Valve circuit in I, Robot

[Beelzebub]

Hey Guys,
Sorry if this has been pointed out before, but have you seen the valve (tube) circuit in the film "I, Robot" ? Some sort of filter - just out of shot looks like "powerline Filter"
Intriguing for 2035 don't you think?
Jim
.........vacuum state survives the rise of the robots....

[Sch3mat1c]

You think that's funny? I was watching some of Toy Soldiers (yes, slow night for TV) and in the scene where the soldiers are creating barbie drones they pan past an 833... woot

Tim

[Brett]

Originally posted by Beelzebub
.........vacuum state survives the rise of the robots....

Pity Asimov's great story didn't survive Hollywood.

[tiroth]

When I saw the trailer for that movie I just kept thinking

Asimov? Action Movie?
Asimov? Action Movie?
ad infinitum

[azira]

Originally posted by Brett


Pity Asimov's great story didn't survive Hollywood.

I would agree in general but realisticly, the only pity is that the movie was titled "I, Robot" implying that it was a visual interpretation of the book. As noted in the credits, it was inspired by the stores in the book. And in that aspect, it was fairly portrayed. As an Asimov fan, I thought that the plot line of the movie was very credible as a potential story that Asimov might have written into his book (with a few alterations such as Dr Calvin being 50 yrs younger than she is).
The book, I, Robot is a collection of short stories and doesn't lend itself to a 2-hr big-screen production. It would certainly be refreshing to see this book done as it is in a movie. Several short stories back to back, it would be a huge change to the motif of a standard film.
--
DAnny

[Beelzebub]

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw "I, Robot" on DVD - especially after reading all the negative reviews. There are some nice little nods to several of Asimov's stories and ideas (a "Little Lost Robot" scene near the start, and "...That Thou Art Mindful of Him" near the end, for example). Anyway, to keep on-topic, here's a screenshot of the circuit I mentioned earlier.
(Hopefully, should be an attachment here)

[Brett]

Originally posted by azira
I would agree in general but realisticly, the only pity is that the movie was titled "I, Robot" implying that it was a visual interpretation of the book. As noted in the credits, it was inspired by the stores in the book. And in that aspect, it was fairly portrayed.

Sort of agree, but it's a 'fine print' distinction. My comment was more of a general remark about the Hollywood versions of a lot of good books, where the interesting parts of the story are removed simply to get a flowing plot filled with explosions.

As an Asimov fan, I thought that the plot line of the movie was very credible as a potential story that Asimov might have written into his book (with a few alterations such as Dr Calvin being 50 yrs younger than she is).

Again, sort of agree, as who knows what the late Dr Asimov may have written. I'd have been interested to hear his candid views on the film.

I actually enjoyed the movie as a couple of hours of escapist action fluff, simply wished they didn't cash in on the Asimov name and title (obviously thier intent, otherwise why use it?)

The book, I, Robot is a collection of short stories and doesn't lend itself to a 2-hr big-screen production. It would certainly be refreshing to see this book done as it is in a movie. Several short stories back to back, it would be a huge change to the motif of a standard film.[/B]

I agree with you here, except that with a good creative vision, the originals could have translated to celluliod (showing my age eh?) far more closely than this one did. A European filmaker's interpretation would be interesting to see.

[rpapps]

Hi guys
The circuit is the final stages of an AM transmitter.
Top tube is an RF amplifier.
Bottom two tubes are push-pull audio modulator.
Cheers
Rob

[GRollins]

I and my wife once spent an evening chatting with Isaac and his wife, Janet. Charming man. Knew something about nearly everything and an awful lot about most things.
He was on a panel at a Con I went to. He inadvertently said that the speed of light was 186,000 miles per hour (as opposed to second). Whoo, two guys in the row in front of me started elbowing each other and crowing about how the old geezer didn't know anything after all. I felt like telling them that Isaac's fingernail knew more about science than their entire bodies could hold, but there was no point. Like certain people here, they only wanted to hear their own voices.
Gracious to a fault, the man was.
As for the movie, I can't bring myself to see it. The previews were enough to tell me that the original stories had been gutted. It's a damned shame that Hollywood can't bring themselves to do a project like that the way it ought to be done. Isaac concentrated on plot (rather than characterization--a valid choice, given his particular abilities), which gave his stories a cooler, more cerebral feel than, say, Heinlein, who concentrated on characterization. (Not that Heinlein's books have fared any better on the silver screen.)
One could almost say that Asimov was solid state to Heinlein's tubes.
Setting aside the pleasure I got from reading Isaac's stories, I copped a nifty factoid from him that made its way into the first Victor & Martin story--diamonds burn.
Helluva loss when the man died.

Grey

P.S.: For an extreme example of what can happen to a story as it makes its way from page to screen, check out Fate is the Hunter by Ernest K. Gann. Then see the movie. Basically they used his title and nothing more.

[Lisandro_P]

Originally posted by GRollins
P.S.: For an extreme example of what can happen to a story as it makes its way from page to screen, check out Fate is the Hunter by Ernest K. Gann. Then see the movie. Basically they used his title and nothing more.

You should see "Starship troopers" then - NO, "satirizing" Heinlein's work doesn't count as a good adaptation.
Atleast it had some nice action scenes.