholy curates and, of course, the mysterious Masters of the Bazaar themselves. The game is essentially card-based and once you’ve been dropped into the Neath you use the opportunity cards you draw to find accommodation, earn what passes for money this close to Hell, uncover hidden plots or even invite your friends to social events in your spiffing new lodgings. The game’s focus on storytelling and intrigue over violence and mayhem has even earned it attention from a mainstream gaming industry fast becoming bored with hulking space marines mowing down hordes of hapless aliens. Pay a visit to the Bazaar and, who knows, you might even hang up the blaster rifle yourself in favour of an expertly wielded bag of fierce mint humbugs!

Smodcast
http://www.smodcast.com

Has anyone else been wondering what Kevin Smith is up to these days? Well, apart from writing and directing a pretty creepy looking horror movie called Red State, he has been hiding out at a place called Smodcastle. Billing itself as the world’s first and only podcasting theatre, Smodcastle is Smith’s LA venue for a whole host of internet events that those of us too pasty and freckled to spend time in the City of Angels can catch at smodcast.com. Every day of the week a new podcast is available on the site. Some are recorded live at Smodcastle, some rare ecorded studio-style off the premise. But all are hilarious, interesting and, needless to say, very offensive to the lemonade-and-buns brigade.

The podcasts on offer cover a host of topics, but whether you’re listening to Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier shooting the shit in the titular Smodcast, catching up with movie industry news in ‘Hollywood Babble-On’ or indulging an inexplicable ice-hockey fascination with Puck Nuts, the banter will have you chuckling to yourself like a crazy person on the bus. If you really crave your Jay and Silent Bob fix, every Wednesday ‘Jay and Silent Bob Get Old’ gives you a chance to hear about how our heroes are doing now that they are both settling down and maturing. Mature is a relative term though, and anyone who doesn’t find endless, graphic dick jokes entertaining should really pass this site by and renew their subscription to Justin Bieber’s no-doubt squeaky clean podcast instead.

Mystery Solved!
http://www.mysterysolvedcomic.com

He may not have a psychedelic van and a talking great dane, but Colonel Randall Thaddeus Winchester IV of the Mystery Solved! webcomic certainly gets the job done. Created by Zack Kruse and drawn by a different artist for each of his adventures, the good Colonel and his trusty manservant Jenkins travel the globe investigating and disproving phenomena like alien cattle mutilation, bigfoot and fairies. The comic delights in showing the wilful ignorance that must persist for most myths to survive, and contrasts this with the Colonel’s sound science. I would be lying if I said that sharing a smug sense of superiority with our intrepid investigator wasn’t part of the appeal. The fact that each adventure is illustrated in a different style keeps the comic fresh. It’s fun to watch how far in the air each artist manages to stick Jenkins’ nose, but the wacky, almost Beano style writing maintains a firmly consistent feel. While it might not have the cutting edge satire of Penny Arcade or the relevance to modern singletons that Girls with Slingshots has mastered, Mystery Solved! is a reminder that sometimes it’s nice just to settle back for a simple Scooby Doo style adventure and a pat on the back to ourselves for never believing in ghost stories in the first place. The comic is updated every Thursday so check back regularly to keep abreast of the Colonel’s most recent debunking.

Goldrush

Originally Appears in Issue 6

Rubicon, a critically acclaimed conspiracy-thriller, is set to debut this year on BBC4. However, disappointing US ratings mean the show won’t be coming back for a second season. Derek Owens laments how TV drama is under threat as networks join the rush for instant hits.

Perhaps appropriately for a show with more moments of subdued tension than gunshots or explosions, Rubicon died with a whimper: a statement from its network, AMC TV, praised the story of a defence analyst who discovers a sinister conspiracy involving his employers, API, but confirmed that the programme would not return with a second series. The news wasn’t particularly surprising. The show had been troublesome to produce – original creator and show runner Jason Horwitch was replaced in mid-production by Henry Bromell – and ratings hadn’t been spectacular. Still, the cancellation of the critically-acclaimed show after a single series is a worrying sign of a short-termism that’s crept again into the decision making of American network execs. Even as, officially, we still enjoy a golden age of TV drama, the desperation to achieve instant success in the hyper-competitive environment could yet kill it off.

Few would claim, of course, that Rubicon was a perfect show. The series lead, Will Travers (The Pacific’s James Badge Dale), reacted to learning of a terrifying conspiracy with the passive befuddlement of a man trying to locate his car keys. The script had the occasional lines of exposition and import that just didn’t come off naturally, and the occasionally head-scratching plot point – this was probably inevitable in any conspiracy thriller cut short.

However, Rubicon was a show with real promise. Horwitch and Bromell borrowed more than just a bag of themes from classic seventies paranoia films like Three Days of the Condor, All the Presidents Men and The Conversation – they lifted the hybrid of intimate camera-work, a minor key tension-building soundtrack and slow building of tension to create a real throwback to these demanding but deeply satisfying stories. They also brought in some extraordinary actors, including stage veteran Michael Ivan Cristofer (whose ‘villain’ Truxton Spangler is visceral, peculiar, and wonderfully complex) and lesser-known talents like Jessica Collins and Dallas Roberts as Will Travers’ deeply troubled colleagues.

More importantly, the show had started to really find its feet in later episodes, branching into the private lives and troubles of Will Travers’ colleagues. Issues of power and its abuse were being teased out. And something actually got blown up. Oddly, but entirely in keeping with the programme’s personality, the big explosion happened off-screen, in the penultimate episode – a substantial ratings drop for the finale a week later probably sealed Rubicon’s fate. Even as critics praised the show for its uniqueness, visual brilliance and strong finish, most acknowledged that a second series was highly unlikely.

