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RoboCop

year 1987decade 80sdirector Paul Verhoevengenre Science fictiongenre Action
host Bill Simmonshost Kyle Brandt
All 38 categories

The film

RoboCop (1987)

Directed by Paul Verhoeven · Science fiction

102 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Peter Weller Alex Murphy / RoboCop
Nancy Allen Anne Lewis
Daniel O'Herlihy The Old Man
Ronny Cox Dick Jones
Kurtwood Smith Clarence Boddicker
Miguel Ferrer Bob Morton

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

25:56

Roger Ebert's review
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:56Read transcript
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1:15:34

Casting What-Ifs

Peter Weller ultimately won the role after a long search; the discussion covers many alternate Murphy, Lewis, and Bod...

Peter Weller ultimately won the role after a long search; the discussion covers many alternate Murphy, Lewis, and Boddicker choices.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:34Read transcript
  • Jonathan Kaplan left to direct Project X, and Verhoeven initially dismissed the script. — Bill Simmons
  • Schwarzenegger, Ironside, Rucker Hauer, Tom Berringer, Armin Asante, Keith Caradine, and James Remar were Murphy possibilities. — Bill Simmons
  • Steven Seagal appears among possible Murphy headshots and is developed as a comic alternate. — Bill Simmons
  • Stephanie Zimbalist was cast as Lewis but a Remington Steele pickup prevented it. — Bill Simmons
  • Michael Ironside declined Boddicker and Kurtwood Smith moved from auditioning for Dick Jones to Boddicker. — Bill Simmons
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1:21:16

Recasting Couch

A Wes Anderson RoboCop

A Wes Anderson RoboCop

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:16Read transcript
  • The imagined version places RoboCop in corduroy amid ironic banjos and typewriters. — Kyle Brandt
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1:24:22

Half-Assed Internet Research

The costly suit, writers, Dallas locations, Nixon promotion, killer cop names, set incidents, ratings fight, Ford Tau...

The costly suit, writers, Dallas locations, Nixon promotion, killer cop names, set incidents, ratings fight, Ford Tauruses, VHS success, and Leza Gibbons

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:22Read transcript
  • The RoboCop suit reportedly cost between $500,000 and $1 million. — Bill Simmons
  • Edward Neumeier developed the story with Michael Miner. — Bill Simmons
  • Dallas was selected because its architecture suggested the near future. — Bill Simmons
  • Richard Nixon received $25,000 to promote the home video and donated the money. — Bill Simmons
  • The cops are said to be named after notorious killers. — Kyle Brandt
  • Verhoeven reportedly took prescription medication for insomnia and behaved manically on the set. — Bill Simmons
  • An unexpectedly large explosion sent actors scattering and Ray Wise reported glass hitting his face. — Bill Simmons
  • The movie was refused its R rating repeatedly before approval. — Bill Simmons
  • The police cars were 1986 Ford Tauruses. — Bill Simmons
  • RoboCop had a long VHS rental waiting list in 1988. — Bill Simmons
  • Leza Gibbons’s later show, marriages, family, and rescue dog are discussed. — Bill Simmons
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1:34:18

Picking Nits

ED-209’s live ammunition and stairs, Murphy’s tactics and family gaps, RoboCop’s exposed jaw, and Boddicker walking f...

ED-209’s live ammunition and stairs, Murphy’s tactics and family gaps, RoboCop’s exposed jaw, and Boddicker walking freely into OCP

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:18Read transcript
  • ED-209 should have been loaded with blanks for the boardroom demonstration. — Bill Simmons
  • Murphy and Lewis should have waited for backup before entering the warehouse. — Bill Simmons
  • Lewis takes too long to recognize Murphy from his gun movement. — Bill Simmons
  • Murphy appears to have no family or friends searching for him. — Kyle Brandt
  • RoboCop’s exposed mouth and jaw create an unnecessary target. — Bill Simmons
  • ED-209 being unable to use stairs is an implausible rollout failure. — Bill Simmons
  • Known mob boss Clarence Boddicker can walk into Dick Jones’s office without arrest. — Bill Simmons
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1:41:50

Probably Unanswerable Questions

The panel asks when the story occurs and whether Bob Morton engineered Murphy’s transfer; the transfer theory is trea...

The panel asks when the story occurs and whether Bob Morton engineered Murphy’s transfer; the transfer theory is treated as answerable.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:50Read transcript
  • A home-video ad reportedly placed the story in 1991, but the film itself does not establish a year. — Bill Simmons
  • The panel guesses a setting around 2005 to 2011 based on the technology. — Bill Simmons
  • Bob Morton is suspected of transferring suitable cops into dangerous districts to create RoboCop candidates. — Bill Simmons
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1:45:32

Best Double Feature

The Terminator
RoboCop
The Terminator
Starship Troopers
Total Recall
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:45:32Read transcript
  • The Terminator offers a double-robot program and is the main choice. — Bill Simmons
  • Starship Troopers and Total Recall are director-based alternatives. — Bill Simmons
  • Terminator 2 is compared with RoboCop through its steel-mill ending, stabbing, and backlit police imagery. — Kyle Brandt
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