Rating : ⭐⭐⭐️
Genre: Sci-fi
Year: 2025
Running time: 30 minutes per episode
Number of episodes: 10
Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Noma Dumezweni, David Dastmalchian, Sabrina Wu, Akshay Khanna, Tamara Podemski, Tattiawna Jones
Kid rating: PG
Having finally finished Season 1 of Apple TV’s Murderbot series, I only have one question: Why was this series not better? I mean, it is based on some wonderful, swashbuckling books – The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells – and this first season is based on the first book of the series All Systems Red. So they had the material. How then did it manage to be so underwhelming?
If you haven’t read the books – here is a brief summary (detailed review at my book blog). Dr. Mensah (Dumezwani) and her team of intrepid scientists (of The Preservation Alliance) are exploring a new world in The Corporation Rim. For liability purposes they are forced into getting a Security robot, but with financial constraints they go for an older model. Enter Murderbot.
Of course he doesn’t publicize the fact that he calls himself that or that he has surreptitiously disabled his Governor Module – the system software that keeps him obedient and prevents him from killing his clients. So Murderbot (or SecUnit as he is generally known) appears to be controlled by his clients, but he has plenty of free will which he spends downloading episodes of the soap opera The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon and watching them as he “secures the perimeter”.
Now, the wonderful thing about Martha Welles’s books is Murderbot – a dry, sarcastic, inadvertently funny, powerful robot, who wants to do the right thing. Oh, to be this smart and powerful enough to do what you want, and still want to do the right thing? See our hearts melting. Altruism is a powerful drug.
Murderbot is smart and sassy, but human interactions, especially the overtly friendly crew of Preservation Alliance, and their constant need to talk things over, give him the heebie-jeebies. During space jaunts, he’d rather travel in cargo. He doesn’t want to partake of social gatherings or make eye contact. Talking about feelings makes his system efficiency drop.
As you read the books, you form character images form in your head. I’d imagined Murderbot as a more earthy, stocky creature, not a Nordic model like Skaarsgard, although I must say that Skaarsgard does do well in this role. Out of all the Preservation Alliance crew, Dr Mensah and Gurathin’s characters are the most interesting. Rathee seems kinda annoying, and a tad juvenile. Arada is alright, but I didn’t expect Pin Lee to look the way she looked. Dr. Bharadwaj, to my surprise, is not played by an Indian actor (reminds me of Venkat Kapoor of The Martian).
The crew is underwhelming and inconsistent – which wasn’t how I felt about them while reading the book. In the TV interpretation Dr. Mensah is a fearless leader but she is also given to spasms of duh! like when she ** spoiler alert ** expects Murderbot to still recognize the crew after a complete memory wipe. Erm . . . how? Whither logic? Isn’t she a scientist? ** end spoiler alert ** . One minute Mensah could be a cool, calm, composed leader thinking on her feet, the next she could be making dithering, bombastic statements.
Gurathin has a decent backstory. Rathee, Bharadwaj, Arrada and PinLee were meh. Also suffered from similar spasms of duh. And then they introduced the throuple thing, which didn’t make any sense or help the narrative structure any.
The 1st season had 10, episodes of approximately 30-35 minutes each, which felt too short. Right when they’d sink their teeth into an issue, the episode would end. Each short episode felt similar to the one before, featuring one of the three: a potential problem, a straight-talking SecUnit trying to steer clear of trouble, the dithering crew not able to decide on a firm (and logical) course of action. With the underwhelming supporting cast, the very average background music, this series felt forced. Like they were trying too hard to be funny. A middling show this one, but one to watch for Martha Wells fans.
