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I read or heard somewhere that the concept of Rover was developed because the show did not have the budget for a more “realistic” perimiter defense mechanism.
I think rover is brilliant, its a brilliant idea and well executed. This shows that necessity is the mother of invention and more expesive is not always better.
The original Rover was very different, and rather silly-looking looking I think. Here’s the pic CLICK.
Note the Michelin Man like white folds, and the nifty police light on top. And when it went after its prey its police siren would be “woo oo, woo ooing (Rover was supposed to look like a hovercraft thing I guess). Used to have a funny cartoon about Rover 1, if I find it I’ll put it up.Anyway, they were using it, but when they tried it on the water it sank supposedly. So they were wondering what to use, and were a bit rushed when one of them looked up in the sky, eureka! Use weather balloons — divers would hold them under water before releasing them to the surface. A great idea I think. The original Rover just hissed (escaping air, get it?), but then they came up with the idea for the “roar.”
According to http://www.retroweb.com/prisoner. This is part of the original script for Arrival:
“SUDDENLY THE PICTURESQUE SCENE IS SHATTERED BY A
SCREAMING SIREN NOT UNLIKE THAT OF AN AMBULANCE
ON AN ERRAND OF DEATH. ALL MOVEMENT STOPS. THE
VILLAGERS FREEZE IN THEIR TRACKS. NO. 2 ALSO. HE
PUTS A FINGER TO HIS LIPS.NO. 2
Wait.P DOES SO. ALL IS VERY STILL. THE SIREN GROWS IN
VOLUME. AROUND A CORNER HURTLES A VEHICLE AT GREAT
SPEED. IT IS A LOW-SLUNG WHITE BEETLE-LIKE MACHINE.
IT APPEARS TO BE WINDOWLESS AND NO DRIVER IS IN EVI-
DENCE. IT LOOKS LIKE AN ELONGATED EGG WITH A BLUE
FLASHING POLICE LIGHT ATOP. IT GOES TO THE END OF THE
STREET, TURNS AND HURTLES BACK FROM WHERE IT CAME.
PEACE RETURNS. THE VILLAGERS GO ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS
AGAIN. NO. 2 MOVES OFF.P
What was that?NO. 2
“Rover”.P
“Rover” what?NO. 2
Just “Rover”.P
Who drives it?NO. 2
(WITH A PUZZLED LOOK) Drives
it?P
Yes. Who?NO. 2 LAUGHS PLEASANTLY.
NO. 2
That would be telling.”BTW, according to some people, ROVER stands for “Reactive Orange-alert Vigilant Enforcer”, questionable.
Sometimes simplest is best, and Rover has acheived a real iconic status. Never before or since has a big bouncy ball had such screen presence. 😉
This is from the unused script “The Outsider”, my favorite Rover phrase is highlighted. It used a sense of smell and had a different way of killing as well….
EXT: FOREST. DAY.
P RUNS, MOMENTARILY OUT OF ROVER’S REACH.EXT: A CLEARING IN THE FOREST.
DM.
THE GUARD REGAINS CONSCIOUSNESS. HE LOOKS AROUND SEARCHING FOR P, SEES THE JACKET AND PICKS IT UP. A HORRIFIC SNARL MAKES HIM TURN HIS HEAD.
EXT: A CLEARING IN THE FOREST. HIS P.O.V.
DM.ROVER IS HOVERING ABOVE HIM, ITS LIGHT BLINKING AND FLASHING.
THE SNARL REACHES A SPINE-CHILLING PITCH.EXT: A CLEARING IN THE FOREST. DAY.
THE GUARD, TERRIFIED, TRIES TO RUN AWAY, STILL CLUTCHING THE JACKET. ROVER CLOSES IN.
EXT: FOREST. DAY.
P STILL RUNNING – WHEN A HORRIFIC SCREAM TEARS THE AIR. P PAUSES MOMENTARILY, THEN CONTINUES
ON HIS WAY.EXT: A CLEARING IN THE FOREST. DAY.
ROVER HAS CAUGHT UP WITH THE GUARD, LEAVING IN ITS WAKE A PULPED MASS. THE JACKET NOW IN ITS POSSESSION, ROVER MOVES TOWARDS THE VILLAGE.They started out simple and cheap, but look what happened after the show ended! 😮
According to the novels, (which were written before the show was ever broadcast in color), Rover was only the name of the killing Guardian which roamed the land, and he was beige, the others were different pastel colors and subdued but never killed.
There is also one which roams along the ocean floor, wrinkled because of the water pressure, killing anything which moves (there are no fish or seaweed in the water). When they arrive in the Village they are about the size of soccerballs until they are trained and grown. They can also be modified so that Number 2 can see, hear, speak through and manouever them.
One of the Number 2’s, once he is demoted to Number 100 for trying to escape with Number 6, explains that they are colloidal mechanisms which run on a fluidic principle, and they are aware but not self-aware.
The Village Files describes their external structure as “Malleable Pseudo-Geodesic Euclidian Sphere utilising homopolymer/ copolymer blends”, (is that not just a balloon? 😀 ) and their primary sensory apparatus involves, “Shape and movement discrimination with visible light, infrared wavelength and optical recognition capabilities”.
Clearly they are much more complex than I thought! 😀
(This Information is for Village personnel only.)
83 ;D
Having gotten to see the original Rover in action on the DVD extra features, complete with the cute fringe around the bottom to hide the wheel, I have to say that the big white bouncy weather balloon made more of an impression on me after see that first capture scene in Arrival. Of course, being asthmatic, asphyxia is one of my pet phobias, so seeing that big balloon almost smother somebody would have still scared the h&ll out of me even if it had happy faces painted all over it!! 😯
Number 9
sgtdraino wrote:I’ve always felt that Rover was a genetically modified enlarged white blood cell.
I’ve thought the same, I really like that idea!
Or perhaps Rover is a technologically modified beach ball. 😉
It’s little known that they developed a Rover Mark III which was far more formidable than its earlier incarnations. To see it in action, click HERE (mpg file)
For more info on Rover, click HERE
Pet, seems one of the pics isn’t working for your Rover review, may be my fault. Could you please send me the Rovers in training pic? Oh, and mpg file from badmovies.org
NurseWhen, you should be familiar with this one… Developed for Sweeps Week, here’s yet another Rover that was brushed aside. The Rover Mark 2.5 (mpg). Sorry, I got a little swept away. 😉
From here.
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