Line #75 Series/RoboCopTheSeries


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robocoptheseries_8294.jpg]]
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3	''Franchise/RoboCop: The Series'' is a 1994 live-action series based on the [[Film/Robocop1987 1987 film]] by Creator/PaulVerhoeven, and starring [[TheOtherDarrin Richard Eden]] as the titular cyborg.
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5	The show takes place in an AlternateContinuity (ignoring the events of ''Film/RoboCop3''), where [[GratuitousGreek Delta City]] (the project OCP is trying to complete in the films) is completed. Robocop[=/=]Alex Murphy (Eden) is working for the Metro South police precinct (in the first 3 films Robocop[=/=]Alex Murphy was working for the Metro West police precinct), along with his partner, Lisa Madigan, and a new set of supporting characters, including precinct head Sgt. Stan Parks, technician Charlie Lippencott and an [[TagalongKid adopted orphan]] named Gadget. The pilot episode (which uses an early script for ''Film/RoboCop2'' as its basis) sees Robo running into several new enemies who would make appearances throughout the series, including "Pudface" Morgan, Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo and CorruptCorporateExecutive Chip Chayken.
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7	Several other characters were seen in the series, including Murphy's wife Nancy and son Jimmy, as well as Diana Powers, an OCP executive's secretary who is murdered and has her brain installed into OCP's new [[WetwareCPU Metronet computer system]], thus allowing Murphy to access systems he wouldn't otherwise be able to get into.
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9	21 episodes were made in total, with the pilot being a feature-length episode. The series is notable for featuring a more family-friendly storyline and toned-down violence -- Robo would go out of his way to use non-lethal alternatives to capture criminals. More jarringly, OCP is now merely incompetent and naive; the Old Man of the film series being replaced by the greedy, but otherwise decent, Chairman. (Though some characters do still call him "old man," such as Dr. Mallardo in the premiere movie.)
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11	The pilot episode received the {{Podcast/Rifftrax}} treatment [[https://www.rifftrax.com/robocop-the-tv-show?utm_source=CTA&utm_medium=Video%20Hero in 2023.]]
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14	!!''[=RoboCop=]: The Series'' provides examples of the following tropes:
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16	* AbnormalAmmo: [=RoboCop=]'s gun can now fire electronic tracking devices. (As seen in the pilot, Officer Madigan's can, too, so it seems to be a standard-issue function.)
17	* AdaptationNameChange: Due to rights issues, several characters outside of Murphy[=/=][=RoboCop=] himself and his son Jimmy were renamed for the series. Notable ones include that Anne Lewis became Lisa Madigan, Sgt. Reed became Sgt. Parks, the Old Man became the OCP Chairman, and Ellen Murphy became Nancy Murphy.
18	* AdaptationalHeroism: While still greedy, the OCP Chairman actually does have a conscience and cares for people, unlike the Old Man from the first two films. Even barring his SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome in ''Film/RoboCop2'', the Old Man was apathetic towards people (his anger at the ED-209 screw up was more about the product malfunctioning, not the fact that said malfunction got an employee killed). In contrast, the Chairman does indeed care about people, willing to help them out and make things right when he finds out his company did something wrong.
19	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Murphy's more of a traditional superhero in the series, unwilling to actually engage in PoliceBrutality (as Mallardo's PoliceBrutalityGambit would've less likely to have been fake if the Murphy of the movies got ahold of him given [[Film/RoboCop1987 his treatment of a rapist, Rob Miller, Boddicker]], [[Film/RoboCop2 Cain and his men, Officer Duffy]], and [[Film/RoboCop3 the Rehabs]]) and unwilling to use lethal force.
20	* AdaptationalWimp: Technically speaking, Murphy is a less stronger than he was in the movies where he could almost withstand anything bar anti-material rounds like the Cobra Assult cannons or arm cannons from an ED-209 or [=RoboCop=] 2. Despite the damage, he would be able to keep on fighting. On the show, Murphy's [=RoboCop=] shell still is able to withstand small arms gunfire but larger weapons and experimental weaponry will or would put him down for the count, shutting him down for the count and needing a total reboot just to work again.
21	* AirVentEscape: Gadget uses one to escape from the police station after she's been grounded. Thankfully they track her down as she's being targeted for kidnapping.
