[TRT1968]

On a completely other forum, we are discussing TV & Film sci-fi where computers (not robots!) have gone mad, badass, evil, a bit homicidal.

I could only think of four from Dr Who, though.

Xoanon from "Face of Evil"
WOTAN from "The War Machines"
BOSS from "The Green Death"
and
The Oracle from "Underworld"

Surely there must be more than this?!

[chuffnobbler]

Ooh. Am stumped.

What about when the Tardis goes wonky? (Edge of Destruction, Planet of Giants ... up to the one where Rory aged and died in a corridor)

[koantemplation]

WOPR from Wargames.

"Would you like to play a game?"

[TRT1968]

Originally Posted by koantemplation

WOPR from Wargames.

"Would you like to play a game?"

Yeah, there are loads; I was just after more from Dr Who, though.

Originally Posted by chuffnobbler

Ooh. Am stumped.

What about when the Tardis goes wonky? (Edge of Destruction, Planet of Giants ... up to the one where Rory aged and died in a corridor)

Hmmm... not the TARDIS. I don't think I'd class the TARDIS computers as either mainframes or self-aware. The self-aware portion of the TARDIS is more of a life-form.

[koantemplation]

Originally Posted by TRT1968

Yeah, there are loads; I was just after more from Dr Who, though.

Opps didn't realise this was the Doctor Who forum, thought it was cult.

[CoalHillJanitor]

Does the computer controlling the Madame de Pompadour qualify? It's not exactly homicidal, but it makes things go weird.

Oh yeah, and the computer nurse/siren in Curse of the Black Spot.

And CAL, Silence/Forest?

And Kroagnon's computerised spirit possessing Paradise Towers?

[johnnysaucepn]

Are you counting computers that were killers by design, i.e. war computers and the like?

[daveyboy7472]

What about the computer in The Mind Robber? Maybe not as mad as some of those mentioned but wasn't actually that socialble!

[TRT1968]

Originally Posted by johnnysaucepn

Are you counting computers that were killers by design, i.e. war computers and the like?

Erm... no. The other forum is an IT one, and the article is looking at
(1) mainframe computers only, i.e. not robots or cyborgs, but it does include networks e.g. Skynet,
(2) that become self-aware or sentient,
(3) that try to take over / destroy the world, take over / harm people or become a bit homicidal / evil / noisily suicidal.

They've picked on Alpha 60, Colossus, Deep Thought (for some odd reason), Edgar, Gerty, HAL 9000, Holly (again, not one I would include), MCP, Proteus IV and Skynet. They have specifically excluded The Matrix.

The Madame de Pompadour was missing the computer core and wanted to replace it with Renée's brain.

The Siren was a mobile programme, more of a robot, not sure she was accidentally or unintentionally self-aware.

CAL, well, I think she would count, but she didn't do anything not by design.

Similarly, Kroagnon was a pre-existing life form rather than an emerging property.

[adams66]

What about the Zeon computer in The Armageddon Factor? It pointlessly continued a war for years, but on second thoughts, I think that was kind of the point of it, so I'm not sure if it had really gone mad...
More ideas that probably won't work - the Krotons' Dynatrope? Or the computer in The Ice Warriors?
I really think that we could include the TARDIS itself in the Edge Of Destruction? It may not have been mad, but it basically took over everyone on board, and caused them to harm each other (nearly) in order to stop the Ship returning to the dawn of time.

[HandsomeBB]

There's also the sentient bomb from 70's movie Dark Star, that had to be talked out of exploding.

[nebogipfel]

You could perhaps mention the nod to HAL9000 at the end of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. Not an example of what you want, but it raised a smile.

[TRT1968]

Originally Posted by HandsomeBB

There's also the sentient bomb from 70's movie Dark Star, that had to be talked out of exploding.

Oh believe me, when you get geeks together nothing gets missed! The Dark Star bombs were mentioned.
Someone else suggested the NPCnet. I disagreed.

[GDK]

Not Doctor Who but... Skynet (Terminator movies)

[TRT1968]

I was specifically after Who ones. There hasn't been any in the new series, has there?

[HandsomeBB]

The spaceship in The Lodger seemed independent of Silence control and similarly the Siren ship in CotBS. The Wire and the Gridlock computers come close.

[Shrike]

Originally Posted by HandsomeBB

There's also the sentient bomb from 70's movie Dark Star, that had to be talked out of exploding.

Surely exploding was what the bomb was supposed to do. They had to try to persude it to go against its programming as it was stuck in the bomb bay.

[TRT1968]

Originally Posted by HandsomeBB

The spaceship in The Lodger seemed independent of Silence control and similarly the Siren ship in CotBS. The Wire and the Gridlock computers come close.

True...
Have there been any human designed computers that have gone a bit nuts yet? Could be scope for a good story there. And the news today that some scientists have created a cell-level computer interface... could set in the near future... people disappearing on the instructions of a lunatic new UK DWP/NHS/DVLA computer integration project using an army of agents fitted with bio-digital brain interfaces.

Hmm... I might have a crack at that one!

Originally Posted by Shrike

Surely exploding was what the bomb was supposed to do. They had to try to persude it to go against its programming as it was stuck in the bomb bay.

This is actually my favourite movie of all time. You are quite right, they had to persuade it to break its programming and not detonate as a result of an erroneous arm and drop command. In order to do that they had to persuade it that data were being relayed to it by devices which were outside of its core of consciousness and which were, therefore, potentially phantasms. The bomb concluded that nothing but its own existence could be proved and that it would have to create its own universe in the only way it knew how - Let There Be Light. Still sends a shiver down my spine.

[HandsomeBB]

Originally Posted by TRT1968

True...
Have there been any human designed computers that have gone a bit nuts yet? Could be scope for a good story there. And the news today that some scientists have created a cell-level computer interface... could set in the near future... people disappearing on the instructions of a lunatic new UK DWP/NHS/DVLA computer integration project using an army of agents fitted with bio-digital brain interfaces.

Hmm... I might have a crack at that one!

Spoiler

There may be one in 7b.