Murderbot! What more do I need to say! My favourite non-human contruct with so many issues, and one of my favourite book series. The show is pretty great too.
All Systems Red | novella | 2017 |
Artificial Condition | novella | 2018 |
Rogue Protocol | novella | 2018 |
Exit Strategy | novella | 2018 |
Compulsory | short story | 2018 |
Network Effect | novel | 2020 |
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory | short story | 2020 |
Fugitive Telemetry | novella | 2021 |
System Collapse | novella | 2023 |
Murderbot season 1 | show | 2025 |
Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy | short story | 2025 |
Platform Decay | announced for 2026 |
Sanctuary moon concept art by Dane Hallet
The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon is the show within a show in Murderbot. In the books, not a whole lot is actually revealed about it, but we do have a few characters, episode titles and plot lines. In the show, we get a few glimpses of scenes and snippets of dialogue.
We know there are at least 379 episodes and at least 12 seasons. It is "kind of based on How to Get Away with Murder, but in space, on a colony, with all different characters and hundreds more episodes".
Episode and season information, mostly from this wiki.
Episode 44 (Compulsory)
"The colony solicitor’s bodyguard and best friend had just been crushed under debris while trying to save a transport mech trapped in a crash. Were they really going to kill her off? That sucked."
Episode 121 (System Collapse)
Murderbot watches this episode on repeat.
Episode 132 (Fugitive Telemetry)
Murderbot wanted to watch the beginning of this episode.
Episode 179 (Artificial Condition)
With the plot that gave ART the idea sending a shuttle of unconscious humans on a flight plan back to RaviHyral, where the authorities would be confused by their conflicting stories.
Episode 184 (Instagram AMA)
Sparga Delfin had been replaced by a clone.
Episode 206 (Artificial Condition and System Collapse)
Murderbot has already seen this twenty-seven times as of Artificial Condition. It is one of its favorites. In one scene, the colony solicitor wakes up in the medical bay as her bodyguard watches.
Episode 231 (Instagram AMA)
A Mech Pilot was attacked by his evil duplicate, who then tried to hit him with a giant hammer before disappearing. Murderbot and ART disagree in the interview over whether or not this was supposed to be a dream sequence.
Episode 256 (Fugitive Telemetry)
32.3 minutes into the episode the relationship argument between the solicitor, her bodyguard and the personnel supervisor is cut off when a raider ship crashes into the shuttle bay.
Unknown Episode (All Systems Red)
The one where the colony solicitor killed the terraforming supervisor who was the secondary donor for her implanted baby?. Ratthi is also a fan.
Unknown Episode (Rogue Protocol)
"...can offer you immunity from prosecution if you testify. Your bosses are going down. Whatever they paid you, it won't make up for a stint in prison." These lines are re-used by Murderbot.
There was an Instagram AMA with Murderbot an Art where Sanctuary Moon came up several times. This is not technically "canon" as it's not in the books, but I consider it part of the extended universe
Favorite Story arc in Sanctuary Moon?
MB: Season 28, the whole thing with the rival Corporate Supervisor, and when it turned out Sparga Delfin had been replaced by a clone in episode 184, and they had to go rescue them and all the clone babies.
What is their favorite episode of Sanctuary Moon about?
MB: The one where they found out the Terraforming Supervisor was still alive, and behind the whole plot to deregulate the colony’s mining franchise which had been blamed on the Colony Solicitor, so she and her bodyguard and the Mech Transport Crewmember and the Mystery Person from the level 7 airshaft and the Food Service Staffing Manager fake her death, and she comes to her own memorial service.
ART: I didn’t like that one.
Which is your favorite episode of Sanctuary Moon to recommend as a gateway to the show?
MB: The first one. It’s the only one that gives all the detail about the Colony Solicitor’s secret backstory as a corporate espionage agent/opera production manager and you need that to understand the rest of the story.
What really happened on episode 231 of Sanctuary Moon?
MB: It was clearly a dream.
ART: You’re wrong.
MB: So when the Mech Pilot was attacked by his evil duplicate who tried to hit him with a giant hammer and then disappeared, you think that was supposed to be real?
ART: It was an artistic choice.
Who’s your endgame pairing on Sanctuary Moon?
MB: I skip the pairing parts.
We get to see some actual scenes from Sanctuary moonin the show and it looks like a technicolour Star Trek, situated mostly on the bridge of a space ship. There is at least one scene on the surface of a planet/moon/other object. Sanctuary Moon in this version seems to be a planet where at least one character is from.
There are at least 2797 episodes.
Below some snippets of Sanctuary Moon as seen in the show (this is a work in progress)
Crew member: Look at
the sheer magnitude of that thing.
Prepare to repel boarders.
?: Boldness is all.
?: Boldness is all.
Captain: Lieutenant… battle shields maximum.
