Review: RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop (2023) – Docu-Series Blu-ray

If I asked you to list your Top Ten favourite ’80s sci-fi movies, I’d bet good money that amongst the likes of Aliens, The Terminator, and The Thing, RoboCop would be on that list. The movie – directed by Paul Verhoeven – is a stone-cold classic of yesteryear, has a legion of fans, and is absolutely, positively, ruddy brilliant.

How brilliant? Well, I could spend all day providing you with an answer to that question, but thankfully I don’t need to, because a new documentary series is ready to do all of the hardwork for me!

The docu-series is called RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop. The series is a four-episode journey through the development, evolution, production, and legacy of the iconic movie, and not only is it heading to TV screens very shortly, but it is also being released on a Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, which is loaded with plenty of extras.

Directed by Christopher Griffiths and Eastwood Allen, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop serves up an extensive look at RoboCop from script to screen, and everything inbetween. The four-part series features input from pretty much everyone involved in the film, from RoboCop writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, to director Paul Verhoeven, and stars including Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Ray Wise, amongst many others.

The series covers the special effects, the locations, the set dressing, the sound effects, the costume design, and even the origin of certain character names. There’s room to talk about RoboCop’s movement choreography; there’s space for conversations about Verhoeven’s directing style; and there’s a few minutes here-and-there for deleted material.

From T.J. Lazer, ED-209, and Bixby Snyder, to Anne Lewis, the death of Alex Murphy, and RoboCop’s ultra-cool hidden gun-holster, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop leaves no character on the sidelines, no set-piece unaccounted for, and no stone unturned. This series crams as many topics, conversations, and little details into four informative and entertaining episodes, to provide a definitive look at RoboCop.

If you adore RoboCop, then you’ll adore this series. It covers every stunt, character, and scene-stealing line, with nothing left on the cutting room floor.

RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop is put together using all-new interviews, along with some archive material, behind the scenes photos, and various clips from the movie. The editing of this series is smooth and impressive, with everything flowing perfectly.

The series is exhaustive, but at no point is it exhausting. Each episode has the right amount of content to keep things interesting, and it all moves along at a great pace.

In some respects its crazy how much material can be spread across four episodes, yet in other respects its fantastic how well it is handled. Everything is perfectly balanced, so not one episode drops the ball.

There’s no fluff or filler, there’s just hours and hours of love for RoboCop. This docu-series has been put together by people who love the movie, while featuring input from those who had a hand in its creation.

In addition to the four episodes, the Blu-ray release also includes a wealth of extra material which dives even deeper into the world of RoboCop. Various featurettes are included, covering the weapons in the movie, cast quotes, and even the video games.

It’s also worth noting that each episode in the series runs anywhere from just over 1hr to around 1hr 20mins, and you get four of those. With the bonus material included on the Blu-ray this equates to almost six hours of viewing material, which is enough for more than one evening’s viewing.

The UK Collector’s Edition Blu-ray also comes with a UK-exclusive A4 poster, as well as four art cards. All of the video material is spread across two discs, all courtesy of Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.

As noted above, ahead of the release of the Blu-ray, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop will be appearing on UK TV screens, premiering exclusively on the Icon Film Channel from 2nd October. A new episode will be available every week, so you can check out the entire series before the physical edition arrives with all the extras.

As for the Blu-ray, the two-disc Collector’s Edition of RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop will be available from entertainment retailers on December 18th. And if that’s not enough, a video-on-demand edition will then follow from January 1st 2024.

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