I didn’t count on a TV present known as Murderbot to be fairly so relatable. On the floor, the Apple TV Plus sci-fi comedy is a considerably generic futuristic story a few group of people exploring a harmful planet with the assistance of a safety bot that’s designed to guard them. The secret is the attitude: the story is informed from the bot’s viewpoint, and that bot is basically going by way of it. It’s experiencing free will for the primary time and combating the ramifications of that, making it anxious, awkward, and hooked on streaming tv. It could also be constructed to kill — but it surely’s similar to me.
The present opens on Muderbot’s (Alexander Skarsgård) awakening. While seemingly idle and dealing safety at a mining facility, internally it’s truly hacking away on the chip that governs its free will. These bots, known as sec items (which is brief for safety unit) are hybrids, powered by AI and with our bodies which are a mixture of machine and natural materials. But in addition they should do no matter they’re informed because of one thing known as the governor module. Somehow Murderbot manages to disable this after which — nicely, he’s free, however solely form of. It’s unlawful to have a sec unit with no working module, punishable by an acid bathtub, and so Murderbot is compelled to fake it’s nonetheless intact in order to not die and lose its newfound freedom.
Eventually, the bot is picked up by a bunch surveying an alien planet who want a sec unit for insurance coverage functions. They decide the most affordable mannequin (at this level, Murderbot is a refurbished unit, removed from prime of the road). However, in addition they come from part of the galaxy that’s morally in opposition to the concept of sec items, viewing these machines as a type of slave labor, which creates an attention-grabbing dynamic. While Murderbot is attempting to cover all the components that present it’s a sentient being with ideas and emotions and pursuits, the crew round him slowly begin treating it extra like an precise human being.
While all of this performs out, Murderbot serves as a narrator, which is essential; because it’s attempting to maintain its true self hidden, the one strategy to actually know what’s actually occurring is to listen to it from the bot itself. Skarsgård’s considerably stilted supply suits the bot completely. It feels like somebody who’s attempting to sound human. It’s somewhat awkward and clunky, which is what makes it so becoming.
What actually makes it work, although, is simply how humorous and relatable Murderbot is. It hates people — one of many first issues it says is that individuals are “assholes” — and is petrified of principally each social interplay. At one level, Murderbot weighs the professionals and cons of getting an acid bathtub versus making a speech in entrance of the remainder of the crew, and later it’s compelled into probably the most devastating of all conditions: extended eye contact. It’s additionally always attempting to keep away from its tasks in order that it might probably watch all the streaming reveals it’s downloaded, and makes use of its surveillance powers to observe all the numerous romantic entanglements occurring on the camp. In reality, a lot of its conduct is derived from cleaning soap operas, the place it quotes strains in moments of drama as a result of it’s undecided what else to say. Skarsgård’s dry supply of those quips is the spotlight of the present.
As you’d count on, the charade doesn’t final eternally, and finally the 2 sides develop into one another. Murderbot turns into an increasing number of snug being an autonomous, considering being, whereas the analysis crew slowly begins to know what Murderbot truly is, and start treating it like, nicely, one other member of the group (even when a few of them stay suspicious).
Image: Apple
It’s not an particularly deep exploration of the idea of free will, however fairly a type of unusual and awkward coming-of-age story. Murderbot could also be a hulking killing machine, however its arc in direction of changing into an precise individual is each hilarious and relatable, full of awkward social interactions and essential self revelations that really feel extra highschool drama than house opera. It’s heartwarming watching it not solely develop into itself, however discover the appropriate folks to permit for that progress.
And it does all of it whereas doing a good job at being a safety unit, combating off Dune-style sandworms and different malfunctioning bots. These sci-fi components could be drab and forgettable on their very own, however they develop into hilarious when seen from Murderbot’s perspective.
Murderbot additionally fills in a gap in Apple’s rising library of science fiction. While it has century-spanning epics and near-future nightmares and grim dystopias, it’s all fairly critical stuff. There aren’t plenty of laughs. And whereas Murderbot explores some essential points surrounding synthetic intelligence and free will, it does so with a way of playfulness and appeal, and simply the correct quantity of awkwardness.
Murderbot begins streaming on Apple TV Plus on May sixteenth.