Rubicon, however, wasn’t the only highly-regarded show this year to be culled from the broadcast schedules after failing to achieve instant, Mad Men-esque success: Terriers, a tale of two private detectives scratching out a living, was also ditched by FX after only one season, while Fox’s Lone Star (an intriguing series about a Texan con-man struggling to keep his double life together) gave up the ghost after only two poorly-rated episodes. The fact that the show was in the same timeslot as NBC’s The Event, Dancing with the Stars and CBS’ inexplicably successful Two and a Half Men probably doomed it from the start.

Fierce competition is, frankly, killing new shows: at the height of the US’s autumn season, 16 new shows premiered in one week – when season premieres of existing shows were taken into account, nearly 50 new episodes were battling for eyeballs on the major American networks. The powers that be in TV land are responding to – and feeding – this glut in one of three ways. Some are sticking to tried and tested shows, however critically reviled and problematic they may be to make (the aforementioned Two and a Half Men, though its continuation since axing Charlie Sheen is yet to be confirmed). Some, like AMC, are chucking short runs of oddball shows at the wall and hoping that they stick – after Rubicon finished up, the network had a hit with post-apocalyptic zombie thriller The Walking Dead. Meanwhile, others are committing to shows with mind-blowing budgets and A-list talent in the hope of outgunning the opposition: Boardwalk Empire, HBO’s Scorsese-produced, award friendly period gangster piece springs to mind.

However, networks following that third path are in the minority, and there was even some doubt about whether HBO would bring Boardwalk Empire back for a second season: with the market for high quality TV as competitive as it is, it appears, executives don’t have the luxury of waiting for secondary characters on a show to come into their own and connect with viewers, or for a show to find its feet after tweaking its formula. This is understandable, but lamentable. After all, would The Wire have become a seminal show if we hadn’t been allowed to emotionally invest in Omar (or indeed any character besides Jimmy McNulty) by a network that believed in the series enough to renew it despite middling ratings? And indeed, had Fox not allowed Matt Groening to switch the focus of The Simpsons from Bart to Homer, the programme wouldn’t have become half as successful as it did. These are, of course, radically different shows, but they illustrate a core truth – few programmes, if any, get it right immediately. They need time to bed down and refine their formula, but the current environment means that only exceptionally strong-willed executives will give a series that breathing space if it hasn’t been an instant hit.

This changing environment probably won’t result in the deluge of TV offal that some critics fear. Of course, we’ll still have shows like Two and a Half Men, but many networks will continue to commission innovative shows in the hope of unearthing another Mad Men. The downside is that, unless the quirky show that captures your heart is an instant hit, you’ll probably have to content yourself with a single series, a topic to bore people silly about, and a dream of how good the programme could have become if networks had a bit more backbone.

One More Robot - Issue 6

ISSUE SOLD OUT
 
Featured Articles

For The Record
With new formats coming and going every few years, why does vinyl continue to survive?
by Dean Van Nguyen

Living in the Crates
How the definition of ‘crate digging’ is changing as new technologies alter our listening habits.
by Jonathan Bogart

Chopped ‘n’ Screwed
How sampling has been embedded into the fabric of hip-hop since its inception, and why it continues hold importance with modern rappers and producers.
by Seán McTiernan

A Hidden History on Vinyl
Hidden in record stores, antique malls and basements, there is an alternative history of music waiting to be discovered.
by Joe Tangari

Gold Diggers
Some of our favourite people hand pick their favourite vinyl records for your enjoyment.

Digging for Abba Gold
Discovered at Blackrock Market, 10 very different records are evaluated.
by Brendan O’Dowd

The Crate Escape
Our essential guide to the record labels, old and new, every wannabe vinyl collector should become accustomed to.
by Ronan Hunt-Murphy

Day of the Indies
A look at the rise and rise of Record Store Day, with a preview of the upcoming festivities happening this April 16th.
by Brendan O’Dowd

Also Includes

The Meaning of Charlie Dean Van Nguyen examines why Charlie Sheen’s recent breakdown has proved irresistible to watch.

Time for a Re-Up: The Hip-Hop Takeover Trisha Doyle on why nineties hip-hop has experienced a revival of late.

Webcrawler More cherry-picked internet sites from Declan Aylward.

Kiddie Car-Crashes Derek Owens counts out his top five child stars to fall desperately from grace.

Goldrush Jittery US television executives are pulling the plug too early on quality new programmes, argues Derek Owens.

Ah Sure, Look It Niamh King describes a day spent selling door-to-door.

Half Nelson Jason Robinson on how a generation of nerds are becoming some of Hollywood’s more prominent leading men.

& Much More

One More Robot Magazine Launch Party

To mark the release of our upcoming, bumper-sized, special edition 'Vinyl Issue', we're hosting an evening of live music on Friday, April 1st, featuring the combined talents of The Fundamentals, Ken O'Neill, Let's Set Sail and Jennifer Mangan.

The Lower Deck is the scene (map is here) and the cost is €10 at the door, with a copy of the new issue waiting for you upon arrival. Hope to see ya'll there!

Click for Facebook Event Page

One More Robot's Top 50 Robots 10-1

10. AWESOM-O
As seen in: South Park

The AWESOM-O 4000 is the robotic alter-ego of one Eric Cartman. A creation that only Cartman could surely have envisaged. Hardly a fully functioning robot, AWESOM-O is no more than young Eric in a cardboard suit, speaking in a robotic voice. It’s more than enough to fool South Park simpleton, Butters Scotch, and Cartman hopes to utilise his devious costume to glean embarrassing information about Butters by becoming his dream companion: a robot friend.

