RoboCop: Prime Directives is a 2001 Canadian-made miniseries set in an Alternate Continuity ten years after the original film, starring Page Fletcher as the title cyborg police officer.
In the intervening years after the events of the first film, Delta City has become fully owned and operated by OCP, while RoboCop/Alex Murphy (Fletcher) has remained in service for over a decade. Murphy's also showing his age and is scheduled to be retired by OCP because his parts are out of warranty. In addition, his now-grown son James (Anthony Lemke) has become an OCP executive, and his old partner John Cable (Maurice Dean Wint) has returned to the city to become the company's new security commander.
By the end of the first episode, Robo is forced to kill Cable, who is subsequently reborn as RoboCable, the second prototype for the once-defunct RoboCop program. Murphy teams up with an anarchist group led by Ann R. Key (Leslie Hope) to stop Cable, OCP (which are now hunting both Murphy and RoboCable) and David Kaydick (Geraint Wyn Davies), Ann's ex-husband and a disgraced OCP scientist who plans to use an organic virus to destroy everyone in Delta City.
Episodes in the series are:
- Dark Justice
- Meltdown
- Resurrection
- Crash and Burn
The production was filmed and produced in Toronto, Canada, and featured a number of well-known Canadian actors. Richard Eden (who played the title character on RoboCop: The Series) was asked to reprise his role but backed out. The producers hired Page Fletcher instead, who devised his own movement system to reflect where the character was at that point in his life.
RoboCop: Prime Directives provides examples of the following tropes:
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General
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot:
- Murphy has become quasi-suicidal and angsty in the intervening years between the first film and the miniseries, while Cable gets a conscience twice during the series (once when he decides to assist Murphy in "Meltdown", and again in "Crash And Burn").
- S.A.I.N.T., once Legion corrupts it.
- Alien Blood: When RoboCop fights too hard against his programming in "Dark Justice" his nose starts "bleeding", with black liquid running down his face.
- Bash Brothers: Murphy and Cable, in both their human and cyborg forms.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Damian, Sarah Cable, and Kaydick.
- Broad Strokes: The series is deliberately set 10 years after the original film to avoid needing to tie into the previous sequels. Prime Directives lines up with RoboCop 3 in that Murphy's fourth directive preventing him from harming OCP personnel was erased, and Murphy is shown in Prime Directives to have only three directives. Reference is also made to the battle of Cadillac Heights in RoboCop 3. However, Prime Directives also contradicts Robocop 3: the film showed OCP destroyed, and its plans to destroy Detroit and build Delta City over the ruins stopped. Prime Directives, however, shows that Delta City is complete and Old Detroit is the abandoned part of the old city. Prime Directives also contradicts Robocop 2 and 3 where Murphy's identity was known by most OCP staff and police officers, while in Prime Directives, Murphy's identity is a secret known only to Murphy's doctor and the highest levels of OCP. The writers deliberately made these contradictions, feeling that the previous installments showed police officers entirely too accepting of a dead cop being turned into a cyborg and that OCP was too important to leave destroyed.
- Clear My Name: Cable (in the first episode) and Murphy (throughout the whole series).
- Continuity Nod:
- Bob Morton is name-checked when James digs into OCP's archives to learn more about the RoboCop Project. The "I'd buy that for a dollar!" catchphrase is also referenced in the first episode.
- In RoboCop: The Series Jimmy is studying to become an exec. Here, he joins OCP as a Junior Exec before starting his own business as its CEO.
- Crapsack World: What Detroit has turned into. Robo is practically out of date, crime and poverty are worse than ever, anarchists are storming the OCP building and everyone is a Corrupt Corporate Executive. OCP has enforced a strict no-kill policy on Detroit's police force, taking away almost all lethal guns and ammunition. It goes about as well as you'd expect.
- Darker and Edgier: After the 1994 television series, the creators of Prime Directives went the other way and loaded the miniseries with just as much violence (implied/on-screen) as the films, including such instances as an extended sequence where Murphy and Cable discover a man who's been butchering young women and many other people being blown to pieces, shot and vaporized.
- Elite Mooks: The Special Support Task Force of OCP is a designated unit of RoboCop killers.
- Guns Akimbo: RoboCable, who wields two Auto-9's.
- Impossibly Cool Weapon:
- Robo has his standard "Auto-9" a fully automatic pistol that holds more ammunition than the weapon should be physically capable of and has selectable ammunition types from his HUD. Robocable gets two.
- Ann's blue electronic staff.
- Ironic Echo:
- RoboCable's comment to the OCP soldier who almost destroyed him earlier in the series: "Now I own your black ass."
- In "Meltdown", Murphy remembers a phrase Cable once told him, "The world only makes sense when you force it to." The quote returns as the coda for the third episode, "Resurrection".
- Kent Brockman News: The Media Break segments return from the original films, and go much farther with the satire, lampooning the lengths OCP will go to make money off RoboCop or act as shills for the OCP board's decisions.
- Meaningful Name: A prominent social and political commentator who is staunchly against RoboCop goes by the name Archie Nemesis on his broadcasts.
