I, Robot
Robot series | |
Genre | Science fiction |
---|---|
Publisher | Gnome Press |
Publication date | December 2, 1950 |
Media type | Print (hardback) |
Pages | 253 |
Followed by | The Rest of the Robots The Complete Robot |
I, Robot is a
Overview
The stories are woven together by a
Several of the stories feature the character of Dr. Calvin, chief
The collection shares a title with the then recent short story "I, Robot" (1939) by Eando Binder (pseudonym of Earl and Otto Binder), which greatly influenced Asimov. Asimov had wanted to call his collection Mind and Iron and objected when the publisher made the title the same as Binder's. In his introduction to the story in Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories (1979), Asimov wrote:
It certainly caught my attention. Two months after I read it, I began "Robbie", about a sympathetic robot, and that was the start of my positronic robot series. Eleven years later, when nine of my robot stories were collected into a book, the publisher named the collection I, Robot over my objections. My book is now the more famous, but Otto's story was there first.
— Isaac Asimov (1979)[3]
Contents
- "Robbie" (1940, revised 1950)
- "Runaround" (1942), (novelette)
- "Reason" (1941)
- "Catch That Rabbit" (1944)
- "Liar!" (1941)
- "Little Lost Robot" (1947) (novelette)
- "Escape!" (1945)
- "Evidence" (1946) (novelette)
- "The Evitable Conflict" (1950) (novelette)
Reception
The New York Times described I, Robot as "an exciting science thriller [which] could be fun for those whose nerves are not already made raw by the potentialities of the atomic age".[4]
Describing it as "continuously fascinating", Groff Conklin "unreservedly recommended" the book.[5]
P. Schuyler Miller recommended the collection: "For puzzle situations, for humor, for warm character, [and] for most of the values of plain good writing."[6]
Adaptations
Television
At least three of the short stories from I, Robot have been adapted for television. The first was a 1962 episode of
Both the original and revival series of The Outer Limits include episodes named "I, Robot" but these are adaptations of an unrelated work by Earl and Otto Binder under their joint pseudonym "Eando Binder". The Binders' story introduced a recurring character, the robot named Adam Link.
In August 2023, David S. Goyer revealed that he had gotten permission from FOX head Lachlan Murdoch, a self-professed fan of Apple TV+'s Foundation, to adapt concepts from I, Robot to the series' 2023 second season, in "tying [Demerzel/Daneel] into the I, Robot laws [and] doing a spin-off mini-series that specifically delves into our version of "The Robot Wars".[9]
Films
Harlan Ellison's screenplay (1977–1978)
During the late 1970s,
Ellison's script, taking inspiration from
Although well-regarded by critics, the screenplay is generally considered to have been unfilmable for practical reasons, given the technology and average film budgets of the time.[10] Asimov also believed that the film may have been scrapped owing to a conflict between Ellison and the producers: when the producers suggested changes in the script, instead of being diplomatic as advised by Asimov, Ellison "reacted violently" and offended them.[11]
The script was serialized in
2004 film
The film
Radio
BBC Radio 4 aired an audio drama adaptation of five of the I, Robot stories on their 15 Minute Drama in 2017, dramatized by Richard Kurti and starring Hermione Norris.
