Best TV series/Movies etc for SR, Strange I can't seem to find an old thread on this. Options

[sunnyside]

I'd be especially interested in ones where the characters are actually acting rather like Shadowrunners.

Of the top of my head the only group really following the Runner model is Firefly. Some come close with the PI angle, Fifth Element, Bladerunner. And I suppose Ghost in the Shell could be twisted into runner like stuff if the old Ape was just a Johnson.

Rest I can think of only have cyberpunk/sci-fi setting stuff. But lack the runner sort of aspect.

[Mäx]

Leverage is very shadowrunny, pilot's has it all: a doublecrossing Jonson, a runner team consisting of an "elven" cat thief, street samurai, hacker and a face and also few nice runs.

more about leverage and an other new serie Fringe in here.
and you might like to read this also.

[Synner667]

Well, considering that a shadowrun is a quasi-legal undertaking [as defined by the World World Watch].
...Your options should be numerous and varied.

Even more numerous if you ignore SR 4's apparent insistence that all Characters are criminals.

Rather than write out yet another list of the same TV programmes and Movies already noted as inspiration by many people, I'll just mention that here's a few on my website.

[MJBurrage]

Rather than an exhaustive list (Synner667's is great), just the ones I find really key (and why).

• Blade Runner, visuals and dystopian future (and an inspiration for the Renraku Arcology)
• Ronin, plot twists and group dynamics (and arguably the best car chase ever filmed)
• The Usual Suspects, "that you did not know you were stealing from Lofwyr..."
• RoboCop, magacorp replacing government (OCP is a corrupt version of Ares)
• Ghost In The Shell, cyber and matrix
• Sneakers, intrusion / heist

And while not film/TV, I have to mention the written works of Danial Keys Moran, especially Emerald Eyes and The Long Run. Most of his work is out of print, but available online (with the author's permission).

These books (written in the late mid-to-late 1980s), have a fallen United States, genetic engineering (including variant races), cyborgs, hackers, the matrix (albeit by another name), AIs, psionics (akin to limited magic). The web material and hacking have an unusual level of realism due to the authors background as a computer programmer, he even describes internet addiction (coining the term datastarve).

_{EDIT: I can't believe I forgot TUS, a must have even on a short list.}

[sunnyside]

On a note for hackers I just saw some Max Headroom. Actually that's one the GMs should probably see as well for what the Hackers should be able to pull off.

[Daddy's Litt...]

from anime;
Ghost in the Shell: by the end of the 1st TV serries they're in opposition to government agencies, in the 2nd season they are opposing government agents and the whole 3rd movie has as a bad guy a governement agency.

Witch Hunter Robin: same thing, they start as government agents then things go wrong.

Gunslinger girl : Italian government agents, team a face with a CZ.

From movies:
Aeon Flux

[Moon-Hawk]

OCP is a corrupt version of Ares

Wait....SR has an uncorrupt version of Ares? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[hobgoblin]

Wait....SR has an uncorrupt version of Ares? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

SR has non-corrupt anything?

[Kyoto Kid]

...for how most runs would really go down...the Rockford Files.

[Blue eyes]

Burn Notice:
In it's 2nd season now co-staring the legendary Bruce Campbell. A great series about Michael - a former spy, who's been framed by someone as a traitor to the government. He's sought shelter in Miami, where he needs to take on different jobs to make a living while finding out who set him up and got him into hot water with his agency and government. Michael the main character is a spy/face/thief etc. and he has 2 helpers: Fiona - IRA/mercenary/Michael's girlfriend, and Sam - a old buddy of Michael retired FBI agent and womanizer (Mr Bruce Campbell). The show deals with running a new job every episode, its tonnes of fun.

Check it out its about as close as u get to a shadowrunner series on TV.

[Starglyte]

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.

A Johnson, a fixer, and a sense of humor.