- Obstructive Code of Conduct: Played with. Murphy still has his original directives but is unknowingly given a directive to kill John Cable as well (which he must carry out). At the end of the miniseries, Robocable purges the original directives from Murphy's software.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Kaydick is said to be a master of a dozen scientific disciplines.
- Heroic BSoD: The activation of Murphy's locked memories causes him to scream for several seconds before literally shutting down.
- Honest Corporate Executive: The Old Woman and James Murphy at the end of the series.
- Mad Scientist: Kaydick is a classic example of these, performing unethical experiments from his lair in Old Detroit.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: As is tradition with the head of OCP, Tedde Moore's character's real name is never revealed, and much like Daniel O'Herlihy's character in the first two movies, is known by a derisive nickname; in her character's case, "the Old Woman".
- Papa Wolf: Murphy has put up with a lot of crap over the last decade, but do not, under any circumstances, threaten his son or there will be hell to pay..
- Please Wake Up: Jordan to her mother several times over the course of the final three episodes.
- Political Correctness Gone Mad: The police are all armed with non-lethal weapons despite being in a cyberpunk dystopia.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Like her predecessor, The Old Woman is generally supportive of Robo and the Delta City Police Department, and denies Damian's request to send a team to destroy Robo.
- Show Within a Show: Media Break, and its tie-in sister show, The Archie Nemesis Show.
- Smug Snake: OCP's top brass, Damian Lowe and Sara Cable. James Murphy starts out as this, but once he talks to his father and learns what really happened, he becomes incredibly helpful.
- Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome: James Murphy, who Used to Be a Sweet Kid in the films, eventually grew up to be an OCP Corrupt Corporate Executive following the deaths of his Morality Chain parents (even though his father was revived as Robo) and Took a Level in Jerkass into becoming another Smug Snake, until his Heel–Face Turn thanks to his father that brings him back to the side of good.
- Would Hit a Girl: Ann left her husband because he abused her and Jordan — and every time she faces him throughout the series (with the exception of their final encounter), he leaves her bruised and bleeding.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Said by Kaydick several times throughout the series.
Dark Justice
- Artistic License – Law Enforcement: In a flashback, Murphy and Cable enter the home of a man who's been chopping up people. Once he's subdued, Cable executes him on the spot because they entered without a warrant and he would have gotten off on a technicality. Except they only entered to begin with because they caught the dog gnawing on human remains. That's probable cause.
- Big "NO!": Cable screaming just before Murphy shoots him in the chest, and Murphy when the dormant memories in his core are reactivated.
- Call-Back: Cable references the Show Within a Show from the original film responding to something said to him with the tagline "I'll buy that for a dollar."
- Chekhov's Gun: The random police officer Murphy and Cable talk to about the Detroit Mangler case in one of the flashbacks turns out to be The Bone Machine.
- Evil Is Hammy: Bone Machine is a cackling mad monster who chews the scenery like crazy.
- Executive Meddling: In-universe with Murphy being reprogrammed by The Trust to kill John Cable (as part of a plan to make him the new enforcer for the company).
- Frame-Up: John Cable is framed for the murders of Bone Machine by his ex-wife, Sarah.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The Motor City Mangler murders women and eats them.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Murphy killing Bone Machine by stabbing him repeatedly with his datajack (also serves as a Call-Back to the way he killed Boddicker in the original).
- Manly Tears: Robo sheds a few for Cable at the end of "Dark Justice" while looking utterly shell-shocked, and when reuniting with James near the end of "Resurrection"
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Back when he and Murphy were both still human, Cable gunned down the Motor City Mangler after they freed one of his captives, and the Mangler took Cable hostage and tried to kill both him and Murphy. This also marked the end of their partnership as Murphy put in for a transfer shortly thereafter—to Metro West.
- Rabid Cop: Bone Machine is a former one of these, happy to become a Vigilante Man with OCP's help.
- Serial Killer: The Motor City Mangler is a cannibalistic murderer of women.
- Shoot the Hostage: In "Dark Justice", Robo is forced by his own programming to shoot Cable when he's being held hostage by Bone Machine.
- Shout-Out: At the end of an episode, RoboCop muses that "the world only makes sense when you force it to".
- Terrorists Without a Cause: The Bombs in Dark Justice. They are anarchists who love explosives, any attempt at negotiation fails, and they admit they have no manifesto or real interest besides killing people - including themselves.
- Vigilante Man: Bone Machine is shooting up Old Detroit to help eliminate its criminals while OCP adopts a "no lethal force" rule for its police.
Meltdown
- Accidental Murder: Anne's technology thieves did not intend to kill a bunch of cops but end up doing so when they turn OCP's security against them.
- Better Than New: Murphy shuts down as a result of the injuries he sustains in "Meltdown", and is upgraded by Ann's crew, who replace all his old parts and bring him back up to spec. In "Crash And Burn", he is deactivated by Robocable (who jams his data spike into the back of Murphy's head). This allows him to survive the EMP blast that shuts down the city and also removes his original directives, no longer constraining him to OCP orders.
