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(More Than) A Handful Of… My Favorite Robot Sidekicks

Posted on by sgottahurt

Oh my circuits… this list could have went on and on and on and (you get the point).

Once, while in a very altered state, I admitted to wishing that I was a robot.  I’ve since blamed it on the alteredness of my mind, but I can’t deny one thing:

I love robots.

And I always have, ever since watching this show:

No, the Flying Robot is not trying to get Johnny Sokko. Although I do remember him as being quite annoying...

Please join me and my glorious list of (More Than) A Handful Of My Favorite Robot Sidekicks after the jump…

To begin, R2-D2, Bender, and Johnny 5 were fair game for this list, but they seem a bit bigger than the moniker “sidekick,” so I didn’t include them.  Here are my faves, in no particular order:

Who wouldn’t love to be friends with their video game system?

Who wouldn’t want a pet robot owl granted by the gods?

  • GIR from Invader Zim

GIR, a malfunctioning SIR-unit, is a trip.  Plus, his dog disguise fools everyone, so you could take him in public.  And chances are good that he has cupcakes in case you get a craving…

  • Teddy from A.I.

Teddy’s a sidekick in the truest sense.  That’s mostly due to the fact he’s basically a robot Jiminy Cricket.

  • T-Bob from M.A.S.K.

If I could have a sentient scooter, why wouldn’t I want a sentient scooter?  Unless, of course, the alternative was a Penetrator M.A.S.K., which sounds way worse than what it was…

(SIDENOTE: Apparently, T-Bob was short for Thingamabob.  Also, what’s going on in this picture?)

When I was a kid, I swore his name was Twinkie, like the Hostess snake cake, but alas, it was not.  I still liked Twiki anyway.

  • Muffit II from Battlestar Galactica (1978)

In the future, dogs are known as daggits for some reason, and on this show, when the original Muffit is killed by a Cylon, this robot daggit is made.  You know what’s extra cool about a mechanized dog from the future?  It’s played by a chimp!

  • V.I.N.CENT and Old B.O.B. from The Black Hole

I may not remember much about the 1979 film, but I never forgot these guys.  I also could never forget Maximilian.  He’s still creepy…

I have to admit, I didn’t remember Jinx until I looked up an image of him.  Then I thought, “How could I have forgotten Jinx?”  He’s everything I ever wanted in a robot – round, comical, real.  Well, an actual tangible object, at least.  I haven’t seen this movie since I saw it in grade school the year after the Challenger tragedy, but after reacquainting with Jinx, I’m required to seek out this film again.

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In closing, aside from Johnny Sokko’s Flying Robot, the Omnibot line of toys also got me started on my obsession (at least it wasn’t vacuums):

The closest I ever got to having a robot sidekick was… the Hootbot:

(Who wouldn’t want a pet robot owl granted by a Japanese toy company?)

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