What is up with the droids on Grievous' Ship?!

Just saw ROTS again, and everytime I watch it I always notice the odd behavior of the seperatist droids in the beginning.

They're suppose to be robots right? Why are they so cowardly?

So why are they so cowardly? When Anakin and Obi Wan break free they start running all over the place screaming. When the ship begins to crash into Coruscant one of them is seen running from the bridge with his hands up in the air and yelling....

It's not like the droids need some sort of "self-preservation" program. Unlike the Republic who must grow their troops for 10 years. The Separtists can make thousands in a day with their factories. Their droids should be fighting to the last man, even doing suicide runs if need be.


Also, since the droids in ROTS are apparently cowardly and pose no real threat to Anakin and Obi Wan, why do the two Jedi bother to cut them down? Here we see the movie telling us that the droids are really just bumbling idiots who are afraid to die like any evil henchman, but then it shows the Jedi killing them. Most on the bridge didn't even have a weapon. Does the Jedi rule of not hurting innocents not apply to robots? Even when those robots are just as fearful and un-dangerous as any other living innocent? Do you think that if the bridge had been staffed by only live creatures, like Neimodians, then Anakin and Obi Wan would not have cut them all down as they were trying to run away?


Someone should also tell the Seperatists that the voices on their Super Battle Droids are about as intimidating as a 4 year old.

 

Movie purposes, it's to get a laugh out of the crowd and to really hammer home the point of how pathetic they are. In-universe, I'm not sure. Maybe the Nemoidians, who are not exactly the most intimidating to begin with, created them in their own image?

 

maybe they havent had their memory wiped. also i think it was mentioned somewhere that grievous likes the droids around him to act like that.

 

Out of universe, it's Lucas' heavy-handed attempt at humor.

In universe, I have no idea. Perhaps droids that saw service for too long developed individual sentience and unintentional personality quirks.

 

We saw them acting sentient in TPM-at least, the shipboard ones.

*lightsabres ignite*

"uh-oh..."

droids attempting to flee the destruction of the droid control ship

etc.

The shipboard ones, as they probably have considerably more duties than the groundbound infatry bots, are likely sentient as R2 is, just more intelligible.

And besides..who cares if they sound intimidating when they're perfectly willing to blow you into scrap?

 

as the wars gone on the droids that survive the longest probably began to pic up quirks in there programing, even more so if they arent wiped reguarly.

and cowardly droids exist in the EU to, Mynock, wedges R2 unit, clled mynock beacuse it 'screams' in combat.

droids pick up quirks in there programing, these ones, as they are far remved from anywhere where they migh be damged are probably the Invisble Hands originl Bridge droids, now if they'ce been running for the best part of say, 3 years, they are bound to develop some personality, it seems a speciality of star wars droids.


also, could be the droid cotrol brain developing some personlity and exhibiting it through the frones (battle droids)

when the ship starts going down the droid control brain wants to survive and it passes on this on dow the line to the drones so they try and sav themseleve when infact they are just following the feelings of the droid control brain.

well, thats my two cents.

 

All of the droids vocies were annoying. I could'nt stand listening to them they were that bad.

 

perhaps thats the idea?

*meeting between trade feds and rivals*

nemodian: soh, we have a contwact then?

rivals: *sigh* yes, we cant compete with you no-

battle droid 1: roger, roger!

rivals: g-d damnit, those freaking droids have been doing my head in for the past 5 hours! *advances on battle droid*

battle droid 1: uh-oh

battle droid 2: roger that

rivals: just shut up, no, wait, i'll make you shut up! *draws blaster and blast the two battle droids*

rivals: ha! you've shut up now havent ya?!

Nemodian: you have destroyed trade federation property, we are now forced to treat your oganisation as a threat, it will be eliminated and absorbed by us.

rivals: huh, what the heck are you-

*two droidekas enter conference room*

nemodian: you were saying

rivals: blasted, no good, annoying battle droids.

see, annoying voice works t advantge

 

Oh, I bet we can explain that Grievous gave the droids on his flagship individuality programming and circuitry and forgot to mind-wipe them in the excitement of preparing for battle.

