Murderbot: The Books, The Show, The Obsession
Sun 20 Jul 2025
Shenanigan Report
This episode sees AJ and Marly stay on topic more than ever before! Apparently obsession reduces tangents, who knew? The girls talk about their feelings about the show, the books, how much the show was true to the books. Thoughts about themes of good and evil, identity and mental health, and who does Murderbot better: Alexander Skarsgård or David Cui Cui? ⚠️ Warning: Spoilers, ahoy! ⚠️
Scintillating Segments
- Building a community: Get involved, we’re on all the things, comment on Spotify, Facebook, BlueSky and (sighs)
TwitterX. We would love to hear from you! - The Show: What did we think of the show? Can you get Murderbot’s pronouns right, or is your crush on Skarsgård so deep you can’t? (Spoiler: AJ’s is)
- The Books: Our thoughts on the book are more scattered throughout, but we definitely have thoughts!
- The Themes: Is AI ethical? Do creators have responsibilities for artificial constructs? Creative opinions on identity, mental health, and community.
Madness Resources and Links
- Martha Wells official website
- All Systems Red (printed book)
- All Systems Red (Dramatized Adaptation)
- Murderbot (show streaming on Apple TV+)
- Murderbot coverage on Reactor Magazine
- Totally gratuitous Tiktok of Alexander Skarsgård getting his Murderbot costume on
- This is how Tom Hardy handles a weird interview question
Music Credits
Our lively intro and outro tracks are courtesy of the Short Circuits album by Brevyn.
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