RoboCop (live action TV series) explained
RoboCop is a 1994 cyberpunk television series based on the RoboCop franchise. It stars Richard Eden as the title character. Made to appeal primarily to children and young teenagers, it lacks the graphic violence of the original film RoboCop and its sequel RoboCop 2 and is more in line with the tone of RoboCop 3.
The television series ignores the events of the sequels and many character names are changed from the movie series. The RoboCop character has several non-lethal alternatives to killing criminals, which ensures that certain villains can be recurring. The OCP Chairman and his corporation are treated as simply naïve and ignorant, in contrast to their malicious and immoral behavior from the second film onward.
Background
While RoboCop was initially an American property, Orion Pictures received a $500,000 cash infusion for TV licensing rights by Canada's Skyvision Entertainment in May 1993. Orion Pictures had originally planned to make a fourth RoboCop film, but decided to license a television series instead due to the bankruptcy of the studio and the negative reception to RoboCop 3 (1993).[1] This allowed access to co-production agreements and possible partnerships with other countries. The series was filmed in Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario and originally planned for a January 1994 debut, several months after the unsuccessful release of RoboCop 3. Skyvision was also in negotiation with Peter Weller, the original RoboCop, but this did not come to fruition. 22 episodes were made, but the series was not renewed for a second season. Expense played a significant part in this; according to Skyvision VP Kevin Gillis, episodes would be produced at $1.2 million to $1.5 million each.[2]
The pilot episode runs two hours and was adapted from a discarded RoboCop 2 script, Corporate Wars, by the writers of the original RoboCop, Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner.
Villains on the series include Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo, OCP executive Chip Chayken, William Ray Morgan aka Pudface, Vlad Molotov.
The series gave writers more of an opportunity to develop the central characters and to extend the human interest aspect through the introduction of Gadget, the station mascot and the adopted, insightful daughter of station Sergeant Parks. Gadget, along with the presence of Jimmy Murphy did much to shift the focus from the adult to the youth target audience. The writers also introduced an element of virtual camaraderie in the character Diana, formerly a secretary to crooked Vice-president Chip Chayken, who is unwillingly turned into the 'mind' of Metronet and OCP's city-running super-computer, NeuroBrain and RoboCop's biggest 'behind-the-scenes' ally in his fight-against-crime.[3]
Many of the characters' names were also altered from their movie counterparts due to rights issues.
Cast
Main
- Richard Eden as Officer Alex James Murphy / RoboCop. When out on duty, his callsign is "Beta 1".
- Yvette Nipar as Officer / Detective Lisa Madigan, of the Metro South Police Station. She is based on the character Anne Lewis played by Nancy Allen in the film series. When out on duty, Madigan's callsign is "Beta 2". In "Midnight Minus One", Madigan mentions 'coming from money' and that 'it doesn't necessarily do anything good for a family' (her movie counterpart, Anne Lewis, mentions having a brother in Pittsburgh who never bothers to call her).
- Blu Mankuma as Sergeant Stanley Parks, Watch Commander of the Metro South Police Station in Old Detroit. He is based on Sgt. Warren Reed played by Robert DoQui in the film series.
- Andrea Roth as Diana Powers, the clumsy secretary of Chip Chayken at OCP who used her brain for the NeuroBrain project. RoboCop stopped him and Dr. Cray Mallardo from erasing Diana's personality. Diana is now nigh-omniscient/omnipresent throughout Delta City and Old Detroit, along with any computer system that is a part of Metronet/NeuroBrain or else has access to or can hack into. She would often appear as a hologram, sometimes only visible to Robocop.
- David Gardner as OCP Chairman. He cares about Old Detroit and learns a lesson in almost every appearance, bettering his character, but he is ignorant of certain things. He is based on The Old Man played by Dan O'Herlihy in the first two films.
- Sarah Campbell as Gadget, an 8/9-year-old girl who was adopted by Sgt. Stanley Parks following the events of the pilot episode, "The Future of Law Enforcement". Later, in episode 17, "Mothers Day", her birth name is revealed as Gertrude Modesto; that "Gadget" was just the name assigned to her by Family Services); and that at 3 weeks old, she was given up for adoption by her mother, Sally Modesto, who, as a numbers runner for Russian Mafia Crimeboss, Vlad 'Stitch' Molotov, could not give her daughter the life she wanted to give her. Gadget first became friends with Jimmy Murphy in episode 9, "Provision 22".
Recurring cast
- Ed Sahely as Charlie Lippencott, RoboCop's technician.
- Dan Duran as Bo Harlan, a newscaster.
- Erica Ehm as Rocky Crenshaw, a newscaster.
- Patrick McKenna as Umberto Ortega, a narcissistic talk show host.
- Jennifer Griffin as Nancy Murphy, wife/widow of the late Alex Murphy.
- Peter Costigan as James Daniel 'Jimmy' Murphy, the now-adolescent son of the late Alex Murphy. He first becomes friends with Gadget in episode 9, "Provision 22".
- Jordan Hughes as Young Jimmy Murphy.
- Martin Milner as Russell Murphy, father of the late Alex Murphy; a retired police captain and chess master. Initially distrusting RoboCop, Russell eventually discovers his son's secret as a cyborg after his death.
- Nonnie Griffin as Dorothy Murphy, mother of the late Alex Murphy; a retired teacher.
