Can someone please tell me how this kind of TV series can be set in the modern day? If you look at Murphy's gravestone, it says he died in 1990! I was always under the impression that RoboCop was set in the next twenty years or so? Someone help me out here.
shareNo, No, No...
When the first movie came out in 1987, the TV spots, the videogames, and a few other "liscensed" products used the year 1990 to describe when the film took place, even theough the movie itself never indicated which year it was set in. And since they say Robocop is 10 years older in this series, Jon Cable's grave says 2000.
I took the gravestone as a tribute to those early promotions for the first movie. And then I realized that 99.99% of the general population wouldn't have as much useless knowledge of Robocop in their head as I do, so I can see how its very confusing.
I only watched because of Leslie Hope...
sharewhat things in the first movie are supposedly used the year 1990 to describe them? theres nothing in robo 1 about 1990, and i think thats incorrect. every medium has a different year that it takes place.
the movies never say, but the Date East arcade game says murphy died in 1999, and the marvel comic book says he died in 2015. both are more plausable than 1990. thats absurd.
I'd bet money that the Data East arcade game says "1990," I played it every Saturday as a kid.
And I distinctly remember the TV spots saying 1990, as well.
True, there was nothing in the movie at all to say 1990. It could have been something in the script, as the producers of the trailers and the liscensees (ie, Data East) often read them and start their work before or during the film is being shot.
you might be right about the arcade game... but im still not sure about the tv spots. in any case, isnt setting a 'futuristic' movie like RoboCop in a present-year such as 1990 a little awkward? technology couldnt be that advanced in 3 years from 1987 to then,
shareI agree, that it was kind of ridiculous to set the movie three years ahead when it was released. Like I said before, this may have been something in the script, which the game developers would have used. The filmmakers probably saw it as an absurdity, as well, and that why we didn't see it.
shareYou're right. But in 1986, Back to the Future II had us in flying cars on the "Skyway" by the year 2015 and somehow I don't see that happening. And Robert Zemekis gave us a 30-year pad for that one. How far into the future to reach a certain tech level is a tricky writing process.
And the Data East game does say 1990. I still own a copy.
Does it matter which year the first movie was in? it's sci-fi, anything could have happened in 1990.
Sliders plays in 1995 and the main character has a device that can open portals. Those devices didn't exist back then. ;)
Yeah, they don't go for the realism so much in picking future dates. Like Predator 2 was released in 1990 (I think) but set in 1997. Why '97? Who knows? It was supposed to be the future to represent the increase in gang violence and mask any inconsistencies with current tech. Yet it was close enough to the present that it seems sort of like it could be happening right now. That's sort of how I viewed RoboCop, it acted basically like the present day except for one or two pieces of tech (basically just Robo and ED209).
Not as bad as movies like Strange Days which was released in like '94 or '95 and set in the distant future of 1999 where the city looks like Blade Runner and the devices from Brainstorm have saturated society, everyone has holograms and stuff. It was pretty ridiculous.
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"it acted basically like the present day except for one or two pieces of tech (basically just Robo and ED209)"
You forgot a fwe other thigns such as the Nukem game; I doubt that people thought in the next 3 years we would've had a game that projected a hologram with that type of look and aslo the Star Wars space station lazer thing that misfired that was another one to notice.
"Star Wars" was a reference to the anti-missile laser defense system of the same nickname which began development in the 80's under Reagan, and was scrapped by Clinton, I think. The anchor says that a power failure killed the station's artificial gravity - quite a far-off technology.
Two other obvious fictional future aspects of RoboCop were the pervasively inane television content (and near-universal public enjoyment of the same material), and corporate ownership of hospitals, prisons, the police, military, etc. OCP reminds me of Max Barry's satirical book, "Jennifer Government," but the movie makes it seem less outlandish.
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"Two other obvious fictional future aspects of RoboCop were the pervasively inane television content (and near-universal public enjoyment of the same material), and corporate ownership of hospitals, prisons, the police, military, etc. OCP reminds me of Max Barry's satirical book, "Jennifer Government," but the movie makes it seem less outlandish."
Kinda like the Vonegut book "Harrison Bergeron". Devices to lower everyone's intelligence to the same level.
I'd add up the artificial heart. It was pretty obvious that something like that wouldn't be available in 3 years; the "virtual salesman" at Murphy's former home, even the socioeconomical status (Mexico's revolution, South Africa having a neutron bomb). The space station with artificial gravity is another hint that it wasn't that near of a future.
Mexico's revolution could serve as a pointer, as that could indicate that the year is 2010 or after. There's a local belief that every '10 year Mexico goes into revolution (1810: Independence War, 1910: Mexican Revolution) so that should place Robocop at least in 2010.
I don't know if the artificial heart technology was that advanced, but the fact that the doctor was pitching it like a car salesman "Yamaha! Suzuki! You pick the heart!" was hopefully something we're a few years away from.
that's cuz the effort is put INTO the movie - not 'hmmmm guys what if THEY don't have this technology 10 years from now, what WILL we do? People might no want watch this EVER again..." lol who cares? like I didn;t just re-watch Predator 2 cuz it was set in a 1997 that was accurate lol
not being an ass - just sayin...ya know? ;)
You Suck...now deal with it.
Why bother to argue? This *beep* isn't even part of the canon franchise...
"Wait!" "Worry" "Who Cares?"
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It's an alternate reality, When it's Set is really meaningless.
"When the chips are down... these Civilized people... will Eat each Other"
Not only that, what is the problem with the 1990s date that doesn't exist in any other date? Pick any date you want, it's not going to match the CRT tvs, 80s hairstyles and cars and oh so 80s corporate businessmen suitmen. BTW, that was one thing I liked in the remake, they updated the corporate look to make Michael Keaton into Steve Jobs.
If we use the 2015 date from the comics, well, it's 2015 and we don't have cyborg technology. If we move it to 2050, I'm pretty sure we won't have space lasers and holographic boardgames by then either... and the rest of the world won't match it either.
It's better to have it in 1991 anyway.