In gaining his victim’s trust however, AWESOM-O discovers that Butters has some blackmailing material of his own to use against Eric, in the form of an incriminating videotape, forcing Cartman to maintain the charade in order to obtain the tape. During his time spent with Butters, Awesom-o helps him insert anal suppositories, inspires a ragtime ode entitled ‘My Robot Friend’ and accompanies him a trip to Los Angeles to visit his aunt. It’s on this trip that the robot attracts the attention of a Hollywood studio, faces the perils of the casting couch and is captured by the US Military for research purposes.

In short AWESOM-O is the definition of a joke going too far, backfiring, but being in too deep to do anything about stopping it. He has no cool powers or fancy technological wang-dangs, but hey, he had us in hysterics. Reason enough for his inclusion. ‘Lame.’ --Seán Earley

09. Optimus Prime
As seen in: Transformers

I’m sorry, what was that? You were the one little boy growing up in the eighties who didn’t think transforming robots were frickin’ deadly? Well, that must mean you are a figment of my imagination, because you don’t exist. Quite simply Transformers took everything any little boy could want in a Saturday morning cartoon/toy and rolled it all up into one. Big and badass vehicles of all descriptions? Check. Robots. Check. Aliens. Check. Intergalactic laser battles over the resource Energon that was actually a metaphor for oil based conflicts in the Middle East… Ok so maybe not the metaphor bit, but definitely the rest.

Optimus Prime was the fearless leader of the Autobots (the goodies), tirelessly battling the Decepticons (the baddies) week after week, with virtue, and honour, and a baritone voice I prayed would be mine when puberty hit. And his name! Think about that name! OPTIMUS PRIME. Optimus – the best. Prime - the first. C’mon people, what more does a name need to say about you? As awful as those movies were I still got goose bumps seeing him transform on the big screen for the first time. Then in the second flick he took on four Decepticons single handed and was bested in one devastatingly emotional scene. No, I didn’t have something in my eye. That was a tear. A manly tear. Roll out! --Stephen Rogers

08. Robot B-9
As seen in: Lost in Space

All too frequently in classic science fiction, robots are portrayed as baddies: perfect soldiers, focused killers, emotionless tyrants. Countering this negativity, the accordion-armed robot from the classic series Lost in Space is entirely good. His concern lies almost solely in preventing his human companions from coming to harm. In fact, he is so benign that his creators beat Star Trek by almost 50 years and built it into his designation: “Robot B-9.”

Likable and benevolent, B-9 is one of the all-time most famous robots in television history. Repeating one of the most memorable catchphrases in television history every week, the robot protected the space family Robinson as they travelled the galaxy, warning of hidden danger on every planet. In fact, he often seemed to do little else. It was his personality rather than his abilities which made the character memorable. Although technically advanced and fantastically complex, the robot was also capable of expressing human emotions. He was frequently shown laughing at the crew, especially Dr. Smith who referred to him as a “bubble-headed booby,” and a “ludicrous lump” among other things. For many people, it was Smith’s relationship with the Robot which defined the show and made it a classic. --David Bolger
07. HAL
As seen in: 2001: A Space Odyssey

HAL (Heuristically programmed Algorithmic Computer) is the sentient computer onboard the Discovery One Spaceship from Stanley Kubrick’s classic movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. HAL speaks with a conversational, polite tone and seems to take pride in his work – betraying the fact that the computer may, in fact, be more than just a computer, having developed genuine emotions and a form of artificial intelligence.

HAL has become synonymous with our fears about the rise of A.I. He insists that a fault in the spaceship is due to human error, before attempting to murder it’s crew by terminating the life support systems and attacking the crewmember that tries to identify the problem. HAL does this in the name of self-preservation, to avoid being deactivated.

This level of artificial Intelligence is a quality that, thankfully, does not exist in our modern technology. While many of us state how reliant we are on our iPhones, Blackberrys or similar, if they started demonstrating emotions, manipulating us and preserving themselves from being replaced or shut down, we would run, screaming, for the hills. Although many people would argue this is already happening in a very subtle and insidious manner, with our utter dependence on technology that did not exist 10 years ago, until our iPhones start talking to us in creepily, soothing tones like HAL, we can presume we are safe. But maybe that’s what they want us to believe… --Brogen Hayes

06. The Terminator
As seen in: The Terminator

“Listen, and understand. That Terminator is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.” Those were the cautionary words of Kyle Reese, which served as a perfect introduction and summation of one of sci-fi’s greatest and scariest villains. And if there’s one thing watching the Terminator films has taught me it’s that Kyle Reese knows what he’s talking about and you’d be damn smart to listen to him.

The Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, if you want to get technical (and I do), was terrifying in the first Terminator film because of all the reasons Reese gave and then some. What I think makes the T-101 a truly great character however is that after becoming one of sci-fi’s most iconic villains in 1984, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the role in the 1991 sequel and created one of the genre’s best and most enduring heroes by being a slightly softened version of same thing. Having a character switch sides morally or literally is a risky prospect in storytelling at the best of times, but the Terminator managed to be the ultimate murderous bad guy initially and in the next instance be the valiant protector, father figure, and martyr only to be loved even more. This is why The Terminator is a pure and true icon of cinema. --Stephen Rogers

05. Johnny 5
As seen in: Short Circuit

Ah, the eighties; when runners were boots, jumpers were huge and the most advanced piece of technology we could imagine looked rather like Meccano mounted on a remote control car. In a way, it’s that retro harking back to a time before Steve Jobs and Apple managed to convince us that every iRobot worth its malware has to be shiny and white that keeps all of us in love with Johnny 5.

The tale of Number 5, as he is in the first Short Circuit movie, has more in common with E.T. than The Terminator. Future Governor Arnie may have begun stomping about the 20th Century a couple of years before but we still hadn’t been hard-wired to distrust intelligent robots on sight just yet. When Ally Sheedy finds him hiding out in her van it’s all delightful misunderstandings and adventure; even his Cylon voiced evil brothers wind up as Larry, Curly and Moe, hardly the sight to inspire dread of the robotic menace.