[Metalmek]

if you like physads ;
"District 13" french movie (Banlieu 13) a must see! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_13
"Ong Bak" ... the acting is lame but Tony jaa can make Jacky Chan when it comes to stunts and kick ass http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ong-Bak:_Muay_Thai_Warrior
"Yamakasi" I and II (not on the priority list but if you like free running) bunch of acrobats turned to thiveries to pay one hospital bill ... the plot is just a lame excuse to watch them do their tricks of parkour or free running http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamakasi_%28film%29


a polyhumanist twisted plot;
french movie; "crimson rivers" and "crimson rivers II" ... (les rivieres pourpres 2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_River..._the_Apocalypse
Both great movies

rigger and cars;
"Taxi" (watch only the first movie and the second) a other french movie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxi_%281998_film%29
it's not in theater yet .. but I'm sure the new movie "death race" will be on this list
"knight rider 2008" ... and yes the cars is still 20 times more inteligent than the driver ... a group of shadowrunners give them a run to remember http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Rider_2008
the transporter



shadowrunners pit against shadowrunners in a job that didn't turned as expected; (legwork IS important (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif) )
"the big hit" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Hit
"smoking aces" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_aces


sport movie not far from Shadowrun;
"Rollerball" (a remake) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollerball this movie is kinda lame ... but hey just for the fun of it!

corporate espionage;
cypher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypher

distorted perceptions and assumtions of A.I. and how someone fall when he loose is SIN
"wargames; dead code" a 2.5/5 movie.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames_2:_The_Dead_Code

japan anime;
black lagoon episode list a smugler/shadowrunner team in shallow waters

a fan movie of shadowrun ... and a larp game
(la course des ombres) is literaly ; run in the shadows ....I think it's only in french http://www.shadowrunmovie.com

those are movies and series that were not mention before and in my eyes are shadowrun related (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[masterofm]

A few months ago there was someone who posted anything that might even slightly be related to SR.... forgot what the thread was called, but it was some list (it also only dealt with movies though.)

[De Badd Ass]

The sixties TV series Mission: Impossible, the Movie not as much. No magic in either one.

The William Gibson Cyberpunk movie Johnny Mnemonic. No magic here either. Gotta love that Monofilament Whip though. <<I stand corrected>>

The Richard Pryor movie Blue Collar: no Johnson, good example of post-run repercussions.

The Richard Burton movie The WIld Geese: multinational corps, mercenaries, and a double-crossing Johnson.

Shaft, the original version: That's how you work your contacts.

Oceans 11, the Sinatra version.

Oh yeah, mustn't forget Aliens: Weapons, Vehicles, BattleTac stuff, and another double-crossing Johnson.

Might as well include Terminator, Predator, and Total Recall. Is Arnold an Ork or a Troll? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Jackstand]

He's a cop, you idiot!

[Fabe]

The Bruce Sterling Cyberpunk movie Johnny Mnemonic. No magic here either. Gotta love that Monofilament Whip though.

Correction,William Gibson wrote Johnny Mnemonic ,not Sterling.

[Connor]

Hustle - BBC show about a group of con artists; lots of good Shadowrun stuff as some of the cons get very intricate.

I'll also throw in a second for Burn Notice; one of my favorites.

[psychophipps]

Michael Mann movies: Heat, Collateral, and Miami Vice. Excellent looks into a slightly Hollywood underground and how it takes care of biz. Also a bonus as a decent reference on how the real pros handle guns. If you're not a shooter, I strongly suggest seeing Collateral if only for the two Mozambique Drills in the alleyway.
"Yo, homie! Is that my briefcase?" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

A third for Burn Notice on Thursdays at 10pm in the US on the USA channel (if they haven't changed it on me). Good stuff for "covert ops" and the main character's op ed during each show has all sorts of great little tricks you can use in your game.

The movie Ronin is a modern-day shadowrun. Great stuff in this one.

Total Recall for one of the best mind-fuck movies ever. Erasing your brain and overwriting it to do an infiltration? That's hard-fuckin'-core. Now add that this movie is the only movie ever to tell you the whole plot, not once but twice, before the end and it's even more interesting.

24, the TV series on reruns, downloads, and DVD. Excellent source of technical ideas and, again, how to run "real" clandestine ops. Decent gunplay and action will all sorts of neat double-crosses and plot hooks that you can tweak for your own twisted GM enjoyment, err...your players enjoyment. *clears throat*

[Wasabi]

I find the 1993 sci-fi-esque mini-series Wild Palms very shadowrun-y. Its not high sci-fi but its got some high tech, double dealing, and intrigue.

[Wesley Street]

Here's two recent discussions we've had: Here you go. And here you go.

Boom-shaka-laka!

[sunnyside]

Hmmm I suppose I wasn't searching for Movies.

The trick with movies is usually that they lose a lot of the Runner aspect in lieu of something epic, and to boot usually encourage a Mary Sue style as opposed to a team.

[Kyoto Kid]

Shaft, the original version: That's how you work your contacts.