- Big Damn Heroes: In "Meltdown", RoboCable arrives to save Murphy (who is badly injured and losing critical functions after being electrocuted by the OCP special unit), then Ann and her crew show up to save him in "Resurrection" after Cable creates a distraction to draw the unit away.
- Board to Death: Damian spearheads the project for developing a fully-functional AI, called SAINT. After sending a team to destroy RoboCop after the Old Woman had forbidden it, Damian gets fired and uses SAINT to kill the Old Woman and the Board.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: John Cable is turned into RoboCable, who is loyal to OCP.
- Calling the Old Man Out: James' motivation for trying to use the EMP on RoboCop.
- Chekhov's Gun: Jordan's teddy bear, which is first seen in the second episode, and whose function is discovered in the third.
- Classy Cat-Burglar: Ann R. Key leads a group of beautiful female thieves.
- Did Not Think This Through: Damian sends the Special Response Unit against the Old Woman's orders and is fired for it.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Damian kills the entirety of the OCP board of directive in retaliation for his firing.
- The Dog Bites Back: Narrowly averted. RoboCable recognizes his wife even with his brainwashing and uses his auto-targeting system on her before she shuts it down.
- Fingore: The OCP special force commander's hand when RoboCable blows it to pieces with his gun.
- Frame-Up: RoboCop is framed for attacking the Old Woman by Sarah Cable.
- Free-Range Children: Jordan, Anne's daughter, more or less wanders Old Detroit at will while her mother does her crimes.
- Internal Reveal: Alex Murphy discovers that his father was turned into RoboCop.
- No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Averted — Damian and Sara use the old notes and documentation used for the original prototype (Alex Murphy) to create Robocable.
- Rewind, Replay, Repeat: RoboCop does this with Cable's death, although it's not entirely clear whether he's deliberately torturing himself or just having some sort of PTSD flashback and the replay is just his mind's way of trying to process it.
- This Is Gonna Suck: The OCP Commander when the two Robos team up.
- Worf Effect: RoboCop is beaten by Ann and her group due to him not shooting any of them despite their involvement in several murders.
Resurrection
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Kaydick does this to RoboCable, again.
- Breaking Speech: Kaydick gives one of these to RoboCable to convince him to side with him.
- Child by Rape: Jordan is revealed to be Ann's child by Kaydick during the time she was his slave.
- Heel–Face Turn: James Murphy in "Resurrection". He can't turn against his own father once it has been revealed to him.
- How Many Fingers?: Ann's sidekick says this to Murphy once he reactivates in "Resurrection".
- Gory Discretion Shot: Robocable destroying the OCP commander's head with a sledgehammer, among many others.
- Kick the Dog: Damian tells his friend, Ed Hobley, that he smells and leaves him in the basement despite being the new head of OCP.
- Made a Slave:
- Kaydick did this to Ann in the past, keeping her as his servant alongside others.
- Kaydick ensaves RoboCable in order to get his revenge on OCP.
- That Man Is Dead: Kaydick convinces Cable that his original identity is dead.
- Mind-Control Device: Kaydick uses a variant on Robocable, and uses it to make him follow his commands.
- Mook Horror Show: Unlike Robocop, RoboCable is top of the line and tears through the OCP Special Forces once unleashed on them.
- More than Mind Control: Kaydick uses a combination of his mind control device and a Breaking Speech to control RoboCable.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Damian sets himself up as the new Chairman and CEO of OCP.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Despite giving all of the other executives pay raises, Damian does nothing for his friend Ed despite his work making it all possible.
- Villainous Rescue: Kaydick shows up to rescue the injured RoboCable in "Resurrection" after he's assaulted by the OCP special forces unit.
Crash and Burn
- Asshole Victim: Damian attempts to leave the OCP building in "Crash And Burn"', and first gets shoved down an elevator shaft by Sara Cable (breaking his legs) and then gets his legs and hands cut off by the building's automated laser defense system before dying.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Kaydick was fired by OCP for illegal experiments, so he decides to get back at them by creating a nanite virus and killing all organic matter in Detroit.
- Drunk on the Dark Side: Kaydick, who relishes the chance to beat up his ex-wife just as much as he enjoys trying to kill everyone in Old Detroit.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Detroit is now stuck in total darkness (thanks to RoboCable activating the EMP), and several people have died to stop the corrupted S.A.I.N.T. computer program from destroying the city, but Murphy does get to make up for lost time with his son, who spearheads the rebuilding with his own newly formed company, and continues in his role as a protector, free of his overriding directives.
- Evil Is Hammy: Kaydick isn't subtle in their villainy.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Damian getting a laser drilled through the back of his head and
- Heroic Sacrifice: Ann goes into the SAINT processing room in "Crash And Burn" to kill Kaydick, despite full well knowing that she'll die in the process. Robocable also sacrifices himself to stop SAINT so that Murphy and his son (and the rest of the city) can live.
- Law of Inverse Fertility: John and Sara Cable tried several times to have a child, and when she finally did give birth, the baby was stillborn. In the final part, Sara reveals she secretly had a late-term abortion.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Ann to her daughter before going to fight Kaydick — "Stay here, sweetie. Mommy's going to kick some ass."
