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robocoparchive.com > TV > Robo:PD > Trivia

ROBOCOP:PD TRIVIA
Straight from the writers of Robo:PD themselfs comes an extensive collection of info and fun facts.



GENERAL

Footage from ROBOCOP: THE SERIES is used in various parts of PD. The MediaNet segments use footage from the TV show, which often features Richard Eden in the suit. (We're not really sure if it's possible to tell the difference between Eden and Fletcher from the footage used in PD..)


PD was not permitted to use clips from the feature films. However, MGM had licensed shots of Murphy's death scene from the original ROBOCOP for the television show to use. The creators of PD took the footage that the TV show used, recoloured the shots blue, and used them in RESURRECTION.


Page Fletcher hasn't seen the RoboCop movies and no effort was made to mimic Peter Weller's RoboCop movements. Page Fletcher instead worked out a RoboCop movement system for himself that he felt was appropriate for where the character was, physically and emotionally.


RoboCable's holster shots started out as RoboCop's holster shots. They were later colored black on computer and flipped for the other leg. Some RoboCop leg holster shots were in front of a greenscreen, and some were lifted from the TV series.


During one take, 'RoboCable' slipped and dropped an Auto9 gun out of a window. They had to fly to Texas overnight and back to repair it. The gunhandler himself got on the plane and got there and back to the set for the next day.


Cable's mustache is fake. Maurice usually wears a mustache and goatee, but was convinced that it would have looked rather out-of-place as RoboCable. Nevertheless he wanted to wear a mustache to help differentiate young Cable from older Cable.


The cartoon segments, CYBORG POLICE OFFICER and HOVERBOY, were done by an animator named Marcus R. Moore. HOVERBOY is a short film that can be seen at ifilm.com. It was produced by Brad Abraham and Joseph O'Brien, writers of ROBOCOP: PRIME DIRECTIVES.


DARK JUSTICE

The "RoboCop's Greatest Moments" ad is composed of action clips from the ROBOCOP:THE SERIES show. The exterior shots in DARK JUSTICE of Murphy's car as he drives to meet Cable are from the TV series. (The lighting doesn't quite match the rest of the scene, and there's some grain). The RoboCop foot hitting the ground at the beginning is also a clip from the series.


The first two days of PD were spent shooting the Motor City Mangler flashback that appears in DARK JUSTICE.


Cable's role was specifically written for Maurice Dean Wint. The creators were not aware that Maurice was a big-time chessplayer, but it made them absolutely certain that he was the perfect actor for Cable, and Wint choreographed the chessgames in PD.


Several versions of Cable's death were written, including a version where Cable pulled Murphy's Auto9 into his chest and forced him to fire, and one where the Bone Machine murdered Cable. This changed as the creators wrote new drafts, and in the end, they chose the version they did, feeling that it had the most emotional impact and honesty, and that it underlined the fact that Murphy is a slave to his programming.




MELTDOWN

In MELTDOWN, the shot of the Da Bomz headquarters exploding in the MediaNet segment is from the TV series.


A shot of an exploding building is taken from the TV show and integrated into the scenes of the RoboHunters coming through Old Detroit.


The "Officer Down" scroll in MELTDOWN contains the names of members of the crew and their friends and family, the names of media people who were supportive of PD during the production, and the names of several RoboFans.


The quote at the end of MELTDOWN was also used in the ROBOCOP novelization.


RESURRECTION

The RoboCable vs. the RoboHunters scene in RESURRECTION was filmed in two days.


Fireworks wanted Playboy Playmates (and triplets) Erica Dahm, Jaclyn Dahm, and Nicole Dahm to be in PD. The creators did not have control over the matter, and then Brad Abraham came up with a sick joke for the mini-series that would require the use of triplets. His joke was the Mandys. "Now available in ethnic!" was Julian Grant's idea.


The writers were unaware that Murphy had demonstrated deflection calculation in THE SERIES when writing the sequence in RESURRECTION.


The scene in which RoboCable kills Carver (the commander of the RoboHunters) was originally much more graphic, His face was seen being smashed in with the sledgehammer. The creators made it so, knowing that the executives would demand it be toned down, and hoped that the extremely violent scene would distract the suits from anything else that they might have found objectionable.


Usually, whenever Murphy takes off his helmet, the chinguard mysteriously disappears. But in RESURRECTION, for one scene, Murphy removes his helmet, and the chinguard remains. It was intended for the chinguard to split in half and snap into the suit, but the budget couldn't allow the effects to be completed. It is not intended as an homage to RETURN OF THE JEDI.


Originally, RESURRECTION was supposed to end with the OCP board of directors watching the live feed from the RoboHunters' cameraman, and seeing the screen dissolve into static, leaving us to think that James Murphy had detonated the EMP device. However, the creators decided to eliminate the cliffhanger, feeling that RESURRECTION would flow better and be more satisfying if Alex and James Murphy's confrontation took place in this installment instead of the next.


CRASH & BURN

The ending of RESURRECTION, after OCP is led to believe that James detonated the EMP, was originally intended as the beginning of CRASH & BURN.


James Murphy's cowboy yell in the car chase in CRASH & BURN was adlibbed by Anthony Lemke. The script had him merely whimpering.