22	* AlternateContinuity: The series uses footage of Murphy's death, shown in the intro and Boddicker being directly shown in a flashback in the first episode, but the events of the first movie seem to be played out differently. Murphy was said to have been killed in action and became [=RoboCop=] three years prior to the series's start and already had an archvillain in Pudface. The [[Film/RoboCop2 second]] and [[Film/RoboCop3 third film]] don't seem to exist as well as OCP managed to complete the Delta City project (which was one of the underlying threats of the original film) and is having to live with the consequences, while Robo is more directly tied to OCP interests and his immediate family.
23	* ArtificialLimbs: Tessa Stark has one of these.
24	* ArtisticLicenseEngineering: Diana has holographic projectors ''everywhere'': [=RoboCop's=] patrol car and the police station are understandable, but they've also been seen in such places as an abandoned church, the sewers, etc. Why would anyone put them in places like that?
25	* BittersweetEnding: Episodes featuring Murphy's family typically go this route, as he always saves them from harm, but he has to keep them at arm's length and resist the urge to reveal his true identity.
26	* BondageIsBad: One of the villains of "What Money Can't Buy" makes frequent mentions of bondage.
27	* BorrowedCatchphrase: Madigan steals Robo's line when she wants to end a conversation about a woman she doesn't like but [=RoboCop=] feels is on the right track to being a decent human being.
28	* BrainInAJar: In the pilot episode, Diana is murdered to provide the brain needed for OCP's city managing supercomputer. Robo himself could also be considered this, as he is a brain with a human face and a few organs for life support. Diana, unlike Robo, doesn't keep any of her original body, instead becoming somehow a VirtualGhost.
29	* CapitalismIsBad: Much like in the original movies, [[Fiction500 OCP]] Is still raking in billions while selling defective products through deceptive advertising, and continues to use PlausibleDeniability when their schemes get exposed.
30	* CatchPhrase: Robo's customarily excuse for leaving is ''"I must go. Somewhere there is a crime happening."'' This is often PlayedForLaughs, but it's a constant reminder that he doesn't have true free will and the job is all he has.
31	* ChekhovsSkill: In "The Human Factor", during a scene where Robo has to defuse a bomb, his father Russell (who is unaware that his son is [=RoboCop=]) teaches him to aim more steadily with his dataspike to press a deactivation switch. Several scenes later, when the bomber tries to detonate a nuclear device in the OCP building, Robo uses this same tactic to deactivate the device. He also uses this technique in a later episode to disable a bomb.
32	* ChildrenAreInnocent: Directive two -- "Protect the innocent" -- stops [=RoboCop=] from arresting children.
33	* ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs: Commander Cash Super Flakes are described as being nothing but sugar, and it is believed that the advertising campaign is causing kids to go on a crime-spree. [[spoiler: However, the cereal also has a psychotic compound that allows mind control.]]
34	* ClearMyName: "Prime Suspect" sees Murphy having to do this after Bob Takker (a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Jim Bakker) was killed and Murphy's blamed for it.
35	* CompositeCharacter: While the Chairman serves as the series's counterpart to the Old Man from [[Film/RoboCop1987 the first]] [[Film/RoboCop2 two films]] and Charlie Lippencott likewise for the two techs from ''2'' and Marie Lazarus from ''Film/RoboCop3'', their placement in the opening credits' recreation of [=RoboCop=]'s unveiling suggests that the Chairman and Lippencott also served Bob Morton and Donald Johnson's respective roles as the overseer of the [=RoboCop=] project and its second-in-command in this universe.
36	* ConsummateLiar:
37	** The mayor turns out to be so experienced in politics that ''anything'' he says, no matter how blatantly true or false it is, cannot be confirmed to be true or false under lie detector analysis. Even claiming to be UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln registers as having a 50% chance of being true, when he's subjected to a lie detector ''functionally identical to Robo's''.
38	** In the episode "[=RoboCop=] vs. Commander Cash", Robo has trouble arresting Rex Jones (an OCP researcher who's disguised as the titular cartoon character) because he claims that Robo "doesn't fight other superheroes" due to "cartoon law". Due to his overriding directives, Robo identifies Jones' statements as factual (and he turns out to be right).
39	** The ex-lawyer baddie of "When Justice Fails". When he says something, Robo's lie detector simply gives up and says analysis is impossible.
40	* ContinuityNod:
41	** In [[Film/RoboCop1987 the first movie]], Robo ends up bodily throwing people out of his way when trying to access the department archive computers for information. In here, whenever he turns up in that part of the station, everyone hurriedly gets out of his way.
