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Short Circuit
- 896 statements
- 177 feature instances
- 97 referencing feature instances
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Short Circuit | comment |
Short Circuit is a 1986 film directed by John Badham and distributed by TriStar Pictures. It centers around a bleeding edge military robot who becomes self-aware. Dubbed "Number Five" (Tim Blaney), his first instinct as a sentient being is to invert the Killer Robot genre: he doesn't want to kill, and is hunted by the weapons manufacturer that made him. It doesn't slot easily into any one genre, instead toying with hard sci-fi, romantic comedy, tragedy, revenge drama, and slapstick (Number Five ignoring his laser cannon to sling mud at people).Number Five short-circuits during a routine maintenance check and flees his birthplace of NOVA Robotics. With mobile tank treads, hair-trigger tactile response, dodgy AI and packing serious heat, Five is the grandaddy of corporate liability. In a panic, NOVA deploys its private security force to recapture and/or destroy the robot while his original programmers (Steve Guttenberg and Fisher Stevens) try to stall them. Sure enough, Number Five pulls into a nearby town and befriends a Granola Girl named Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy), who mistakes him for an extra-terrestrial and NOVA for an evil government agency. Meanwhile, Number Five is adapting... learning... and willfully ignoring commands.Two years later, the movie got a sequel (Short Circuit 2). A third film was in talks afterwards, but was eventually canned due to scripts not meeting expectations. Johnny 5 would eventually return in a TV short named Hot Cars, Cold Facts with his having his own home and a car. Even though it was primarily an educational film regarding vehicle ownership and insuring, the comedy of the two movies remains.Pixar stated that Johnny Five provided some (unintended) inspiration for WALL•E, both in appearance and personality. A remake is being planned, but it is in the very early stages. | |
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Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
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Dropped link to FIlmAtEleven: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN | |
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Short Circuit | isPartOf |
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Short Circuit / int_127fc252 | type |
Creator Cameo | |
Short Circuit / int_127fc252 | comment |
Creator Cameo: During Stephanie's impromptu news interview, director John Badham makes a cameo appearance as the news cameraman. | |
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Short Circuit / int_134ca130 | type |
Super-Reflexes | |
Short Circuit / int_134ca130 | comment |
Super-Reflexes: Besides being able to read a full book in seconds, Johnny can also fully disassemble a car in minutes and assemble a toy robot from parts in seconds, as well as react quickly enough to deflect incoming bullets with a hub cap. He doesn't do so good against any attacks he doesn't see coming, though. | |
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Short Circuit / int_13f7da6 | type |
Instant Expert | |
Short Circuit / int_13f7da6 | comment |
Instant Expert: Number Five assimilates information at an insane speed, going through every volume of an encyclopedia within seconds. Notably, this doesn't help him learn morality; he's still got the mentality of a five-year old, just a very smart one. In particular, speed-reading the owner's manual for Stephanie's truck teaches him how to drive, but not how to obey traffic laws. | |
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Short Circuit / int_1495d0e6 | type |
Non Sequitur | |
Short Circuit / int_1495d0e6 | comment |
Non Sequitur: Shortly after Number 5 gains sapience and starts wandering around confused, its programmers are logged into its OS remotely and are trying to enter commands, to which it always just responds "Malfunction. Need input." Until finally it, out of nowhere, asks "Wouldn't You Like To Be A Pepper Too?", which completely baffles everyone. Newton guesses the robot is using its print scanner to read a sign somewhere, which turns out to be correct. | |
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Short Circuit / int_1495d0e6 | |
Short Circuit / int_1501e2dd | type |
Hero Antagonist | |
Short Circuit / int_1501e2dd | comment |
Hero Antagonist: Captain Skroeder and Howard Marner. | |
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Short Circuit / int_1649e053 | type |
Your Mom | |
Short Circuit / int_1649e053 | comment |
Your Mom: Invoked as a taunt to Number Five's pursuers. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_1823d912 | type |
Noisy Robots | |
Short Circuit / int_1823d912 | comment |
Noisy Robots: Johnny 5 makes all kinds of noise when he moves around, but it's natural, since he's animatronic. | |
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Short Circuit / int_191babbc | type |
Trampled Underfoot | |
Short Circuit / int_191babbc | comment |
Trampled Underfoot: The opening shot shows a tank running over flowers. Number 5 learns about death when he accidentally tramples a grasshopper. | |
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Short Circuit / int_1ae6de50 | type |
Starring Special Effects | |
Short Circuit / int_1ae6de50 | comment |
Starring Special Effects: Despite the film's relatively low budget, the animatronics used for Johnny Five were top of the line and very impressive for the time. He was designed by Blade Runner legend Syd Mead. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_1ce162d | type |
Miraculous Malfunction | |
Short Circuit / int_1ce162d | comment |
Miraculous Malfunction: Number 5 is struck by lightning, which causes a "malfunction" that gives it sentience. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_1cf11f13 | type |
No Sympathy | |
Short Circuit / int_1cf11f13 | comment |
No Sympathy: Crosby taking No. 1 (without permission) on his hunt for No. 5, causing Howard to wet his drawers some more. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_1cf11f13 | |
Short Circuit / int_1dfbbf31 | type |
Heterosexual Life-Partners | |
Short Circuit / int_1dfbbf31 | comment |
Heterosexual Life-Partners: Newton and Ben. (Ben lampshades this a couple of times.) | |
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Short Circuit / int_1f0c1d33 | type |
Couldn't Find a Pen | |
Short Circuit / int_1f0c1d33 | comment |
Couldn't Find a Pen: With his voice box damaged, Johnny uses a rock to scrape out an S.O.S. on a brick wall. | |
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Short Circuit / int_1f42c032 | type |
Good Costume Switch | |
Short Circuit / int_1f42c032 | comment |
Good Costume Switch: Number Five loses the plate covering his "mouth" during his escape, making him look much less intimidating than the other SAINT prototypes. | |
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Short Circuit / int_20a14df0 | type |
Wrong Genre Savvy | |
Short Circuit / int_20a14df0 | comment |
Wrong Genre Savvy: Skroeder's actions and attitude throughout the movie would all be completely within reason - if this were a sci-fi thriller, rather than a family comedy. Stephanie initially mistakes Number Five for an alien. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_212da439 | type |
I Heard That | |
Short Circuit / int_212da439 | comment |
I Heard That: After Crosby shuts down Number Five to prevent General Ripper Schroeder and his troops from destroying him, we have this: | |
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Short Circuit / int_245cb69d | type |
Changing of the Guard | |
Short Circuit / int_245cb69d | comment |
Changing of the Guard: From Newton Crosby and Stephanie as the main human protagonists to Ben and (eventually) Fred. | |
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Short Circuit / int_245cb69d | |
Short Circuit / int_26d1f65f | type |
Verbal Tic | |
Short Circuit / int_26d1f65f | comment |
Verbal Tic: Johnny Five likes to list synonyms of words. This can be surprisingly bad-ass when he's really ticked off | |
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Short Circuit / int_270ed8b8 | type |
Candlelit Bath | |
Short Circuit / int_270ed8b8 | comment |
Candlelit Bath: Parodied: | |
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Short Circuit / int_274cf442 | type |
Credits Montage | |
Short Circuit / int_274cf442 | comment |
Credits Montage: The movie recaps Number/Johnny Five's escapades, including some deleted scenes (an encounter with a toy robot, for instance). | |
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Short Circuit / int_275d1f27 | type |
Easily Detachable Robot Parts | |
Short Circuit / int_275d1f27 | comment |
Easily Detachable Robot Parts: Johnny 5 (and, presumably, every other SAINT robot) are built like this; each Nova truck is full of parts for them, and Johnny uses them to at different times replace an arm that went dead (which, apparently, was being held on at the shoulder joint by just magnets) and building an entire duplicate to get blown up by the military for him. Justified in that since he's a military model robot he'd have to be easily repairable and moddable, otherwise they'd spend too much time and money in fixing him out on the battlefield. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_275d1f27 | |
Short Circuit / int_2848e7d2 | type |
Oblivious to Love | |
Short Circuit / int_2848e7d2 | comment |
Oblivious to Love: Sandy, the woman representing the toy company Ben had a deal with, doesn't even notice his (poor) attempts at romancing her until Johnny bungles their date. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_2a090d00 | type |
Lampshade Hanging | |
Short Circuit / int_2a090d00 | comment |
