''RoboCop'' is a 1994

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...

television series based on the ''RoboCop'' franchise. It stars

Richard Eden Richard Eden may refer to: * Richard Eden (translator) Richard Eden (c. 1520–1576) was an English alchemist and translator. His translations of the geographical works of other writers helped to foster enthusiasm for overseas exploration in Tud ...

as the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

. Made to appeal primarily to children and young teenagers, it lacks the graphic violence of the original film ''

RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...

'' and its sequel ''

RoboCop 2 ''RoboCop 2'' is a 1990 American science fiction superhero action film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Frank Miller and Walon Green. It stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Belinda Bauer, Tom Noonan, and Gabriel Dam ...

'' and is more in line with the tone of ''

RoboCop 3 ''RoboCop 3'' is a 1993 American science fiction superhero action film directed by Fred Dekker and written by Dekker and Frank Miller. It is the sequel to the 1990 film '' RoboCop 2'' and the third and final entry in the original ''RoboCop'' f ...

''. 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 Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...

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 ''

'' (1993). This allowed access to co-production agreements and possible partnerships with other countries. The series was filmed in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, 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 Peter Francis Weller (born June 24, 1947) is an American actor and television director. He has appeared in more than 70 films and television series, including ''RoboCop'' (1987) and its sequel ''RoboCop 2'' (1990), in which he played RoboCop ( ...

, 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.Ayscough, Suzan
''Orion signs 'RoboCop' series deal''
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' (April 29, 1993). Retrieved July 1, 2018. The

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

runs two hours and was adapted from a discarded ''RoboCop 2'' script, ''Corporate Wars'', by the writers of the original ''RoboCop'',

Edward Neumeier Edward Neumeier (born August 24, 1957) is an American screenwriter best known for his work on the science fiction movies ''RoboCop'' and ''Starship Troopers (film), Starship Troopers''. He wrote the latter's sequels ''Starship Troopers 2: Hero o ...

and Michael Miner. Villains on the series include Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo, OCP executive Chip Chayken, William Ray Morgan aka Pudface, Vlad Molotov, who hates being called Stitch. 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.Cook, Flyn
''A look back - RoboCop: The Series''
RoboCopArchive.com. Retrieved January 25, 2008. Many of the characters' names were also altered from their movie counterparts due to rights issues.

Cast

Main

as Officer Alex James Murphy / RoboCop. When out on duty, his

callsign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assi ...

is "Beta 1". *

Yvette Nipar Yvette Nipar (born 1964) is an American actress best known for such films and television series as ''21 Jump Street'', '' RoboCop: The Series'', '' CSI: Miami'', '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and ''Ski Patrol Ski patrols are organization ...

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

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 Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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 Robert DoQui (April 20, 1934 – February 9, 2008) was an American actor who starred in film and on television. He is best known for his roles as King George in the 1973 film '' Coffy'', starring Pam Grier; as Wade in Robert Altman's 1975 ...

in the film series. *

Andrea Roth Andrea Roth (born September 30, 1967) is a Canadian actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Janet Gavin, the wife of main character Tommy Gavin, on the FX television series '' Rescue Me'' (2004–2011), as Victoria Chase in ''The Co ...

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 Omniscience is the property of possessing maximal knowledge. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, it is often attributed to a divine being or an all-knowing spirit, entity or person. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any ...

omnipresent Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to describ ...

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 Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (1 May 1919 – 17 February 2005) was an Irish actor. His best-known roles included his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the title character in Luis Buñuel's ''Robinson Crusoe'' (1954), Brigadier General Warren A. Black in ...

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 An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

episode, "The Future of Law Enforcement". Later, in episode 17, "Mothers Day", her birth name is revealed as Gertrude Modesto (and that "Gadget" was just the name assigned to her by

Family Services Child and family services (CFS) is a government or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, ''environmental'' or ''biological''. People who seek or are sought after to particip ...

); 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 A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different special ...

. * Dan Duran as Bo Harlan, a newscaster. *

Erica Ehm Erica Miechowsky (born September 30, 1961), known professionally as Erica Ehm, is a Canadian writer, actor, songwriter, entrepreneur and TV host. She is best known as a pioneering video jockey at the Canadian cable television station MuchMusic. ...

as Rocky Crenshaw, a newscaster. *

Patrick McKenna Patrick McKenna (born May 8, 1960) is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Harold Green on the television series '' The Red Green Show'' and Marty Stevens on the television series '' Traders''. Early life Patrick McKenna ...

as Umberto Ortega, a

narcissistic Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...

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 Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: '' Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and '' Adam-12'', which ...

as Russell Murphy, father of the late Alex Murphy; a retired police captain and

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

master. Initially distrusting RoboCop, Russell eventually discovers his son's secret as a cyborg after his death. *

Nonnie Griffin Nonnie Griffin (20 October 1933 – 7 June 2019) was a Canadian film, stage, television and voice actress. She studied at the Toronto Conservatory in her native land, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, and even with famed mime artist M ...

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. As the character was not shown to have died in the TV edit of the original movie, his existence can be considered correct for the TV continuity of Robocop. 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 Clifford Tobin DeYoung (born February 12, 1945)According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com is an Ame ...

as Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo; a

cyberneticist Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

, and a paranoid

psychopathic Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to s ...

prima donna In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...

. 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 John Rubinstein (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor, composer and director. Early life Rubinstein is the son of Polish parents. His mother, Aniela (née Młynarska), a dancer and writer, was a Roman Catholic native of Warsaw, the da ...

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 Wayne Robson (April 29, 1946 – April 4, 2011) was a Canadian television, stage, voice, and film actor known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom '' The Red Green Show'' from 1993 to 2006, ...

as 'Shorty', a trigger man for 'Pudface' Morgan. * Donald Burda as Leo, a trigger man for 'Pudface' Morgan. *

Hrant Alianak Hrant Alianak (born September 15, 1950), also billed as Harant Alianak or Grant Aljanak, is a Sudanese-Armenian-Canadian actor and playwright.Daniel Kash Daniel Joshua Kash (born April 25, 1959) is a Canadian actor and film director. He is known for his appearances in films such as '' Aliens'', '' The Hunt for the BTK Killer'', and ''The Path to 9/11'', and in television series such as ''Law & Ord ...

as Reggie Braga, Brazilian crime boss. * Barry Flatman as Simon Atwater *

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was a Canadian actor. Career Wiggins was born January 13, 1931, in Blackpool, England. He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada ...

as Dr. Roger Yung

Others

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

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

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

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 Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...

, it features

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

songs from groups like

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

The Flamingos The Flamingos are an American doo-wop group formed in Chicago in 1953. The band became popular in mid-to-late 1950s and are best known for their 1959 cover version of "I Only Have Eyes for You". They have since been hailed as being one of the f ...

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly was an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal m ...

, and

KC & the Sunshine Band KC and the Sunshine Band is an American disco and funk band that was founded in 1973 in Hialeah, Florida. Their best-known songs include the hits "Get Down Tonight", "That's the Way (I Like It)", "⁠(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", "I ...

Home media

The first five episodes were released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

in 1995. Episodes of the series were also released in a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

laserdisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...

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''. 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 Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...

, as well as home media company Liberation Hall, to release these remasters on to streaming and DVD & Blu-ray respectively.

Merchandise

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...

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.

References

External links