“Hard time on planet Earth” is an American science fiction series that aired on CBS in 1989 and caught my attention at the time because of the weird floating robot that constantly moved around the main character. According to the Wikipedia:

After a huge interplanetary war ended, Elite Military Officer is prosecuted for rebellion against the planet’s ruling Council; he was found guilty, but in recognition of his valuable services in the war, he was given the chance to reform by spending an undetermined amount of time in a vastly underpowered human form on planet Earth. Along with him was dispatched “Control” (voiced by Danny Mann), a small floating robot in the form of a mechanical eye with the mission of overseeing Jesse (the earthly name adopted by the alien warrior, from the name tag on the first Earth clothes he wore) to make sure Jesse kept his violent behavior in check. “Control” also provided comic relief to the series, usually by assessing the events with the catchphrase “Negative Outcome. Not Good.”

Why do I blog this? The TV show wasn’t that good but the drone-like robot was a fascinating character. At the time, I remember it as both fascinating and scary… and I guess it can potentially be seen as a weak signal/indicator of potential “personal drones”. Those can exist as a the next iteration of house-arrest monitoring devices, or some sort of personal assistant.