{"id":2449605,"date":"2025-06-20T04:50:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T08:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-neurotic-breakdown-behind-apples-new-sci-fi-show-murderbot-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T04:53:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T08:53:13","slug":"the-neurotic-breakdown-behind-apples-new-sci-fi-show-murderbot-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-neurotic-breakdown-behind-apples-new-sci-fi-show-murderbot-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"The neurotic breakdown behind Apple&#8217;s new sci-fi show Murderbot &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-neurotic-breakdown-behind-apples-new-sci-fi-show-murderbot-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2449605&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The review discusses Apple TV+&#8217;s new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/christian-evangelicals-are-americas-taliban-actors-journalists-equate-american-christians-to-the-taliban\/\" title=\"\u2018Christian Evangelicals Are America\u2019s Taliban\u2019: Actors, Journalists Equate American Christians To The Taliban\">sci-fi series<\/a>, **Murderbot**, which examines the complexities of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-impeaching-incitement-to-canceling-conservatism\/\" title=\"From Impeaching Incitement to Canceling Conservatism\">artificial intelligence<\/a> through the eyes of an android that desires nothing more than to watch TV.Starring Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd as an autonomous security bot named Murderbot, the show centers around his quest for independence after hacking his programming. Despite its intriguing premise, the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >series struggles wiht tonal inconsistency<\/a> and lacks depth in both characterization and thematic exploration. <\/p>\n<p>The reviewer criticizes the series for failing to deliver genuine humor or drama, instead presenting a mix of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-scientology-god-xenu-takes-day-off-as-false-churchs-parade-float-eats-pavement\/\" title=\"Watch: Scientology &#039;God&#039; Xenu Takes Day Off as False Church&#039;s Parade Float Eats Pavement\">sci-fi tropes<\/a> and superficial political correctness that feels outdated. Characters are described as interchangeable and lacking in personal stakes, with the narrative drifting between adventure and psychological exploration without meaningful engagement.<\/p>\n<p>Although Murderbot has a built-in audience due to its origins in Martha Wells&#8217;s novels, the review suggests the series does not live up to its potential, falling short in coherence and entertainment value. Ultimately, it concludes that the show fails to resonate despite its depiction of neurodiversity, branding it as unserious and ideologically driven rather than quality entertainment.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The neurotic breakdown behind Apple&rsquo;s new sci-fi show Murderbot<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>&ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/artificial-intelligence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Artificial intelligence<\/a>&rdquo; is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">tech<\/a> fantasist&rsquo;s dream bubble, but let&rsquo;s play along. Suppose tomorrow&rsquo;s robots have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/immigration-expert-blasts-biden-admin-over-claims-on-border-crisis-an-offense-to-human-intelligence\/\" title=\"Immigration Expert Blasts Biden Admin Over Claims On Border Crisis: \u2018An Offense To Human Intelligence\u2019\">human intelligence<\/a>, self-directedness, and skill. Won&rsquo;t they have our laziness, as well? <em>Murderbot<\/em>, the latest science-fiction series from Apple TV+, attempts to answer precisely that question. The popular fear is of machines that slay us in our beds. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/apple\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Apple<\/a>&rsquo;s latest is about an android that just wants to watch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tv\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The show stars Alexander Skarsg&aring;rd, the brooding Swede who played <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine\/1742082\/how-conservatives-survive-in-silicon-valley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">tech bro<\/a> Lukas Matsson in the last two seasons of <em>Succession<\/em>. Here, Skarsg&aring;rd is a bodyguard bot by the uninspired name of Security Unit 238776431. When, in a flash of revelation, our hero hacks his &ldquo;governor module,&rdquo; he is suddenly, blissfully free of all programming constraints. The only thing missing is a better handle. &ldquo;Freedom Unit&rdquo;? &ldquo;Rogue Bot&rdquo;? No and no. &ldquo;Murderbot&rdquo;? Hells to the yeah. As an exuberant Skarsg&aring;rd howls in voiceover, &ldquo;Let the adventure begin!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3442555\/wes-anderson-the-phoenician-scheme-review\/\">Wes Anderson remembers to put humans in the dollhouses this time<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3443210\/second-coming-of-pulp-more\/\">The second coming of Pulp<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/magazine-obituary\/3444536\/alf-clausen-obituary\/\">Alf Clausen, 1941-2025<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>That adventure, such as it is, commences when a team of misfits secures Murderbot&rsquo;s services for a planetary expedition. Aware that his condition will raise human hackles, the android hides his autonomy behind a neutral affect and passes the time streaming galactic soaps. If <em>The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon<\/em>, Murderbot&rsquo;s favorite, were the whole show, I might quickly become