The world (or the USA at least) had a bigger menace in those days anyway: the Ruskies. In the midst of cold war paranoia movies like Red Dawn and Invasion USA, Johnny 5’s cheery fascination with the world told us all to stop and smell the roses, even as his high-tech construction subtly reminded everybody of the superiority of western technology. In the end though, all that really sticks with us is the image of Johnny 5 chasing happily after a butterfly and the robot’s earnest message to an anxious and materially obsessed decade: Life is not a malfunction. --Declan Aylward
04. Marvin the Paranoid Android
As seen in: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

What makes movie and TV robots so dangerous is that they are full of data and information about life, the universe and everything in it, yet their artificial intelligence is accompanied by a stone cold lack of emotion. They know everything but care about nothing. No wonder they try to destroy the planet even 10 minutes.

Marvin (from the book The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, as well as it’s TV and film adaptations) does not lack emotion; in fact he’s is infested with it. Marvin is the robot embodiment of the human condition. He gets how people think and, more importantly, how they feel, he just doesn’t care very much. He, as the most depressed robot in history, has the basic motto that life, and his position in it, suck. After all, anyone with a brain the size of a planet who is asked to do nothing but menial tasks, unworthy of his great acumen, would get kind of bored.

Marvin is the failed prototype of Sirius Cybernetics GPP (Genuine People Personalities) programme and due to unresolved flaws in his programming he is stuck with the intelligence to do great things but the will and drive to do very little. He is a good guy to have around when you are in a bad mood because no matter how bad you feel you know he is going to be more down than you are. I think that is why we love him. He has a hard time of it and no other robot knows, or could know, what it is like to be that under appreciated. So we’re appreciating him. He needs the love. --Rachael Murphy

03. Bishop
As seen in: Aliens

Bishop will no doubt remain a polarising figure, both within the narrative of the Alien saga, and in how viewers approach the character after viewing both Aliens and Alien 3. Played by Lance Henriksen who, much to his misfortune, looks like a slimy, second-car salesman, Bishop is an android ‘The Company’ send along with the crew of high-tech colonial marines as they return to LV-425, the site of Ripley’s first encounter with the infamous Alien creatures. Indeed, his appearance of deviousness, and the unease which Ripley engages him, points to the multi-faceted nature of his place within the series. Claiming to adhere steadfastly to the first rule Isaac Asimov sets out for Robots, namely, never to injure or harm humans, Bishop is a robot the audience is never entirely sure of, and indeed, countless fans have speculated on how entirely benign his actions in Aliens truly were compared to his ‘changed’ nature in Alien 3. The implication, as Ripley strains to withhold saying, is that Bishop was indeed complicit in the laying of the Alien eggs.

The positing of Bishop as an android, (although he himself states: “I prefer the term ‘Artificial Person’ myself”) adds to the unease as he displays human emotions and engagements, but with a precision the viewer knows only a robot could possess. As robots go, he’s is a tricky customer, but on account of saving Ripley’s life, I think we’ll have to give him the benefit of the doubt. --Jason Robinson

02. Bender
As seen in: Futureama

Hard drinking, cigar-chomping and more foulmouthed than a drunken Mel Gibson, Bender is perhaps the best loved character in Futurama. He is certainly the show’s greatest breakout character, having appeared not only in The Simpsons, but also having a background cameo in Family Guy.

Built in Mexico by his industrial robot mother, Bender’s full name is Bender Bending Rodriquez, and he is alternatively 40% titanium, lead, zinc, dolomite, chromium and osmium. Bender requires near constant intake of alcohol to recharge his power source but probably drinks more than is necessary. Bender wants to be loved and struggles with his feelings for humanity, alternating between expressing fondness for his friends to declaring his intention to kill all humans. Perhaps the best example of Bender’s nihilistic nature comes when a bomb is planted inside him, set to detonate if he says a certain word. His reaction is to start listing words at random in the hope of setting it off. Despite being created as a mere bending unit, Bender is able to turn his hand to anything; from folk music to cooking to being a God, with the last being the only job suitable to his huge ego.

One interesting aspect of Bender is his age. Although he is built only two years before the show’s pilot, in season three he travels back in time to 1947. His head is left behind in the desert as the ship departs, where it waits the intervening 1,055 years for rescue. Subsequently, in 'Bender’s Big Score', he travels back 955 years to kill Fry. There, he waits the same amount of time before arriving in the “present” at the climax of the episode. As of this latest season, Bender’s head is over 2,000 years old, and his body (and ass) almost half that. --David Bolger

01. R2-D2
As seen in: Star Wars

At a glance, R2-D2 is an unremarkable robot. Gliding around on little wheels, making gentle beeps and squeaks that somehow people can understand, he seems like an unlikely candidate to top this poll. Yet, when you think about it, no other machine comes close. Over the years hundreds of different robots have appeared in popular culture. They’ve been servants, overlords, invaders; the list goes on and on. Yet R2-D2 stands alone at the top of the pile. A robot who is, quite simply, a friend. A mildly snarky, but undeniably lovable, friend.

While most robots have multiple functions R2-D2, for the most part, wasn’t capable of much more than just wandering around, getting into peril and hacking the occasional mainframe. The prequel trilogy tried to imbue him with incredibly random extra abilities such a highly convenient mini saw which I found diluted his charm somewhat. After all, this is a robot that has always been greater than the sum of its parts. He’ll journey with you to distant planets, he can pass important messages, serve drinks if needs be; he is there for you.

