Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • PodBean
  • Subscribe To My Pal Sammy Newsletter
  • ABOUT
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

My Summer Lair

Think NPR's Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: My Summer Lair with host Sammy Younan: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.

  • Home
  • Podcast
    • My Summer Lair
    • Space Station Oddity
  • Set The VCR
  • New Book Alert
  • True Sammy Stories
  • Toggle search form

#CouchWorthy: Murderbot: Season 1 

Posted on May 15, 2025May 30, 2025 By Sammy Younan No Comments on #CouchWorthy: Murderbot: Season 1 

“Time to party. I mean, if you’re a human. I’m a Security Unit. And I don’t party.” oooo Murderbot…I like both those things, especially in my science-fiction.

Admittedly, though: I’m a terrible nerd; I’ve never read the Martha Wells Murderbot Diaries novels.

So TV show it is. (The Murderbot Diaries kicked off with All Systems Red published on May 2, 2017. The seventh and latest book, System Collapse, was released on November 14, 2023. So yeah…7 novels is a lot to catch up on.)

As this isn’t my world I didn’t know what to expect.

I recently talked to Tamara Podemski who plays Bharadwa for hints but she was all coy. (This is technically my world. Murderbot was mostly shot in Toronto. Heh.)

Tamara Podemski revealed: “I’m allowed to say that I met Martha Wells. Martha Wells came to set. So…Martha Wells is the author, celebrated award-winning sci-fi writer. I’m on book six now of The Murderbot Diaries. It is an incredible, fascinating, beautiful, really…I love the world so much. Even though people call Outer Range sci-fi, it’s not like outer space sci-fi. This is my first real sci-fi genre TV show. I’m in love with it. I love everyone in it. We have an incredible group of actors. Chris and Paul Weitz are the show’s creators. They are a gift to storytelling and it’s been an incredible experience.”

First reactions from the trailer? Gotta say this echoes Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sarcasm. That works for me.

Plus I’m a big fan of Murderbots. (I enjoyed Chopping Mall!) So yeah. I’m in the mood for yummy sci-fi.

I reached out to Apple TV+ who graciously sent me all the episodes.

The first season’s 10 episodes center on Security Unit 238776431(or “SecUnit” for fun) assigned to a scientific expedition run by self-involved space hippies on a bland Tatooine-like planet. Danger actively lurks because on this planet there are mysterious gaps in the survey maps. Why? How come? Is this a cover-up of some kind?

What the self-absorbed space hippies don’t fully grasp is that the SecUnit (played by the human Alexander Skarsgård) has hacked its own programming to gain free will. And renamed himself (it is now a he?) as Murderbot.

Unfortunately, revealing his free will would expose his sentient secret and he’d be shut down and scraped. Apparently, Murderbot doesn’t appreciate irony.

Thus it (now a he?) spends its time half-heartedly doing boring security jobs while watching hours and hours of trashy space soap operas – especially The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, (picture Futurama’s All My Circuits with heightened melodrama and starring humans. The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon is portrayed in random snippets by a group of guest actors you’ll instantly recognize: one of the show’s best surprises. And a legit reason to tune into this Apple TV+ series.)

Viewers get to know Murderbot by hearing its internal thoughts in a monologue, where it confesses to hating prolonged eye contact with humans and wonders why the group it is guarding is so clueless.

A Murderbot example of his Wonder Years narrator voice: “Stupid humans. Stupid fucking humans trying their best to get killed. And who would get the blame? Who is gonna get scrapped?”

As the obnoxious space hippies discover an escalating series of deadly challenges wrapped in a bizarre conspiracy, Murderbot must decide if it’s in its best interest to actually help these hapless clients it (he?) can barely tolerate.

The series quickly establishes two ominous conspiracies:
Can Murderbot keep its free will a secret (think of it like a secret identity…Clark Kent and Superman) and avoid being melted down in acid? It doesn’t help the scientists are attempting to “humanize” the SecUnit. Or that David Dastmalchian who plays Gurathin an augmented human and scientist on this mission is getting suspicious. That’s the problem with free will; you can’t predict it.

And can the human-ish SecUnit assist the scientists in determining why there’s gaps in their survey maps?

