R.I.P Hal, the killer computer

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I’d wager that most science fiction fans have seen the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film, 2001. I’d also wager that most of the viewers would agree on the movie’s most memorable character.

It’s not this dude, heroic astronaut Dave Bowman:

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It’s Hal 9000, the Killer Computer!

Why do I bring this up now? Because Hal recently died at the age of 90 in Stratford, Ontario.

If you haven’t seen the movie, or even if you have, here’s one of the memorable confrontations between astronaut Dave Bowman the creepily calm computer.

Actually, it was the actor who voiced Hal who died. His name was Douglas Rain, and he was a founding member of the company at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival. Can you name any other science fiction actors who also played Shakespeare? Tell us you guesses in a comment, then check out SyfyWire’s listing of 22 Shakespearean space dudes . . . including William Shatner as Mark Antony.

But first one more Youtube tune for you. 2001 made composer Richard Strauss into a popular success, a couple decades after his death. Here’s the wonderful opening of Thus Spake Zarathustra used in the film.