 

The droids shouldn't even be able to develop sentience anyway, since they're all just autamatons linked to a central computer and should comminicate wirelessly anyway. There's no need for them to talk, save to organics.

 

perhaps the seperatists deregulated the droid contrl computers so if one was hit the others could take over?

this would facilitate some sort of communication between droids i'd imagine.

 

The droids post AOTC are independently equipped in the event of droid control ship shutdown, iirc.

 

Post TPM, IIRC.

 

edit: ^^^ yeah, i beleive it's post-TPM, after the disaster that occured at Naboo. I believe some jedi (aayla secura, plo koon, ki adi mundi i think- they weren't at the main arena anyway and had to be brought there at the end when the droids ceased firing) tried to disable the droid control ship at Geonosis and actually succeeded, but the droids went on working anyway.

That's it, exactly. Droids form personalities after the organic company they keep- in this case, the cowardly neimodians. Sure, they may not need to communicate audibly amongst themselves given their wireless connections, but that would lead to communication problems with the organic lifeforms they work with. If you notice, droids often work in tandem with the neimodians (eg. at the bridge) and would probably need to have audible communication functions to allow the neimodians to communicate with them. maybe such audio functions were standardised across the droid fleet on grievous's ship.

 

also, the droids replying to an order or disussing course correcions would mean that the nemodians would be able to know what was going on imply by listening to the droids working rather than by having to ask them or bring up the droids dueis on his control panel.

 

<<All of the droids vocies were annoying. I could'nt stand listening to them they were that bad. >>

Oh yeah...I also couldnt stand Grievous's voice either,Lucas turned him into a buffoon aswel.

 

I couldn't stand that one battle droid

"Excuse Me"

"Your Welcome"

No. Just... No. Your a battle droid. BATTLE droid. Not some stupid protocol droid.

 

But humour won't bring in the kids, and how would Star Wars survive without them?

 

People really need to stop fussing.

 

I agree. What is Star Wars without humor? Some of it's subtle, some of it's obvious. The first part of ROTS is "business as usual" for Obi-Wan and Anakin--storm the ship, fight the droids, save the hostage. The attitude of Grievous and the droids emphasizes that.

Besides, how can you *not* love the sarcastic "You're welcome" when Grievous snatches that lightsabers away from the command droid? I loved that part.

TC

 

I got the feeling that the panicky droids on the Invisible Hand were supposed to mirror the reaction of the Imperials on Death Star II in RotJ as the battle station went through its "death-throes." When I saw the battle droids fleeing saying "Run! Run," I immediately thought of the Imperial who says, "Get out! Get out," in RotJ.

Maybe I'm overthinking things, but I merely thought the scene in question as a connection between in the PT and the OT.

 

"They're suppose to be robots right? Why are they so cowardly?"

The blue markings on their shoulders show that they are pilot droids, they're crewing the ship, which is presumably why they are programmed to try and survive in such a case. Theyre no use in combat and if they are destroyed then the Invisible hand is in trouble. At least thats the best reason I can think of.

As for why Anakin and Obi Wan kill them, well theyre battle droids, for these two cutting a battle droid in half seems to pretty much be an automatic response.

 

I agree with the post above me. But I don't think they are programed to survive to the extent of becoming panicked. Your best soldiers are your veterans, so I think they just over hear the battles and communications of the ground forces and other ships being attacked, destroyed and ripped through by Jedi. After hearing responses by the nemodians and all the battle droids being destroyed, and not haveing their memories wiped often to keep them in a Veteran status their robot brain might just make a panick program in responce to seeing Jedi. Its just my thought on it.

 

The droids have to have some self preservation programming. Otherwise they would die quickly and cost the CIS more money.

 

but to the extent of abandoning there posts?