Programming Note: 10 episodes for Season 1. It premieres with the first two episodes on Friday May 16 followed by new episodes every Friday through July 11. #SetTheVCR accordingly.


Sammy Verdict: This sci-fi series is freshtastic. Murderbot is a delight and Must See TV.

-28-

Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.

My Pal Sammy, Television, True Sammy Stories Tags:#CouchWorthy, #SetTheVCR, Apple TV+, Chopping Mall, Comedy, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Murderbot, Science-Fiction, Tamara Podemski

Post navigation

Previous Post: #CouchWorthy: Ernest Cole: Lost and Found 
Next Post: #CouchWorthy: Super Team Canada

More Related Articles

#CouchWorthy: You Don’t Nomi Movies
Quality Time is TV’s Love Language Television
Trial By Trailer: Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat Movies
Together, America, We Will Say Goodbye To Cory Booker My Pal Sammy
Morning Tea: The 2024 Razzies Morning Tea
Toronto After Dark Film Festival: Founders Day Movies

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • #SetTheVCR: May 26 – June 01, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Here stories from Birbiglia to Bono: it’s a Brave New World filled with TV Recommendations. Wanna Live The Good Life? Enjoy this week’s #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: May 19-25, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    From Pee-wee Herman to Sherlock Holmes this week’s TV Recommendations are loaded with comedy, angst and drama. Plus for this week’s #SetTheVCR you get to shake it like a Polaroid picture.
  • #SetTheVCR: May 12-18, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Do you have Heart Eyes for fresh TV Recommendations without all the Overcompensating puns? The puns are here to stay that’s what makes it #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: May 05-11, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Even with your Poker Face I can tell you’re seeking TV Recommendations for your Safe House. No worries with this week’s #SetTheVCR I got it in The Black Bag.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 28 – May 04, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    April showers bring May TV listings: these TV recommendations cover all Four Seasons. It’s #SetTheVCR where I put the On in Conan.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 21-27, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    TV Recommendations can be Havoc; You need help. Well Babygirl: I got you; it's your TV Companion: #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 14-20, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    I hope you're a light Nightsleeper because the NBA Playoffs start this week. Will a new champion be Minted? Only way to know is to #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 07-13, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    For this week's TV Recommendations we stare into The Abyss and a Black Mirror stares back. Welcome to #SetTheVCR which is about as comfortable and as cool as Morningside.
  • #SetTheVCR: March 31 – April 06, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Secrets and Serial Killers pepper this week’s TV Recommendations. A combo like that can only mean it’s #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: March 24-30, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    You'll wanna Bogart these fantastic TV Recommendations: they go from Holland to MobLand. Of course it's not a Complete Unknown, why yes it's #SetTheVCR.
  • #CouchWorthy: Bono: Stories of SurrenderMay 29, 2025
    Bono: Stories of Surrender is a vivid reimagining of his one-man stage show Stories of Surrender now streaming on Apple TV.
  • #CouchWorthy: Super Team CanadaMay 16, 2025
    Super Team Canada follows six lesser known and underrated Canadian superheroes, tasked with saving the world.
  • #CouchWorthy: Murderbot: Season 1 May 15, 2025
    Murderbot a private security cyborg hides its acquired autonomy, while completing dangerous assignments is simultaneously drawn to humans.
  • #CouchWorthy: Ernest Cole: Lost and Found April 29, 2025
    Raoul Peck's portrait of South African photographer Ernest Cole offers a harrowing history of Apartheid and chronicles an artist in exile.
  • #CouchWorthy: 2025 Key Midseason & Premiere Dates – April 2025March 28, 2025
    #SetTheVCR is your weekly TV Guide by Sammy Younan to help you plan a fantastic TV schedule from must-watch TV shows to fun discoveries.
  • #CouchWorthy: 2025 Key Midseason & Premiere Dates – March 2025February 28, 2025
    #SetTheVCR is your weekly TV Guide by Sammy Younan to help you plan a fantastic TV schedule from must-watch TV shows to fun discoveries.

  • Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
    Under-Review: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
    by Sammy Younan
    My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan reviews Batman - Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: OvertureL Volume 1,
  • New Book Alert: California Bear
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: The Music Was Just Getting Good
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: The Ascent
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: Fantastic Four by Ryan North Volume 2
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?

Copyright © 2025 My Summer Lair.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme