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THE MILKY WAY, Outer Space—From their first forays into literature and filmed science fiction, robots have delighted and frightened, menaced and humored.

They’ve been great companions and repulsive foes.

Through sound and movement, they take on recognizable characteristics we see in ourselves and motivations we understand. Some even long to be human!

What is it we see in these hunks of metal and mojo, these amalgams of gadgetry and moxie?

Like fictional characters from the animal world, they give us insight into the realities of life.

They’re also fun.

For all that, they have an unshakable hold on our imaginations, whether they appear here on Earth or in galaxies far, far away.

The charming title character in “WALL-E,” Pixar’s addition to the summer movie lineup, is bound to only deepen that grip. And that brings up a good chance to reflect on some of the coolest robots we’ve come to know.

Here, then, is our Top 10 of supercool robots.

A word about the parameters: To be selected for this list, a robot has to look more like an automaton than a human. If it walks like a robot, talks like a robot, it’s a robot, for this list.

Of course, that leaves out some worthy robotic characters, like the replicants from “Blade Runner,” the popular Terminator played by California’s governor and HAL 9000 from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Doubtless, they’d appear on other lists.

So here’s the list:



1.) R2-D2: Who’d have thought this short-of-stature, trash-can lookalike from the “Star Wars” movie series would become one of the most beloved modern movie characters? The droid has more charm than most human movie heroes.

Standing nearly 3 feet, this astromechanic droid with a buzz saw, arc welder and expressive blips and bleeps was even part of the 30th anniversary celebration of “Star Wars,” as the U.S. Postal Service put up R2-themed mailboxes in some cities.

R2 was decidedly more spontaneous than his pal C-3PO. He had a sense of adventure and bravery as he delivered the Death Star plans to the Alliance and a special message from Princess Leia.

Later, in an appearance on “Sesame Street,” the brave R2 even fell in love with a fire hydrant. Unrequited love, definitely something with which many can identify.

(If you’re a real R2 fan, check out r2d2translator.com.)



2.) C-3PO: Where R2 showed no fear, his companion C-3PO showed reserve and circumspection. Where R2 jumped into the fray to fix things and right the ship, so to speak, C-3PO was a master of protocol and languages. In his own robotic way, he was a diplomat.

Although C-3PO doesn’t have the same irrepressible charm as R-2, he, too, played a large and effective role in helping humans during the Star Wars series.

A native of Tatooine, C-3PO was built from scrap pieces by a young Anakin Skywalker, who would later grow up to be Darth Vader. Threepio, though, was faithful to the Rebel Alliance.

He and R2 formed one of the great comic duos of recent times with their witty banter and even some slapstick comedy. In short, you can’t have one without the other.



3.) Robby: Robby first appeared in the groundbreaking, MGM sci-fi cult classic “Forbidden Planet” in 1956, and he’s been back for numerous appearances in TV shows and film in the decades since.

Unlike other robots who came before him, Robby had personality and felt like a real character. He was a protector with a commanding, deep voice.

Like some of the most memorable robots, he had a certain deadpan charm.

In the film, Robby says to the United Planets Cruiser crew when they ask about the high oxygen content on the planet Altair IV, “I rarely use it myself, sir. It promotes rust.”

A team of crafty people at MGM came together to invent various aspects and create a new, altogether unique kind of space character. Robert Kinoshita, art director, put it all together for the overall design.

And Robby himself cost a small fortune for building a film prop back in the 1950s: $125,000. It must’ve been worth it. Robby was inducted into Carnegie Mellon University’s Robot Hall of Fame in 2004.



4.) Johnny 5: From the “Short Circuit” series of movies, Johnny 5 was a prototype military robot who, when hit by lightning during a demonstration, comes alive and then develops an understanding of how humans live life.

The famous line from the flick: “Number 5 is alive!”

Creator Dr. Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg) says of him, “It doesn’t get happy, it doesn’t get sad, it doesn’t laugh at your jokes.” But then a lightning bolt changes all of that, and Johnny 5 finds himself hanging out with a young Ally Sheedy.

Spunky, adventurous and a lively personality, he becomes a voracious fan of contemporary culture, and in one trailer is seen watching old TV shows and flipping through a book. “Need input, more input, more input,” he says.

Cute moment alert: Johnny 5 reaching out to touch a butterfly.



5.) Marvin the Paranoid Android: This one’s for the melancholy. The witty and depressive Marvin figured prominently in all formats of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”: novels, TV series, radio, movie.

For a tall hunk of metal moping around, Marvin has eyes that perfectly express his mood. (In the film, he’s a little different: shorter with a large, round head. The eyes still capture a bit of his gloominess.)