Regardless of the more recent changes, since the original Star Wars R2 has become deeply rooted in every generation’s subconscious since. Any one of his trademark sounds, like his nervous squeak, or his playful whistle will instantly stir the inner child within most of us. Really, when you think about it, he is quite the pop culture heavyweight. Star Wars has spread its influence over movies, music, books, video games... there really is no part of the world of entertainment that it hasn’t touched, and if I had to choose a character from this gargantuan media empire to represent it, it would be R2-D2, standing in some desolate desert wasteland, staring at you indifferently. Darth Vader may have been tall, dark and menacing, Luke Skywalker may have been the main character, Han Solo may have been Harrison Ford, but R2-D2 is the face of Star Wars and in a way, that makes him the face of popular film, which is funny because he’s just a robot that can’t really do much apart from prodding you with his unnecessary electric baton thing that he has inside himself somewhere. --Jesse Melia

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One More Robot's Top 50 Robots 20-11

20. T-1000
As seen in: Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Among the wide variety of robots, cyborgs and machines that appear on this list, the T-1000 remains a true original. So perfectly formed was James Cameron’s creation in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, that it remains completely believable and no less jaw-dropping some twenty years later. In fact, no other filmmaker has dared attempt copy the concept, since Cameron and co’s execution proved so definitive.

Intended to be a sleeker, sports car-like design to Arnie’s panzer tank, the T-1000 is probably best remembered not for his ability to take on the appearance of his victims, turn his limbs into sharp, lethal weapons or apparent indestructibility, but for his sharp, quick sprinting motion. Both terrifying to those he pursues, as well as effective in catching some slower vehicles, it’s one of the series most iconic images. --Dean Van Nguyen

19. Maria
As seen in: Metropolis

A cold emotionless face combined with the sexy curves of the female body, all encased in steel, Maria is one of cinema’s most iconic images. She was played by Brigitte Helm, who technically took on the dual roles of the robot (or Maschinenmensch) and the human on whom it was modelled, in Fritz Lang’s sci-fi masterpiece Metropolis.

Constructed for the personal gain of scientiest Rotwang, who is locked in a bitter love triangle with Metropolis elite Freder over Maria’s affections, the robot is fashioned in her image with the ultimate goal of destroying Metropolis and murdering Freder. However, after being instilled with sentience, the Maschinenmensch soon turns on its creator ala Frankenstein’s Monster and runs amuck. --Seán Earley

18. Sonny
As seen in: I, Robot

I, Robot protagonist Del Spooner (Will Smith) believes that Sonny killed his creator, thus breaking one of writer Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics; rules the writer apparently formed to provide interesting plot lines when broken. Sonny himself is an NS-5 unit, seemingly just one in a long production line of similar robots. However, he has very distinctive features, including reenforced body armor, a secondary brain that is not governed by the laws and the ability to dream. But it’s his likeable personality that makes Sonny a real charmer. You could even buy a replica of his head for your home that lights up when approached by an intruder. Truly, the people’s robot. --Carol Killeen

17. Number Six
As seen in: Battlestar Galactica

When TV series Battlestar Gallactica was re-imagined several key changes were made, most notable of which was the enemy. No longer were the nefarious Cylons limited to a mechanical, cyborg appearance. They were able to mimic actual humans in every physical detail. The creative forces behind the show clearly knew what their audience wanted as the humanoid Cylon that got the most screen time was the sleek, platinum blonde temptress known as Number Six. Any excuse to put her in scenes involving seduction, manipulation and, yes, sexual intercourse, was conceived by the show’s writing team. Regardless of her looks though, Six is a genuinely great character whose moral complexity and memorable image was integral to the success of this brilliant sci-fi series. But yes, she was super hot and was clearly created to mentally ensnare alpha nerds like myself. It worked. --Jesse Melia

16. Gerty
As seen in: Moon

Tasked with assisting Sam Bell on the Sarang Lunar Base as he extracts helium-3 from the soil for much-needed clean energy back on Earth, GERTY seems as insidious and potentially dangerous as HAL was in 2001: A Space Odyssey. But while he stirs up the audiences memories of the murderous HAL, he then promptly dispels our fears. Kevin Spacey’s vocal performance is clearly related to, if not inspired by, the soothing and calming tones of Kubrick’s design. But where HAL failed, GERTY triumphs. Here is a robot gifted with artificial intelligence that does not want to over throw the human race, instead empathising with Sam’s struggle and his fear and confusion and does all he can to help him. While any fictional artificial intelligence is going to be burdened with comparisons to HAL 9000, GERTY was clearly created in an attempt to embrace this, rather than fight to be free of it. And this is why the character works so well. --Brogen Hayes

15. Kryten
As seen in: Red Dwarf

Kitchy robots have always been a part of cult sci-fi, and it doesn’t come more cult than Red Dwarf. Kryten, the robot butler rescued from a macabre pantomime of his own creation, is part C-3PO, part Hal from Malcolm in the Middle. Played by Robert Llewellyn, in the years before Scrap Heap Challenge claimed his soul, he brought his own brand of crazy to the table, with physical comedy and exaggerated doubletakes worthy of Fawlty Towers. Kryten has an earnest desire to serve humanity, even the miserable specimen that is Lister, the last human. His wilful glee in debasing himself to that end is hilarious, even as it can’t help but make us think about the concept of creating what amount to worshipful slaves from a rather uncomfortable angle. --Declan Aylward

14. WALL-E
As seen in: WALL-E

By most yardsticks, WALL-E is an unlikely concept for an animated feature. Based around a lonely, old, disheveled robot on an isolated and abandoned Earth, if any studio other than Pixar received this idea, it would have died a quick and lonely death. Yet here the studio created a truly loveable, however unlikely, hero in the form of WALL-E (standing for “Waste Allocation Load Lifter- Earth Class”). A colourful, small yellow robot, with a binocular-type eyes that manage to convey both the happiness (during his time with his love, Eve) and worry (such as when he is nearly destroyed in a sandstorm) that comes his way.