Oceans 11, the Sinatra version.

...totally in agreement here.

I'll also throw in one of my faves: the Original Italian Job with Michael Caine, Noel Coward, and Benny Hill. and add the first Die Hard, mainly for how Hans and his friends wormed their way in to Nakatomi Tower only to be taken down by John "cowboy" McClane

Happy Trails Hans.

[Stahlseele]

Shows been pretty much nailed . .
Movies?

Death Machine: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109575/ Ares Like Weapons Corp. Killer-Dropne, Power-Armor, no magic/cyber

Hardware: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099740/ endtimes, cyberware, no magic

Mean Guns: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119642/ no magic, no cyber, but hell yes it screams shadowrun!

Ganheddo: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097410/ maybe a bit over the top for gear-heads, but meh *g*

The Crow 1 - 4, even though it got progressively worse . . some magics in here folks!

Transporter 1 and 2 for Rigger-fans

Bladerunner, ooh, another of the Classics . .

who could forget about TRON? i still picture the SR Matrix to be looking like the inside of a computer did in that movie ^^ by the way, part two is in the making, set to be released in 2010 i think O.o damn, writing the year 2010 somehow feels funny . . i've allways thought of it as the far future from old scifi movies and the such and now it's basically around the corner waiting to hit me *grins* ^^

Series/Anime:
Dennou Coil? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denn%C5%8D_Coil at least, SR4 like matrix, and yes, the characters are more or less acting like typical shadowrun player characters . . heck, they even have their own johnsons and a big ass huge fucking corporation for the matrix stuff . .

[Snow_Fox]

Someone already called out Sneakers but seriously if you haven't seen it, it's a shadowrun without the awakening.

Similarly, for getting totally screwed by fate/johnson The Usual Suspects.

In anime, no one's said it yet but Read or Die the Serries. 3 mages and a face get manipulated by two rival corps after the same treasure without open warfare.

For movies, well from the Arnold ovre we have laready brought up Total Recall, heck the mutants makes that pretty much post awakening. and there's T-2 with a run against the computer complex, mental hospital etc. and The Eraser where a govenrment agent is forced underground by his corrupt bosses working for a corp.
Sixth Day where corp thugs are willing to commit murder to prevent their dirty little secrets from coming out.

For an older film Where Eagles Dare a WW2 film with Richard Burton and a young Clint Eastwood. Undercover, behind the scenes stuff and a climax so mind popping you're not sure which way it up. Trust me. Kaiser Sose learned the mind f*** from Richard Burton's character in that film.

For a face character- check out Tony Curtis in Operation Petticoat. or James Gardner in The Great Escape, these guys could give lessons to the A-Team.

[De Badd Ass]

I'd be especially interested in ones where the characters are actually acting rather like Shadowrunners.

I just downloaded and watched Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. What can I say? There is no magic (unless you count time travel), no Mr. Johnson (unless you count John Connor in the future), and no megacorp (unless you count Skynet, and its builders). There are no elves, dwarves or trolls, but there are plenty of cyborgs, and the threat of an emerging AI. There is no UGE or SURGE, either. They make up for it with plenty of leg-work.

Oh yeah! Don't forget the tech toys!

Do the characters act like Shadowrunners? I vote: YES!!!

There are bodyguards, faces, fixers, hackers, infiltration specialists, investigators, samurai, smugglers. street docs, tech wizards, weapon specialists, etc. They alternate between SIN-less and criminal SIN-ners. They constantly blur the line separating good guys from bad guys.

Skills used so-far: Automatics, Blades, Clubs, Escape Artist, Exotic Melee Weapon (Various), Forgery, Gymnastics, Infiltration, Locksmith, Palming, Pistols, Unarmed Combat, Dodge, Pilot Ground Craft, Climbing, Running, Con, Etiquette, Instruction, Intimidation, Leadership, Negotiation, Artisan, Disguise, Language, Perception, Shadowing, Tracking, Armorer, Computer, Cybertechnology, Data Search, Demolitions, First Aid, Hacking, Hardware, Medicine, Software, Survival. Also, various Interest, Professional, and Street Knowledges. I'm waiting for them to introduce Cybercombat in Season 2.

There was a scene in episode nine where a runner and his samurai visit a SIN manufacturer and his bodyguards. I could actually picture the runner rolling the dice on his knowledge skill before identifying the meaning of the inscription on a sword hanging on a wall at the meeting site.