The World of Blade Runner Explained

[@OrangeRiver]

Something else worth mentioning: the original novel, the videogame, and the RPG all suggest that Earth experienced a nuclear World War III around the late 20th century. This is given as, for instance, one of the major reasons for the abundance of artificial animals (though artificial pets may become more common IRL as "regular" climate change continues to kill our ecosystem)

[@GopherBaroque61]

That makes sense, as in Blade Runner 2049, if I remember correctly, Las Vegas seemed to be in or near a radiation zone.

[@mokwella]

Folks in the BladeRunnerVerse can't catch a break, man.

[@jameslyddall]

@@GopherBaroque61I just watched that the other night and in 2049 it was a dirty bomb so terrorism. The guy from “I’m the captain now” did a good job as a guy explaining it to K😊

[@pin-upmariposa412]

Fantastic video, as always. Maybe difference between first Blade Runner movie and original novel?

[@timothybeaulieu5103]

Is there an RPG? As in pen and paper tabletop RPG? As far as I knew, the only thing that came close to Blade Runner was the GURPS Transhuman Space campaign setting by Steve Jackson Games.

[@nicholasmarshall3191]

I was 16 when I saw Blade Runner in 1982. I am 57 now and still find the film, and the questions it raised, very compelling.

[@papafrank7094]

I saw the movie in '82 when I was 18. It pushed me into a fascination with A.I. Finally, here in '24, we are just a short jump away from it. I just can't wait to take that jump.

[@Islandmidfielder]

@@papafrank7094in your life time, do you think you will see a human mars landing and return?

[@gilanbarona9814]

I used to teach Ethics in university. One of my impressions of Blade Runner, Alien, and a few other dystopian universes is the theme of technology without ethics.

[@alanparsonsfan]

And here we are.

[@deltavee2]

They exist now: the Big Five Tech Giants

[@zapkvr]

When Patrick Steptoe invented IVF, Louise's mother was never told she was a guinea pig. That was in 1978. Years before Bladerunner

[@BrandonDeft]

I won't freely tell people about being an ethics coach in a government run facility, aka a university that further pushes out peoples abilty to form free thoughts. Keep your head up....

[@gilanbarona9814]

@@BrandonDeft My old university was NOT owned by any government. We actually understood the meaning of academic and moral freedom.

[@matthewjohnson2428]

What I like about 2049 is it takes the question of the original and expands upon it rather than trying to recreate it. The original deals with the question of "What is a Human?" while 2049 tackles the question "What is Real?", especially in light of a digital age (think Joi, not real, but you feel as if the relationship is and has a real impact, only for you to completely rethink the reality of it near the end when the pink Joi we see all over the advertising asks "are you a good Joe?" and we all realize it's just programming, not actual affection)

[@julius-stark]

I do agree with you, but when you think about it, how do you know a human really loves you? Just because someone says they love you doesn't stop them from lying, cheating, manipulating, or abusing you. However, you could argue an AI like Joi has a more pure love even if it is programming. You know with 100% certainty that they care about you. Its a great topic for discussion.

[@stevepirie8130]

That was brutal as in her last moment she’d told him she loved him.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@stevepirie8130 It is a very brutal scene. It hits K when he's at rock bottom. He's a fugitive from the LAPD, the replicant rebels want him to murder Deckard, and his holographic girlfriend's love may never have been real. Everything he loved or might've stood for is shot to shit. But it's also when he decides to be an actual hero and risk his life to go save Deckard. He stands up and goes out swinging, becoming more human than human.

[@GrayNeko]

Very well said, sir! I loved that flip! An artificial person with an artificial lover. It makes me very, very, sad for us all.

[@alanparsonsfan]

@Matthew Stark My take on BR2049 was that it went further and asks the question, "who has a soul?" In the anime about the Blackout, the warror replicant thought not. The impression I got in the actual 2049 file was that if you were born rather than 'assembled', you would have a soul. So Rachel's daughter was thought to. The original had the 'tears in rain' speech. The most haunting, moving line in 2049 for me was, "We all wished it was us!".

[@MrAndyBearJr]

There was one line that always struck me, and made my mind wander to all the distinct possibilities that this movie opened up. When Rutger Hauer's character, Roy was describing his experiences to Deckard, one of them was seeing "attack ships on fire, off the shoulder of Orion." That conjured a visual in my mind that was for me, not cinematically realized until Star Trek Deep Space Nines fleet battles with the Dominion. I look back now in awe, and think how thought provoking Roys soliloquy really was.

[@gawkthimm6030]

that sentence and the circumstances he say them in even encapsulates the cyberpunk definition; "lowlife and high tech" - featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cybernetics, juxtaposed with societal collapse, dystopia or decay.