WALL-E is both resilient and sweet, with a love of old films and a collector of knick-knacks on the abandoned planet he inhabits. That the robot doesn’t even speak actual words is testament to the depth and power his emotions and actions hold throughout the feature and the rare instance where an audience is rooting for a machine to find true love with his beloved other. --Jason Robinson

13. Gort
As seen in: The Day the Earth Stood Still

One of the best known robots in movie history, Gort was completely indestructible and capable of destroying all life on Earth. Despite this, his mission in The Day the Earth Stood Still was to bring about world peace. This was carried out via the threat of global Armageddon.

Gort spent most of the film motionless, waiting outside his spaceship for his companion Klaatu. He was examined by the military but gave no indication that this upset him. This stillness is part of what makes Gort such a memorable robot; the lack of movement creates amazing suspense. That feeling of untapped raw power paid off at the climax of the film with perhaps science fictions best known line: “Klaatu. Borada. Nikto,” meaning roughly: don’t kill everybody in the world. --David Bolger

12. Rosie
As seen in: The Jetsons

Rosie was always more than just a maid to the Jetson family. She was there to give advice when it was needed, and to roll her eyes when Judy Jetson professed that she was in love yet again. She generally had little to do with the storyline, (except in the episode she snags herself a robot boyfriend) but rather acted as the comic relief when things got in anyway serious. There was more to Rosie though than just the humour in her character, or the fact that she is oddly dressed in a little French maid’s outfit. She was like supporting wall that prevented our favourite space-age family from falling apart.

Rosie was ordered by the Jetsons from U-RENT A MAID when they needed a little help. They never looked back. Why would they? Who wouldn’t love to have a machine in your home that cleaned up after you, getting out the hover when the dog has rolled mud on the carpet and making sure you jeans are clean when you need them? As soon as you stop living at home you need something like that around. --Rachael Murphy

11. Robby the Robot
As seen in: Forbidden Planet

An icon of science-fiction, Robbie was created for 1956 movie Forbidden Planet. The film was famously based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and Robbie himself was inspired by the powerful wood sprite Ariel. He was designed by the same man who gave us Lost in Space’s Robot B-9, but his greatness lies not just in his lineage, but in what he did afterwards. Unlike most robots in film and television, Robbie went on to have an amazing career spanning thirty years and appeared in a string of successful movies (Gremlins, Earth Girls Are Easy, Star Wars: Episode I) and television shows (Lost in Space, The Twilight Zone, The Love Boat). If you thought “robot” in the sixties, odds are you’re thinking of Robby. --David Bolger

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One More Robot's Top 50 Robots 30-21

30. C-3PO
As seen in: Star Wars

One of the most underrated supporting characters of the Star Wars series, C-3PO and his counterpart R2-D2 are credited as being the world’s first ‘bromance’, bridging language barriers, robot race and much more besides. One of the few characters to be portrayed by the same actor throughout the entire six Star Wars films; C-3PO has become a cult figure amongst fans the world over. The robot has inspired some the most varied and downright bizarre collectibles such as earrings, art and, my personal favourite, altered antique plates! The most recent is the newly released C-3PO iPad Case, the iPad accessory for geeks across the globe. --Niamh King

29. KITT
As seen in: Knight Rider

An abbreviation of ‘Knight Industries Two Thousand’, KITT was the talking car from eighties megahit TV show Knight Rider. The Knight in question was Michael Knight, played by The Hoff himself. Together with KITT, the duo was a formidable crime stopping force, defeating their enemies with a mixture of devastating explosives, unbelievable technology and artificial intelligence.

Undeniably camp, KITT would often come out with some awful lines that suggested that maybe there was more than just a platonic love between one man and his artificial intelligent car going on, including this gem: “It appears to be a large... My goodness, large isn’t the word, it’s enormous!” --Seán Earley
28. Kevin
As seen in: Saved by the Bell

Not all successful TV series hit the ground running, and the first couples of seasons can sometimes be littered with failed experiments, and characters soon to get the chop. In Saved by the Bell’s case, there was Max, the annoying waiter from the restaurant of the same name who insisted on using magic tricks as a visual aid to underline the advice he was giving the fresh-faced Zach, AC and the gang. He was wisely axed soon after. Then there was Kevin, Screech’s robot friend who was inexplicably removed from the show after two seasons. His appearances included a gig as an assistant to Screech’s magician and as a hall monitor, filling in for his much-loved master. But more than just a mechanical slave, Kevin offered the anxious teen much needed guidance with a refreshing sense of humour. Removing his robotic buddy when they did, no wonder Screech went off the rails. --Dean Van Nguyen

27. ‘Robot Rock’
Recorded by: Daft Punk

Daft Punk’s sound has always had a rather cybernetic quality. From the repetitive thud of the bass in ‘Da Funk’ to the space-aged synth laser blasts of ‘Around The World’, they have always seemed like a band that belonged at some futuristic rave out in the far reaches of the cosmos. By their second album they had evolved into robots physically and sonically with an arsenal of new, auto tune laden pop songs. The definitive example of their inorganic, processed sound is the aptly titled ‘Robot Rock’, a song which is played by robots and, indeed, rocks. In fact, the music video features a robot playing guitar. It does exactly what it says on the space aged tin. --Jesse Melia

26. ED-209
As seen in: Robocop

ED-209 had one of the most memorable introductions in sci-fi cinema when during a straight forward demonstration, he hideously malfunctions and guns down an innocent man. It kinda set the bar for things to come. The tank-like robot became something of a comic foil in the Robocop film trilogy, TV series, comic book and other spin offs because of his tendancy to break and general flaws in his design. (His inability to negotiate a flight of stairs leads to his defeat in the first ecounter with Robocop).