42	** The first film plays the Cobra Assault Cannon up as an anti-[=RoboCop=] weapon. In the pilot, Pudface finally shows what the gun can actually [[OneHitKo do]] to Robo. (Though in the movie, the Cobra Assault Cannon was an older-specification Barrett M82 long-range .50 BMG rifle which had been dressed up with extra plastic housing over the receivers and fitted with a gigantic scope. In the TV series, it was the rather more pedestrian Vietnam-era M-16/M-203 grenade launcher combo.)
43	** The opening sequence actually borrows the scene with the paramedics attempting to save Murphy from the first film interspersed with Robocop busting down a locked door.
44	* CopKiller:
45	** One of the villains of the episode "Hearbreaker" managed to kill two cops while escaping with the MacGuffin.
46	** By virtue of his vedetta against Murphy and his attempts to kill him, Pudface Morgan wants to be this. Additionally, it's stated in the opening ''[=MediaBreak=]'' segment, it's stated that a cop ''did'' die in the police response when he took the retirement home hostage.
47	* CorporateSponsoredSuperhero: Commander Cash.
48	* CrapsackWorld: While leagues above the world seen in the original film trilogy, the world in ''The Series'' isn't a picnic, either. It is said in dialogue that a war in the Amazon is going on (though such a war was mentioned in the original trilogy, too), sections of Beverly Hills and Brooklyn have been walled off, and it's perfectly legal to market plushies that double as hand grenades and steroids to children. Also, speaking English in France can land you in jail, the Italian government has fallen, the Vatican has gone bankrupt leading to church closures, and the mayor and DA are corrupt and in league with other criminals (with the latter having a fake law degree and helped to frame someone for said phony degree).
49	* CryingWolf: In the PilotMovie, Gadget ran away from the shelter and spun a number of tales about why she can't go back. It turns out some serious crimes are being committed there, but when she witnesses that stuff, no one at the station will listen to her. Robo only believes her after his equipment scans her voice and shows a high probability that she's telling the truth.
50	* {{Cyberspace}}: Diana solely inhabits one after having her brain scooped out and placed in-charge of Delta City. In "Heartbreakers", Charlie visits in an attempt to figure out what is going on with Robo, but instead ends up falling for Diana unaware that she's a disembodied brain running the city.
51	* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: [[spoiler:Gadget's mother worked for the Russian Mafia and gave her up for adoption to spare her the horrors of such a lifestyle]].
52	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Several episodes hint at Madigan growing up in a broken home, which makes her decision to go on diet pills in one episode (ostensibly to lose weight, despite not appearing to need them at all) make a lot more sense in context. She also mentions that money doesn't grant happiness, stating she is talking about context provided by very personal experience, implying at one point, she was rich and gave up that lifestyle.
53	* DeathBySecretIdentity: The two villains in "Heartbreakers" learn Robo's true identity, with Conrad Brock (the eviler of the two) trying to exploit that information by way of IHaveYourWife. Conrad ultimately murders his partner for being too soft-hearted, only to end up killed himself when Robo deflects his attack. It's a very rare occasion in the series where Robo doesn't bring someone in alive.
54	* DenserAndWackier: The biting satire, gore, violence and shock factor found in the first two movies were removed in favor of Adam West Batman-style camp humor and slapstick.
55	* ExactWords: In one episode, an escaping villain has his car computer guide him out of the city, avoiding all traffic jams and tollbooths. Diana has the computer guide him to a police roadblock.
56	-->'''Diana:''' This service has been brought to you by... [=RoboCop=]! ''Sucker!''
57	* EmbarrassingFirstName: Gadget's first name turns out to be Gertrude. She and Jimmy don't like it.
58	* EnhanceButton:
59	** The old "that last thing a person sees is still in their retina" idea pops up. Robo leans in and and zooms into the eyeball. He says, "It's not clear, but we can clear it up" before getting the computer system to fix the garbled image revealing the killer.
60	** In "What Money Can't Buy", [=RoboCop=] recovers data from a damaged CD by "enhancing" it.
61	** In "Illusions", Madigan is investigating a magician and comes across an old photo of him with his son. She presses the button and gets a 3D image; then she zooms into the throat and figures out the "boy" doesn't have an Adam's Apple thus figures out it's a woman (not a fool-proof method to figure out the gender of a person at any-rate) and who she is.
62	* ExpandedStatesOfAmerica: One of the ''[=MediaBreak=]'' segments in an episode mentioned a debate about Newfoundland becoming about the 53rd state. Ironically, despite being a staple in other uses of this trope, Puerto Rico ''isn't'' one of them, as another episode has a [=MediaBreak=] segment state the government sold it off to a company because they didn't have plans for it.
63	* EvilVegetarian: Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo, although being a vegetarian has little to do with him being a villain.