Lampshade Hanging: In this movie, Newton asks Ben where the hell he's from, since he's clearly not ethnically Indian despite the exaggerated accent. He claims he's from Bakersfield and his family is from Pittsburgh. This could be read as an admission that he's a white guy who's just eccentric, but the ending of the second movie shows he isn't an American citizen up to that point. | |
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Short Circuit / int_2a4222ff | type |
Benevolent A.I. | |
Short Circuit / int_2a4222ff | comment |
Benevolent A.I.: Number 5, despite being a military prototype programmed to destroy his enemies, has no desire to harm anyone or anything else. Shortly after he achieves sapience, he learns about the concept of death. He fears death, and reasons that if he fears it, then other intelligent creatures must also fear it, and since he doesn't want to die, then it cannot be right to take the lives of others. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_2a4222ff | |
Short Circuit / int_2a7e7af1 | type |
Limited Wardrobe | |
Short Circuit / int_2a7e7af1 | comment |
Limited Wardrobe: Fred seemingly owns only one — admittedly expensive — shirt, which he wears on a daily basis. This makes it all the more poignant when Fred tears his sleeve off without hesitation, applying it to Johnny's leaking battery. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_2a7e7af1 | |
Short Circuit / int_2c437b06 | type |
Violently Protective Girlfriend | |
Short Circuit / int_2c437b06 | comment |
Violently Protective Girlfriend: Maybe not violent, but Sandy takes a level in badass when she believes Ben is in trouble, impressively decoding his voiceless-phone messages to use as directions, and demanding that the taxi driver break the law to move faster. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_2c437b06 | |
Short Circuit / int_2c628d38 | type |
Worf Had the Flu | |
Short Circuit / int_2c628d38 | comment |
Worf Had the Flu: When the 3 other S.A.I.N.T.s attack Johnny 5, they state their orders are to capture him rather than destroy him and thus are likely not using full-power shots, which accounts for how he's able to deflect their tank-busting lasers with a rock. | |
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Short Circuit / int_2c628d38 | |
Short Circuit / int_2f253c94 | type |
Glass Cannon | |
Short Circuit / int_2f253c94 | comment |
Glass Cannon: The SAINT units sure can dish it out with their lasers, but they lack any armor to speak of - probably due to being early prototypes; one expects actual military units would be encased in rather more protective shells without exposed equipment. They rely on effective offense to prevent damage before it can be dealt, and Johnny himself has pretty effective ways of protecting himself from a single threat using whatever's lying around; however, if there are multiple threats, or if an attack comes from an unforeseen location, they're surprisingly easy to take out - a few bullets damage Johnny 5 enough that he can be reached and shut down in the first film, and all it takes to take him out in the second is an axe from a direction he isn't expecting. Johnny himself has an easy time disabling the other SAINT units - some mud in the eyes, a basic rope trap and a sudden maneuver get them all out of the fight. | |
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Short Circuit / int_323cd680 | type |
Geek Physiques | |
Short Circuit / int_323cd680 | comment |
Geek Physiques: Ben and his bank robber counterpart, Saunders, are both portrayed as weaklings. | |
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Short Circuit / int_33a2f32f | type |
Do Androids Dream? | |
Short Circuit / int_33a2f32f | comment |
Do Androids Dream?: Though not focused in the same way as a robot becomes more than the sum of his programming due to an accident. The questions then are postulated for robot and viewer as to what makes a sentient sentient. | |
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Short Circuit / int_33a2f32f | |
Short Circuit / int_33db913f | type |
Open Mouth, Insert Foot | |
Short Circuit / int_33db913f | comment |
Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Howard theorizes the potential danger of having their laser-armed robot roaming free. The stereotypical Indian guy, Ben, hasn't really grasped the concept of discretion. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_342ce4e6 | type |
GrowBeyondTheirProgramming | |
Short Circuit / int_342ce4e6 | comment |
Grow Beyond Their Programming: Number Five, after being shocked by lightning, spontaneously develops the ability to learn at an accelerated pace, eventually becoming fully sapient. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_342ce4e6 | |
Short Circuit / int_347c2 | type |
Inkblot Test | |
Short Circuit / int_347c2 | comment |
Inkblot Test: Administered to Number Five by Crosby as part of a Turing Test. Unintentionally, as it turns out. Newton intended (and indeed, initially got) a chemical analysis of soup poured on paper. Then Johnny interpreted what the actual blot looked like. | |
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Short Circuit / int_350aafa9 | type |
Eccentric A.I. | |
Short Circuit / int_350aafa9 | comment |
Eccentric A.I.: Number 5 is a cutting-edge military robot whose AI goes haywire after being hit by lightning, to the point he is no longer interested in being a weapon of war, and instead wants to learn more about life. | |
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Short Circuit / int_35e4fe72 | type |
Fakin' MacGuffin | |
Short Circuit / int_35e4fe72 | comment |
Fakin' MacGuffin: In the climax of the film, Johnny 5 makes a copy of himself to keep from getting destroyed by the army. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_364b9be6 | type |
Flipping the Bird | |
Short Circuit / int_364b9be6 | comment |
Flipping the Bird: Newton Crosby does this to his co-worker Benjamin Jabituya with his robotic hand. Benjamin asks Newton if he's showing the number of his IQ with that finger. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_392372f9 | type |
Actor Allusion | |
Short Circuit / int_392372f9 | comment |
Actor Allusion: There is a lot of Thaddeus Harris in the character Skroeder. | |
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Short Circuit / int_3aa2ac42 | type |
G-Rated Drug | |
Short Circuit / int_3aa2ac42 | comment |
G-Rated Drug: Apparently, knowledge is this to a newly sentient robot. Played for Laughs, of course. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
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Short Circuit / int_420c50b7 | type |
A.I. Is a Crapshoot | |
Short Circuit / int_420c50b7 | comment |
A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Inverted. There's nothing wrong with the AI until lightning gets involved. Even then, the AI is incredibly amicable and nonviolent, and takes some serious pushing (a major betrayal and very serious and brutal attempt on its life) just to move it from an Actual Pacifist to a Technical Pacifist. | |
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Short Circuit / int_420c50b7 | |
Short Circuit / int_42153b0f | type |
Cloning Gambit | |
Short Circuit / int_42153b0f | comment |
Cloning Gambit: During the movie's climax, Johnny Five uses his previously demonstrated repair skills to build a physical duplicate of himself, which he sends out for Nova Robotics to kill so they'd assume they got him. | |
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Short Circuit / int_42153b0f | |
Short Circuit / int_426181b8 | type |
Do-Anything Robot | |
Short Circuit / int_426181b8 | comment |
Do-Anything Robot: Johnny has a parachute, an electric tool kit mounted on a "third arm" that can do everything from pick locks to whisk pancake batter, and a laser weapon powerful enough to blow up cars. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_426181b8 | |
Short Circuit / int_443f9d8a | type |
Ask a Stupid Question... | |
Short Circuit / int_443f9d8a | comment |
Ask a Stupid Question...: Stephanie does this when she tries to convince Newton that Number 5 nearly drove her food truck off a cliff. | |
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Short Circuit / int_4536fd29 | type |
Energy Weapon | |
Short Circuit / int_4536fd29 | comment |
Energy Weapon: All the military robots. In the sequel, Johnny replaces his with a Utility Pack. | |
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Short Circuit / int_496569e8 | type |
Race Against the Clock | |
Short Circuit / int_496569e8 | comment |
Race Against the Clock: Fred, when repairing Johnny in Radio Shack. | |
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Short Circuit / int_496569e8 | |
Short Circuit / int_4cb0192 | type |
Utility Belt | |
Short Circuit / int_4cb0192 | comment |
Utility Belt: The combat robot Johnny Five has a waist-mounted rotating multitool containing, among other things, wire cutters, lockpick, and a soldering iron. In the second movie, he replaces his shoulder-mounted laser with a utility pack with a magnetic grappling hook, hang-glider, camera, and metal cutter. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_4cb0192 | |
Short Circuit / int_4e6aab7a | type |
Tied-Together-Shoelace Trip | |
Short Circuit / int_4e6aab7a | comment |
Tied-Together-Shoelace Trip: Number 5 pulls this on Newton while Newton is looking over the changes to Number 5's wiring. | |
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Short Circuit / int_4e6aab7a | |
Short Circuit / int_4e9224c9 | type |
Wallbonking | |
Short Circuit / int_4e9224c9 | comment |
Wallbonking: The SAINT units all have pre-programmed paths to take within the Nova Robotics compound, and all of them follow this path normally, except Number Five, who is not functioning properly. When the other SAINT units complete a corner turn, Number Five continues forward into the wall, much to his frustration. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_4e9224c9 | |
Short Circuit / int_5020cc4a | type |
Blank Slate | |
Short Circuit / int_5020cc4a | comment |
Blank Slate: Number 5 is a fast learner though. | |