Marvin is the brainchild of Douglas Adams, the science fiction author who penned the popular novels. The “Hitchhiker’s Guide” phenomenon actually started with his BBC radio series launched in 1978. English actors Alan Rickman (movie) and Stephen Moore (radio and TV) have performed Marvin’s voice.

In a pop single released in 1981, Marvin’s character sings of himself: “I’m so depressed I could expectorate. My moving parts are in a solid state. I want to rust in peace, switch off and lie in that great junkyard in the sky.”



6.) Rosie the Robot Maid: A robot that speaks to the longing for a helpful, domestic buddy in ’bot form. From the Hanna-Barbera animation empire came this helpful, maternal maid for the Jetson family.

“The Jetsons” originally ran from 1962 to 1963, only to reappear in the 1980s. Rosie figured more in the most recent run. As voiced by Jean Vander Pyl, the apron-wearing housekeeper Rosie has a down-home charm to her. An older-model robot, the Jetsons treat her as a part of the family.

And she’s always ready to help them out in a futuristic, technologically savvy world of Orbit City, where George Jetson, the patriarch, works for Spacely Space Sprockets.

Others in the family are Jane, Judy and Elroy. They were an all-American family in a radically different universe, but they had some help along the way in Rosie.



7.) Sonny: One of the NS-5 robots from the flick “I, Robot” starring Will Smith, Sonny has the ability to feel human emotions and, he says, to dream.

The death of robot maker Dr. Alfred Lanning in the film inspires Smith’s character Del Spooner to search for a possible killer, and Smith’s sights focus at first on Sonny, who is found at the crime scene.

With a massive revolt of the NS-5 robots, the film creates nightmarish scenes



of them coming after humans. Sonny, though, is not part of that revolt.

Lanning is the inventor of the “Three Laws of Robotics” (actually formed by science fiction master Isaac Asimov), the first of which states a robot may never harm a human being or allow a person to be harmed. The other laws are that robots must obey human orders and protect itself; however, those laws can’t override the first law.

As a character, Sonny exhibits some of the deeper, philosophical questions of robot-hood.



8.) Maria/Robot: The robot version of the human Maria in Fritz Lang’s silent, black-and-white movie masterpiece “Metropolis” (released in 1927) would make a good “separated at birth” pairing with C-3PO, who looks much like her.

As a robot, she’s meant to be a gynoid, meaning her features made it clear she looked like a female. She was also one of the first female robots to appear in modern culture.

In “Metropolis,” the robot becomes the alter-ego of Maria, a character who fights for workers’ rights in Lang’s amazing, Modernist- and Art Deco-inspired futuristic world set in 2026 where laborers live underground and enable the grand city above to exist, almost literally upon their backs.

This robot is one of the most enduring images from the early history of cinema.



9.) B-9: Like Robby the Robot, this B-9 was designed by Robert Kinoshita and bears a definite resemblance to his older robotic counterpart.

He was one of the stars on “Lost in Space,” the sci-fi TV series that ran three seasons on CBS between 1965 and 1968. The series has gained cult classic notoriety.

Not given an exact name, the robot was a Model B-9 Environmental Control Robot.

In one episode, when asked to identify himself, he says: “Robot Model B-9, designed and computerized as a mechanized electronic aide for earth voyagers engaged in astral expeditions.”

He also showed a wacky, wild sense of humor, and was frequently the recipient of wisecracks and name calling from Dr. Smith.

B-9 often served to warm (with flailing arms) the Robinson family about incoming dangers: “Warning, Warning! Extraterrestrial life form approaching”

Or more famously, “Danger, Will Robinson!”



10.) Bender: One of the central characters in “Futurama,” the animated TV series created by Matt Groening of “The Simpsons” fame, Bender is certainly no ordinary robot.

A smoker, drinker, gambler and all-around robotic lout who’s swearing his way through the 31st century, Bender is pals with Philip J. Fry, Turanga Leela and others. Together they work at the futuristic deliver company Planet Express. (Fry was frozen just after the 2000 millennium, only to be awoken 1,000 years later.)

As in “The Simpsons,” the humor is darkly satirical and quite often crass. But “Futurama” has a dedicated following.

Fox ultimately dropped the series, but it was picked up by Cartoon Network and then, most recently, by Comedy Central. That network has been airing a series of straight-to-DVD movies as separate episodes. The first? “Bender’s Big Score.”





There’s no way to write a Top 10 list without generating disagreement. That’s what these lists are for. Have a favorite that should be considered one of the coolest robots, or a top five or even a top 10? E-mail them to abrand@texarkanagazette.com. Include your name and city. And a reason for each cool robot. We’ll round up your thoughts for a future Accent page story.