Watchbird (Masters of Science Fiction Series)

It seems the perfect solution to a ballooning crime rate – filling the skies with flying robotic droids that can prevent murder before it takes place. However, nobody told these “Watchbirds” that all life depends on a formula of carefully balanced killing. Robert Sheckley’s renowned story examines one of the most important questions of our time – is it wise to sacrifice our liberty in the name of our security? Teleplay by J. Michael Straczynski (‘Babylon 5’, ‘The Twilight Zone’), based on a short story by Robert Sheckley (Freejack, Escape from Hell Island). Written by Hugo Award Winner Sam Egan. Directed by Harold Becker (Mercury Rising, Sea of Love). Starring Sean Astin (Rudy, Lord of the Rings Trilogy), James Cromwell (The Green Mile, The Queen) and Sally Kellerman as the voice of The Watchbird. Masters of Science Fiction is an American television anthology series by the same creators as Masters of Horror. The show debuted on ABC on August 4, 2007 at 10PM for a run of four episodes. It was originally scheduled to run in six parts, but two episodes were removed from the schedule for undisclosed reasons. The show follows a similar format as Masters of Horror, with each hour long episode taking the form of a separate short film adaptation of a story by a respected member of the science fiction community, hence the Masters in the title.