Short Circuit / int_5020cc4a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_5020cc4a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_5020cc4a | |
Short Circuit / int_509a7227 | type |
Pick Your Human Half | |
Short Circuit / int_509a7227 | comment |
Pick Your Human Half: Johnny looks very machine like but acts very human. | |
Short Circuit / int_509a7227 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_509a7227 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_509a7227 | |
Short Circuit / int_50f848cc | type |
Technology Porn | |
Short Circuit / int_50f848cc | comment |
Technology Porn: The opening sequence of the movie shows the construction process of the S.A.I.N.T. robot line. | |
Short Circuit / int_50f848cc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_50f848cc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_50f848cc | |
Short Circuit / int_51a3ba7 | type |
We Used to Be Friends | |
Short Circuit / int_51a3ba7 | comment |
We Used to Be Friends: Newton calls out Howard Marner on this, claiming that back when they were both scientists, Howard would have realized the value of Johnny Five's sentience. Howard bluntly replies, "I'm a businessman. I'm not a scientist anymore." (The insanely high value that true AI would have seems to be lost on him, however). | |
Short Circuit / int_51a3ba7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_51a3ba7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_51a3ba7 | |
Short Circuit / int_53c3fa83 | type |
Granola Girl | |
Short Circuit / int_53c3fa83 | comment |
Granola Girl: Stephanie. Takes in all manner of poor and homeless animals (and one sentient robot), runs a truck that she sells natural food out of, and expresses her deep displeasure with the military and their weapons. | |
Short Circuit / int_53c3fa83 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_53c3fa83 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_53c3fa83 | |
Short Circuit / int_541e7371 | type |
But I Read a Book About It | |
Short Circuit / int_541e7371 | comment |
But I Read a Book About It: Newton's response when Ben asks if he's ever seen a woman naked. Standard fare for Johnny-Five. With most of his fairly shortnote Four days by the time the movie gets to the climax. life spent interacting with only about a half-dozen humans in any significant way, the majority of his experience and knowledge comes from the piles upon piles of books he's read. | |
Short Circuit / int_541e7371 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_541e7371 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_541e7371 | |
Short Circuit / int_5517f7a5 | type |
Just Think of the Potential! | |
Short Circuit / int_5517f7a5 | comment |
Just Think of the Potential!: When asked by a Senator about the SAINT project's origins, Crosby lets slip the fact that he intended them as a marital aid. (Then again, he might've been trying to make a fool of Howard.) | |
Short Circuit / int_5517f7a5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_5517f7a5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_5517f7a5 | |
Short Circuit / int_557a31ce | type |
Actual Pacifist | |
Short Circuit / int_557a31ce | comment |
Actual Pacifist: What Johnny wants to be, though NOVA trying to capture him in the first film (and later the bank robbers in the second) push him into Technical Pacifist when he's forced to defend himself. Tellingly, he only applies the absolute minimum amount of carefully-calculated force to preserve life. | |
Short Circuit / int_557a31ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_557a31ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_557a31ce | |
Short Circuit / int_56863152 | type |
Operation: [Blank] | |
Short Circuit / int_56863152 | comment |
Operation: [Blank]: An army general at NOVA's launch party is already fantasizing about deploying SAINT robots to nuke Moscow. "We call it Operation Gotcha Last." | |
Short Circuit / int_56863152 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_56863152 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_56863152 | |
Short Circuit / int_58626d87 | type |
Genius Ditz | |
Short Circuit / int_58626d87 | comment |
Genius Ditz: Newton Crosby ("Ph. Dork"). But he's Tony Stark when compared to his sidekick, an squirrely Indian man who thinks of nothing but sex. Number Five also qualifies, being that he's technically the youngest member of the cast. | |
Short Circuit / int_58626d87 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_58626d87 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_58626d87 | |
Short Circuit / int_5a59b3a1 | type |
Hulk Speak | |
Short Circuit / int_5a59b3a1 | comment |
Hulk Speak: Number 5's speech is initially a cross between this and Robo Speak, although he can also speak normally. | |
Short Circuit / int_5a59b3a1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_5a59b3a1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_5a59b3a1 | |
Short Circuit / int_5b1a2f4e | type |
Ain't Too Proud to Beg | |
Short Circuit / int_5b1a2f4e | comment |
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Johnny spends the entire scene in which he receives a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown begging the goons to stop until they damage his vocal systems. | |
Short Circuit / int_5b1a2f4e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_5b1a2f4e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_5b1a2f4e | |
Short Circuit / int_5db1c06e | type |
Brownface | |
Short Circuit / int_5db1c06e | comment |
Brown Face: Fisher Stevens, who plays Benjamin, is a White Jewish man, and not an Indian or Pakistani man, as he is cast here. | |
Short Circuit / int_5db1c06e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_5db1c06e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_5db1c06e | |
Short Circuit / int_5e782d0c | type |
Super Prototype | |
Short Circuit / int_5e782d0c | comment |
Super Prototype: While the SAINT robots never enter actual production, so we don't know how the production model would stack up to the prototypes, the prototypes certainly perform very well in their demonstration. And Johnny outperforms three of the prototypes when they come to try and collect him. | |
Short Circuit / int_5e782d0c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_5e782d0c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_5e782d0c | |
Short Circuit / int_5f91efd9 | type |
Creative Closing Credits | |
Short Circuit / int_5f91efd9 | comment |
Creative Closing Credits: The movie has a recap of the story behind the end credits, including several Deleted Scenes (like the one with Number Five and a coffee-cup bearing robot).invoked | |
Short Circuit / int_5f91efd9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_5f91efd9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_5f91efd9 | |
Short Circuit / int_60fb6e02 | type |
I Am Not a Gun | |
Short Circuit / int_60fb6e02 | comment |
I Am Not a Gun: A military combat robot gains sentience, and this trope ensues when it reasons that it does not wish to die, so it cannot justify killing others because it knows what it means to fear death. | |
Short Circuit / int_60fb6e02 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_60fb6e02 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_60fb6e02 | |
Short Circuit / int_65244998 | type |
Lightning Can Do Anything | |
Short Circuit / int_65244998 | comment |
Lightning Can Do Anything: A single bolt is all that stands between a sufficiently advanced robot and sentience. Though it's nebulous if the lightning, the constant stream of random input at Stephanie's, or both made Number 5 truly alive. | |
Short Circuit / int_65244998 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_65244998 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_65244998 | |
Short Circuit / int_673b2da6 | type |
Instant A.I.: Just Add Water! | |
Short Circuit / int_673b2da6 | comment |
Instant A.I.: Just Add Water!: Lightning in this case, but the effect is much the same. Downplayed, as while it gives him the capacity to learn outside his programming, it takes several days of absorbing information before approaching the intelligence of a human and being able to make moral choices. | |
Short Circuit / int_673b2da6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_673b2da6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_673b2da6 | |
Short Circuit / int_67e82be2 | type |
Shoulder Cannon | |
Short Circuit / int_67e82be2 | comment |
Shoulder Cannon: Johnny Five and his brothers all have shoulder-mounted lasers. | |
Short Circuit / int_67e82be2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_67e82be2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_67e82be2 | |
Short Circuit / int_69cce3dc | type |
Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap! | |
Short Circuit / int_69cce3dc | comment |
Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Number 5 makes the connection between a dead grasshopper and NOVA's intent to dismantle him: | |
Short Circuit / int_69cce3dc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_69cce3dc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_69cce3dc | |
Short Circuit / int_6c553873 | type |
Private Military Contractors | |
Short Circuit / int_6c553873 | comment |
Private Military Contractors: Skroeder and his men are private security but their numbers and equipment make them more like a small army. Somewhat justified in that Nova seem to be a major technology contractor for the US military. | |
Short Circuit / int_6c553873 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6c553873 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6c553873 | |
Short Circuit / int_6cbcd596 | type |
Gangbangers | |
Short Circuit / int_6cbcd596 | comment |
Gangbangers: | |
Short Circuit / int_6cbcd596 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6cbcd596 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6cbcd596 | |
Short Circuit / int_6dafc69d | type |
Decoy Getaway | |
Short Circuit / int_6dafc69d | comment |
