Prometheus just released this new viral video — “viral” in the sense that it doesn’t mention the movie by name and because they sure would like it to go viral — which is apparently the world’s most awkward advertisement for Weyland Industries’ David android, played by Michael Fassbender. While I thought Weyland’s TED speech “viral” was a bit hokey, it was still kind of effective — this seemed like a Funny or Die parody sketch that forgot to try to be funny. I mean, you can’t start a video with a line like “What is it about robots that make them so robotic?” and not intend it be a comedy, can you? Seriously, I kept waiting for Fassbender to eat the flower or something. Thanks to Lexplex for the tip, though.
Robert Bricken is one of the original co-founders of the site formerly known as Topless Robot, and its first editor-in-chief, serving from 2008-12. He brought the site to prominence with “nerd news, humor and self-loathing” as its motto, raising it from total internet obscurity to a readership in the millions, with help from his savage “FAQ” movie reviews and Fan Fiction Fridays. Under his tenure Topless Robot was covered by Gawker, Wired, Defamer, New York magazine, ABC News, and others, and his articles have been praised by Roger Ebert, Avengers actor Clark Gregg, comedian and The Daily Show correspondent John Hodgman, the stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Rifftrax, and others. He is currently the managing editor of io9.com. Despite decades as both an amateur and professional nerd, he continues to be completely unprepared for either the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising.