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Trying to remember the exact sci fi tv episode - thinking it was a black and white so either original Twilight Zone or Outer Limits - where robot/android keep doing same thing because his programming was not updated. And the action he kept repeating was oppressive, violent, prejudiced (?) behavior and when confronted with why he continued to do this even though the situation or circumstances had changed so that he no longer needed to, his response was simply, "Because no one updated my programming" (or something to that effect).

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  • Hi, welcome to SF&F. Do you have any idea when/where you saw this? (Country, TV channel, approximate year.)
    – DavidW
    Commented May 21 at 21:25
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    It was def American, and now that I think about it, it might've been athe 80's reboot of the Outer Limits ... Set in the future and androids had enslaved humans. I'm recalling an image where they all look dressed like some mad Max movie you know ragged and Earth tone colors.
    – Emily
    Commented May 22 at 2:24
  • You should edit the question to add these details, rather than putting them in a comment.
    – Barmar
    Commented May 22 at 15:11
  • Will do next time, sorry... New user! Thank you!
    – Emily
    Commented May 22 at 19:52

1 Answer 1

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Based on the revised description from @Emily this sounds a lot like the Outer Limits episode from 1997 The Camp. This is a bit later than the 1980s (1997). But parts that seem to match:

  1. Set in the future and androids had enslaved humans

In a concentration camp surrounded by high walls, an Elder tells his fellow prisoners the story of how they came to be there. Twelve generations ago, an alien race called the New Masters came to Earth and wiped out most of humanity, trapping the rest in this concentration camp

During the course of the story, Prisoner 98843 discovers that the Commandant and the guards are androids

  1. where robot/android keep doing same thing because his programming was not updated.

He also reveals that he has received no communication from the New Masters for decades and has maintained the camp regimen simply because those were his orders

  1. And the action he kept repeating was oppressive, violent, prejudiced (?) behavior

He (prisoner) tells the children that their birthright is outside the prison and scorns their human guards who collaborate with the aliens. For this show of disrespect, the guards drag him away.The next day, the Commandant lines the prisoners up and tells them the Elder has been executed and that their rations will be cut as food supplies are getting low.

The commandant also has a pool with a giant squid-like monster called a sharrak, that is normally used to execute prisoners

  1. I'm recalling an image where they all look dressed like some mad Max movie you know ragged and Earth tone colors.

Image of Prisoners Image of Prisoners 2

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  • That's it! Thank you all! And first time user so not really sure how to respond on this but thanks for the patience and the help!!
    – Emily
    Commented May 22 at 19:51
  • @Emily. Welcome to the site. Glad to hear we were able to help you find what you were seeking so you watch again. Enjoy :-)
    – beichst
    Commented May 22 at 23:28

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