Decoy Getaway: Dr. Crosby's NOVA van happens to have enough spare parts for SAINT robots that Number Five builds a decoy. NOVA blows it up at the end of the film, with everyone thinking it's the real Number Five. | |
Short Circuit / int_6dafc69d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6dafc69d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6dafc69d | |
Short Circuit / int_6df43486 | type |
Stereotypical South Asian English | |
Short Circuit / int_6df43486 | comment |
Stereotypical South Asian English: Part of Ben Jabituya's joke is that he speaks with such an exaggerated accent despite being born and raised in the US to American-born parents. The sequel retcons him into an Indian immigrant. Stevens researched the role quite extensively, hiring a dialect coach and even traveling to India to get the accent right, but today considers the role something of an Old Shame. | |
Short Circuit / int_6df43486 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6df43486 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6df43486 | |
Short Circuit / int_6e27397 | type |
Missed Him by That Much | |
Short Circuit / int_6e27397 | comment |
Missed Him by That Much: Searching for the dying Johnny, Ben and the cops arrive at Radio Shack at the exact moment that Fred and Johnny exit the frame. This happens twice more during this sequence, though the final time Fred remained behind for Ben and the cops to find instead. | |
Short Circuit / int_6e27397 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6e27397 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6e27397 | |
Short Circuit / int_6eb4e408 | type |
Artistic License – Military | |
Short Circuit / int_6eb4e408 | comment |
Artistic License – Military: More along the lines of artistic license security guards and not the military. While Skroeder was entirely justified in tracking down a rogue robot with a laser weapon, not once do we see him or any of his men coordinate with local, county, State or Federal law enforcement or even mention calling them to warn of a potential danger to the public. As private security guards, they had no legal authority to block public roads, hold civilians at gun point, conduct a "precision operation" on private property or stage gun battles outside of the Nova Robotics grounds. In real life, had Skroeder done any of those things, he and his security people would've been arrested on the spot. Even at the climax where the US Army finally gets called in, there still is no sign of any law enforcement. | |
Short Circuit / int_6eb4e408 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6eb4e408 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6eb4e408 | |
Short Circuit / int_6eeaa3c4 | type |
Bus Full of Innocents | |
Short Circuit / int_6eeaa3c4 | comment |
Bus Full of Innocents: Howard is scared that the malfunctioning Number 5 might attack one. | |
Short Circuit / int_6eeaa3c4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6eeaa3c4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6eeaa3c4 | |
Short Circuit / int_6ef186d3 | type |
Speaks in Shout-Outs | |
Short Circuit / int_6ef186d3 | comment |
Speaks in Shout-Outs: Johnny Five does a lot of this, especially due to his exposure to television in the film. | |
Short Circuit / int_6ef186d3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6ef186d3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6ef186d3 | |
Short Circuit / int_6ffe0ae4 | type |
Wild Goose Chase | |
Short Circuit / int_6ffe0ae4 | comment |
Wild Goose Chase: Number 5 notices his Tracking Device and throws it into the pick up truck of an elderly couple. The soldiers in pursuit of him find the couple instead. | |
Short Circuit / int_6ffe0ae4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_6ffe0ae4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_6ffe0ae4 | |
Short Circuit / int_7204fa60 | type |
George Jetson Job Security | |
Short Circuit / int_7204fa60 | comment |
George Jetson Job Security: Happens to Newton Crosby, Ben Jabituya, and Skroeder: | |
Short Circuit / int_7204fa60 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_7204fa60 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_7204fa60 | |
Short Circuit / int_723be11b | type |
Villain Has a Point | |
Short Circuit / int_723be11b | comment |
Villain Has a Point: Skroeder is adamant about destroying Number Five at all costs and deliberately undermines and steps on the toes of others who are working on a less militant and violent approach. The truth is that the SAINT robots have MILITARY applications with a fully active laser cannon, you can even see the Oh, Crap! look on their faces when they realize he can use it freely. While the audience gets the benefit of seeing how benign and childlike Number Five is, the team they send in do end up provoking Number Five into a laser response. At the time who knows what else might have provoked the same reaction. | |
Short Circuit / int_723be11b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_723be11b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_723be11b | |
Short Circuit / int_733e007a | type |
Unwitting Pawn | |
Short Circuit / int_733e007a | comment |
Unwitting Pawn: Skroeder uses Newton Crosby as one of these in the film: | |
Short Circuit / int_733e007a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_733e007a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_733e007a | |
Short Circuit / int_7464705c | type |
Arc Words | |
Short Circuit / int_7464705c | comment |
Arc Words: Number Five maintains throughout the film that he is "alive". It takes quite a bit of persuading before everyone else agrees with him. The word is given special significance in all of his lines. | |
Short Circuit / int_7464705c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_7464705c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_7464705c | |
Short Circuit / int_74ab25a4 | type |
Secret Underground Passage | |
Short Circuit / int_74ab25a4 | comment |
Secret Underground Passage: The tunnel connecting Ben's warehouse with a high-security bank vault. | |
Short Circuit / int_74ab25a4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_74ab25a4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_74ab25a4 | |
Short Circuit / int_777c0033 | type |
Technical Pacifist | |
Short Circuit / int_777c0033 | comment |
Technical Pacifist: Johnny Five was created as a military robot, but decides that killing is wrong. He'll defend himself as necessary, using exactly as much force as required and no more. In the first film, armed with a laser weapon that can stop tanks, he uses very precise, low-power shots to distract opponents or render them incapable of harm, as when he cuts apart the drive shaft Frank was weilding. Ultimately, he prefers not to use his laser at all, subduing the three SAINT prototypes sent to recapture him by using the environment to incapacitate them then turning them off. By the second film, he's uninstalled his laser completely, and defends himself with his attached gadgets, robotic strength, and primarily his wits. | |
Short Circuit / int_777c0033 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_777c0033 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_777c0033 | |
Short Circuit / int_79974fb8 | type |
Rock Beats Laser | |
Short Circuit / int_79974fb8 | comment |
Rock Beats Laser: Johnny outwits his evil twins by deflecting their lasers with rocks and blinding them with mud. $11 million well spent, Pentagon. | |
Short Circuit / int_79974fb8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_79974fb8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_79974fb8 | |
Short Circuit / int_79cce27b | type |
Law Enforcement, Inc. | |
Short Circuit / int_79cce27b | comment |
Law Enforcement, Inc.: NOVA's private military. | |
Short Circuit / int_79cce27b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_79cce27b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_79cce27b | |
Short Circuit / int_7a555627 | type |
Honest Corporate Executive | |
Short Circuit / int_7a555627 | comment |
Honest Corporate Executive: Howard Marner, as he only sent out his military forces to capture Number Five as he believed him to be a dangerous robot with a laser cannon. However, Howard does view the sentient Number Five as another robot of his assembly line that has gone rogue and needs to be recaptured to reprogram and that fact he is Only in It for the Money. | |
Short Circuit / int_7a555627 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_7a555627 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_7a555627 | |
Short Circuit / int_7f9bfc3f | type |
Human Mail | |
Short Circuit / int_7f9bfc3f | comment |
Human Mail: Though not technically a human, Johnny Five mails himself to Benjamin in the city (with the help of Newton and Stephanie), after being rejected as an airplane passenger. | |
Short Circuit / int_7f9bfc3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_7f9bfc3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_7f9bfc3f | |
Short Circuit / int_823c6e3e | type |
Large Ham | |
Short Circuit / int_823c6e3e | comment |
Large Ham: Skroeder is quite the ham, played with a side of grits by G.W. Bailey: | |
Short Circuit / int_823c6e3e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_823c6e3e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_823c6e3e | |
Short Circuit / int_85c1004b | type |
Incredibly Obvious Bug | |
Short Circuit / int_85c1004b | comment |
Incredibly Obvious Bug: When the protagonist #5 wanders off, its creator turns on its homing beacon so that his corporation can track it down. When #5 notices the beacon, it's about the size of an apple, with a prominent blinking light, easily detached and tossed into the back of some hapless bypasser's pickup truck. In this case, #5 was never intended to become self-aware enough to decide that the homing device should be gotten rid of, which may excuse its obviousness, but there is no reason a robotics company spending a fortune on a self-operating war machine wouldn't take care to integrate its homing beacon more effectively into the device. Even a prototype would have the homing beacon properly secured to prevent it from being knocked off during exercises — and a final production version would've been even more ruggedized. | |