Villains
- James Kidnie as William Ray 'Pudface' Morgan; a criminal who blames RoboCop for his disfigurement caused by a toxic accident of Pudface's own making. His character is based on the first Robocop film character Emil Antonowsky, who suffers a similar (but fatal) disfigurement at the end of the film. Pudface is repeatedly thwarted by Robocop, and repeatedly requests to not be punched in the face—requests which are always ignored by Robocop.
- Cliff De Young as Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo; a cyberneticist, and a paranoid psychopathic prima donna. In the final episode, "Public Enemies", Mallardo's IQ is measured at a 210 IQ, and his psychological evaluation diagnosis identifies him as a paranoid psychopath.
- John Rubinstein as Chip Chayken, an executive of OCP who co-operated with Mallardo to harvest the brains of homeless people for use in the supercomputer, NeuroBrain.
- Wayne Robson as 'Shorty', a trigger man for 'Pudface' Morgan.
- Donald Burda as Leo, a trigger man for 'Pudface' Morgan.
- Hrant Alianak as Vlad 'Stitch' Molotov, so-called because of the scar on his face (he does not like the nickname "Stitch"). He is the head of the Detroit branch of the Russian Mafia.
- Daniel Kash as Reggie Braga, Brazilian crime boss.
- Barry Flatman as Simon Atwater
- Chris Wiggins as Dr. Roger Yung
Others
- Roddy Piper as Tex Jones, formally "clean-living ... mild-mannered audio-visual research scientist ... with a flair for art" working for Mili-Tech Concepts (part of OCP), before his near-death, disfigurement and addlement at the hands of Simon Atwater. At the same time of the attempt on his life, Jones had just invented the Phase-Pulse Image-Projector, allowing for secret messages to be passed for intelligence-gathering. Jones is also the original creator of "Commander Cash", before Atwater stole the concept (and Jones' other idea, the Phase-Pulse Image-Projector, trying to kill Jones in the process. Appears only in the episode "Robocop vs. Commander Cash", during which Jones mostly poses as Commander Cash in an attempt to foil Atwater for stealing his creations and using them for his plan to drug/mind-control children, en-masse. Jones teams with RoboCop to stop this.
Episodes
Soundtrack
See main article: A Future to This Life: Robocop - The Series Soundtrack. A soundtrack album entitled A Future to This Life: Robocop - The Series Soundtrack was released on January 24, 1995, on both CD and cassette by Pyramid Records. Aside from the show's theme writers, Joe Walsh & Lita Ford, it features classic rock songs from groups like The Band, The Flamingos, Iron Butterfly, and KC & the Sunshine Band.
Home media
The first five episodes were released on VHS in 1995. Episodes of the series were also released in a Japanese laserdisc set. They include "First Suspect," "Delta City," and "Absence of Police." In Germany and Italy, "The Future Of Law Enforcement" was released as a stand-alone film on V.H.S. and D.V.D., under the name RoboCop 4: Law & Order.[4] [5] [6] [7]
In 2021, Rallie LLC, an affiliate company of co-production partner Rigel Entertainment, acquired the rights to the show from Robocop IP holder MGM. Coinciding with this sale, Rallie remastered all 21 episodes plus the show's two hour pilot and inked deals with streaming service Tubi, as well as home media company Liberation Hall, to release these remasters on to streaming and DVD & Blu-ray respectively.[8]
Merchandise
An action figure collection for the series was produced by little-known Toy Island, a company that would continue making RoboCop figures in the future. The basic series includes RoboCop, Madigan, Stan Parks, Commander Cash (also released as "Commandant Cash"), and Pudface. It also features the OCP Interceptor, Tactical Field Vehicle, Tactical Field Ambulance, Mobile Armored Detention Vehicle, and Cryochamber playset. In 1995, the Power Glow figure series was released. This includes RoboCop variations with illuminating armor such as a basic RoboCop (blue), Thermo Shield RoboCop (red), and Xicor Shield RoboCop (lime green). Each figure in the collection includes various accessories and several points of articulation.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: RoboCop 3 . 2023-08-31 . catalog.afi.com.
- Ayscough, Suzan: Orion signs 'RoboCop' series deal Variety (April 29, 1993). Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- Cook, Flynn A look back - RoboCop: The Series RoboCopArchive.com. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- Web site: Robocop: 4 Law & Order. Amazon UK. 3 April 2009 .
- Web site: Robocop 4 : Law & Order / Millenium Crisis Set. Amazon UK. 21 February 2011.
- Web site: Robocop collection (4 DVD) box set DVD Italian Import. Amazon UK. 5 June 2014.
- Web site: Robocop 4 - Law & Order. Amazon Germany. 5 September 1995.
- Web site: "Robocop" Returns Worldwide in Full HD . 2022-05-10 . VideoAge International . en-US.
- Web site: RoboCop Complete Series. 27 July 2010. amazon.ca. 7 March 2014.
- Web site: RoboCop - The Series. 20 March 2006. amazon.co.uk. 29 September 2013.
- Web site: RoboCop - the Complete TV Series DVD. 22 January 2007. amazon.co.uk. 29 October 2006.
- Web site: Robocop - The Complete TV Series (6 Disc Set) DVD. amazon.co.uk. 29 September 2013.
- Web site: RoboCop: The Series (5 Disc Set) (DVD). ezydvd.com.au. 7 March 2014.
