In 1956 the film Forbidden Planet presented us with Robby. ibid.
Silent Running (1972): Earth’s last trees and plants are sent into space … Credible, non-human robots on the screen. ibid.
One of cinema’s greatest double acts: Star Wars (1977). ibid.
The Terminator (1984): a robot with a human facade. ibid.
2001: A Space Odyssey: [Arthur C] Clarke and the director Stanley Kubric pushed computers one stage further, asking what might happen if an intelligent machine followed its programming to its logical conclusion regardless of the human cost. ibid.
Blade Runner (1982) adapted from a novel: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ibid.
Battlestar Galactica explored the consequences of a world in which machines didn’t necessarily overtake humans but instead became human themselves. ibid.
What if humans became more like machines? … A Clockwork Orange, 1962. ibid.
Human beings literally transformed into machines: (1967) Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen. ibid.
One of the most popular American TV shows of the 1970s: The Six Million Dollar Man (1974-1978). ibid.
Robocop (1987) was the story of Murphy, a Detroit policeman who has been fatally wounded … A parable of how humanity might survive the forcible imposition of technology. ibid.
William Gibson is often seen as the great prophet of the internet age … Neuromancer. ibid.
The Matrix (1999): reality itself turns out to be an illusion built by a network of maligned machines. ibid.
But perhaps the greatest fantasy of all is one that I think at some level we all share: what if you could turn back the clock and relive your childhood … What if you could travel through time? Dominic Sandrook, Tomorrow’s Worlds: The Unearthly History of Science Fiction IV: Time Travel
The story of Time Travel is a fantastic voyage. ibid.
The Time Machine (2002) … Wells’s time traveller leaps first thousands then millions of years … A machine, a maverick and an extraordinary destination. ibid.
Dr Who … Science Fiction’s sacred ground … Just how odd it must have seemed to those first viewers who tuned in on Saturday 23rd November 1963: the story of an irascible old man with an extraordinary secret, wandering through space and time in of all things a battered British police box. ibid.
Back to the Future was born: a story of teenager Marty McFly, a mad professor Doc Brown and a very distinctive time machine. ibid.
It’d hard not to fall in love with the De Lorean’s Heath Robinson charm. ibid.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1983) … Metropolis (1927): the first full-length science fiction film … Blade Runner (1982) … Science Fiction’s dystopian vision of the future … Groundhog Day offers a surprisingly bleak look into the darkest corners of the human soul … Groundhog Day is basically a modern morality tale … Quantum Leap (1989-1993) … ibid.
Time Travel stories have long been a vehicle for sharp social criticism. ibid.
Philip K Dick was immersed in a psychedelic counter culture of late sixties’ San Francisco. ibid.
All this maintenance business – the only reason they don’t give this job to the service robots is they’ve got a better union than us. Red Dwarf s1e1: The End, Holly, BBC 1988
Holly tells me he’s sensed a non-human life-form aboard. ibid. captain to crew
Everybody’s dead, Dave. ibid. Holly
Death? It’s like being on holiday with a group of Germans. ibid. Rimmer to Lister
During the radioactive crisis, Dave, your cat and her kittens were safely sealed in the hold; they’ve been safely breeding there for three million years and evolved into the life-form you’ve just seen in the corridor. ibid. Holly
I am Holly, the ship’s computer, with an IQ of 6,000. The same IQ as 6,000 PE teachers. Red Dwarf s1e2: Future Echoes
I can’t cope – we’re going at the speed of light – me bottle’s gone. ibid. Holly
I’ve never read ... a book. ibid. Lister to Rimmer
In the three million years we have been away it is my fond hope that mankind has abolished war, cured all disease, and got rid of those little western saloon doors you get in trendy clothes shops. Red Dwarf s1e3: Balance of Power, Holly
Generally slob around. Have a few laughs. ibid. Lister’s plan
If there’s no-one out there, what is the point in existence? Why are we here? Red Dwarf s1e4: Waiting for God, Rimmer to Lister
If you’re God, why that face? ibid. Cat to Lister
We have been travelling through the galaxy now for three million years and there are many things we’ve discovered. The highest form of life in the universe is man, and the lowest is a man who works for the Post Office. Red Dwarf s1e5: Confidence and Paranoia, Holly
Do you know what the worst book ever written ever was? Football: It’s a Funny Old Game by Kevin Keegan. ibid. Holly
We have enough food to last thirty thousand years, but we’ve only got one After Eight mint left. And everyone’s too polite to take it. Red Dwarf s1e6: Me Squared, Holly
I’ve got a final demand for one hundred and eighty billion pounds. April fool. ibid. Holly
Additional: as the days go by we face the increasing inevitability that we are alone in a godless uninhabited hostile and meaningless universe. Still, you’ve got to laugh, haven’t you. Red Dwarf s2e1: Kryten, BBC 1988
I’m Kryten. I’m the service mechanoid aboard the Nova Five. We’ve had a terrible accident. ibid.
Holly: We’re a bit short on a few supplies.
Lister: Like what?
Holly: Cow’s milk. Ran out of that yonks ago. Fresh and dehydrated.
Lister: What kind of milk are we using now?
Holly: Emergency back-up supply. We’re on the dog’s milk.
Lister: Dog’s milk?!
Holly: Nothing wrong with dog’s milk. Full of goodness, full of vitamins, full of marrowbone jelly. Lasts longer than any other type of milk, dog’s milk.
Lister: Why?
Holly: No bugger’ll drink it. Plus, of course, the advantage of dog’s milk is that when it goes off, it tastes exactly the same as when it’s fresh.
Lister: Why didn’t you tell me, Holly?
Holly: What, and spoil your tea? ibid.
Your nickname was never Ace. Maybe Ace-hole. ibid. Lister
Loneliness weighs heavy on us all. Personally, the only thing that keeps me going is the thought that we are over sixty billion miles away from the nearest Berni Inn. Red Dwarf s2e2: Better Than Life, Holly
The post-pod’s arrived. It’s been tracking us since we left and now we’ve turned round it’s caught up. Yes, that’s about average for second-class post. ibid. computer
Cat: I’m so hungry. I just have to eat!
Lister: Shh! ... Rimmer’s dad’s died.
Cat: I’d prefer chicken. ibid.
Additional: supplies are plentiful. We have enough food and drink to last 30,000 years. Although we have run out of Shake n Vac. Red Dwarf s2e3: Thanks for the Memory, Holly
There’s a perfectly logical explanation for everything, with the possible exception of Little Jimmy Osmond. ibid.
I was an orphan. Even though my parents were alive. ibid. Rimmer
On the journey back to Earth we have encountered many strange and bizarre things: only last month we came across a moon which was shaped exactly like Felicity Kendall’s bottom. We flew around that one a couple of times. Red Dwarf s2e4: Stasis Leak, Holly
I am the nearest thing you can get to infallible. ibid. Holly
I loved that lemming. I build him a little wall so he could throw himself off. ibid. Rimmer
I was in love once: a Sinclair ZX-81. ibid. Holly