64	* EyeRemember: The old "that last thing a person sees is still in their retina" idea pops up. Robo leans in and and zooms into the eyeball, capturing an image that leads to the killer.
65	* FamilyFriendlyFirearms: Robo still has his giant gun, but uses it mostly on objects, not people. He also has a whole new slew of less-lethal options.
66	* FakinMacGuffin: "Heartbreakers" has [=RoboCop=] having to collect pieces of an advanced weapon in order to save his ex-wife. When he turns up with the final piece, it's revealed it's just an empty box.
67	* FrameUp: "Prime Suspect" sees a sleazy televangelist that had been running a smear campaign against Robo murdered with Robo's signature weapon, using his signature thermal vision. Robo can only prove his innocence by revealing Diana's existence, and he refuses to do so, so he goes on the run. The culprit turns out to be [[spoiler:an OCP scientist that had a hand in creating Robo]]. The televangelist's smear campaign was endangering his newest contract, so [[spoiler:the scientist killed him with the prototype of Robo's gun]]. Robo was considered the best fall guy, as him being shut down would provide a rare opportunity to look under the hood and figure out how to successfully create more cyborgs.
68	* FreezeFrameBonus:
69	** He only gets one line and about five seconds of screen time, but Creator/HenryWinkler has a very brief cameo as an actor "getting in touch with his feminine side" on Umberto Ortega's talk show, right before Gadget busts in to break the story about Family Services. (His first and last names are also used for one of the murder victims, though the victim has a different middle name.)
70	** In the very first episode, when Madigan gives Robo a lift, a police helicopter flies over them. However that particular helicopter is Russian Ka-50 Hokum. Can be counted as a reminder that this is still a CrapsackWorld if police have to utilize imported military choppers.
71	* GratuitousDiscoSequence: In one episode, Diana is corrupted by a virus that causes her to transform herself and her workstation into a full disco club.
72	* GreatOffscreenWar: Much like the two sequel movie, there's an ongoing war in the Amazon which is the cruz of the episode "Ghosts of War", which included Murphy finding out that a childhood friend was part of a special ops unit that went missing and suffering from issues related to the war.
73	* GroinAttack: Near the end of "Inside Crime", a clown-like gunman has Rochelle Carney (the OCP executive in charge of the "Inside Crime" television program) held hostage from within his custody. He then tells Robo and a few police officers to not do anything stupid. Rochelle decides that she's had enough and attacks the gunman herself, first with a back right elbow to his crotch, then a right kick to his groin before finally finishing him off with a hard right punch, to which she then jumps on top of him from upon the table and attempts to attack him much further before being pulled off by her fellow executives.
74	* HappierHomeMovie: A common facet whenever Robo encounters someone from his old life or something similar to a particular event. His cybernetic memory will suddenly snap to a given moment, such as his wedding day or his parents reacting to his first steps.
75	* HeroInsurance: Hilariously averted early in the series when Robo is effectively chewed out for the number of police cruisers he's destroyed.
76	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: In "[=RoboCop=] vs. Commander Cash" the villain takes a hostage unaware she has also unknowingly been subjecting herself to his [[MindControl subliminal programming]] scheme so all it takes is Commander Cash ordering her to in a specific way to promptly lay the villain out flat.
77	* HonorBeforeReason: In "Prime Suspect" Robo is framed for murdering a sleazy televangelist, and the only one that can verify is whereabouts is Diana, whose existence is a secret. Robo only cites his directives and won't say anything more, even when Diana tells him to look out for himself.
78	* HospitalParadiso: In one episode, a doctor lost her job at a prestigious hospital and had to work in the slums due to her low success rate. It turns out that her former coworkers kept their rate up by deliberately denying service to patients they couldn't guarantee an easy recovery, whereas she tried to help everyone she could, hoping to at least save a few lives.
79	* HostageForMacGuffin: In "Heartbreakers", Robo is forced to steal components for a prototype weapon (the said Heartbreaker) to secure the freedom of his ex-wife, putting him at odds with his programming and fellow officers.
80	* HyperCompetentSidekick: Diana Powers gets a massive promotion from being a mere secretary to a cybernetic intelligence effectively running Delta City, and clearly is able to handle the workload. The bad guys uploaded her ''because'' she was smart and competent.
81	* HyperspaceArsenal: Aside from extra ammunition (as referred to in the episode "Provision 22"), Robo carries several types of both non-lethal and lethal ordnance (mines, airbags), coolant and other devices/gadgets that would be used in any given episode, all stored in his left leg.