Lieutenant: No. Not until you tell me… did you sleep with that bot
?: Stars, Captain!
Navbot: I am a Navigation Unit, not a sex bot.
Lieutenant: I wasn't talking to you. You took an oath never to lie on deck. Answer the question.
Murderbot: Okay, I got it from Episode 537 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.
Rescue worker: Stay with me, Friess.
Friess: [grunts, panting]
Rescue worker: What planet are you from?
Friess: [gasping] A little place
called Sanctuary Moon.
Rescue worker: Do you have any children?
Friess: Yeah.
Rescue worker: Tell me their names.
Muderbot: Was he working for the Company? Or for another corporate entity? Planting an explosive device so they could kill the crew, take the proprietary data, sell it on the black market and buy expensive luxury goods for himself. Just like Bookkeeper Wittenmark did in episode 418 of Sanctuary Moon.
?: This
is what happens when man and machine meet.
[dramatic music plays]
A hellish, harmful, hateful brew
compounded of tears, oil and blood.
Murderbot: You guessed it. That was me causing the static. Just like Flight Officer Kogi does in Sanctuary Moon episode 807 when he's disobeying orders.
?: Hey, did you see the one where the colony solicitor killed the terraforming supervisor who was the secondary donor of her implanted baby?
Murderbot: That's a damn lie. She didn't kill him. She was framed by Bookkeeper Wittenmark. That little snake.
?: It's watching the show.
?: That's literally such a deep cut.
?: So deep.
?: Season 19, episode four.
Murderbot: In episode 356 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, the story about the navigation bot and Flight Captain Hossein really gets going.
Mensah: Sanctuary fucking Moon?
Murderbot:It's a soothing episode. Some of the episodes are quite stressful. But this is the one in which they discover a bacterial infection which causes synchronized breathing.
Mensah: That's obscure.
Murderbot: Just watch.
Mensah: All right.
Murderbot: That is Flight Supervisor Kogi. He's an orphan. He was raised by a pair of Villeard crystal-eaters. But their life cycle is only one tenth of his. They are dying.
Murderbot, quoting Sanctuary Moon: We leave aside mortal cares and enter the pure realm of peace that the Villeard call Ivavni-Mardalu.
Mensah: That's sad.
Murderbot: Yes.
Mensah: And somewhat implausible.
Murderbot: It's canon.
Murderbot, quoting: Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe the crystal air. Breathe.
Murderbot, quoting: I am breathing.
Murderbot, quoting: I am breathing the crystal air.
Murderbot: I needed Pin-Lee to get that drone up in the air so that Gurathin could use it as a transponder and hack into GrayCris's HubSystem remotely. That way, we could launch their beacon and call for help. See Sanctuary Moon, episode 599, "Kogi Saves the Day." It's a classic.
Murderbot: Flight corporal Shagamin was tortured by the Imperium in season seven of Sanctuary Moon.
Known characters
Character | What we know | Visual |
---|---|---|
Flight captain Hossein | in a relationship with the Navbot, this storyline gets going in episode 359 | ![]() |
Navbot/Navigation unit | also known as NavBot 337 Alt 66, in a relationship with the captain, looks after Friess, beheaded Captain Hossein, then gets the ship stuck on the event horizon of a wormhole as revenge, kills Lieutenant | ![]() |
Lieutenant Kullervv | accuses Flight captain Hossein of having a relationship with the Navbot, may have ordered Captain Hossein killed, orders it wiped, becomes captain after Captain Hossein is dead, is in turn killed by Navbot | ![]() |
Nagivation Officer Hordööp-Sklanch | also known as Flight Officer | ![]() |
Alderman Friess | injured on a surface, unknown if he survives, is from Sanctuary Moon, has kids | ![]() |
Rescue worker | rescues Alderman Friess and asks him questions to keep him calm | ![]() |
Flight corporal Shagamin | tortured by the Imperium in season seven | |
Flight supervisor Kogi | an orphan, raised by a pair of Villeard crystal-eaters, star of episode 599, "Kogi Saves the Day", fakes static when disobeying orders, also known as Flight officer (maybe he got a promotion?) | |
Colony solicitor Vagus | framed by Wittenmark, has an implanted baby from a donor | ![]() |
Bookkeeper Wittenmark | framed the colony solicitor for killing the terraforming supervisor, sells proprietory data to buy luxury goods for himself | |
Terraforming supervisor | killed, presumably by Wittenmark |
Sanctuary Moon logo
Flight Captain Hossein (John Cho)
Navigation Unit (DeWanda Wise)
Navigation Officer Hordööp-Sklanch (Jack McBrayer
Lieutenant Kullervv (Clark Gregg)
Colony Solicitor Vagus (Ron Kennell)
Alderman Friess (right, Alex Cruz) and Rescue Worker (left, Chantria Tram)