addicted. It features the always reliable Clark Gregg and looks charming. The problem is that <em>Murderbot<\/em> has its own unknowable ambitions. Neither fish nor fowl, the series lurches between ideas and tones like a broken cyborg shooting sparks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Alexander Skarsg&aring;rd in Murderbot. (Apple TV+)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Other prestige &ldquo;comedies&rdquo; have had this problem before. Like Maya Rudolph&rsquo;s <em>Loot<\/em>, still running elsewhere on Apple, <em>Murderbot <\/em>lacks the social realism of a drama but has no actual laughs. Like HBO&rsquo;s tech-skewering <em>Made for Love<\/em>, the new show is able neither to explore its subject&rsquo;s ethical questions nor have a joke at their expense. <em>The Jetsons<\/em>, the much-loved Hanna-Barbera production of my youth, is not only funnier than <em>Murderbot<\/em> but looks better to boot. A space centipede in Apple&rsquo;s pilot would have been dismissed as hokey by Fritz Lang (b. 1890). So might our protagonist himself, whose face-revealing skin suit owes far too much to superior productions: <em>Ex Machina<\/em>, <em>Star Trek: First Contact<\/em>, even <em>Robocop<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>What <em>Murderbot<\/em> has in spades are political &ldquo;virtues,&rdquo; a time-capsule allotment of wokeness that would have felt dated three years ago. With the exception of the lead, every character is interchangeably androgynous and brown. The single marriage shown on-screen is between the &ldquo;nonbinary&rdquo; Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) and their wife, Arada (Tattiawna Jones). Team leader Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) makes reference to her &ldquo;spouses&rdquo; back home. These are sops to the base, yes, but they are also substitutes for any real characterization. &ldquo;The good news is, everyone is gay!!&rdquo; wrote queer-progressive weblog Autostraddle in its review of the new show. All right, fine. But must everyone also be instantly forgettable?<\/p>\n<p>What actually happens on <em>Murderbot<\/em> adds little in the way of interest. Exploring a distant world, expedition members dodge the aforementioned centipedes and pursue unmapped territories. A second security unit makes an appearance, as does a survivor of a doomed rival team. Though familiar, these sci-fi plotting standards have inspired hours of middlebrow fun on better shows. See, for example, basically any episode of <em>Battlestar Galactica<\/em>. Here, the &ldquo;action&rdquo; is a mere skeleton supporting the flesh of left-psychological preoccupations. Murderbot is neurodivergent-coded and can&rsquo;t look people in the eye. Mensah has panic attacks. Are our heroes cosmic adventurers or undergrads on an otherworldly quad?<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps <em>Murderbot&rsquo;s <\/em>most notable characteristic is its exemplification of what has hitherto been Apple&rsquo;s winning strategy. Like recent sci-fi adaptations <em>Dark Matter<\/em> and <em>Silo<\/em>, the new series comes with a preassembled audience of book readers &mdash; in this case, fans of Martha Wells&rsquo;s collection of novels. The difference, however, is that <em>Murderbot&rsquo;s<\/em> genre predecessors know exactly what they are and offer up admirable thematic and tonal coherence. Apple&rsquo;s latest venture is, by comparison, a weird, jaded mess. Its setup gag, a slothful robot, has legs, but the show never does anything meaningful with the idea. Worse still, it behaves as if inclusive casting is the whole entertainment battle. Those who agree will find much to like here.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3409365\/david-mamet-henry-johnson-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">A NEW MAMET FILM AT LAST <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, <em>Murderbot <\/em>may turn out to be one of those shows that no left-leaning critic can publicly dislike. Little else explains its ecstatic reception, which certainly has nothing to do with the program&rsquo;s quality. Take, for instance, the <em>Boston Globe&rsquo;s <\/em>cringeworthy coverage: &ldquo;At a time when the country&rsquo;s Secretary of Health and Human Services is pushing unproven and damaging theories about autism, the fact that there&rsquo;s a show &hellip; whose protagonist has already been embraced by many in the neurodivergent community certainly counts for something.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Friends, no. &ldquo;Representation&rdquo; to one side, <em>Murderbot<\/em> is exactly the kind of series we shouldn&rsquo;t be making: unserious, unamusing, and beholden to yesterday&rsquo;s ideology. Forget about taking over the world. This is one robot that can&rsquo;t find the scrap heap quickly enough.<\/p>\n<p><em>Graham Hillard is editor at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal and a <\/em>Washington Examiner<em> magazine contributing writer.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Apple&#8217;s sci-fi series Murderbot explores AI with human traits<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":956,"featured_media":2449606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LA.TV_.062525.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50972,57527,57528,8240,45359],"class_list":["post-2449605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-apple-2","tag-murderbot","tag-neurotic-breakdown","tag-sci-fi","tag-television-news"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LA.TV_.062525.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/956"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449605"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2449609,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449605\/revisions\/2449609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2449606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}