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Robot Menu
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Many of the robots to hit the screens have their own catch phrases. The Terminator's droll "I'll be back", the Dalek's nazi-like screeched of "Exterminate" and C3PO's desperate pleas of "I don't think this is a good idea!" But there aren't many movie robots who have a catch phrase as famous as the Lost In Space Robot's "Warning! Will Robinson!". 
Lost in space was a series back in the 60's which, although a lot of us won't remember, many of us will have watched the re-runs that have been on TV. Sadly, the old show doesn't get shown here much any more - despite the increase in the number of channels. What are the TV planners thinking? This was a classic series that had some great stories and first class characters.
When I was a kid I used to think that the Lost In Space Robot and Robbie the robot (forbidden planet) were one and the same. But they're really nothing like each other. The robot from Lost In Space went by the name simply of 'robot'. Well, I guess it was just easy to remember. We used to have a dog that was simply called... 'dog'. If you ask any science fiction boffins, they'll tell you that his real name is 'B9'. At 7 feet tall, he towered above the rest of the cast and was a force to be reckoned with. Every kid back in the 60's wanted their own Lost In Space Robot. He could do all the cool stuff parents can do, but wouldn't nag you if you wanted to sneak off and get into trouble. The B9 has a GREAT retro look, with his glass bubble head, complete with whirring internal workings and flashing lights (essential parts of any 60's sci-fi robot!) And his tank like feet treads. He also had what you might call classic robot pincers, which were copied time and time again by movie robot designers as time went by. The B9 actually has ardent devoted fans who build life-sized models of him in homage to the mighty lost in space robot. One guy I was reading about spent a whopping $15,000 (yep - 15 grand!) building his own LIS bot. That shows the effect this sci-fi legend has had on some people. The rest of us will likely have to console ourselves with slightly smaller versions of the Lost In Space robot. A great selection of these toys can be found over at Entertainment Earth. |