Short Circuit / int_85c1004b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_85c1004b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_85c1004b | |
Short Circuit / int_862ea4c1 | type |
Easily-Overheard Conversation | |
Short Circuit / int_862ea4c1 | comment |
Easily-Overheard Conversation: The movie has the head scientist 20 meters away from the bureaucrat and calls him an idiot. | |
Short Circuit / int_862ea4c1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_862ea4c1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_862ea4c1 | |
Short Circuit / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
Short Circuit / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: SAINT Number 4 is never seen after the introductory scene. It's never explained what happened to the loan shark Fred talked to after in the pool scene, though it's possible Fred already paid him after he got paid for the toy robots. We never hear of Los Locos again after Johnny helped them rip the radios off the cars. | |
Short Circuit / int_863fa679 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_863fa679 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_863fa679 | |
Short Circuit / int_86daf505 | type |
Parental Bonus | |
Short Circuit / int_86daf505 | comment |
Parental Bonus: When stopped due to a tracking device in their truck the old couple immediately think about the "grass" they may or may not have in their glove compartment. | |
Short Circuit / int_86daf505 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_86daf505 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_86daf505 | |
Short Circuit / int_8829dfa0 | type |
What the Hell Is That Accent? | |
Short Circuit / int_8829dfa0 | comment |
What the Hell Is That Accent?: Lampshaded when Newton asks Ben where he's from, and when he finds out it's Bakersfield asks where his parents are from. "Pittsburgh." | |
Short Circuit / int_8829dfa0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_8829dfa0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_8829dfa0 | |
Short Circuit / int_890d4ef2 | type |
Humiliation Conga | |
Short Circuit / int_890d4ef2 | comment |
Humiliation Conga: How Number Five deals with Frank. First, he reduces his Pontiac Firebird into its components. Then, he effortlessly deflects a volley of shots from Frank's hunting rifle with his own hubcap. Then, he uses his laser to melt Frank's boots, hat, and belt buckle into molten slag. | |
Short Circuit / int_890d4ef2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_890d4ef2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_890d4ef2 | |
Short Circuit / int_8941750b | type |
Willfully Weak | |
Short Circuit / int_8941750b | comment |
Willfully Weak: Johnny 5 is a military robot designed for combat. He has an anti-tank laser on his shoulder and could easily fry people and is shown in the sequel to be powerful enough to benchpress a car even in a badly damaged, weakened state. He could very easily kill people with little effort if he felt like it, but after realizing 'disassembling' people is wrong, he refuses to use lethal force and only uses as much force as he needs to when forced to fight. | |
Short Circuit / int_8941750b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_8941750b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_8941750b | |
Short Circuit / int_8de7402d | type |
Measuring the Marigolds | |
Short Circuit / int_8de7402d | comment |
Measuring the Marigolds: Played with. Toward the end of the film, Newton is trying to figure out if Number 5 has really "come alive." He makes a Rorschach blot with paper and tomato soup, trying to see if Number 5 sees past the scientific to see the marigolds. It is foreshadowed earlier in the film that Number 5 has this capacity: though he regurgitates scientific information at the drop of a hat, he is also able to see abstract shapes in clouds, rather than just dismissing them as pockets of water vapor. | |
Short Circuit / int_8de7402d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_8de7402d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_8de7402d | |
Short Circuit / int_8e1aef2d | type |
Reference Overdosed | |
Short Circuit / int_8e1aef2d | comment |
Reference Overdosed: Johnny doesn't really know when to hold back. Then again, being as young as he is, he doesn't really have his own experiences to know anything beyond references. | |
Short Circuit / int_8e1aef2d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_8e1aef2d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_8e1aef2d | |
Short Circuit / int_9075ac17 | type |
Just a Machine | |
Short Circuit / int_9075ac17 | comment |
Just a Machine: The movie has this as its central premise. The robot can't be alive because it's a machine which aren't alive by definition. Never mind that it's now got free will and a sense of self-preservation, it's still just a machine... right? | |
Short Circuit / int_9075ac17 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_9075ac17 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_9075ac17 | |
Short Circuit / int_928ca2cc | type |
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness | |
Short Circuit / int_928ca2cc | comment |
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After NOVA security and the Army blow up what they think is Johnny Five and celebrate, Marner's Tranquil Fury at having years of research and funding sent down the drain, along with Skroeder's unrepentant reply of how he was only doing his job, force Marner to hint that Skroeder's days serving NOVA are through. Skroeder's facial response after hearing it clearly shows he's thinking "I'm fired, aren't I?" | |
Short Circuit / int_928ca2cc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_928ca2cc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_928ca2cc | |
Short Circuit / int_94b78deb | type |
Every Helicopter Is a Huey | |
Short Circuit / int_94b78deb | comment |
Every Helicopter Is a Huey: Although the helicopter that chases down and destroys the decoy Number Five is not a Huey, but a JetRanger, this trope is lampshaded: | |
Short Circuit / int_94b78deb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_94b78deb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_94b78deb | |
Short Circuit / int_94cc2c28 | type |
Exact Time to Failure | |
Short Circuit / int_94cc2c28 | comment |
Exact Time to Failure: Johnny Five's battery. | |
Short Circuit / int_94cc2c28 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_94cc2c28 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_94cc2c28 | |
Short Circuit / int_9538d01b | type |
Super-Speed Reading | |
Short Circuit / int_9538d01b | comment |
Super-Speed Reading: Johnny can breeze through books at a frightening rate, though apparently he's not programmed to re-shelve them. | |
Short Circuit / int_9538d01b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_9538d01b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_9538d01b | |
Short Circuit / int_9633f14b | type |
Badass Bystander | |
Short Circuit / int_9633f14b | comment |
Badass Bystander: During the scene at the bar, the bartender breaks a bottle over a NOVA soldier's head and shoves him off her bar. | |
Short Circuit / int_9633f14b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_9633f14b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_9633f14b | |
Short Circuit / int_97550008 | type |
Turing Test | |
Short Circuit / int_97550008 | comment |
Turing Test: Used by Crosby to determine if Number 5 is alive. The Ink Blot Test and the fact that Number 5 has rewired his switches to a point where he shouldn't be operable begins Crosby's questioning that it's true but it takes a bad joke to convince him when Number 5 laughs at the joke. | |
Short Circuit / int_97550008 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_97550008 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_97550008 | |
Short Circuit / int_985e118a | type |
Odd Couple | |
Short Circuit / int_985e118a | comment |
Odd Couple: Mild-mannered, scrupulous Ben and slovenly, amoral Fred. | |
Short Circuit / int_985e118a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_985e118a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_985e118a | |
Short Circuit / int_9aa3d869 | type |
Creative Sterility | |
Short Circuit / int_9aa3d869 | comment |
Double subverted with the inkblot turing test mentioned above. When first asked "What do you make of this?" Five gives the literal answer: a chemical analysis of soup poured on paper, seemingly demonstrating Creative Sterility. But then... | |
Short Circuit / int_9aa3d869 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Short Circuit / int_9aa3d869 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_9aa3d869 | |
Short Circuit / int_9c45b5a2 | type |
What Measure Is a Non-Human? | |
Short Circuit / int_9c45b5a2 | comment |
What Measure Is a Non-Human?: It takes a lot of convincing before the human leads will concede that Number Five is alive and not Just a Machine. This is the main moral premise of both films, leading to the end of the second movie in which Johnny is publicly declared a sentient being and made a citizen of the United States. Tellingly, when forced to fight off an ambush by three other prototypes like himself (but not alive in the way Johnny is), he still does not fire on them or destroy them, simply incapacitating then deactivating them. | |
Short Circuit / int_9c45b5a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_9c45b5a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_9c45b5a2 | |
Short Circuit / int_9c5ce9ed | type |
Blunt Metaphors Trauma | |
Short Circuit / int_9c5ce9ed | comment |
Blunt Metaphors Trauma: It's surprisingly not Number Five who has this problem, but rather the wacky Indian sidekick Ben: | |