[@dukecraig2402]

The line that really set the hook in my mouth and was literally the template for my life for years to come was "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...". At 17 when I saw Blade Runner in 1982 that line had a seriously profound affect on me and made me want to be able to say that one day, and I realized there and then that there was only one way to be able to say that one day in life, you have to go out and do the things that you're average person wouldn't ever even consider doing, so I struck out and did them. First thing out of high school the next year was off to the Army with a guaranteed posting overseas in Europe, next thing after that was living in the biker world for years, and that was back before the fad hit when every Tom, Dick, Harry and Lawyer and Doctor got a Harley, back in the day when you saw someone on one and you KNEW what kind of person they were, back before the fad hit and you didn't know what kind of person might be sitting on one. On top of that was being an ironworker for years traveling from city to city putting up buildings and bridges, then there's an era I can't say too awful much about that lasted for years but I will say comparing it to Han Solo's profession wouldn't be too awfully far off the mark, I had my own version of the Millennium Falcon and would take routes in life that would best avoid any "Imperial entanglements" you could say. Perhaps I'd have been better off in life now that I'm older had I not been struck so deeply by those words when I heard Rutger Hauer speak them, there is a downside to living a life like that, but they just made me imagine a life of adventures and thrills that it takes to one day say to someone I've seen things you people wouldn't believe, and wherein I've never actually said that to anyone I certainly could, but I did say to someone once, holding my hand up as high as my shoulder "I've got a pile of stories this high, and they're all true". I don't have to make them up, I've earned every one of them and have the scars to prove it.

[@nolesy34]

Yes hes describing a thing that happens as "you know that old chestnut" In times of old people were like that when Christopher columbus went to America and was trying to describe the cities of Spain to natives... providing he could translate at first

[@nolesy34]

@@dukecraig2402 you should either tour with a group to have people to talk to, hear me out Because these people on tour who have done many talk like that "Oh the pyramids of Giza have been eroding lately i wish president so and so would... " Like wow.. active in international restorations

[@dukecraig2402]

@@nolesy34 I have absolutely no clue what that means, in either one of your posts. Old chestnuts? Pyramids?

[@bravotwozero535]

I think the primary message is what it means to be human. Not just sentient, but actually human. Empathy plays a huge role in that message and even 3% of humans lack empathy. When Rachel asked Deckard if he’d ever taken that test himself it was to spark the terror of someone suddenly finding out they are not human and trigger the empathy that should be born of that.

[@frozynsoel]

Hi Tyler, As I recall in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", there is a couple of sentences about a failed attempt to colonise Proxima Centauri and the colonists had to return to earth. It is further stated that there are children born on the return journey and the androids tend to pass themselves as some of those children. Thx

[@weldonwin]

Its also a big stretch, but there is an extended version of Roy Batty's tears in the rain speech, where he speaks about being on the back deck of an experimental jump-ship as it went FTL

[@dukecraig2402]

​@@weldonwin It's a shame they didn't film the originally conceived beginning of Blade Runner, it started out with Roy waking up under a pile of bodies, presumably Replicants, after being knocked unconscious during a battle, then it went into him running from a force that was cleaning up after the battle for fear he'd be killed just to be replaced by another, or something along those lines anyways. There were storyboards drawn up by Scott but nothing was ever filmed due to budget restrictions and the fact that Roy's narrative during the "tears in the rain" dialog could cover it for the sake of story telling, but by its description it'd have been very visual and included things like the moon beams reflecting off of whatever and the other things he described in his dialog.

[@leoelliott5205]

@@dukecraig2402 very powerful stuff. I always wondered about the replicants back story and how they all managed to hook up as a team. THAT is a story that needs to be told

[@berniekatzroy]

Dont forget there a prequel novel to DADOEF

[@eottoe2001]

@@weldonwin what that the Tannhäuser Gate or different? TY

[@carcasses5131]

What I love the most about Blade Runner is the subtle world building it does - for example the Voight-Kampff test outside control questions is almost entirely to do with animal suffering, and we're also told in the first film that most of Earth's fauna has mostly died out to be replaced with Replicant animals. This makes actual, biologically natural animals even more precious, and cruelty towards them being cast further into moral abhorrence than what it is now. Blade Runner is still my favorite film I've ever seen, I couldn't recommend it higher to people who are curious about it

[@ericlewis3681]

It was THE LAST STAR FILM!

[@jwsoaresjones1560]

Blade Runner is mind-bendingly great.

[@CM-qp9eb]

I was lucky enough to be on this earth when the first movie came out. Most of my friends thought it was too slow but they just didn't get it. I thought it was incredible, and I still do. It laid the groundwork for so many other sci-fi films that came after it. 2049 was very good but like a lot of movies that become their own universe ( like the first Star Wars, Alien, Ghost in the Shell, or The Matrix ) the original will always be the best one. Still one of my favorites. 👍

[@paulhunter6742]

How do feel about Blade Runner 2049, although tackle most same issues, for me seem lack certain quality of Orginal Blade Runner. And biggest question of all was Decker himself more advanced Replicant? Wallace seems hint at fact that Rachel was designed to be compatible with him.

[@San-li9ml]

That's one of the parts that they took from the book, and I'm thankful for it. In the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, it was a very major part of the book as related to Rick's insecurity to having an electric sheep and not a real one.

[@user-yo8ab1ys9e]

Cyberpunk is my favourite genre. I will never get enough of it.

[@jczeus]

Hi there, I want to talk to you about ducts.

[@teampyro911]

Totally!!!!!

[@tiffsaver]

I was working on the set of "Bladerunner" in the street scene where Rachel first appeared in that long gray coat. Everyone just stared at her silently standing there and quietly asked, "Who is THAT???" She was absolutely stunning, so perfect for the role.

[@chrispnw2547]

The Rachel character made an incredibly powerful statement visually and emotionally. When she had to contemplate being a replicant and emotionally relied on 'memories' to ground her (as we all do), it was sad to see her confused as she realized it was all manufactured. How many of us live in a 'manufactured state' created by marketers? Something to consider.

[@tiffsaver]

@@chrispnw2547 We ARE living in a fake reality, just like what the Tyrell Corporation created.

[@Meloncholymadness]

@@chrispnw2547 You do know we live in a simulation right?

[@johnboren8928]

@@Meloncholymadness I demand a better simulation!

[@weemalky]

@@chrispnw2547 My favourite scene. Sean Young plays it to perfection. You can see she's absolutely devestated to realise she's a replicant. It's so sad and beautiful at the same time. The movie pivots on this scene because Dekard see's real emotion in the replicants for the first time. They aren't emotionless killers they are desparate to live and will do anything to realise this.

[@quantafreeze]

I love the art style of this genre. Great video.

[@hubbsllc]

2049 hit me hard when I saw it in the theater. When the credits rolled, I did not move. I couldn't. I was never a BR fanboy although I thought it was a great film. But I felt like I really *experienced* 2049 as it was playing out. What a triumph of filmmaking.

[@Onyx-qd9tl]

Joi may have been one of the most tragic and haunting instances of intelligence in the entire movie. Partially due to her existence’s commentary of consciousness, but even simpler than that… The core struggle of the protagonist was to establish himself as a person, central to which was the idea he could love and be loved. Joi was at the center of that, his personal proof it was possible. Until that was brought into question if she was even capable of that. The sight of a Joi (not his, but one much like her) parroting her words of adoration shattered his senses of meaning. It robbed her affection and sacrifice of any of the real depth that, for all we know, she actually COULD have genuinely felt.

[@OronOfMontreal]

One off-world colony is explored in the Kurt Russell movie, "Soldier". There are a number of visible cues that place us in the "Blase Runner" 'verse.

[@mrgreatbigmoose]

I was waiting for someone to mention Soldier in the comments, but you beat your subscribers to the punch! Very well done, OrangeRiver!

[@rogergeyer9851]

mrgreatbigmoose: I never even thought of that parallel, and I really liked "Soldier" a lot. I thought Kurt Russel played the part just amazingly well. I just loved the line where when he was asked about what he felt as a soldier and his unemotional response was "Fear and Discipline, always." Being the child of highly disciplined depression era parents, I felt a HUGE surge of empathy / similarity to his character at that point.

[@sneakyking]

The book is very different. Not as iconic but very substantial. I'll never forget the scene with the "vet" and the cat

[@austinricky]

Yea. Mercerism is a big aspect and more focused on material things .. treating Andy’s as more objects than sentient beings.

[@anon_laughing_man]

The book was excellent and super depressing.

[@joeminpa6705]

Reading the book got me way into reading more PKD. I really like Ubik, wonder if they will ever make that into a movie.

[@davidlean1060]

@@anon_laughing_man That's every PKD book I've ever read though! lol

[@petercollingwood522]

@@davidlean1060 I was about to say the same thing, when I read your comment.

[@antiaristotelian]

It's kinda spooky how much our sci-fi tastes overlap. Just last night I was catching up with a childhood friend and we shared Blade Runner nostalgia and philosophy for probably an hour.

[@OrangeRiver]

Haha, nice!

[@dennislogan6781]

I love that Blade Runner, Alien, Predator, Total Recall and Soldier all happened in the same Universe.

[@junior602002]

Also Firefly/Serenity.

[@blueconcretezebra]

Also Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou,

[@dennislogan6781]

@@Proximo. Yes

[@m_tth_w9647]

😮damn fr?

[@gager73]

Have you seen the movie "Moon" with Sam Rockwell? Bio-engineered human... implanted memories... temporary operating time/lifespan... working in hazardous environment off-world.

[@RodCornholio]

One of the few films that have this "intangible believability" that make me wish to be immersed in that world and to explore it. I'm convinced that if there was a _Blade Runner_ part of a Disney/Universal theme park, it would be a hit....as long as you like constant rain and night.

[@Bolter024]

Lol Disney having Blade Runner.. would cuck the franchise to high heaven

[@emmanuelg.3999]

The Blade Runner universe is also the same as the Alien franchise, there's a connection between the Weyland Corporation and Blade Runner's Tyrell Corporation in Prometheus, and even a shot of the USS Sulaco in BR2049

[@dswynne]

when I used to write fanfiction, I combined a lot of sci-fi that was centered around LA, including TERMINATOR, STRANGE DAYS, THE MATRIX, DETROIT: BECOMING HUMAN, DEMOLITION MAN, BLADE RUNNER, CYBERPUNK 2099, TRON, ESCAPE FROM LA and many others that I could remember to include at the time. This fusion created a near-future LA that had been split in half by a powerful earthquake, resulting in West LA being an island prison facility, while East LA is a false Eden, complete with technological marvels, that hides a "cold war" between Man, hologram, AI, cyborg and machines, each faction with its own agenda.

[@jmgonzales7701]

personally other than the cyberpunk genre the next punk i like is atom punk. Then for sci fi i like dune.

[@JimBrodie]

It's like the Morlock and the Eloi all over again...

[@AG-AG]

This sounds absolutely insane! Did you ever publish this idea?

[@dswynne]

@@AG-AG No, unfortunately. Or, rather, fortunately. I admit it, it was pretty bad, as in not publishable. I think I was going through a phase back then...

[@AG-AG]

@@dswynne still, might you take another more grounded shot that that premise and world? Maybe explore things beyond LA?