We think 209 got a bad hand. His flaws in the movie were mostly down to the rush to get him operational and these defects were apparently not worked out, with the sequel’s filmmakers determined to keep him slow, stupid and easily defeatable. A shame, since Robocop director Paul Verhoeven intended him to terrify, comparing the design to that of a Vietnam war helicopter. --Dean Van Nguyen

25. Linguo
As seen in: The Simpsons

Linguo was a shooting star amongst Simpsons characters, come and gone in a single episode but with his pedantic grammatical corrections forever burned into our brains. His appealed most obviously to the type of people who correct others’ use of ‘seen’ instead of ‘saw’, or ‘who’ instead of ‘whom’. Probably the most ingenious of all Lisa’s various science projects, Linguo’s brief life saw him get drunk, fight mobsters and die in the arms of Homer. It was a short but fulfilling existence. Let us never forget his dying words, as a single-thumbed Homer cradles him and says, “Linguo, dead?”, “Linguo is dead” came the final earthly croak. Long live Linguo. --Ian Maleney

24. The Mars Rover
Created by: NASA

NASA’s Mars Rover is actually two robots, Spirit and Opportunity. Both are identical but on different parts of Mars, as their creators hope to utitlise the machines we humans hope to find out vital information about its make-up and resources of the red planet. Operations began in 2004 and so far, they have detected ice and carbonate deposit (next stop, Costa del Mars) and if you like to keep up to date on what these robots are getting up to, they’re even on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MarsRovers).

These robots will be on Mars for the long haul so expect to hear more of their adventures over the coming years, although at present poor Spirit is caught in a sand trap and NASA hasn’t heard from it since March last year. We wish them both the best of luck. --Jason Robinson

23. The Pink Robots
Created by: The Flaming Lips

I imagine their pink colouring is a ruse to lull us into a false sense of security. I mean who sees pink and thinks danger? But you’re not going to get anywhere in your career as a giant world beating anime-style ‘megabot’ if you don’t have at least a few tricks up your sleeves. Do giant pink robots have sleeves? Anyway, we can only theorise why the titular Pink Robots of the Flaming Lips excellent 2002 song were attacking Earth, or Japan, or wherever. Whatever their reasons Wayne Coyne seemed confident that a young girl named Yoshimi could defeat them, amply prepared as she was with a vigorous karate and vitamin taking regime. What did she know that we didn’t? We don’t really know how she got on either, the only evidence being the indecipherable screaming heard in the songs second part. Maybe she didn’t defeat those evil machines. --Stephen Rogers

22. Metal Gear Rex
As seen in: Metal Gear Series

One of the Sony Playstation’s most memorable and influential franchises is undoubtedly the Metal Gear series. What started as a fairly straightforward running and gunning platform game on the SNES has evolved into a cinematic, blockbuster gaming franchise that has lasted over 20 years. The one constant in this genre-bending saga is that at the end of our hero Solid Snake’s journey of stealth and intrigue, he must face off against the latest iteration of the menacing bipedal walking tank known as Metal Gear Rex. Equipped with nuclear warheads along with an array of other destructive weaponry, the different Metal Gear’s have almost always posed much the same threat. They would always fall into the hands of fiendish terrorist types who wish to use its nuclear payload to commit fiendish terrorist acts such as enslaving the government or something equally reprehensible. Luckily Snake would always find the machine’s weak spot and destroy the abomination so we can all sleep soundly tonight. Thanks Snake. --Jesse Melia

21. ‘Intergalactic’ Robot
As seen in: The Beastie Boys’ Video

The Beastie Boys’ finest MTV moment saw the trio manning a robot that battles a giant octopus-headed creature armed with a pitchfork. The video is a nod to the old Kaju movies, right down to the scenes of the fleeing Japanese, just like a classic Godzilla film. The battle itself though somewhat resembles an episode of The Power Rangers and we’re treated to what can only be described as a Ranger-like dance moves by the boys down below, while the robot happily dances on the streets, that have been abandoned by the terrified natives. When the fight ensues, our blocky hero overcomes early octopus dominance by flinging his enemy into a nearby power line. This won Best Hip Hop Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1998. --Carol Killeen

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One More Robot's Top 50 Robots 40-31

40. Teddy
As seen in: A.I: Artificial Intelligence

Of all the robots A.I: Artificial Intelligence has to offer, Teddy is without a doubt the most impressive and intimidating. From the first introduction to Teddy it is made crystal clear that, despite his cuddly and slightly evil appearance, he is not a toy. He takes in the role of David’s friend and guardian, often handing out useful advice such as “[Don’t eat spinach] You will break.” In complete contrast to the humans in David’s life, Teddy displays a steadfastness and determination to ensure his well being. (There’s a moral lesson there, somewhere, if you care to pursue it.) His dedication to the mission at hand, find the Blue Fairy who will transform David into a real boy, is truly remarkable considering he has no ties to the child other than he loves him with all his little robot heart. --Niamh King

39. Data
As seen in: Star Trek: The Next Generation

When Star Trek: The Next Generation first aired, fans of the original series were quick to notice similarities between the main cast and their 1960’s counterparts. Foremost among these was Data, Starfleet’s first android officer who seemed little more than a poor man’s Mr Spock. But Data soon evolved into something more than an emotionless, naive foil to the show’s human characters. We watched him learn to become something more than a machine as the show-runners had him explore the human condition, the place of sentient life in the universe and even what defines a life form.

