They are programmed to serve man, but only if they aren't programmed to kill man. They clean our homes, pilot our spacecraft, and battle our aliens. Today we honor that metal pal of ours, the robot. Here' s a few of my faves from television, share a few of your own in the comments:

Crow T. Robot: This robot, like his fellow automatons on Mystery Science Theater 3000, was created by original host Joel Hodgson ("Joel Robinson" on the series) using random objects. Crow consisted of bowling pin, a soapdish, lamp parts, and a lacrosse mask. He also penned the lovely holiday ditty, "(Let's Have) A Patrick Swayze Christmas," which I personally like to sing every year, even if my family insists on "O Holy Night."

Bender: While most robots in movies and television are essentially shackled to logic and science with no real trace of human emotion, Bender is "human" to a fault. He's definitely a favorite among Futurama fans, and for good reason. He's not a servant, and he answers to no one, man or machine. Also, I've used his line, "bite my shiny metal ass" on more than one occasion. Sometimes it's the only way I can express my feelings on a subject.

Vicki: I'm not sure how they managed to stretch a cheesy sitcom about a family trying to raise a robot daughter as a real girl for four seasons, but that's how long Small Wonder stayed on the air in the late 80s. Actually, I enjoyed the show as a kid, and who wouldn't want a sister like Vicki (a sort of acronym of "Voice Input Child Indenticant")? She could clean the house in no time flat and beat bullies to a pulp. Tiffany Brissette, who played Vicki, did occasional guest roles throughout the rest of the 80s but faded into obscurity soon after.

Thundercleese: Thundercleese was Brak's next door neighbor on The Brak Show and resembled Voltron or the Transformers, or any number of large, complicated-looking killing machines. While Thundercleese could destroy entire city blocks without blinking a mechanical eye, he also had a soft spot for the finer things, such as looking after his goldfish or tending to his garden. His voice was provided by Carey Means, who also voices Frylock on Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

GIR: The not-always-reliable robot companion/slave of Zim on the totally awesome Nickelodeon series Invader Zim. In order to take over the Earth, the alien Zim would dress himself as a human while GIR tried to blend in using a zippered dog suit.