82	* IceBreaker: "When Justice Fails" is full of this, as it's centered around a cryonicatics/fuel company. First Robo's legs get frozen and he breaks it while attempting to pursue the criminal. Later, he gets completely frozen in about 3 seconds but thankfully uses a plug to warm himself up again. Then the criminal slips on the ice, falling right into a stream of liquid nitrogen, freezes solid instantly and breaks into pieces when something falls on him.
83	* IHaveYourWife: A villain kidnaps Robo's wife from his old life. The item he is to steal is a ray gun that causes heart attacks, called the Heartbreaker. Initially, his built-in RestrainingBolt stops him, using ObstructiveCodeOfConduct three, "uphold the law". As soon as Robo pictures his wife in danger, directive two -- "protect the innocent" -- overrides this.
84	* InnocentInnuendo: The pilot features a scene with two minor villains facing each other, bouncing up and down, and panting. Then the camera zooms out and rotates to reveal that they're working out on treadmills that are facing each other. It's a slight subversion as earlier in the pilot It's referred to as sexercise.
85	* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: Why Robo hasn't revealed himself to his wife and son [[spoiler:although his dad finds out eventually]]. This plot point means that the series disregards the second movie, which showed Murphy and his wife reuniting briefly, as well.
86	* JustInTime: In "The Human Factor", Robo defuses the nuclear bomb with a single second left on the timer.
87	* LawEnforcementInc: Inverted; Robo often works ''against'' his employers to protect average citizens (including his wife and son).
88	* LighterAndSofter: Following up on ''Film/RoboCop3'', the series was dulled down to appeal to family audiences (and, indeed, it was shown in syndication in Canada on weekends at pre-watershed timeslots). [=RoboCop=] didn't kill (he used gadgets to incapacitate them), the humour was dulled down from biting satire to ''Series/{{Batman\|1966}}''-style camp, and the plots became cartoonish. The target audience are now grade school kids of fourth grade or older. Merchandise from the show even includes a [=RoboCop=] action figure that say MoralGuardian-approved lines ("[[DrugsAreBad Say No To Drugs!]]" among other things).
89	* LivingLieDetector: Robo gains the ability to discern whether a person is lying or not through their vocal inflections. Unfortunately it is not infallible -- see ConsummateLiar.
90	* MagicCountdown: One episode had a bomb set for five minutes. It takes 7:04 for the bomb to eventually be shut off.
91	* MeaningfulName: Recurring villain Dr. Cray Z. Mallardo. Or, as he appears in personnel files: Mallardo, Cray Z., Dr. He's a MadScientist.
92	* MerchandiseDriven: '''Commander Cash!''' The cartoon character is nothing but an advertising campaign teaching kids the joys of consumerism in order to keep the economy healthy.
93	* MindControlDevice: One episode has a formula that renders people vulnerable to mind control if the formula is mixed with a simple calcium base (i.e. milk). It's added to a breakfast cereal.
94	* MoodWhiplash: Robo sees his parents for the first time since he became a cyborg. He flashes back to when he took his first steps, with the two encouraging him. When the flashback ends, she sees him and panics, and her husband, Robo's father, tells him to go away.
95	* MyLittlePanzer: The Commander Cash toys are deadly enough to kill and maim. The show, of course, uses this [[BlackComedy for comedic effect]].
96	* {{Nanomachines}}: In the appropriately-titled episode "Nano". It focuses on the villain using nanotechnology as a weapon, much to the annoyance of the kidnapped scientist that designed them. They infect Metronet to turn off all the alarms and make the governing computer (with a literal GhostInTheMachine) stop paying attention to running the city. By the end of the episode, they rescue the scientist and he uses the machines to help Madigan recover from a spinal cord injury (the result of an accident caused by the villain using the machines to hijack the bus as a distraction).
97	* NeverMyFault:
98	** "Pudface" Morgan is a criminal (and Murphy's archenemy in the show) who was disfigured in an accident he caused. However, the minute he sees Robo, it's clear he blames Murphy for it and not himself.
99	** A CorruptCorporateExecutive and StrawFeminist named Rochelle Carney is fired in the episode "Inside Crime" after being in league in the aforementioned Pudface as part of a ratings stunt for the episode's titular ShowWithinAShow. However, while her boss was indeed hitting on her, she chose to blame his behavior and her being a woman for the reason she was fired rather than what actually got her fired, which was being in league with a well-known criminal.
100	* NewMediaAreEvil: In "Inside Crime", the glamorization (and merchandising) of criminals leads children to emulate Pudface to [=RoboCop=]'s chagrin.
