Killbot
Encyclopedia
A Killbot is a generic term for a type of stereotypical
fictional
robot
character, commonly appearing in works of science fiction
. Killbots are usually large, menacing machines created to perpetrate murder or other damage.
In the science fiction
slasher film
Chopping Mall
security guard robots are transformed into killbots when a rooftop computer is hit by lightning. The movie was actually originally titled Killbots.
The 1993 Full Moon Entertainment
film Robot Wars
features robots that have been referred to as "kill-bots". Both Chopping Mall and Robot Wars had scream queen
Barbara Crampton
in them.
The term also appears in satirical works, such as the TV series
Futurama
. In the show, killbots were 'defeated' via their pre-programmed kill limit being met, or because of their tendency to fire whenever they hear someone say fire (or any violent-sounding words, such as when they were triggered after thinking someone said "Howitzer
"; they really said "how it sur-[vived]"), even if they are facing each other, and that they do not stop firing, even when turning round to talk to each other. Predictably, they kill each other far more often than they kill their targets, as well as more often than the targets killing them.
Killbots were also featured in the 2005 production of Killbot: An American Hero.
An August 18, 2008 Boston Globe
article mentioned a MIT
student named Zack Anderson who had apparently invented a real life radio controlled robot called a Killbot, which had an attached spotlight, bullhorn and drill.
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
fictional
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
character, commonly appearing in works of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. Killbots are usually large, menacing machines created to perpetrate murder or other damage.
In the science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
Chopping Mall
Chopping Mall
Chopping Mall is an American horror/science fiction film, produced by Julie Corman and originally released on March 21, 1986 under the title Killbots....
security guard robots are transformed into killbots when a rooftop computer is hit by lightning. The movie was actually originally titled Killbots.
The 1993 Full Moon Entertainment
Full Moon Features
Full Moon Features is a motion picture production and distribution company headed by B-movie veteran Charles Band. It is known for the direct-to-video series Puppet Master and Subspecies, as well as the innovative VideoZone featurette at the end of films through 1989 to 2000.-Full Moon...
film Robot Wars
Robot Wars (film)
Robot Wars is a 1993 American science fiction film directed by Albert Band and written by Charles Band and Jackson Barr.It has been listed sometimes as a sequel to Robot Jox, but is not a real sequel, story-wise...
features robots that have been referred to as "kill-bots". Both Chopping Mall and Robot Wars had scream queen
Scream queen
A scream queen is an actress who has become associated with horror films, either through an appearance in a notable entry in the genre as a frequent victim or through constant appearances as the female protagonist...
Barbara Crampton
Barbara Crampton
Barbara Crampton is an American actress.She is considered a scream queen.-Early years:Crampton was born in Levittown, Long Island, New York. She was raised in Vermont and spent summers while growing up traveling the country with the carnival as her father was a carnie...
in them.
The term also appears in satirical works, such as the TV series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. In the show, killbots were 'defeated' via their pre-programmed kill limit being met, or because of their tendency to fire whenever they hear someone say fire (or any violent-sounding words, such as when they were triggered after thinking someone said "Howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
"; they really said "how it sur-[vived]"), even if they are facing each other, and that they do not stop firing, even when turning round to talk to each other. Predictably, they kill each other far more often than they kill their targets, as well as more often than the targets killing them.
Killbots were also featured in the 2005 production of Killbot: An American Hero.
An August 18, 2008 Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
article mentioned a MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
student named Zack Anderson who had apparently invented a real life radio controlled robot called a Killbot, which had an attached spotlight, bullhorn and drill.
See also
- List of basic robotics topics
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