[@ModerateHipster]

Ridley Scott has said that he considers Blade Runner and Alien to be in the same universe. I personally put Predator and Soldier in there as well, and also the 1981 Sean Connery sci-fi action film Outland all in the same universe.

[@chrisinnes2128]

The man in the high castle is from the same universe too

[@xxnoxx-xp5bl]

Ridley also said that Blade Runner's are replicants... The man can't write and can safely be ignored.

[@ricksmith3045]

@@subraxas Written by Philip K. Dick.

[@jamesmurray8558]

I always thought that was the case.

[@michelleschultz472]

Don't see it.

[@gregcampwriter]

Given the common author for the source materials, it's worth considering that Blade Runner and Total Recall take place in the same story universe.

[@stevepirie8130]

That was how I’d pictured the off world colonies. You have to work for the company and the more valued work you carry out the better life you have. Loyalties to company before nation or we don’t feed you or your air supply gets cut off. Replicants can work in horrible environs, don’t need much by way of food or water, don’t have complications like families, don’t need paid much, etc. Throwaway work force without human slavery.

[@rogergeyer9851]

Greg Camp: PKD (Philip K. Dick) was PROLIFIC. He wrote a MASSIVE amount of SF novels and short stories in the 50's through early 80's. I don't think that just because he wrote two novels (which movies were based on) means at ALL that the story universes had anything to do with each other. And I'm a HUGE Dickhead (slang for PKD fan) who has read a LOT of his stuff and seen the various movies based on his work. Plus I've read quite a bit of commentary / analysis of his work from both before and after he died.

[@jimsteele4017]

It's not too big a stretch to imagine that the movie Outland (1981), with Sean Connery and Peter Boyle, also takes place in the Blade Runner universe. The action is set on Io, one of Jupiter's moons.

[@paulhunter6742]

Outland with Sean Connery is excellent film set bout same time period. But, I got impression based classic western HIGH Noon.

[@airsearch9192]

Thank you. I'm a huge fan of the Bladerunner series, and I really enjoyed your elaboration on their content. I also like your "off color" skintone and blue background. Somehow it matches your topic perfectly.

[@jameslyddall]

What I love about blade runner is the idea of city states kinda like dredd in a sense Los Angeles is it’s own government. What’s happened to other sections of the USA or the planet? Being British id love to know what’s happened to countries like England in the blade runner world and seeing many nuclear horror films like threads it’s interesting to get an idea of this cyberpunk technological future while other places remain battered by nuclear devastation. Although it’s never mentioned on film there’s been a nuclear war.

[@musicilike69]

Not sure there would be anything in the UK apart from techno barbarians. In a nuclear war premise the S of England is going to get pasted. If SIOP(the US n war plan) has some target cties getting hit by multiple devices London is going to be erased, it's target rich with hardened key buildings and underground ones too..they'll all get a seperate device each. 5-15 hits seems to be what the analysts think in a Threads type context which is REAL WORLD British Army estimate..the whole thing is based on a civil def exercise that was so horrid in what the army thought would happen 38 Councils refused to take part. 220 megatons.

[@mentatmentatia9212]

Many men are living like K is living in 2049. Loneliness, artificial gf, alcohol, repressed emotions ... If you want, make video on that part of movie. Maybe it will be helpful.

[@spacetimesystemz]

Hellpful to who?

[@Dc-alpha]

Love Blade Runner and Soldier, the 2nd generation new soldiers being replicants is implied a few times. One of the few digital retcons I wouldn't mind, a Batty or Deckard clone cameo.

[@pwnmeisterage]

The second movie featured a new replicant intended to copy Rachael. So it seems plausible for a copy of Batty to be made. And a copy of Deckard, if the original was a replicant.

[@RCAvhstape]

I was under the impression the older generation of Soldiers were also replicants. Kurt Russel's character has never lived a normal human life, he's only ever been around other soldiers and has no idea how to behave in social settings.

[@Dc-alpha]

@@RCAvhstape Nah, they show them getting assigned 1A at birth, the two senior officers also discuss it. "The old ones are picked at birth, the new are engineered", or some such. This implies , or implied to me the old ones were taken into the "program" at birth.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@Dc-alpha Oh, okay, I forgot about that scene.

[@bbbenj]

I never thought it was about interstellar travel, but about the Moon, Mars and asteroids. For example, the Barnard's Loop in Orion can be seen in astronomical pictures and in that new eyepiece called OVNI, which enhance night vision. Which is amazing by the way. I just saw Barnard's Loop 2 weeks ago with that OVNI, and it was astonishing! So we may imagine that the Nexus 6 model have enhanced vision, and therefore he is able to see the "Orion's Loop" and even cosmic rays.

[@worksbydandeprez]

OVNI is the Spanish equivalent of "UFO."

[@bbbenj]

@@worksbydandeprez I wasn't talking about UFO, as Unknown Flying Object, but about an eyepiece for astronomy called OVNI, which enhance night vision due to a chemical reaction inside it.

[@shaggycan]

Blade Runner is so subversive. The "Bad guy" of the film is actually the hero and the hero of the film fails almost completely; just like indiana jones everyone that died would have died even if Deckard wasn't involved. And when he actually does retire a replicant he shoots her in the back while she is running away. Some hero eh? That's why I love the film so much, I don't think there has ever been anything quite like it.

[@huntergray3985]

Well, Blade Runners Los Angeles looks a lot more inviting than some parts of present-day Los Angeles.

