MURDERBOT: Episodes 1.1 – 1.3

Name: MURDERBOT: Episodes 1.1 – 1.3
Item: MURDERBOT: Episodes 1.1 – 1.3
Author: Review

"A Faulty Robot Finds His Human Side"

Family Content: -3 Excessive sex, violence, immorality, and/or worldview problems. (Sometimes excessive content such as violence is in otherwise redemptive movies.)

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

The first three episodes of Season One of MURDERBOT, streaming on APPLE+, follow the story of a faulty robot who hacked his system to allow himself to override his most basic programming. To avoid being captured and killed, however, he continues to follow his protocols as best as possible, though he makes alterations when necessary. When assigned to protect six scientists, his hacked system enabled him to keep them safe despite his built-in protocol, which would have otherwise led to their demise.

Unfortunately, the show places a strong emphasis on a romantic worldview, with each character developing their morals and ultimately following their hearts, which is primarily explored through their romantic relationships and sexuality. However, it is not the primary focus of the show. Multiple characters express a homosexual lifestyle, practice polygamy, open their relationships to having sex with various partners, and even discuss having sex with robots. Furthermore, the show also features strong violence and excessive foul language. These elements all create an excessive show with little redemptive features. Thus, MOVIEGUIDE® advises all audiences to avoid the show.

Content:

(RoRo, ACap, Ho, LLL, VV, SS, NN, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong romantic worldview as the characters morals are defined by what they believe is right, and they follow their hearts above all else. Multiple characters are either gay or lesbian, and characters are okay opening up their relationships, with one character referring to having multiple spouses. The main characters also demonize a corporation they are working for, believing the enterprise to be evil;

Foul Language:

Very strong foul language, with 47 obscenities across the first three episodes. Though the frequency of foul language reduces as the series progresses, The first three episodes feature 13 “f” worlds, 17 sh**s, 8 a**s, 5 he**s, and 4 di**s;

Violence:

Strong violence as the main character is forced to fight off monsters, finding himself and others chewed up and badly battered. He is shown with his guts hanging out, which is disturbing even though he is technically a robot. A group of scientists are also shown being slain;

Sex:

references to homosexual sex, sex outside of marriage, sex with multiple people at once, polygamy, and sex with robots, though nothing graphic is ever shown;

Nudity:

Three examples of upper male nudity. The main character is also shown in full frontal nudity, though he is a robot and does not have genitals, so nothing phallic is shown;

Alcohol Use:

None;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

None; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

A man tortures a robot who has a full range of feelings and emotions. A character lies to their spouse.

More Detail:

MURDERBOT is a series streaming on Apple+ that follows the story of a security robot (sec bot) who has found himself with complete freedom after hacking and turning off the protocol that forces him to follow all human commands. Not wanting to jeopardize his freedom and risk capture and destruction, the security bot, who has named himself Murderbot, decides to continue following all of his regular protocols.

Murderbot works security for a group of six scientists who are canvassing a nearby planet. During their first expedition, the scientists get attacked by a giant centipede who nearly gnaws one of them in half before Murderbot can kill the monster and save them. As he escorts the scientists back to the ship, one of them goes into shock, and Murderbot breaks standard protocol to comfort her – something he would typically not be able to do.

His action saves everyone’s lives, but while most of the scientists are thankful for him, one of them becomes suspicious that he is faulty because he broke protocol. This scientist attempts to turn the others against Murderbot by asking why Murderbot did not know about the creature that attacked them, but they find that some areas on their maps are wiped clean, so none of them could have known these beasts lurked there.

To start episode two, the scientists hold a secret meeting where they decide to go on an expedition without Murderbot. Two of the scientists head out without Murderbot to explore one of the empty areas of the map to see if they can discover why someone may have wiped out the data. This decision proves to be a mistake when the giant bugs attack them again, and they have no means of defense.

They escape the attack, however, when the bug passes them by, sliding into a crevasse in the ground. When the scientists peek into it, they see dozens of these bugs dead in the hole, being consumed by a strange sort of force above them. When they return to the base, they discuss the findings with the other scientists and conclude that it is some ancient alien technology. They then attempt to contact another mission taking place on the planet to see if they have any information about the anomalies, but there is no response.

Episode three follows the crew as they attempt to contact the other mission further. Still receiving no response to their radio messages, they decide to send a group to visit their compound to check in on them. When they arrive, they still receive no response, so they land their ship with plans to check in in person. As they walk closer to the compound, Murderbot begins to get suspicious and advises the scientists to fall back while he enters to investigate. They oblige, and he walks into the compound on his own.

When he arrives, he finds the compound has three disabled sec bots. Furthermore, all of the scientists have been brutally slain, with no survivors to interrogate. Just as he begins to get suspicious that nobody is alive, one of the sec bots attacks Murderbot, who he kills. The episode ends with the revelation of a shadowy figure who orchestrated the murders attacking him.

The first three episodes of Season One of MURDERBOT are a well-written, entertaining show that quickly immerses viewers in a sci-fi world that has little resemblance to our own. The world features advanced AI, the ability to engineer human flesh, intergalactic travel, and complex political and corporate systems.

The show, however, is primarily impacted by a romantic worldview that posits humans as the source of morality. The characters all operate as their hearts tell them to, leading to numerous immoral behaviors, especially when it comes to sex, including homosexuality, sex with multiple people at once, and practicing polygamy. Furthermore, the show features very strong foul language, with 47 obscenities throughout the first three episodes, including 13 instances of the word “f.” Thus, MOVIEGUIDE® finds MURDERBOT to be excessive and advises even mature audiences to avoid the show.