Data explored his desire for a family by creating a “child,” found his own long lost family (and evil twin) in Lore, and even crossed the machine-human sexual divide, declaring himself “fully functional” to Tasha Yar. An early defining moment came in the second season when Dr. Polaski pronounced his name as “Dahtah,” rather than “Daytah.” When quizzed on why he corrected her, Data replied: “One is my name. The other is not.” --David Bolger

38. Calculon
As seen in: Futureama

More than just a robot, more than just a soapstar, Calculon is Futureama creator Matt Groening’s commentary on the vapid egotism of Hollywood and the television industry. The sheer overbearing selfishness that bullies its way into a kind of irresistible charisma holds a mirror up to stars like Russell Crowe, Bill Shatner of course, and even Adam West in his heyday. But it’s more than just sneering at the rich and famous on Groening’s part; Calculon is, after all, a robot, created to act the way we made him. Calculon himself is completely oblivious to all of this, he just basks in the attention and doles out meaningless thanks to the little people: “the Academy, my agent and, of course, my operating system”. --Declan Aylward

37. The Buffy Bot
As seen in: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Appearing in season five and six of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Buffybot is an identical robot replica of the real Buffy Summers. Programmed to be in love with the vampire Spike, she will do anything to please him.

A symptom of Spike’s obsession with the real Buffy, the Buffybot is an experiment that went wrong. Her speech and mannerisms were not perfected by the robot’s creators, so although she is chipper and permanently happy around Spike, she lacks tact and can be incredibly blunt in conversation. Happily, the Buffybot has her uses – other than as a talkative sex toy for Spike – and she is often used to distract the enemy or convince them that Buffy is in two places at once. --Brogen Hayes

36. Atomic Robo
As seen in: Atomic Robo

Atomic Robo is an old school robot in every sense of the word. From his bucket head design to World War Two antics, Brian Clevinger’s comic creations are action packed adventures right out of the pages of Commando…if Commando had an almost painfully postmodern awareness of itself.

Atomic Robo was built by Nikola Tesla, that bastion of unlikely inventions, and works with the Action Scientists of Tesladyne Industries to keep the world safe from weird war machines and supernatural threats, including walking Nazi tanks called Laufpanzers and one particularly annoying dinosaur with a PhD. There are elements of The Venture Brothers in Robo’s banter with the bad guys and the same trendy, tongue-in-cheek teasing of the stories our parents grew up with that probably makes the creator of The Hardy Boys want to rise from his grave and pelt the nearest Starbucks with buttered scones. --Declan Aylward

35. Zoe-R
As seen in: Caprica

Raised on the planet Caprica, Zoe Graystone was born into a wealthy family who believed her to be a normal teenager, but in reality she was a secret monotheist (the standard belief system in Caprica is polytheism) as well as a computer genius. When Zoe is killed in a suicide bombing carried out by religious extremists, her father downloads a digital recreation of into a robot and thus, Zoe-R – a robot with Zoe Graystone’s consciousness intact within it – is born.

Zoe-R believes that she is simply trying to escape to religious freedom on Gemenon –a planet that shares her religious beliefs– but as fans of Battlestar Galactica will know, Zoe-R was the first cylon consciousness and the precursor to the race of robots that started a Twelve Year War to be free of their human masters. And you thought your teenage years were hard! --Brogen Hayes

34. Cyberman
As seen in: Dr. Who

Of all the many weird and wonderful Dr. Who villains there are two that stand out; the Daleks and the Cybermen. But let’s face it, the Daleks, as scary as they are at times, look a bit like an army of rubbish bins. The Cybermen, on the other hand, are as hard as they come. They used to be human but have replaced so many parts of their anatomy over the years with mechanical replacements that now they are almost entirely machine, becoming in the process so cold and calculating that they have lost all respect for life, apart from their own. With so many Cyberman gracing Dr. Who, I can’t pick a favourite, they are all pretty bad ass. It still sends a shiver down my spine when I look at the ‘delete’ button on my keyboard. --Rachael Murphy

33. Sgt. Bash
As seen in: Robot Wars

One the ‘Housebots’ in the UK version of Robot Wars, Sgt. Bash sported a mean-looking camoflage paint job that made him an intimidating prospect on the robot battlefield. But despite looking the part, Bash was sadly inept when it came to a scrap. His main weapon was a flame thrower, which looked mightely impressive, but it wasn’t much unless his opponent was made out of polyester. As a secondary method of attack, the sergeant could deploy a circular saw. Designed to cut his victims deep, it was so slow at carving through steel that only robots who had stopped moving were in any real danger of it breaching their protective shell.

He may have been all mouth and no trousers, but what made Bash 10 times more likeable than his super-dangerous allies like Sir Killalot was his bad temper and feelings of self-righteousness. He’d often wander out of his designated zone, looking to pick on contestants and their stupid looking robots, probably because they offended him with their tacky designs. --Dean Van Nguyen

32. R Daneel Olivaw
As seen in: The work of Isaac Asimov

R Daneel Olivaw first appeared in writer Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, and eventually became his most commonly featured character. Built in the year 5020, he was the first “humaniform” robot and could only be distinguished from a human being when forced to follow Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, and even then could be mistaken as simply an overtly moral person. Based on his own philosophy, he sidestepped the First Law (which stated “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”) by creating the pre-emptive Zeroth Law; “A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.” He went on to become a Machiavellian minimalist, deciding which course would be safest for the human race, and calculating the least intrusive action he could take to set them on that path. Asimov later wrote that he put Olivaw into so many of his stories because his publishers and fans kept insisting on it. --David Bolger

31. Citroën C4
As seen in: That Citroën Ad

Yes, it’s the Citroën advert that no doubt caught your eye. The one when the car stands up and magnificently transforms into a giant dancing robot, performing a routine loosely based on the idea of a Transformers break dance developed by the agents from Justin Timberlake’s choreographer Marty Kudelka. And before you ask, this was before Michael Bay entered the picture. Apparently the car itself was well received, and is actually alive, em, with technology. The dance was accompanied by the extremely catchy tune ”Jacques Your Body (Make Me Sweat)” by Les Rythmes Digitales. Be sure that it’s on your iPod. --Carol Killeen

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