Edwin Hobley had a more developed backstory that didn't make it to the screen. You can see that he uses a cane. This is from an automobile accident in which his wife and daughter died and only Hobley survived. This is implied in CRASH & BURN when he examines the photograph of his family. When he speaks to SAINT, he's speaking to his 'daughter', who's consciousness he attempted to program into SAINT.


The gun twirl at the end of CRASH & BURN is taken from the TV series, with the background matted out.


The makers of PD wanted to but wasn´t allowed to use ED209 in PD. ED209 is a property belonging to the movie rights and PD was made with the TV series rights. The writers wanted to have RoboCop fight two ED209s instead of the OCP building entrance security guards.


Damian Lowe's death scene was the first scene Kevin Jubinville filmed. At Julian Grant's private screening, the audience cheered as Damian met his fate, which pleased Jubinville very much. ("They really like seeing me die!")




SUITS

The actors were put in the RoboCop/RoboCable suits in thirty minutes each time.


The suits were powertooled shut after being put on. However, the lower portion of the suit snapped off independently in case of 'emergencies'.


For many scenes, Fletcher and Wint would only wear the portion of the suits that was worn above the waist. This made it less tiring. They would be filmed above the waist. Scenes filmed this way include the cemetary scene in MELTDOWN, portions of the hand-to-hand Murphy/Cable fights, and when RoboCop talks to Cable in the weapon storage room..


Originally, Murphy's suit was supposed to look crisp and clean, and his visor was supposed to have a blue glow. However, Rob Bottin read the scripts, saw that it was ten years later, and applied battle damage to Murphy's suit(s) instead. The writers agree with the decision, and in retrospect, they are not fond of the glowing visor idea.


Both Page Fletcher (Murphy) and Maurice Dean Wint (Cable) smoke. Because of the big Robo gloves, they had to make old-fashioned smoking sticks made out of wire coathangers to hold their cigarettes between takes, like old fashioned gentlemen.


During the filming of a RoboCop scene, portions of the suit kept popping off. Julian Grant grew frustrated, and muttered, "We are never doing cyborgs again."


LOCATIONS

ROBOCOP: PRIME DIRECTIVES and ROBOCOP: THE SERIES were both filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


ROBOCOP: PRIME DIRECTIVES was filmed in Toronto at the same time as the X-MEN movie. They actually used the same locations for some scenes. The police station in PD is the same building as the train station in X-MEN.


The front of OCP headquarters (opening of MELTDOWN, end of CRASH & BURN) is the Toronto Metro Hall. A mere two minutes away is the Metro Convention Centre, where the Candian Sci-Fi Expo was held, which Joseph O'Brien, Brad Abraham, Julian Grant, Leslie Hope, Maurice Dean Wint, Kevin Jubinville, Marni Thompson, and Norman Orenstein attended.


The Delta City shopping centre, where Cable and Murphy face off in MELTDOWN, is actually the Toronto Skywalk, a giant indoor walkway that bridges the gap from Union Station to the base of the CN Tower and the Metro Convention Centre (with shops and fast-food counters along the way). By the way, at the turn in the walkway, take the side door out of the Skywalk, go down the stairs, and you'll find yourself on the street that Murphy jumps out onto in MELTDOWN. There is an excellent Italian restaurant there too.


CAMEOS

The writers of PD, Joseph O'Brien and Brad Abraham, both have cameo appearances. Joseph is in both DARK JUSTICE and MELTDOWN and is the man in the background when Sara and Dr. Hill are working on RoboCable.


Joseph O'Brien's character is named "Herbert West". (Julian Grant: "Hey, Joe, you look like a freak. You can play Dr. West, ReAnimator!")


Dr. Herbert West's use of the laser pointer was Joe's idea. It was being used to set up the cameras, and Joe borrowed it.


Brad Abraham is in DARK JUSTICE, but only the back of his head is seen. He plays the cameraman who films for MediaNet as RoboCop walks by. The voice is not Brad's however.


Director Julian Grant's son, Dorian, played the kid in the Otomo ad.


THE CAST

Page Fletcher actually turned down the role of RoboCop in ROBOCOP: THE SERIES. He was their original first choice, but he had become somewhat disenfranchised with television following the poor treatment he had received on THE HITCHHIKER, and moved on to other things, prompting the hiring of Richard Eden. Because of this, Page was on the short list to play RoboCop in PD. He read the 450-page script in one sitting, and was so taken by it that he actually cried. He subsequently met with Director Julian Grant, and said yes.


Richard Eden, who played Murphy in ROBOCOP: THE SERIES, was approached to reprise his role in PD, but negotiations never worked out.



ROBOCOP: PRIME DIRECTIVES actors Geraint Wyn-Davies (Kaydick) and Maurice Dean Witt (Cable) guest-starred in ROBOCOP: THE SERIES. Geraint Wyn-Davies played Martin in the episode "Provision 22". Maurice Dean Wint was in the episode "Officer Missing". He played the leader of the street gang; the Stompers.


Kevin Jubinville (Damian Lowe) and Anthony Lemke (James Murphy) appeared on MUTANT X, in the same episode.


Maria Del Mar (Sara) and Maurice Dean Wint (Cable) are regulars on BLUE MURDER.


A lot of PD people has worked in or with RELIC HUNTER. Anthony Lemke, Kevin Jubinville and "the Mandys" has guest appeared. The director of PD, Julian Grant has directed one episode. RELIC HUNTER even has Ed Neumier(script writer RoboCop) as a consultant.