[@OllamhDrab]

There's really a *lot* of classic sci-fi that assumed we'd have been climbing to more and more space efforts for the past sixty years at least, rather than dragging our feet at best since the US won the Moon race, so that kind of 'alternate timeline' tends to be there unless someone shoves dates a long way forward from the originals. But especially if they found some kind of jumpgate, you wouldn't have to be *that* much more high tech to colonize space, especially if they could overcome the boost mass problems of getting started by means of whatever tech makes the cars and billboards fly. That stuff could very well mean they could just float stuff and people out into orbit and work from there.

[@aaronsynra6867]

Ridley Scot, and James Cameron have also stated that the Alien franchise is a part of Blade Runner universe. One Corp focusing on Android tech, while Tyrell and Wallace focused on genetic manipulation.

[@DavidNash1948]

Not to forget the DS9 episode where O'Brien is kidnapped and replaced by a "replicant". "He thought he was you."

[@Chuck8541]

As a casual fan of the Blade Runner movie for decades - I never delved into the books and lore, despite enjoying the world building that seemed to go on in the movie. This vid puts it all in perspective - especially with the anime info included. You've answered loads of questions I've always had, but couldn't be bothered to look into. haha I now feel I should give the books a read. So this comment is to just give your vid some audience interaction, a thumbs up, and a thanks. Thanks, dude.

[@vokunrogue3384]

The original book sends a horrifying message. Because its later revealed that a) there are androids infiltrating society, to the point that a separate police force exists, that doesn't know about other police units exist, they[androids] run the most popular TV show, running24/7 , because they dont need to sleep and shockingly none of the viewers notices b)having a "empathy" is extremely vague and it exist a possibility that someone can be accused of being an android and shot dead. Empathy is mainly measured in response to animal cruelty. Genuinely if you're able to care about an animal you are considered human. Also androids can evoke empathy in humans c) NOBODY ,except police , knows that androids are on earth d) company responsible for creation of androids openly wants to push them even further so that they are as similar to humans as possible, to the point that they cannot be recognised by tests. e) humans that are sociopathic/lacking empathy are locked away. f) Earth is said to be almost empty and desolate due to people going away and colonising other planets, there is trash EVERYWHERE and nobody is doing anything with it.

[@ronzombie6541]

Humans that are psychopathic are made CEO's, military leaders, and politicians in our time line.

[@paulhunter6742]

Aww! but you missed point vast majority of average people Aren't going to Off World colonies. Therefore, the increasing need for more advanced Replicants. From few hints given Off World colonies very harsh and dangerous conditions. Unless of course you have trillions dollars like Tyrell or Wallace.

[@vokunrogue3384]

@@paulhunter6742 I've only seen this trope explored in the movie tbh, i didn't notice anything about it in the book. The message is clearly "get money and gtfo from planet" and the emptiness of Earth is almost palpable

[@luisderivas6005]

It's also quite clear that the planet is in the aftermath of a thermonuclear war. Deckard wore a lead cod piece when going out to protect the 'family jewels'. Also lots of mention of the 'dust' getting into everything, birds falling out of the sky, and animal die offs. It's part of the reason he considers buying an electric animal, end eventually the electric sheep.

[@San-li9ml]

It is very different from the neon version we got in the film. A lot more sad to be in, and look at.

[@JYon.]

Great video. I remember a couple of years ago I watched the 2016 film "Morgan", which was directed by Luke Scott (Ridley Scott's son) and thought it was set to be a prequel to Blade Runner. I won't add any spoilers but I definitely recommend checking it out.

[@atomicgator5207]

Good video. Though I'm surprised you didn't briefly touch on Mercerism, the predominant religion in the book "Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep?". A religion whose goal was to increase empathy for a society that was starting lose it. A trend that arguably shows the line between replicant and human was starting to blend.

[@ishaansejpal249]

Amazing video. Recently watched 2049 and was curious about the world and universe of this franchise. You explained it very well and you speak with precision

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks Ishaan!

[@lsporter88]

You intelligently covered all points and angles in my humble opinion. I won't get too strange, but lets say you were very spot on in emphasizing, "Private", investment and development in interstellar travel technology. Just like there have been the building of, "Private", Militaries. I think the extent of actual progress might be revealed sometime in our lifetime. Superb video.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Leslie!

[@LassieFarm]

The original film bewildered me when it came out. 2049 I absolutely loved. Thanks for clarifying things 👍

[@cindya4951]

Excellent video! One of my favorite short stories by Phillip K. Dick that turned into a great movie (or movies, since Scott changed it a few times). I like the branch into other franchises.

[@carlobasilone3133]

Something to consider for the Section "Off World Colonies", The original Story was published in 1968. Imagining Space Colonies by 2019 was not that far out an idea. You did explain it quite well but placing it back to brink of Apollo 11 makes the idea even more feasible. Truly enjoyed this. Thanks for putting in the time for research and production.

[@fit7price]

TYLER you're a gem for including SOLDIER which is, imo, a very underrated film-- and anyone who likes Isaacs as Lorca, would love his military jerkface here

[@ClintSprayberry]

That was really cool! I had seen Blade Runner (years ago, like the 90's) ... but I didn't remember much about it, and I didn't remember much ... Great video! Thanks for expanding my knowledge brother man!

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks Clint!