Short Circuit / int_9c5ce9ed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_9c5ce9ed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_9c5ce9ed | |
Short Circuit / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
Short Circuit / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Foreshadowing: Johnny 5 mentions to Ben that he changed out his old battery for a new lithium-argon liquid battery. At the police station: | |
Short Circuit / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_9d12bbc1 | |
Short Circuit / int_9f8a12d7 | type |
Who's on First? | |
Short Circuit / int_9f8a12d7 | comment |
Who's on First?: Stephanie and Number 5 in the movie: | |
Short Circuit / int_9f8a12d7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_9f8a12d7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_9f8a12d7 | |
Short Circuit / int_a06162e8 | type |
Phlebotinum Rebel | |
Short Circuit / int_a06162e8 | comment |
Phlebotinum Rebel: Designed as a military robot, Number (a.k.a. Johnny) Five gains sentience and decides killing is wrong. | |
Short Circuit / int_a06162e8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_a06162e8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_a06162e8 | |
Short Circuit / int_a2b38d3b | type |
Eye Scream | |
Short Circuit / int_a2b38d3b | comment |
Eye Scream: In this case: Robotic eye, meet axe. Ouch. See Family-Unfriendly Violence. | |
Short Circuit / int_a2b38d3b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_a2b38d3b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_a2b38d3b | |
Short Circuit / int_a3eae597 | type |
Award-Bait Song | |
Short Circuit / int_a3eae597 | comment |
Award-Bait Song: The movie has Come and Follow Me by Max Carl and Marcy Levy. | |
Short Circuit / int_a3eae597 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_a3eae597 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_a3eae597 | |
Short Circuit / int_a67b86a7 | type |
General Ripper | |
Short Circuit / int_a67b86a7 | comment |
General Ripper: Skroeder decides (without bothering to listen to the guy who built it or coordinate with law enforcement) that recovering Number Five requires loads and loads of military firepower aimed in the general direction of the robot regardless of the presence of innocent bystanders. Ironically, this sort of wanton destruction is precisely what Nova Robotics are concerned their missing robot might do. | |
Short Circuit / int_a67b86a7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_a67b86a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_a67b86a7 | |
Short Circuit / int_a8c50563 | type |
Bathtub Scene | |
Short Circuit / int_a8c50563 | comment |
Bathtub Scene: The movie has Stephanie Speck relaxing in the bathtub as Number 5 comes in to show he is still alive. | |
Short Circuit / int_a8c50563 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_a8c50563 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_a8c50563 | |
Short Circuit / int_a939a527 | type |
Red Eyes, Take Warning | |
Short Circuit / int_a939a527 | comment |
Red Eyes, Take Warning: Probably originally meant for combat mode, Johnny's back-lit red "eyes" are usually a telltale sign you've managed to tick off the normally happy-go-lucky pacifist robot. Ben and Newton discover Number Five is right at their location on the scanner while at the gas station—The back door of their truck. | |
Short Circuit / int_a939a527 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_a939a527 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_a939a527 | |
Short Circuit / int_abe0f934 | type |
Dissimile | |
Short Circuit / int_abe0f934 | comment |
Dissimile: Fred explaining that he didn't "lose" Johnny Five. He just "misplaced him, y'know? Like your car keys." | |
Short Circuit / int_abe0f934 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_abe0f934 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_abe0f934 | |
Short Circuit / int_acecb17d | type |
Chekhov's Skill | |
Short Circuit / int_acecb17d | comment |
Chekhov's Skill: Too many to list, most notably Johnny's magnet and remote control. | |
Short Circuit / int_acecb17d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_acecb17d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_acecb17d | |
Short Circuit / int_ad1db87c | type |
Oh, Crap! | |
Short Circuit / int_ad1db87c | comment |
Oh, Crap!: Johnny 5's realization that disassemble equals death. Fred and Ben realizing that neither one of them knows Morse code. | |
Short Circuit / int_ad1db87c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_ad1db87c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_ad1db87c | |
Short Circuit / int_af616e40 | type |
Accidental Misnaming | |
Short Circuit / int_af616e40 | comment |
Accidental Misnaming: Ben keeps calling Johnny "Number Johnny Five". He doesn't really seem to mind though. | |
Short Circuit / int_af616e40 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_af616e40 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_af616e40 | |
Short Circuit / int_b1c2112 | type |
Tracking Device | |
Short Circuit / int_b1c2112 | comment |
Tracking Device: Johnny Five has a tracking device that he tosses into the bed of a passing pickup truck. | |
Short Circuit / int_b1c2112 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_b1c2112 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_b1c2112 | |
Short Circuit / int_b2d8059f | type |
Innocent Aliens | |
Short Circuit / int_b2d8059f | comment |
Innocent Aliens: Subverted when the alien turns out to be a Ridiculously Human Robot, much to Stephanie Speck's disappointment. | |
Short Circuit / int_b2d8059f | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
Short Circuit / int_b2d8059f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_b2d8059f | |
Short Circuit / int_b7efeb58 | type |
Magical Defibrillator | |
Short Circuit / int_b7efeb58 | comment |
Magical Defibrillator: One such is used to recharge Johnny Five's dying battery. | |
Short Circuit / int_b7efeb58 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_b7efeb58 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_b7efeb58 | |
Short Circuit / int_ba1463a5 | type |
Creation Sequence | |
Short Circuit / int_ba1463a5 | comment |
Creation Sequence: The opening credits show the creation of one of the SAINT model robots. The music gets also more elaborate while more and more parts of the robot come together. | |
Short Circuit / int_ba1463a5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_ba1463a5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_ba1463a5 | |
Short Circuit / int_bb76c854 | type |
Classified Information | |
Short Circuit / int_bb76c854 | comment |
Classified Information: When Stephanie first meets Ben and Newton, she asks them what the purpose of these advanced robots is (prototype weapons). | |
Short Circuit / int_bb76c854 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_bb76c854 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_bb76c854 | |
Short Circuit / int_bc74ef27 | type |
Berserk Button | |
Short Circuit / int_bc74ef27 | comment |
Berserk Button: Do not mistreat Johnny Five's friends, and do not treat him like a mere machine. He WILL find you, and he WILL deal the most humiliating yet nonviolent punishment imaginable. Stephanie's ex-boyfriend finds that out first-hand. | |
Short Circuit / int_bc74ef27 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_bc74ef27 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_bc74ef27 | |
Short Circuit / int_c25c7890 | type |
Fun with Acronyms | |
Short Circuit / int_c25c7890 | comment |
Fun with Acronyms: S.A.I.N.T. touches on nightmare fuel, given the root is Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport.. The SAINT series are nuke delivery platforms, designed (as explained at the start of the first film) to be para-dropped into enemy cities, use their maneuverability, intelligence, and weaponry to safely deliver their nuclear payload to their target, and then blow themselves up. note In other words: suicide bombers. | |
Short Circuit / int_c25c7890 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_c25c7890 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_c25c7890 | |
Short Circuit / int_c38f4bee | type |
Talking Lightbulb | |
Short Circuit / int_c38f4bee | comment |
Talking Lightbulb: All SAINT robots are equipped with a mouth cover. Nr. 5 loses his one early in the film, revealing a series of LEDs that light up when he talks. Johnny 5 refers to them as "lip lights". | |
Short Circuit / int_c38f4bee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_c38f4bee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_c38f4bee | |
Short Circuit / int_c3c18143 | type |
Hope Spot | |
Short Circuit / int_c3c18143 | comment |
Hope Spot: During the film's finale. Until the helicopter shows up. Fortunately, it isn't the real Number Five they blew up. | |
Short Circuit / int_c3c18143 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_c3c18143 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_c3c18143 | |
Short Circuit / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
Short Circuit / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: The movie playing on the TV (in the scene where Number Five and Stephanie dance) is Saturday Night Fever, one of John Badham's previous movies. | |
Short Circuit / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_c75df49a | |
Short Circuit / int_c83d6a05 | type |
Tinman Typist | |
Short Circuit / int_c83d6a05 | comment |
Tinman Typist: Justified. One of Newton's side projects is teaching robots to play piano. And give the finger. | |
Short Circuit / int_c83d6a05 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_c83d6a05 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_c83d6a05 | |
Short Circuit / int_c9aea8c8 | type |
Armies Are Evil | |
Short Circuit / int_c9aea8c8 | comment |
Armies Are Evil: Strictly speaking, the "soldiers" are NOVA's security team and not proper military, but close enough. It's also implied that the actual army would happily use the robots as a new and better way to commit as many war crimes as possible. That was the marketing pitch, anyway; the army never actually bought them. | |
Short Circuit / int_c9aea8c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_c9aea8c8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_c9aea8c8 | |
Short Circuit / int_cc3e2c0d | type |
Mistaken for Foreigner | |
Short Circuit / int_cc3e2c0d | comment |
Mistaken for Foreigner: Played for laughs when Ben (supposedly an Indian) is asked where he's from: | |
Short Circuit / int_cc3e2c0d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_cc3e2c0d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_cc3e2c0d | |
Short Circuit / int_cdd835ce | type |
Dude, Not Funny! | |
Short Circuit / int_cdd835ce | comment |
Dude, Not Funny!: Howard theorizes the potential danger of having their laser-armed robot roaming free. | |
Short Circuit / int_cdd835ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_cdd835ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_cdd835ce | |
Short Circuit / int_cfbbd075 | type |
Porn Stash | |
Short Circuit / int_cfbbd075 | comment |
Porn Stash: Ben's "schematic drawings" that he offers to share with Newton. | |
Short Circuit / int_cfbbd075 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_cfbbd075 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_cfbbd075 | |
Short Circuit / int_d001c42c | type |
Anti-Villain | |
Short Circuit / int_d001c42c | comment |
Anti-Villain: Howard is in charge of the efforts to recapture or destroy Number Five, but he doesn't understand Johnny Five is truly sentient, gets along fairly well with Crosby, is only bluffing when he holds Newton and Ben at gunpoint in one scene, and shows a sense of depression and sadness when it looks as if Johnny Five has been destroyed, and eventually fires Skroeder (The Heavy). | |
Short Circuit / int_d001c42c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d001c42c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d001c42c | |
Short Circuit / int_d21a93f4 | type |
Hand Gagging | |
Short Circuit / int_d21a93f4 | comment |
Hand Gagging: Shortly after Number 5 escapes, Ben and Crosby attempt to persuade their boss Howard Mariner to let them try to catch it instead of destroying it: | |
Short Circuit / int_d21a93f4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d21a93f4 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d21a93f4 | |
Short Circuit / int_d34cbda2 | type |
Implausible Deniability | |
Short Circuit / int_d34cbda2 | comment |
Implausible Deniability: The "Department of Car Stereo Repair". | |
Short Circuit / int_d34cbda2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d34cbda2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d34cbda2 | |
Short Circuit / int_d3ac5496 | type |
Colonel Bogey March | |
Short Circuit / int_d3ac5496 | comment |
Colonel Bogey March: As Number Five reprograms the robots at the roadhouse, he's whistling it. | |
Short Circuit / int_d3ac5496 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d3ac5496 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d3ac5496 | |
Short Circuit / int_d4349d5b | type |
Insane Proprietor | |
Short Circuit / int_d4349d5b | comment |
Insane Proprietor: Manic Mike, of the nearby Radio Shack. Which becomes plot-critical at an important moment. | |
Short Circuit / int_d4349d5b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d4349d5b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d4349d5b | |
Short Circuit / int_d45383c9 | type |
Tank-Tread Mecha | |
Short Circuit / int_d45383c9 | comment |
Tank-Tread Mecha: Johnny 5 and the other S.A.I.N.T. robots use tank treads to move around. | |
Short Circuit / int_d45383c9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d45383c9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d45383c9 | |
Short Circuit / int_d848560f | type |
Unusual Euphemism | |
Short Circuit / int_d848560f | comment |
Unusual Euphemism: "Disassemble" for "kill." | |
Short Circuit / int_d848560f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d848560f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d848560f | |
Short Circuit / int_d90ab0d2 | type |
Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head | |
Short Circuit / int_d90ab0d2 | comment |
Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: "I've got an error message for you! I'll scramble your RAM!!" Quoted by Saunders, apparently unsure of how to properly insult a robot. Johnny is understandably less than impressed. | |
Short Circuit / int_d90ab0d2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d90ab0d2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d90ab0d2 | |
Short Circuit / int_d935ee2f | type |
Innocent Blue Eyes | |
Short Circuit / int_d935ee2f | comment |
Innocent Blue Eyes: Johnny 5, naturally. Unless they turn red. | |
Short Circuit / int_d935ee2f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d935ee2f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d935ee2f | |
Short Circuit / int_d9cf40fa | type |
Screw This, I'm Outta Here | |
Short Circuit / int_d9cf40fa | comment |
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Johnny Five repairs his weapons after being captured, his escorts (Ben and a guard) are alarmed, pull over to the side of the road, and take off after a brief debate. | |
Short Circuit / int_d9cf40fa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_d9cf40fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_d9cf40fa | |
Short Circuit / int_dcd29760 | type |
They Would Cut You Up | |
Short Circuit / int_dcd29760 | comment |
They Would Cut You Up: "Disassemble" is an arc word in the film. Except that NOVA has little interest in Number-5's sentience; they see it as a bug that needed fixing at best and a potential threat to innocent civilians at worst. At no point in either movie does any organization have any deliberate intention of conducting any unpleasant experimentation on him — the movie was inspired by the idea that if a high-tech military robot really did come to life, nobody would believe it was alive in the first place. | |
Short Circuit / int_dcd29760 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_dcd29760 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_dcd29760 | |
Short Circuit / int_e18a3c59 | type |
Hilarious Outtakes | |
Short Circuit / int_e18a3c59 | comment |
Hilarious Outtakes: The film's credits play over snippets of various scenes, including scenes that were cut from the final movie, including Number Five playing with a model airplane, escaping a car crusher in a junkyard, and encountering an Omnibot 2000 (a toy robot that was made during that time) trying to serve him orange juice. | |
Short Circuit / int_e18a3c59 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_e18a3c59 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_e18a3c59 | |
Short Circuit / int_e1ba59f3 | type |
Voice Changeling | |
Short Circuit / int_e1ba59f3 | comment |
Voice Changeling: Johnny, like most self-aware robots from the Eighties, can mimic anyone's voice. | |
Short Circuit / int_e1ba59f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit / int_e1ba59f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_e1ba59f3 | |
Short Circuit / int_e21faf11 | type |
Friend to All Living Things | |
Short Circuit / int_e21faf11 | comment |
Friend to All Living Things: Stephanie, and later, Johnny Five.note ''Most'' living things, since Stephanie draws the line at snakes. | |
Short Circuit / int_e21faf11 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_e21faf11 | |
Short Circuit / int_e294a0be | type |
Our Souls Are Different | |
Short Circuit / int_e294a0be | comment |
Our Souls Are Different: Number Five gets struck by lightning, there is a glitch in the programming and he gains a soul. | |
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Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_e294a0be | |
Short Circuit / int_e2a41c3b | type |
Literal-Minded | |
Short Circuit / int_e2a41c3b | comment |
Literal-Minded: Double subverted with the inkblot turing test mentioned above. When first asked "What do you make of this?" Five gives the literal answer: a chemical analysis of soup poured on paper, seemingly demonstrating Creative Sterility. But then... Other times. Johnny 5 falls headlong into this. He tries to cook Stephanie breakfast, literally following the instructions. He beats pancake batter until smooth (not caring that he's splattering it all over the kitchen and himself), and "for crisp yet moist potatoes, brown on one side then turn over." He browns the cardboard box the potatoes are in on one side, then turns the entire frying pan over. | |
Short Circuit / int_e2a41c3b | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
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1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_e2a41c3b | |
Short Circuit / int_e4900915 | type |
Ridiculously Human Robots | |
Short Circuit / int_e4900915 | comment |
Ridiculously Human Robots: Personality-wise, not appearance-wise. | |
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Short Circuit / int_e4900915 | |
Short Circuit / int_e49a80fb | type |
Technical Euphemism | |
Short Circuit / int_e49a80fb | comment |
Technical Euphemism: The robot whom the story revolves around accidentally squishes a grasshopper and wants it reassembled. He's told that it can't be done because it's dead and dead is forever. Later, when one of his human friends is being shot at by the villains, he freaks out and screams over and over, "No disassemble Stephanie! No disassemble Stephanie!" | |
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Short Circuit / int_e49a80fb | |
Short Circuit / int_e4d8fcc4 | type |
Escaped from the Lab | |
Short Circuit / int_e4d8fcc4 | comment |
Escaped from the Lab: In the opening of the movie, Johnny Five escapes from a robotics lab. | |
Short Circuit / int_e4d8fcc4 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_e4d8fcc4 | |
Short Circuit / int_e5421161 | type |
Expy | |
Short Circuit / int_e5421161 | comment |
Expy: Newton Crosby and Skroeder, respectively played by Steve Guttenberg and G. W. Bailey, of Mahoney and Harris from Police Academy. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_e5421161 | |
Short Circuit / int_e567510d | type |
Determinator | |
Short Circuit / int_e567510d | comment |
Determinator: Johnny 5 takes a lot of abuse in the movie, but always dispenses justice and emerges with a nonsensical catch-phrase and good attitude. He may not be indestructible, but his optimism is. | |
Short Circuit / int_e567510d | featureApplicability |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_e567510d | |
Short Circuit / int_e8ca5cb3 | type |
Freudian Slip | |
Short Circuit / int_e8ca5cb3 | comment |
Freudian Slip: When Stephanie Speck calls Nova Laboratories on the phone, saying that she would want to speak to "one of your head warmongers", (she is of course taking the piss), the person receiving the phone call calls Dr. Marner "Dr. Warmonger" before correcting himself and handing Dr. Marner the phone. | |
Short Circuit / int_e8ca5cb3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_e8ca5cb3 | |
Short Circuit / int_ea5b420d | type |
Disarm, Disassemble, Destroy | |
Short Circuit / int_ea5b420d | comment |
Disarm, Disassemble, Destroy: A villain pulls a gun on the Johnny 5, who takes it out of his hand and destroys it. | |
Short Circuit / int_ea5b420d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_ea5b420d | |
Short Circuit / int_ea6f361f | type |
You Are Number 6 | |
Short Circuit / int_ea6f361f | comment |
You Are Number 6: He starts as just a number, but gives himself the name Johnny Five. Ben calls him "Number Johnny Five". | |
Short Circuit / int_ea6f361f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_ea6f361f | |
Short Circuit / int_eb24d076 | type |
Freud Was Right | |
Short Circuit / int_eb24d076 | comment |
Freud Was Right: | |
Short Circuit / int_eb24d076 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_eb24d076 | |
Short Circuit / int_eb8ec7c8 | type |
Jerkass | |
Short Circuit / int_eb8ec7c8 | comment |
Jerkass: Stephanie's ex-boyfriend from the first movie. | |
Short Circuit / int_eb8ec7c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_eb8ec7c8 | |
Short Circuit / int_eea921b7 | type |
Late to the Punchline | |
Short Circuit / int_eea921b7 | comment |
Late to the Punchline: To test Number 5's sentience, Newton Crosby tells a rather tasteless joke. The robot is stumped, and Netwon takes it as evidence that he is not as "alive" as he thinks. Just when he's about to remark on it, Number 5 blurts out "I GET IT!" and starts snickering. Crosby is astounded, and instantly sides with him and Stephanie against his bosses. | |
Short Circuit / int_eea921b7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_eea921b7 | |
Short Circuit / int_f03aae7f | type |
Your Other Left | |
Short Circuit / int_f03aae7f | comment |
Your Other Left: When Number Five drives Stephanie's truck he drives it on the wrong side of the road. Stephanie shouts at him to drive on the right side of the road, but he keeps misinterpreting the meaning of right to mean "right, correct, functional". | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_f03aae7f | |
Short Circuit / int_f07250e2 | type |
That Cloud Looks Like... | |
Short Circuit / int_f07250e2 | comment |
That Cloud Looks Like...: Number 5 doing this provides one of the first clues that he's become truly intelligent and self-aware. Later his creator invokes the trope with an Ink Blot Test. He starts by describing what it is (tomato soup on a newspaper, so a list of its ingredients), but immediately seagues into what it look like-resemble, proving his sapience. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_f07250e2 | |
Short Circuit / int_f178203a | type |
Inspector Javert | |
Short Circuit / int_f178203a | comment |
Inspector Javert: Captain Skroeder stops at nothing to capture and destroy an escaped piece of military equipment. Initially his actions are sane and reasonable (this is a robot with an armed laser) but he ultimately Jumps Off The Slippery Slope. The creators admit that Skroeder would have been the hero were this a straight Killer Robot film. But it isn't, thus he's not. | |
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1.0 | |
Short Circuit | hasFeature |
Short Circuit / int_f178203a | |
Short Circuit / int_f511ea9b | type |
Product Placement | |
Short Circuit / int_f511ea9b | comment |
Product Placement: "Wouldn't You Like To Be a Pepper Too?" Radio Shack doesn't just sell electronics. It SAVES LIVES. | |
Short Circuit / int_f511ea9b | featureApplicability |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_f511ea9b | |
Short Circuit / int_f6507695 | type |
Everything Is Online | |
Short Circuit / int_f6507695 | comment |
Everything Is Online: Johnny Five can access any electronics remotely with a transmitter in his head. He can also control cars, cranes and other things that (at the time the films were made) didn't even have any electronics controlling them. | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_f6507695 | |
Short Circuit / int_f9f2c33 | type |
Running Gag | |
Short Circuit / int_f9f2c33 | comment |
Running Gag: Skroeder seems rather obsessed with food... Number Five having to throw out the driver's seat from any vehicle he swipes. | |
Short Circuit / int_f9f2c33 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_f9f2c33 | |
Short Circuit / int_fa6c9370 | type |
Three Stooges Shout-Out | |
Short Circuit / int_fa6c9370 | comment |
Three Stooges Shout-Out: Johnny Five re-programmed three of the pursuing prototypes in the film so they acted like Larry, Moe, and Curly. | |
Short Circuit / int_fa6c9370 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_fa6c9370 | |
Short Circuit / int_fb5ab090 | type |
Loan Shark | |
Short Circuit / int_fb5ab090 | comment |
Loan Shark: Fred uses one to sponsor his business with Ben, with thirty days to pay up. When the jewel thieves first confront Fred and Ben with ski masks, Fred first thinks it's the loan shark's henchmen. Ben's ignorance of the term leads to the following line: | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_fb5ab090 | |
Short Circuit / int_fbfe572b | type |
Alternative Turing Test | |
Short Circuit / int_fbfe572b | comment |
Alternative Turing Test: Johnny 5's sentience (versus his non-struck-by-lightning brethren) is hotly debated, with the military who created him hell-bent on getting its "property" back and the heroes trying desperately to prove that he is "alive". Ultimately, he is able to prove his sentience through an inkblot test (during which he not only identifies the chemical makeup of the blotting material but is able to recognize the blot's resemblance to other things) and displaying a sense of humor (telling a joke, in response to which he laughs once he gets the punchline). | |
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1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_fbfe572b | |
Short Circuit / int_fcbcc221 | type |
Robot Buddy | |
Short Circuit / int_fcbcc221 | comment |
Robot Buddy: Number 5/Johnny 5 is an artificially intelligent military robot designed to be dropped behind enemy lines during a nuclear exchange and deliver a tactical nuke to a high value target. When he is hit be lightning it imbues him with an innocent, curious, childlike personality that quickly becomes a wise-cracking pop culture junkie. He also develops a tremendous respect for all forms of life. | |
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Short Circuit / int_fcbcc221 | |
Short Circuit / int_fccd06b6 | type |
Beware the Nice Ones | |
Short Circuit / int_fccd06b6 | comment |
Beware the Nice Ones: Johnny and Ben. You do not want to be around Ben if something's happened to Johnny on your watch. And it's an equally bad idea to take Johnny lightly. With as nice and sweet as he can be, it's easy to forget Johnny is a military grade robot designed for combat. | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_fccd06b6 | |
Short Circuit / int_fcf6bca9 | type |
Robosexual | |
Short Circuit / int_fcf6bca9 | comment |
Robosexual: Number 5 hitting on Stephanie in the tub. | |
Short Circuit / int_fcf6bca9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_fcf6bca9 | |
Short Circuit / int_fd5ce6a3 | type |
Robot Names | |
Short Circuit / int_fd5ce6a3 | comment |
Robot Names: The robots belong to the SAINT (Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport) line, but each one is simply known by its model number. The main character is Number Five, who gains sentience from being struck by lightning. At the end of the movie, he decides to give himself a human name, choosing "Johnny" from the pop song "Who's Johnny". But he thinks it sounds cool to keep his number too, so he settles on "Johnny Five" | |
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Short Circuit / int_fd5ce6a3 | |
Short Circuit / int_fdbdc112 | type |
Practical Effects | |
Short Circuit / int_fdbdc112 | comment |
Practical Effects: Almost all of the film's special effects budget was eaten up by the Number 5 animatronic, so most of the effects were practical by necessity. For example, Number 5 flipping pages while Super-Speed Reading was done by blowing air across the book to rapidly turn the pages, and Number 5 repeatedly flipping a coin was achieved through some clever editing of a single shot of footage. | |
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1.0 | |
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Short Circuit / int_fdbdc112 | |
Short Circuit / int_fe0330fb | type |
Brick Joke | |
Short Circuit / int_fe0330fb | comment |
Brick Joke: One of the phrases that Johnny passes to Ben during his date with Sandy is translated by Sandy as "Your mother sleeps (makes love with) with my dog". At the movie's climax, Johnny uses the same phrase to taunt a crook. | |
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