Talking Lightbulb: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

The Talking Lightbulb is some visual effect, often a simple blinking light, that flickers away whenever a robot or computer speaks, for no reason other than to look cool. Maybe it's supposed to help the audience focus on a character that doesn't move its face when it speaks, generally because it has no face. It is often used in combination with [[Robo Speak]]. Can be [[Justified Trope|justified]] as an user-friendly feature, since for people on ''both'' sides of [[Fourth Wall]] it's the simplest way to make obvious at a glance which one speaks when several robots, computerized appliances and talking alarm clocks are around.

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* The Robot from ''[[Lost in Space]]'' looked a great deal like Robbie, including the glass-dome-lightshow head and the Talking Lightbulb "mouth."

** At Paul Allen's Science Fiction Museum there's a display with Robbie and The Robot next to each other (This Troper isn't sure if they're duplicates or the originals - with Paul Allen it's hard to tell). They converse with each other [[Cargo Ship|on various subjects]].

* KITT, the robotic car from ''[[Knight Rider]]'', had and has a Talking Lightbulb speech display in both series. The original used a series of LED lights similar to a graphic equalizer, while the new one was an extra-cool plasma display.

** Also the classic series incarnation of the Silurians.

** And the altered Ood, as well.

[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]

[[Category:Talking Lightbulb]]