[@thomasedin764]

Years later it look like they banned replicants and started to build Androids instead, because the Alien universe is part of the Blade Runner universe according to Ridley Scott. The same with the Movie Outland with Sean Connery, because the makers said the same.

[@billberndtson]

Outstanding video, my friend. You never seem to forget to be awesome! 😃

[@OrangeRiver]

Thanks Bill!

[@MassimoShire1981]

I remember watching this film first time in 1992. Now Blade Runner is an alternative past 2019.😢

[@caedrewan]

Watching OrangeRiver videos in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate... Thanks for the video

[@raymondjack]

As much as I enjoy your deep dives into Star Trek glad to see you interested in other things as well. Love it or not to much of the same thing make anyone burn out.

[@UniverseSinking2011]

The character Roy's "tears in the rain" speech seems to make it quite clear that replicants were used in interstellar situations: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die." Orion is certainly not in our solar system and the Tannhäuser Gate was apparently something that enabled faster than light travel between star systems.

[@88feji]

I was disappointed they did not show the Tannhauser Gate in the sequel or the off-world colony .... ... and chose to turn it into a family soap opera regarding a long lost child with everything still taking place on earth .... its not as sci fi as the first movie frankly, suddenly Deckard is wearing jeans and tshirt like its Deckard playing Harrison Ford the actor instead .... and Gaff is an old bloated uncle sitting in an old folks home, suddenly all of them look so uncool and contemparory rather than futuristic ...

[@maciek_k.cichon]

Great dive into this fantastic world. Thanks!

[@i2cybeast]

I liked how you mentioned that Replicants are actually just clones enhanced with super strength. It kind of reminds me of clone troopers from Star Wars. Imagine if they had the same level of strength as the Replicants. For all intents and purposes, the clone army and the Replicants had the same purpose; live, fight, and work as slave labour. Interesting to also imagine if the Replicants had an Order 66 type of rebellion against the human race.

[@alexflores7652]

Okay the mention of the battles by Roy at the end of the first movie, were alluded to in Soldier if you look at Sgt. Todd's arm Tattoos and was mentioned by one of the colonists on the trash planet. I think that is where some of the Replicants came from for use in the off world colonies. Sgt. Todd and is group were replaced by a newer better soldier where Todd was actually born and selected just after birth into the program to be a soldier. During is battle career you see some of the conflicts he was in and a part of and one battle you see him in and vacuum EVA suite fighting just not sure what world he was on during that campaign.

[@ChonkySlotDonkey]

My favorite 2 movies of all time!!

[@minionofgozer7414]

Ridley Scott has said that Alien and Blade Runner are in the same universe as well 🤷‍♂️

[@analytics8055]

Great rundown on the movie and surrounding issues.. TY

[@look4lec]

I watched Black Out and I was really sad that it was a short! I for some reason thought it would be a full film... :/

[@beecnul8r]

Sean Young has never looked more beautiful than she did in BR. The best scene was when she let her hair down playing the piano. Stunning closeup view!

[@djcjr1x1]

I think Robocop much more exemplifies our current lives but I do love the Blade Runner universe.👍

[@elias_xp95]

I fell in love with the actress who plays Joi.

[@SteveMacSticky]

Yeah, pretty nubbalicious

[@edkwon]

Ana de Armas

[@simonhulmesh]

The OFF WORLD COLONIES are shown in detail in the TITAN COMICS BLADE RUNNER 2019 series #5-8

[@giulianomarco]

Nice piece. Hope they make a 3rd movie. Don't read the Blade Runner sequel, it wasn't written by PKD. 😁👍

[@RLJSlick]

Well done, excellent observation.

[@timothybeaulieu5103]

I'm currently writing a short story that I'm hoping to turn into a graphic novel in the Blade Runner universe. Seeing as how Ridley stated in an interview that the BR and Alien universe are shared backgrounds, tied up with the 'Soldier' movie starring Kurt Russel. I've written a story that ties all of this up into a neat little package.

[@Bolter024]

Riddley has zero authority, he didn't write the source material

[@ericbrammer2245]

If you read 'Sitchin's , 'Wars of Gods & Men' ', you realize that PKD was doing the Clark/Asimov/Bradbury "Channelling-Thing", and putting his Day-Mares into print.

[@Livi_Noelle]

I was like 5 or 6 when Blade Runner hit theaters. Rachel did a lot of the work in forming my sense of human beauty.

[@kemolowlow]

You would think that Tyrell would have worked on ultra light non-coke bottle glasses or laser eye surgery.

[@fredbloggs5902]

1) Laser eye surgery doesn’t work for extreme cases. 2) We don’t know how heavy his glasses were.

[@TeddyLeppard]

The most fascinating idea in 2049 for me was the Emanator, which somehow gave a holographic entity the ability to 'travel' beyond their projector. A completely maddening concept since it violates the underlying principles of holography, but then in the original Blade Runner the ability to delve deep into photographic evidence as if one was right there examining the scene similarly violated physics. I appreciated the consistency in both movies.

[@TheOriginalJackTChance]

It seems to me that the Emanator is simply the Blade Runner equivalent of the Light Bee in Red Dwarf, and the Mobile Holo Emitter in Star Trek: Voyager. 😉👍

[@daviddamascus9657]

Just because it's an alternate history doesn't mean everything had to happen in the same years. Maybe in the Blade Runner universe, they experienced their "Apollo Program" in 1920. Maybe they experienced a far faster technological development than our time line did.

