My Living Doll
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
My Living Doll was an American comedy television series that aired for 26 episodes on CBS from September 27, 1964 to September 8, 1965. The series starred Bob Cummings as Dr. Bob McDonald, a psychologist who is given care of Rhoda, a life-like gynoid (played by Julie Newmar) in the form of a sexy, Amazonian female, by her creator, a scientist who did not want her to fall into the hands of the military.
Rhoda's real name was AF709, and she was a prototype robot that Dr. Carl Miller built for the U.S. Air Force. When Dr. Miller was about to be transferred to Pakistan, he gives his friend, Air Force psychologist Bob McDonald the job of completing the education of the sophisticated (yet naive) robot. Bob's job is to teach Rhoda how to be a "perfect" woman, and keep her identity secret from the world.
Other regular cast members included:
- Peter Robinson (a somewhat lecherous neighbor who decides that Rhoda is the girl of his dreams – played by Jack Mullaney)
- Irene Adams (Bob's sister who decides to move in as his housekeeper and to make sure that nothing inappropriate is going on – played by Doris Dowling).
Although many aspects of the series would seem tame by later standards, Newmar's sex appeal was obvious. Many of the story situations and idea of what it takes to be the "perfect" woman would be branded sexist today. Rhoda is taught to cook, to clean and to follow orders.
Cummings and Newmar reportedly did not get along, with Cummings actually quitting the show before the end of the season. Bob's character was written out of the series. (He, too, is reassigned to Pakistan). With episode #22, Peter learns Rhoda's secret and takes over the position of watching over her.
Although My Living Doll was somewhat popular during its short run, it was scheduled against highly-rated shows such as Bonanza, The Virginian and The Patty Duke Show. My Living Doll was unable to deliver the ratings that network executives had hoped for and the show was canceled.
This series was produced by Jack Chertok.
According to The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, My Living Doll is the source of the science fiction phrase "Does not compute" in popular culture.
Contents |
[edit] Episodes
- 1: Boy Meets Girl ? - September 27, 1964
- 2: Rhoda's First Date - October 4, 1964
- 3: Uninvited Guest - October 11, 1964
- 4: Rhoda's Debut - October 18, 1964
- 5: Lession In Love - October 25, 1964
- 6: Something Borrowed, Something Blew - November 1, 1964
- 7: The Love Machine - November 8, 1964
- 8: Leave 'Em Laughing - November 15, 1964
- 9: My Robot The Warden - November 22, 1964
- 10: the Beauty Contest - November 29, 1964
- 11: Just Lucky,I Guess - December 6, 1964
- 12: The Language Barrier - December 13, 1964
- 13: Little White Lie - December 16, 1964
- 14: I'll Leave It to You - December 23, 1964
- 15: The Perfect Woman - December 30, 1964
- 16: Sky Divers - January 6, 1965
- 17: Pool Shark - January 13, 1965
- 18: Color Me Trouble - January 20, 1965
- 19: The Kleptomaniac - January 27, 1965
- 20: The Astronaut - February 3, 1965
- 21: The Witness - February 10, 1965
- 22: Boy Gets Robot - February 17, 1965
- 23: Dancing Doll - February 24, 1965
- 24: The Mannequin - March 3, 1965
- 25: Murder,He Says - March 10, 1965
- 26: Brother Harry - March 17, 1965
[edit] Current status
 |
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (October 2007) |
According to researchers, CBS had the 35mm masters stored in the stock footage department of their Radford lot as recently as the late 1980s. However, more recent film researchers have been unable to locate these masters, and they are now presumed to have been taken to a facility in Sun Valley, California with the other Radford holdings in 1990. For many years the show was thought to be forgotten property, this however changed in 2005. Chertok television's licensing manager Peter Greenwood has been conducting a world wide search for all existing film elements. The search is similar in its scope to the BBC search for the early Dr. Who segments. If you have any leads in recovering this Sixties classic contact Chertok Television at: martianlic@hotmail.com.
[edit] References
- Does not compute (Jesse Sheidlower, American Dialect Society mailing list, 15 September 2001) — cites The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang
