RoboCop: Prime Directives
Approx. run time	120 minutes each
Genre	Science fiction
Directed by	Julian Grant
Starring	Page Fletcher
Country	Canada
Original channel	Space
Original run	January 4, 2001 – January 25, 2001
No. of episodes	4

RoboCop: Prime Directives (PD) is a TV miniseries released in 2000. It is based on the movie, RoboCop. The series consisted of four feature length movies: Dark Justice, Meltdown, Resurrection, and Crash and Burn. All four episodes have since been released on DVD.

Fireworks Entertainment stated that they wanted to make use of the TV rights to RoboCop before they expired and thus ordered that Prime Directives be made, selecting Julian Grant to direct. Grant had a reputation for finishing projects ahead of schedule and under budget. He, in turn, picked Joseph O'Brien and Brad Abraham to write the series and Page Fletcher to star as RoboCop, after Richard Eden (who previously played the character in Robocop: The Series) was turned down for demanding too much money to play the role.

The previous incarnation of RoboCop was the family-friendly RoboCop: The Series TV show. Grant had no interest in perpetuating this approach, however, and would return RoboCop to his dark, violent roots.

There were inside references to previous RoboCop movies and TV series.

• One OCP employee makes reference to the previous failed attempts to recreate RoboCop, Cain in RoboCop 2.
• Another character makes reference to RoboCop cleaning up Cadilliac Heights, RoboCop 3.
• In "Dark Justice" Robocop has flashbacks to the TV Series.
• In "Resurrection", RoboCop has flashblacks, which contain footage from the original film.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 3 Production notes 4 External links

[edit] Plot

Prime Directives takes place ten years after the first RoboCop movie and does not directly refer to the sequels or anything that followed.

RoboCop is outdated, tired, and has become quasi-suicidal. Delta City (formerly Detroit) is now considered the safest place on Earth, and he is no longer viewed as particularly necessary.

The first half of the series focuses on his former partner, John T. Cable, who is slain by a scheming OCP executive (his own ex-wife, Sara Cable) and resurrected as a cyborg identical to RoboCop, save for color and the addition of a second sidearm. "RoboCable" is sent to destroy RoboCop, but after several battles, Cable is convinced to join Murphy (RoboCop's original identity).

Meanwhile, OCP (on the verge of bankruptcy) is taken over by a scheming executive, Damian Lowe, who manages to murder the entire board of directors. To bring OCP back, he plans to use an artificial intelligence called SAINT to automate the entire city.

The second half of the series introduces Dr. David Kaydick, who plans to introduce a “bio-tech” virus (Legion) to wipe out not only Delta City but all life on the planet, infecting computers and people alike. He is able to take control of RoboCable by planting a chip in him that causes him pain if Kaydick activates it and can even kill him if set high enough. RoboCop finds aid from a group of tech thieves that are determined to stop Kaydick and RoboCop's own son, now fully grown and aware of the fate of his father.

RoboCop and his rag-tag band race to stop Kaydick from infiltrating OCP tower and activating SAINT, which would, presumably, kill almost all humans.

[edit] Reception

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The return to darkly satirical, violent storytelling (unlike the family-friendly approach taken as of RoboCop: The Series) was welcomed. However, the special effects, locations, action sequences and overall production value have been criticized as reflecting a low budget.

With virtually no commercial promotion, Prime Directives premiered in the US on the SCI FI to lackluster ratings. Despite its poor ratings, it easily recouped its production costs through foreign sales, turning a substantial profit before broadcast and became a regular fixture on Canada's Space.

[edit] Production notes

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2007)

• Footage from Robocop: The Series is used in various parts of Prime Directives . The MediaNet segments use footage from the TV show, which often features Richard Eden in the suit.

• Prime Directives was not permitted to use footage 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 Prime Directives took the footage that the TV show used, recoloured the shots blue, and used them in Resurrection.

• 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 straight 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.

• The Japanese animated cartoon appearing on the OCP TV network in the second episode, "Cyborg Police Officer", is a mixture of RoboCop and classic anime/manga character Gigantor (known in Japan as Tetsujin 28-go). The animation was created by Marcus R. Moore and can be seen on his website.

• The DVD release of the series was packaged incorrectly with many cases containing copies of RoboCop 3 rather than Prime Directives.

[edit] External links

• RoboCop: Prime Directives at the Internet Movie Database
• RoboCop: Prime Directives at Allmovie
• RoboCop: Prime Directives at TV.com

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