These also aired in a single program on BBC Radio 4 Extra as Isaac Asimov's 'I, Robot': Omnibus.[18]
Prequels
The Asimov estate asked Mickey Zucker Reichert (best known for the Norse fantasy Renshai series) to write three[19] prequels for I, Robot, since she was a science fiction writer with a medical degree who had first met Asimov when she was 23, although she did not know him well.[20] She was the first female writer to be authorized to write stories based on Asimov's novels.[20]
The follow-ups to Asimov's Foundation series had been written by Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, and David Brin.[19]
Berkley Books ordered the I, Robot prequels, which included:
- I, Robot: To Protect (2011)
- I, Robot: To Obey (2013)
- I, Robot: To Preserve (2016)
Popular culture references
In 2004,
Many works in the field of science fiction have also paid homage to Asimov's collection.[citation needed]
An episode of the original Star Trek series, "I, Mudd" (1967), which depicts a planet of androids in need of humans, references I, Robot. Another reference appears in the title of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "I, Borg" (1992), in which Geordi La Forge befriends a lost member of the Borg collective and teaches it a sense of individuality and free will.[citation needed]
A Doctor Who story, The Robots of Death (1977), references I, Robot with the "First Principle", stating: "It is forbidden for robots to harm humans."[citation needed]
In the film Aliens (1986), the synthetic person Bishop paraphrases Asimov's First Law in the line: "It is impossible for me to harm, or by omission of action allow to be harmed, a human being."[citation needed]
An episode of
The
The positronic brain, which Asimov named his robots' central processors, is what powers Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as other Soong type androids. Positronic brains have been referenced in a number of other television shows including Doctor Who, Once Upon a Time... Space, Perry Rhodan, The Number of the Beast, and others.[citation needed]
Author Cory Doctorow has written a story called "I, Robot" as homage to and critique of Asimov,[25] as well as "I, Row-Boat", both released in the 2007 short story collection Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present. He has also said, "If I return to this theme, it will be with a story about uplifted cheese sandwiches, called 'I, Rarebit.'"[26]
Other cultural references to the book are less directly related to science fiction and technology. The album
The Indian science fiction film
The theme for Burning Man 2018 was "I, Robot".[29]
See also
Citations
- ^ Beauchamp, Gorman (1980). "The Frankenstein Complex and Asimov's Robots". Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal. 13 (3/4): 83–94 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Portelli, Alessandrro (1980). "The Three Laws of Robotics: Laws of the Text, Laws of Production, Laws of Society (Les Trois Lois de la Robotique: lois du texte, lois de la production, lois de la société)". Science Fiction Studies. 7 (2): 150–156 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Asimov, Isaac (1979). Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories.
- ^ "Realm of the Spacemen". The New York Times Book Review. February 4, 1951.
- ^ Conklin, Groff (April 1951). "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf". Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 59–61.
- ^ Book Reviews. September 1951. pp. 124–125.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ "IMDb list of actresses that have played Susan Calvin". IMDb.
- ^ (in Russian) State Fund of Television and Radio Programs Archived September 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ DavidGoyerFoundation (August 2, 2023). "AMA: Hello Reddit! I'm David S. Goyer, showrunner of Foundation on Apple TV and Director of episodes 202 and 203. Ask me anything!". Reddit. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
DavidGoyerFoundation: Will we do anything more with tying Demerzel into the I, Robot laws? Yes, for sure. Keep watching this season. We've even discussed doing a spin-off mini-series that specifically delves into our version of "The Robot Wars". No idea if we'll ever get there or if Apple or the audience have the appetite for it. Depends on S2 reception and beyond. Maybe we do that – or maybe we try to incorporate that storyline within one of the seasonal arcs.
- ^ ISBN 0-8142-0892-4.
- ^ Isaac Asimov, "Hollywood and I". In Asimov's Science Fiction, May 1979.
- ^ a b Topel, Fred (August 17, 2004). ""Jeff Vintar was Hardwired for I, ROBOT" (interview with Jeff Vintar, script writer)". Screenwriter's Utopia. Christopher Wehner. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ "Robbie, Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, 15 Minute Drama - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "Reason, Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, 15 Minute Drama - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "Little Lost Robot, Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, 15 Minute Drama - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "Liar, Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, 15 Minute Drama - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "The Evitable Conflict, Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, 15 Minute Drama - BBC Radio 4". BBC. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ "Isaac Asimov's 'I, Robot': Omnibus - BBC Radio 4 Extra". BBC. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
- ^ a b "Fantasy author to write new 'Isaac Asimov' novels". October 29, 2009. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
- ^ a b "Area author continues works of Isaac Asimov". Kalona News. May 25, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ISSN 0048-9239.
- ^ U.S. Robotics Press Kit, 2004, p3 PDF format Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-0-19-087868-9.
- ISBN 0-275-99019-2.
- ^ Doctorow, Cory. "Cory Doctorow's Craphound.com". http://www.craphound.com/?p=189 (retrieved April 27, 2008)
- ^ Doctorow, Cory. "Cory Doctorow's Craphound.com". Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ Official Alan Parsons Project website Archived 2009-02-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Reviews". Live 4 Metal. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
- ^ "I, ROBOT".
General and cited references
- Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923–1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 299.
External links
- I, Robot title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- I, Robot at Open Library
Series: |
Followed by: |
---|---|
Robot series
Foundation Series |
The Rest of the Robots |