short circuit
Short Circuit is a 1986 comedy science fiction film starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg and directed by John Badham. Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton, and G. W. Bailey co-star, with Tim Blaney providing the voice of robot "Number 5".
The story revolves around a sentient robot named "Number 5". The robot later takes the name "Johnny 5".
A sequel, Short Circuit 2, was released in 1988.
Plot
Number 5 is one of five blood-searching prototype robots proposed for use by the U.S. military, although the scientist mainly responsible for creating them, Newton Graham Crosby, Ph.D. (Steve Guttenberg), is more interested in peaceful uses of their artificial intelligence, like playing musical instruments. A demonstration is under way in the grounds of the company that makes them and other robots, Nova Laboratories, in Damon, Washington. After a lightning storm shuts down the presentation of the prototypes, a power surge hits Number 5 while it is recharging and alters its program, causing a malfunction. An associated accident causes it to be taken outside company grounds and it wanders off, unable to communicate and not knowing where it is.
Number 5 ends up at the home of animal-lover Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy) in Astoria, Oregon, who initially thinks it's an extraterrestrial visitor, but then determines the robot to be built by Nova. She decides that the robot is sentient and subsequently tries to help it escape from its creators, who only see it as a very dangerous, expensive and wayward machine. At the same time, Number 5 develops an understanding about the value of life and, realizing that he himself is sentient, develops a fear of his militaristic programming and the disassembly that awaits him back at Nova, believing it to be the same as death for him.
There are several escapes made from a small army of armed guards and regular soldiers led by the head of security at Nova, Captain Skroeder (G.W. Bailey). He defies orders from Nova president Dr. Howard Marner after he develops a personal vendetta against Number 5 and his men successfully destroy what they believed to be the wayward robot. Unbeknown to the soldiers, it was only a copy and not the real thing. Skroeder gets fired after Howard says that his years of research have been wasted by the "destruction" of the robot. Number 5 (who renames himself "Johnny 5" after hearing the song "Who's Johnny?" throughout the movie) takes off to Havre, Montana with Stephanie and Newton, who has quit his job after siding with the robot.
Production
This film was originally conceived as a dark high-tech thriller. Number 5 was originally intended to be the villain of the picture: an out-of-control, heavily-armed military robot that had escaped from the lab that had developed him. After several script revisions, the darker elements were toned down and the film became a high-tech comedy.
According to the commentary in the DVD, Johnny 5 was the most expensive part of the movie, requiring several different versions to be made for different sequences. Almost everything else in the movie was relatively inexpensive, allowing them to allocate as much money as they needed for the robot character. Johnny 5 was designed by Syd Mead, the "visual futurist" famous for his work on Blade Runner and TRON.
Most of the arm movements of Johnny 5 were controlled by a "telemetry suit," a metallic skeleton carried on the puppeteer's upper torso. Each joint in the suit had a separate sensor, allowing the puppeteer's arm and hand movements to be transferred directly to the machine. He was also voiced in real-time by his puppeteer, the director believing that it provided for a more realistic interaction between the robot and the other actors than putting in his voice in post-production, although a few of his lines were redubbed later.
During Stephanie's impromptu news interview, director John Badham makes a cameo appearance as the news cameraman.
Video game
A video game developed by Ocean Software for ZX Spectrum[http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0004469], Commodore 64[Lemon - Commodore 64, C64 Games, Reviews & Music!] and Amstrad CPC[Short Circuit by Ocean Software for the Amstrad CPC] was also made based on the movie. It featured two parts, one arcade adventure where Johnny 5 had to escape from the lab, and one action part where Johnny 5 runs across the countryside avoiding soldiers and bunnies. The second part looped infinitely, and was actually impossible to complete.
Sequel and Remake
The sequel, Short Circuit 2, premiered in 1988. There was a script for a possible third movie written in 1989 and rewritten in 1990, but it was found unsatisfactory by the producers, and the project was subsequently scrapped.
In April 2008, Variety reported that Dimension Films, famous for such films as Sin City, Scream and Spy Kids, was acquiring the rights to remake the original film. ['Short Circuit's' Johnny 5 still alive. Dimension acquires rights to remake 1986 film, Variety, 3 April, 2008]
End credits
The ending credit sequence features parts of scenes cut from the final product, a gimmick that predated the advent of director's cuts and optional deleted scenes in later DVDs. The scenes shown in the credits include an extended SAINT demonstration sequence, which would have included the robots flying remote-controlled airplanes, an encounter with a white, commercially-made Omnibot 2000, and a close encounter with "death" at a scrapyard. The latter two were from a cut sequence set between Number 5's theft of the Nova van in which he was being carted back by Ben, and his second arrival at Stephanie's house. In that sequence, the Nova van would have run out of fuel near the scrap yard, forcing Number 5 to abandon it and look for another suitable mode of transportation. The Omnibot in the former of the two scenes would have belonged to the scrap yard owner's children, who were to frighten Number 5 away with their comparisons between him and the Omnibot.
External links
 Johnny-Five.com a fansite
The Official Johnny Five Blueprint Project Site!
Find me a robot a fansite
#5ALIVE by KLJ
TeamRobotics owners of the original Short Circuit Utility Toolarm
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