101	-->'''[=RoboCop=]:''' TV has a lot to answer for.
102	* NineOutOfTenDoctorsAgree: Nine out of ten doctors employed by a MegaCorp recommend a drug produced by the very same company.
103	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
104	** Recurring character Umberto Ortega is basically a stand-in for Geraldo Rivera.
105	** "Prime Suspect" features Bob and Bambi Taker, parody versions of the then-recently divorced Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, who launch a crusade against Robo. Murphy is framed for Bob's murder.
106	* NoInfantileAmnesia: See MoodWhiplash. Justified since it wouldn't make sense for [=RoboCop=] to not be able to remember anything before his second birthday while being able to remember things that happened before his memory was wiped.
107	* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Averted when Robo is on the run after being accused of murder. The bullet in question could only have come from his one-of-a-kind gun, coded to his grip, and the targeting system used to aim the shot would be the one from his helmet. Later, when Robo is critically damaged, Gadget shows him the prototype circuit board Charlie kept hold of and lets him use it to make repairs. [[spoiler:Then Charlie realizes the prototypes of Murphy's ''gun'' and ''helmet'' are out there...]]
108	* NonLethalWarfare: The series took advantage of the publicity given to NLW at the time to avoid having Robo kill anyone. Robo is instead armed with an array of non-lethal implements which he uses to capture the bad guys.
109	* NotInTheFace: 'Pudface' Morgan repeatedly tells Robo not to hit him in the face whenever he's arrested, as a prior encounter between them resulted in his facial features becoming malformed, which Morgan blames him for. According to Sgt. Parks, it was the result of an accident that Morgan himself caused.
110	* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Tessa Stark from "Corporate Raiders" has it out for Russell Murphy, who had been investigating a bombing she pulled off and was poised to arrest her. A birthmark on her hand would've proved she was the culprit, so she got rid of it in messy fashion, but she blamed Russell for this and spent years plotting her revenge. She is thus quite pissed when a mook simply tries to shoot Russell on sight, saying that honor is hers alone and promising to kill the mook if he ever again deviates from the plan she put so much time into. She also has it out for the Old Man (as he was an old lover that informed on her to Russell all those years ago), but even that doesn't match her hatred of Russell.
111	* OnlyOneName: Gadget was named that by social services, upon entering the system less than a month after she was born. Her birth name is found out late in the season: Gertrude [[spoiler:Modesto]].
112	* OrganTheft: "What Money Can't Buy" deals with this as Murphy goes against a black market organ ring when two people steal a pair of lungs meant to save a boy Murphy helped rescue in the prior episode ("Officer Down") after his body started to reject the lungs he was given in an earlier operation. [[spoiler: The duo and their boss stole the lungs for a crime boss, and the boy's earlier lungs came from the same criminal ring and were taken from someone who died from tuberculosis.]]
113	* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: President Minority as several episodes hinted at and the finale confirmed that the President of the United States is female.
114	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Alex Murphy's parents are dealing with this as they're unaware their son was resurrected as the titular cyborg. [[spoiler:"Corporate Raiders" ended with Alex's father, Russell learning the truth, and Alex swearing him to keep it a secret.]]
115	* OutOfTheInferno: Similar to the start of ''Film/RoboCop2'', Murphy steps out of the wreckage of a destroyed police car without any damage at the start of the PilotMovie after "Pudface" Morgan blows it up by firing a rocket at it.
116	* ParodyCommercial: One of the main [[BlackComedy comedic draws]] of the show, usually advertising [[MyLittlePanzer deadly Commander Cash toys]], but oftentimes other things as well. (These commercials were usually timed to happen right after a ''real'' commercial break had just ended.)
117	* PGExplosives: As you would expect from a kids show, all explosions do is knock people off their feet and maybe singe their clothing. Justified with [=RoboCop=] himself of course.
118	* PoliceBrutalityGambit: In the pilot, during Robo's first attempt to arrest Cray Mallardo, the latter screams and bends over in a manner that makes it look like Robo is beating him from the perspective of the security camera in the corner. It wouldn't have held up in court against Robo's memory files, but Robo is shot by TheDragon with an enormous rifle the moment he left the building, rendering him unable to testify.
119	* RedHerring: Robocop at first thinks Commander Cash is a villain who is behind the wave of child-brainwashing. However, Cash is clean and has nothing to do with it. [[CorruptCorporateExecutive His employers, on the other hand...]]
120	* RuleNumberOne: Murphy's former partner had such a code of conduct. When he later found him brainwashed, Murphy restored his memory by asking him what rule number one was.