[@daviddamascus9657]

It's my responsibility?!?! DAMN!! Alright. Grabbing my cote. I'll head to the alternative universe travel ship.

[@costanzafaust]

Somehow, modern-day replicant Geoff Keighley still manages to avoid "retirement"

[@nolesy34]

Bugger gets tipped on when his voight test is on by the captain, replicant; Sgt Alonzo

[@Zamboro]

Really nice, comprehensive primer. Good use of clips, I enjoyed myself

[@jasperdoornbos8989]

Thanks Tyler, another fantastic choice and very inspiring video.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Jasper!

[@beyondu77]

Great video, gave me a lot to think about and opened my eyes to the Blade Runner universe a bit more.

[@make.and.believe]

What a timely video (for me personally). I recently finished a screenplay treatment for a Blade Runner film sequel that takes place largely off world and features one such envisioned colony. If you'd like to give it a read let me know and I'll send it your way.

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

I don't know what you consider a treatment, but it sounds like this is not something you take seriously. He's not a producer, why would he want to read it? Do you have a production company? In any guilds? Who will write the screenplay? Does it have a title? Tagline? Character names? Any budget? And why ask anyway? Why not just email it to him, a random stranger on YT. Curious.

[@make.and.believe]

@BariumCobaltNitrog3n I enjoy feedback from individuals who are familiar with the source material. In a narrative as complex as the Blade Runner universe, it is very easy to miss important details when writing, no matter how much one has researched, and peer review and critique helps craft a better story. If one were to pitch this specific treatment, it would need to be to Warner Media, as they own the film production and distribution rights. I don't like to spam folks with unsolicited emails, so I thought I would ask if OrangeRiver was interested in reading it. Cheers,

[@samurai26echo]

Great video. For someone new to this franchise you explained everything in a way that helped me get up to speed. Thanks!

[@That80sGuy1972]

I agree with you that the Replicants were not androids at all, but extremely modified clones... genetic constructs. They were still artificial humans and as such, the Blade Runner society had an excuse to label them as inhuman property... pretty much slavery all over again. On a side note, I already saw the new incarnation of Battlestar Galactica's "skin jobs" as a nod and a wink to Blade Runner's "androids". I do agree with you on the premise of the hyper-fast development of space travel and technology... discovering some ancient alien advanced technology and-or extraterrestrial super-resource harvesting. As for the climate change, I see the wasteland Earth as a successful save to Earth's climate... averting the cold-snap ice age. When I was a kid, I remember the frozen mammoth being discovered in a glacier with a mouth and belly full of freshly chewed grass. The theory that the ice age came as a cold snap, as a super-storm, spread all over the world in the 80s... then I remember people suddenly no longer talking about it after about a year. Meh... a person is smart, but people are idiots with the attention span of a fruit fly. What I did not like about the new Blade Runner movie is that it kind of killed the open-ended idea that the Replicants would one day be free because of them and their hybrids living among us.

[@stephenparallox]

Set in the future dystopian Los Angeles. Also know today as... Los Angeles.

[@marvinlopez6881]

I'm surprised I didn't hear any mention of Blade Runners connection to the "Aliens" Universe. That would make a great next video.

[@warrensgamingcorner]

Agreed!

[@christopherjohnstone3475]

Articulate, concise, and accurate, delightful. More to come along please.

[@Jr-md8fg]

Tyrell was a replicant too. After batty kills Sebastian, he finds an elevator that takes him to a secret room in Tyrells pyramid. The real Tyrell is in suspended animation kept alive with cancer while his artificial Tyrell replicant takes care of him and runs his company. It's why Batty was so well designed; replicant were being made by replicant (like the terminators). Each generation becoming progressively better. JUST THOUGHT ID SHARE!

[@alanparsonsfan]

@Jr VERY interesting; source please?

[@Jr-md8fg]

@@alanparsonsfan I read it as original script online years ago I have no footnote or source. Tyrells head was meant to break open and computer parts spill out but they broke the 10,000 dollar prop so the Tyrell as replicant line was dropped.

[@astronomenov99]

@@Jr-md8fg but replicants are 100% biological. No machine parts.

[@Cliffo-me8wn]

May I recommend the K. W. Jeter trilogy which follows Deckard’s search for truth….

[@spacetimesystemz]

In the film I don't remember anyone talking about a kill switch. I thought the 4yr life span was a limitation of the technology. "You were made as well as we could make you. But not to last".

[@Makaneek5060]

Black out looks clean as hell, they should have used that style for the whole black lotus show.

[@MatthewCaunsfield]

I'm less familiar with the BR universe - thanks for the education! 👍

[@animationtv426]

Your explaination and overview is much better than some who just ramble on

[@anon_laughing_man]

This my favorite movie of all time. I sincerly feel like we got ripped off. When I was 12 I imagined this was our future. Now we have a dystopian society, but no cyberpunk Blade Runner world. What a downer.

[@1pcfred]

As the godfather of cyberpunk said, The future is here now, it just isn't evenly distributed yet.

[@KRANIUSUK]

Thank you for posting this brilliantly put together video and a concise breakdown explaining the amazing Blade Runner universe. Excellently done. Love how you covered all aspects craftfully and even covered hidden links to the other aspects of the Blade Runner universe.👍

[@jasonkinzie8835]

I love the Blade Runner setting! But there is also a massive plot hole in it. Why don't they design replicants to look obviously non human? They could make them all blue. Give them pointy ears. Then identification would cease to be a problem.

