PERFORMER | Dick Tufeld voice |
DEBUT | 1998 |
The Robot appeared in the 1998 Creature Shop-effects movie Lost in Space. An updated version of the Robot from the original 1966 series, this mechanical being is part of the Rambler Crane series assigned to ships, and serves as companion and protector of Will Robinson.
As explained on the Creature Shop website, the two-ton robot was designed on CAD and remote controlled. The machine was "as powerful as a forklift and could travel at over 20mph." The Robot was puppeteered by the four man team of Simon Buckley, Phil Eason, Nigel Plaskitt, and John Wheatley.
Original Robot[]
Prior to the updated Creature Shop version, the Robot on the original series was considered as a model during the development stages of Sesame Street. Writer Bob Oksner, in brainstorming ideas for the framing scenes and host characters, pitched the following:
Though the final product bore little resemblance to the Lost in Space robot, the concept for a mechanical character who gets things wrong eventually surfaced as Sam the Robot.