Sweet things

From the cheery domesticity of Rosie the Robot to the brooding menace of HAL, pop-culture robots offer a glimpse into the hopes and fears of a given age -- the way people thought about technology, and about themselves.

Metropolis
(1926): Fritz Lang takes a dig at capitalism and the class system with this vision of subterranean techno-serfs toiling away for the benefit of upper-level hedonists.

The Jetsons
(1962-'83): Rosie the maid doesn't get a mention in the theme song, but she is as much a part of this space-age nuclear family as Judy, Elroy, George, and Jane. Equally adept with a feather duster and a down-home apothegm.

Lost in Space
(1965-'68): "Danger, Will Robinson!" Benign but not very human-looking robot plays protector and pal to the youngest of the Robinson clan.

2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968): In Kubrick's high-concept sci-fi flick, an evil supercomputer named HAL coolly turns against its human creators. The first depiction of a truly smug artificial intelligence.

Star Wars
(1977): Despite the presence of luminaries such as Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, the robo-sidekicks R2-D2 and C-3PO manage to steal the show with a repertoire of witty bleeps and mechanized kvetching. "Droid" enters the lexicon.

Dr. Who
(1978-'89): The most chilling villains in this long-running TV series were the conical, mechanically droning (Germanic?) Daleks, who sent an entire generation of British schoolkids to bed writhing with techno-terror. "Dee-stroy! Dee-stroy!"

Blade Runner
(1982): Humanoid "Replicants" try to infiltrate Earth society. Harrison Ford, an LA cop, establishes a lust-hate relationship with the digitized intruders. Sometimes seen as thinly disguised metaphor for immigration.

Terminator
(1984): Arnold Schwarzenegger's hulking Euro-cyborg is an emissary from a dark future, sent back in time to kill the mother of a future leader. The tale of Moses with a little time travel thrown in.

Short Circuit
(1986): "Johnny 5," a state-of-the-art military robot, develops emotions after being struck by lighting, quits, hams it up with Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy. Sensitive Johnny is the flip side to James Cameron's sinister Terminator.

Bicentennial Man
(1999): This futuristic feel-good flick features Robin Williams as Andrew, a domestic robot who just wants to fit in and develops Williams's trademark life-affirming, gag-reflex-inducing persona. Lame vehicle for late-'90s messages of tolerance and acceptance.

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