[@somebodysomewhere6770]

Later models sort of did that with the serial number in their eyes.

[@jaktwo]

my theory is that one of the biggest reasons replicants were invented is not only to do work, but specifically sex work (or sex slavery), so it just made sense in the universe because people wanted the experience to be as genuine as possible

[@mikaelbiilmann6826]

I must have watched the first movie 50 times... one of my favourite movies along with 2001, Dr. Strangelove, Talladega Nights, Tropic Thunder....

[@Nitero_]

Great video, now you got me thinking about the HFCU.... trying to think how "Regarding Harry" plays into this whole universe...

[@rikk319]

That's "Regarding Henry".

[@Nitero_]

@@rikk319 meh close enough

[@brentpieczynski]

The attention to critical details is what I come here for.

[@grahamturner1290]

Excellent as always.

[@OrangeRiver]

Thank you Graham!

[@Orozco_PNW]

If Spinners rely on some sort of anti-gravity technology, then they'd have a tremendous advantage in launching massive ships/stations and quantities of fuel into space.

[@goldeaglekroll1596]

Wasn't Blade Runner also linked to the alien and predator franchise? If so that explains what the colonies look like. Along with some of the wars they talk about.

[@cyntogia]

Sort of. It's implied to be connected yet the timeliness don't sync.

[@88feji]

Sure hope they do not bring the Predator franchise into the BR universe ... it cheapens the BR universe. I thought they did the Alien vs Predator movies for cheesy gimmick appeal to attract fanboys...

[@joelittle7808]

Hey so you have Eldon Tyrell, with his slicked back black hair in his white robe who gets his eyes thumbed out, & then he's replaced by Niander Wallace, with his slicked back black hair in his black kimono robe with his artificial replacement eyes. I say half baked prototype replicant backup sitting around dormant, going obsolete for years before being created/activated at the point of Tyrells death. Like the kind of thing he would have made in the early days of experimenting with the designs & might have even forgotten about as the years went on. It's the eyes thing mostly, not that Jared Leto's acting comes across like someone who doesn't know how to be a person (mostly)

[@jjsheets330]

I still can’t believe that 75% of viewers aren’t subscribers.

[@jack_k2136]

In addition to Soldier, was a bit surprised you did mention Blade Runner universe ties to Outland and the Alien franchise.

[@OrangeRiver]

I considered it, although while Ridley Scott has hinted at a connection, personally I find it to be rather tenuous

[@jack_k2136]

@OrangeRiver thanks for the response. Interesting. I believe there are actually logos in OUTLAND. Outland a super underrated movie IMHO.

[@GrahamAstles]

Seems to me that the world of Blade Runner is the world we are headed for. Often we like to assume we are headed for the utopian society of Federation era Star Trek, but the reality is that we are headed more for a Borg like structure, and the Blade Runner world - being not too far off - is a step in that journey. We already have unregulated mega-corporations with a higher GDP than many countries, limited climate change with a very bad trajectory, governments and institutions with largely sociopathic tendencies, etc. No to mention the burgeoning technologies of human genetic engineering, epigenetics, AI, and so on. Like many future history novels, it's projection is likely 100 years too early - but by the 22ndC this may well be our reality.

[@remc0s]

The "utopian" society of Star Trek is actually terrifying. You could only achieve this by having all people share the same values, which is only possible through brainwashing people or forcing them to be "good" and keep them in check through some fascist system like communism or a social credit system. Gene Roddenberry didn't take human nature into account; humanity itself is imperfect, so it is literally impossible to create a perfect society. A perfect society also sounds really boring, like in Demolition Man.

[@GrahamAstles]

@@remc0s I think I would agree with you.

[@grahamman80]

I think the idea of an "Off-World" spinoff would be a really cool movie.

[@charleshamilton9274]

I always believe these films, and Dick’s seminal novel, were cautionary tales specifically regarding the creation of sentient beings. Sentience assumes and demands agency. I assume replicants were needed as there was a significant shortage of naturally-occurring humans willing to build, defend and live in the off-world colonies. Earth seems to be a polluted, overpopulated hell so it makes one wonder just how godawful the off-world life must be. Why replicants were created without readily notable (and unalterable) identifiers is an essential part of this alt-universe but in practice makes absolutely no sense. If Tyrell built his replicants with absolute (and extremely short) life spans, unless they were a grave risk to the general population, why bother at all with a Blade Runner? I mean, plenty of non engineered humans lack empathy. The replicants can’t reproduce, right? Ooops, spoiler alert for “Blade Runner 2049.” Both feature films were memorable, visually stunning, and absolutely worthy of admiration.

[@rikk319]

As pointed out numerous times in the films and in this video, replicants are genetically engineered humans, not "created", any more than you or I are "created". They have RNA and DNA, blood, are affected by a genetically-engineered disease, can breed with humans, and die. Both films are so heavily steeped in the themes of man's inhumanity to man, discrimination, the concept of empathy, and injustice, that it boggles my mind that so many people still don't see it...but I guess that is one of the major points of the films. It makes me wonder about the in-world's explanation for how replicants began, as the real world has some heavy taboos about cloning human beings. I think it would make a very interesting film to portray just how the Tyrell corporation was able to get around that taboo--maybe by lying about the origin of replicants, and portraying them as machines, not humans.