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I, Robot

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I, Robot
First edition cover
AuthorIsaac Asimov
Cover artistEd Cartier
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction short stories
PublisherGnome Press
Publication date
1950
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback)
Pages272 pp
ISBNNA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Followed byThe Complete Robot 

I, Robot is a collection of nine science fiction short stories by Isaac Asimov, first published by Gnome Press in 1950 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines Super Science Stories and Astounding Science Fiction between 1940 and 1950. The stories are woven together as Dr. Susan Calvin tells them to a reporter (the narrator) in the 21st century. Though the stories can be read separately, they share a theme of the interaction of humans, robots and morality, and when combined they tell a larger story of Asimov's fictional history of robotics.

Several of the stories feature the character of Dr. Susan Calvin, chief robopsychologist at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., the major manufacturer of robots. Upon their publication in this collection, Asimov wrote a framing sequence presenting the stories as Calvin's reminiscences during an interview with her about her life's work, chiefly concerned with aberrant behaviour of robots, and the use of "robopsychology" to sort them out. The book also contains the short story in which Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics first appear. Other characters that appear in these short stories are Powell and Donovan, a field-testing team which locates flaws in USRMM's prototype models.

The collection shares a title with Eando Binder's short story "I, Robot", but is not connected to it. Asimov wanted to call his collection Mind and Iron, and initially objected when the publisher changed the title.

Contents

Publication history

Cover art for I, Robot featuring a scene from "Runaround".

Film, TV and theatrical adaptations

At least three of the short stories from I, Robot have been adapted for television. The first was an 1962 episode of Out of this World hosted by Boris Karloff called "Little Lost Robot" with Maxine Audley as Susan Calvin. In the 1960s, two short stories from this collection were made into episodes of the television series Out of the Unknown: "The Prophet" (1967), based on "Reason"; and "Liar!" (1969).[1] The 12th episode of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World, filmed in 1987 and entitled Don't Joke with Robots was based on works by Aleksandr Belyaev, Fredrik Kilander and Asimov's "Liar!" story.[2]

In the late 1970s, Warner Brothers acquired the option to make a film based on the book, but no screenplay was ever accepted. The most notable attempt was one by Harlan Ellison, who collaborated with Asimov himself to create a version which captured the spirit of the original. Asimov is quoted as saying that this screenplay would lead to "the first really adult, complex, worthwhile science fiction movie ever made."

Ellison's script builds a framework around Asimov's short stories that involves a reporter named Robert Bratenahl tracking down information about Susan Calvin's alleged former lover Stephen Byerly. Asimov's stories are presented as flashbacks that differ from the originals in their stronger emphasis on Calvin's character. Ellison placed Calvin into stories in which she did not originally appear and fleshed out her character's role in ones where she did. In constructing the script as a series of flashbacks that focused on character development rather than action, Ellison used the film Citizen Kane as a model.[3]

Although acclaimed by critics, the screenplay is generally considered to have been unfilmable based upon the technology and average film budgets of the time.[3] Asimov also believed that the film may have been scrapped because of 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 the producers.[4] The script eventually appeared in book form under the title I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay, in 1994 (reprinted 2004, ISBN 1-4165-0600-4).

The film I, Robot, starring Will Smith, was released by Twentieth Century Fox on July 16, 2004 in the United States. Its plot is not based on any one story in the collection but does incorporate elements of "Little Lost Robot"[5] and other stories, and uses many of Asimov's characters and ideas about robots, including the Three Laws.[5]

Influence

See also: The Three Laws of Robotics in popular culture

In 2004 The Saturday Evening Post said that I, Robot's Three Laws "revolutionized the science fiction genre and made robots far more interesting than they ever had been before."[6] I, Robot has influenced many aspects of modern popular culture, particularly with respect to science fiction and technology. One example of this is in the technology industry. The name of the real-life modem manufacturer named U.S. Robotics was directly inspired by I, Robot. The name is taken from the name of a robot manufacturer ("United States Robots and Mechanical Men") that appears throughout Asimov's robot short stories.[7]

Many works in the field of science fiction have also paid homage to Asimov's collection. The animated science fiction/comedy Futurama makes several references to I, Robot. The title of the episode "I, Roommate" is a spoof on I, Robot although the plot of the episode has little to do with the original stories.[8] Additionally, the episode "The Cyber House Rules" included an optician named "Eye Robot" and the episode "Anthology of Interest II" included a segment called "I, Meatbag."[citation needed] Also in "Bender's Game" the psychiatric doctor is shown a logical fallacy and explodes when the assistant shouts "Liar!" a la "Liar!" . An episode of the original Star Trek series, "I, Mudd" 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". in which Geordi La Forge befriends a lost member of the Borg collective and teaches it a sense of individuality and free will.

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.

Author Cory Doctorow has written a story called "I, Robot" as homage to Asimov,[9] as well as "I row-boat", both released in the 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.'".[10]

Other cultural references to the book are less directly related to science fiction and technology. The 1977 album I Robot, by The Alan Parsons Project, was inspired by Asimov's I, Robot. In its original conception, the album was to follow the themes and concepts presented in the short story collection. The Alan Parsons Project were not able to obtain the rights, so the album's concept was altered slightly (although the name was kept).[11] The 2002 electronica album by experimental artist Edman Goodrich (known, at times, to operate under the aliases of "je, le roi!" and "The Ghost Quartet") shares the title of I, Robot, and is heavily influenced by Asimovian themes. The 2009 album, I, Human, by Singaporean band Deus Ex Machina draws heavily upon Asimov's principles on robotics and applies it to the concept of cloning.[12]

Footnotes

  1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0005854/ Imbd list of actresses that have played Susan Calvin.
  2. ^ Template:Ru icon State Fund of Television and Radio Programs
  3. ^ a b Weil, Ellen (2002). Harlan Ellison: The Edge of Forever. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press. p. 126. ISBN 0814208924. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Isaac Asimov, "Hollywood and I". In Asimov's Science Fiction, May, 1979.
  5. ^ a b Topel, Fred (2004-08-17). ""Jeff Vintar was Hardwired for I,ROBOT" (interview with Jeff Vintar, script writer)". Screenwriter's Utopia. Christopher Wehner. Retrieved 2007-12-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Kreiter, Ted. "Revisiting The Master Of Science Fiction". Saturday Evening Post. 276 (6): 38. ISSN 0048-9239.
  7. ^ U.S. Robotics Press Kit, 2004, p3 PDF format
  8. ^ M. Keith Booker (2006). Drawn to Television: Prime-Time Animation from the Flintstones to Family Guy. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. p. 122. ISBN 0275990192.
  9. ^ Doctorow, Cory. "Cory Doctorow's Craphound.com". http://www.craphound.com/?p=189 (retrieved 27 April 2008)
  10. ^ Doctorow, Cory. "Cory Doctorow's Craphound.com". http://www.craphound.com/?p=1676 (retrieved 27 April 2008)
  11. ^ Official Alan Parsons Project website
  12. ^ http://www.live4metal.com/reviews-784.htm

References

  • Chalker, Jack L. (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 299. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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