121	* SecretKeeper:
122	** Murphy becomes this for Diana. Apparently, revealing she exists would violate the public trust, his Rule #1.
123	** Sgt. Parks becomes this for Sally Modesto. When a DNA test proves [[spoiler:Sally Modesto really is Gadget's biological mother.]]
124	** Madigan is this whenever she's around Murphy's father, though she very nearly slips up on several occasions.
125	* SeriesContinuityError: In the pilot, it was stated that Pudface was disfigured in a confrontation with Murphy five years before that point, but in "Zone Five", it was stated that Murphy was killed three years ago.
126	* ShoutOut:
127	** When Robo boards a helicopter to get into the blocked-off OCP building in one episode, he asks the pilot to "[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Take me up, Scotty."]]
128	** In the premiere movie, Chip Chayken and Cray Z. Mallardo get into a van to discuss what to do about Diana Powers, as she reads their lips via a parking garage security camera—just like the iconic scene from ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' in which the two astronauts discuss what to do about the malfunctioning HAL as ''he'' reads ''their'' lips. It's practically a ShotForShotRemake of the scene, right down to framing a shot where the two are facing each other with the AI's camera between them in the background.
129	** When Chip Chayken sabotages Robocop in the premiere movie to get rid of his incriminating memories, he refers to helping with Robocop's "Film/{{total recall\|1990}}".
130	** Creator/HenryWinkler's first and last names are used for a murder victim.
131	** Henry Winkler himself gets a FreezeFrameBonus cameo, as an actor from a movie called ''[[Film/FriedGreenTomatoes Fried Green Lasagna]]''.
132	** When Detective Madigan visits Dr. Mallardo in prison, she asks "[[WesternAnimation/BugsBunny What's up Doc?]]". Ironically ''Mallardo'' is the one eating a carrot at the time.
133	* ShoutOutThemeNaming: A pair of recurring thugs were named WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry.
134	* ShowWithinAShow:
135	** The "Media Break" newscast, reminiscent of the similar newscast segments in the ''Robocop'' movies.
136	** Most episodes have a cartoon segment of Commander Cash; teaching us the virtues of credit cards and the positive side of pollution; basically the opposite of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanet''.
137	** Apart from Commander Cash, the shows sometimes featured other commercials, scheduled to appear right after the TV episode's real-life commercial break so as to seem to continue it until the viewers recognized the satire.
138	** "Inside Crime" focuses on the eponymous TV show that follows criminals around as they commit crime. In a ratings stunt, the producers team up with Pudface to get a showdown between him and Robo.
139	* SmartPeoplePlayChess:
140	** Subverted in the pilot episode of the evil scientist needs a human brain to operate his new WetwareCPU, so he tries using the brain of a chess-playing homeless man, thinking that chess skill will translate into useful ability. It doesn't work at all, and he instead winds up using the brain of his highly intelligent secretary.
141	** Played straight in episode "The Human Factor", where Robocop visits his father's home and eventually plays a few turns of chess. Murphy says that machines may know all the moves but are actually predictable. Robocop has a quick flashback to a specific "velakonski gambit", allegedly showing the same game layout. Robocop makes two moves, puts black into check, and the opponent wanted to know where he learned that move. In addition to the straight play, that chess scene in particular has a few blunders typical of common depictions. The initital board layout shows the white king in check by a bishop, but said bishop disappears when Robocop makes his first move (a king-side castle which cannot be done in check.) There's also a misaligned bishop, implying there's two same-color bishops.
142	* StrawFeminist: Two episodes ("Inside Crime" and "Sisters in Crime") feature a CorruptCorporateExecutive named Rochelle Carney, who outright said in her debut that she considered everything a gender issue, even blaming her getting fired when she returns on her being a woman and her boss, Aubrey Fox, being a louse who hit on her. While Fox did indeed try to hook up with her, [[NeverMyFault she refused to acknowledge the real reason she got fired]], which was because she was in league with the series' ArchEnemy "Pudface" Morgan (who, among other things, tried to kill Robo repeatedly, took a retirement home's citizens hostage, led a siege on OCP heaquarters, helped push a deinhibitor as a diet pill, kidnapped Jimmy Murphy, impersonated Sgt. Parks to kidnap the Chairman, impersonated the Chairman in an attempt to ruin OCP and yet again attempt to kill Murphy) as part of a ratings stunt.
