5 Fandom Friday: Favorite Droids/Robots/Cylons

I had an insanely busy week last week with various events between Extra Life Jacksonville, The Elements of MOSH, and Collective Con. So I didn't get a chance to sit down and actually contribute to last week's prompt. However, I plan to correct that course of action this week.

The prompt is to consider your favorite droids. I need to look further outside the box because I have quite a few who fit into this category, but that I wouldn't actually consider droids. Hence, you get my favorite droids, robots and cylons. And without further ado....

1. Samuel T. Anders

If you know me, you know that this list was going to include a Cylon. What you may not have guessed is which one. I'd put spoiler tags, but Battlestar Galactica is seven years old. Get on it, yo. So why Sam, you ask? Sam is, easily, one of the most genuine and kind-hearted characters in the whole of the BSG universe. Dude gets the short end of the stick throughout most of the series and he still bounces back EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

2. Mars Curiosity

If you know my love of space, then this is another duh. I have loved Mars Curiosity since the day that I found out about her. Did you know that she only cost each American taxpayer just $8? I watched the 7 Minutes of Terror video over and over, and watched the livestream of her launch, as well as rushing outside to see her in the sky from Jacksonville. The best thing, however, was watching the livestream of her landing on Mars that focused on the EDL (Entry, Descent, and Landing) crew at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and seeing, in real time, how intense a Mission Control room can become. Since her landing on Mars, Curiosity has made discovery after discovery, including the discovery of liquid water.

3. Rosie

I was an avid fan of The Jetsons when I was a kid. Rosie was, easily, one of the first robots in which I was introduced. With the ending of The Jetsons, though, I've always wondered whether Rosie got her come uppance and did something more than clean up after some humans. Sometimes I like to pretend that she was part of the Cylon uprising.

4. Wall-E

I can't name a single person that I know who doesn't have some kind of love for this tiny, animated robot. His namesake movie is chock full of lessons for all ages from the not-so-subtle reminder to take care of Mother Earth to not letting yourself get too wrapped up in the digital world. Wall-E, and his sheer adorable self, pulls you right in from the get go, wreaks havoc on your emotions, before letting you go back into the world with some lessons on how to do better for our planet and for humanity.

5. R2-D2

I love most of the droids in the Star Wars universe, including BB-8, the mouse droid, and C-3PO. However, of them all, my heart always goes back to my first droid love - R2-D2. We may never know exactly what R2 says (only 3PO knows that), but he is one helluva fiesty, little guy and a spitfire, too. He is as much responsible for saving a galaxy far, far away, as his human counterparts.




I have a few more favorite robots, but if I added them, I'd probably keep on going listing more and more and more. Aside from fictional robots, I also volunteer as a Referee and Robot Inspector for my local FIRST Tech Challenge league. If you have a kid who is interested in robotics, look to see if you have FIRST programs in your area and consider getting them on a team. FIRST Robotics are some the coolest programs that I've seen to get kids involved in STEM/STEAM.