Robby the Robot Robby the Robot Robby the Robot is a fictional character and science fiction icon who first appeared in the 1956 film "Forbidden Planet". He made a number of subsequent appearances in science fiction movies and television programs, usually without specific reference to the original film character. The name "Robbie" (spelled with an "ie") had appeared in science fiction before "Forbidden Planet". In a pulp magazine adventure "The Fantastic Island" (1935), the name is used for a mechanical likeness of Doc Savage used to confuse foes. The name is also used in Isaac Asimov's short story "Robbie" (1940) about a first-generation
Forbidden Planet titular alien presence. In the authorized biography of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, Roddenberry notes that "Forbidden Planet" "was one of [his] inspirations for "Star Trek"". Elements of the "Doctor Who" serial "Planet of Evil" were consciously based on the 1956 film. "Forbidden Planet" and star Anne Francis are named alongside ten other classic science fiction films in the opening song "Science Fiction Double Feature" in the stage musical "The Rocky Horror Show" and its subsequent film adaptation. The British musical "Return to the Forbidden Planet" was inspired by and loosely based on the MGM film, and won the Olivier