143	* SubliminalAdvertising: Played with in "[=RoboCop=] Vs. Commander Cash", as they're very upfront about the hidden messages on the cereal boxes and cartoons/adverts. They can only be seen by wearing the special glasses enabling kids to see their special hidden messages just for them. Messages like "you need a Commander Cash Sleep Buddy". [[spoiler: Of course the real trick is that they're drugging the cereal making the kids mindless obey these messages.]]
144	* SuperheroOrigin: There’s a ShowWithinAShow cartoon character named Commander Cash. In one episode, someone dressed as him is instigating children to commit crimes. It turns out to be the creator of Commander Cash, Tex Jones, who was a researcher with OCP working on subliminal messaging. After another researcher working on brainwashing tried to kill him, Tex recuperated, trained, and became Commander Cash so he could lead [=RoboCop=] to the culprit.
145	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Madigan is basically Lewis with the serial numbers filed off, even using her famous line of "Murphy, it's you!" in the opening credits. Commander Cash is also very similar to the third film's propaganda cartoon hero, Johnny Rehab.
146	* TagalongKid: Gadget, a young orphan, turns up in the pilot and seemingly gets adopted by Sgt. Parks, thus giving her a reason to stick around.
147	* TestedOnHumans: After the Animal Protection Act of 2015, all scientific testing must be done on humans.
148	* ThereWasADoor: Used in the opening credits. It's the same door from the original movie's drug factory raid.
149	* ThrowTheDogABone: At the end of the PilotMovie, Parks sees Gadget isn't the little troublemaker he thought she was and adopts her rather than send her back to the system she hated so much.
150	* TitleTheAdaptation
151	* TimeBomb: One episode involved Robo having to dispose a nuclear bomb in the OCP building. To defuse it, he had to align two triangle-shaped switches into an hourglass. This is accomplished with (you guessed it) one second to spare.
152	* TooDumbToLive: In "Faces of Eve", when "Pudface" attempts to kill his son via a wrecking ball, Robocop managed to push him out of the way... before grabbing onto the ball itself for no explained reason. This results in him getting battered around.
153	** Chip Chayken in the pilot episode: Once his role in the Dogtown Ripper murders comes out, he takes a single officer hostage, with a potent but non-lethal drug as his "weapon", surrounded by officers AND Robocop, and starts trying to make demands. [[DamselOutOfDistress Lisa breaks free, stabs Chip with is own comically large syringe]], and he is frozen in place as the OCP Chairman drives up at the end.
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156	* TheWallsAreClosingIn: Robo once ended up in a trash compactor in one episode. [[ArtisticLicensePhysics When the air pressure reached 2000 PSI]], a flashback gave him inspiration, [[BackFromTheBrink allowing him to push back the walls]].
157	* VirtualGhost: OCP secretary Diana manifests herself as this via a network of data points installed across the city.
158	* VisionaryVillain: The real villain in "[=RoboCop=] vs. Commander Cash" is behind a SubliminalAdvertising scheme, but this is called out as a rather excessive way to get kids to buy some merchandise they probably would've wanted anyway. The villain explains he doesn't care about measly merchandising bucks; it's how he is gaining control over children who will one day be in assorted positions of power throughout the city and beyond.
159	* WetwareCPU: Metronet, the computer system that runs the whole city, is intended to be run by a device called Neurobrain. However, it turns out Neurobrain needs an actual human brain to operate. After rejecting the brains of a few elderly boozed-up homeless guys, Dr. Mallardo gets the bright idea of using the brain of Chip's young secretary to operate the system. The good news is that it works perfectly. The bad news, for both of them, is that she's still alive in there.
160	* WorstNewsJudgementEver: In the first episode. It'd be strange enough in the real world, but somehow in the cynical dystopia of ''Robocop'' a homeless man disappearing is headline news. To be fair it's stated he's the 12th one and a serial killer is suspected so not a totally random headline.
161	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Inverted. When Robo is critically damaged in the pilot episode, OCP refuses to pay his massive repair bill -- until his partner mentions that he has evidence against Cray Mallardo (who the CEO has serious issues with) in his memory banks. Upon realizing that Robo is still useful, the CEO authorizes the repairs.
162	** Chip Chayken also plots to kill Pudface Morgan with a remotely activated explosive keyed to the same frequency as the bomb trigger he is planning to use for an assassination.
163	* {{Zeerust}}: The "future" setting of this series has 1.33:1 academy-ratio video screens, [=CD-ROMs=] are used for video recordings and computer software, and 3.5" floppy disks are still used for transferring computer data.
164	->'''[[Podcast/{{Rifftrax}} Mike]]''': The future of law enforcement: 240p resolution!

Context Series / RoboCopTheSeries