| Mann & Machine | |
|---|---|
| Format | Science fiction Police drama |
| Created by | Robert De Laurentiis Dick Wolf |
| Starring | David Andrews Yancy Butler S. Epatha Merkerson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Robert De Laurentiis Dick Wolf |
| Producer(s) | Kevin Donnelly Brooke Kennedy Glenn Davis William Laurin |
| Running time | 60 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | April 5, 1992 – July 14, 1992 |
Mann & Machine is an American science fiction/police drama series that aired for nine episodes on NBC from April 5, 1992 to July 14, 1992.
Created by Dick Wolf and Robert De Laurentis, the series starred Yancy Butler as Sgt. Eve Edison, a beautiful police officer who is also a sophisticated gynoid robot capable of learning and emotion. She is partnered with Det. Bobby Mann (David Andrews), a human officer who holds disdain for robots. Rounding out the regular cast was S. Epatha Merkerson as Capt. Claghorn, Mann and Edison's superior -- a role almost identical to that which Merkerson would later play on Wolf's Law & Order series.
The series focused on Mann and Edison's criminal investigations in a Los Angeles of the "near future" -- sometime around the beginning of the 21st century though the exact year is never stated. An ongoing subplot of the series focused on Eve's continuing education about what makes humans tick, and her ever-growing capacity for emotion, highlighted by the penultimate episode "Billion Dollar Baby" in which Eve is placed in charge of caring for an infant, activating unexpected maternal feelings.
Although Butler received good reviews for her performance in one of her first major roles, the series was criticized heavily, with many comparing it to a failed 1970s comedy series with a similar premise, Holmes & Yo-Yo. The series was pulled from NBC's schedule after only four episodes. The remaining five were aired as summertime filler.
A year after the series was cancelled, Yancy Butler starred in another Dick Wolf creation, the action adventure series South Beach.
| Ep # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Prototype" (pilot) | April 5, 1992 |
| 2 | "Dating Game" | April 12, 1992 |
| 3 | "No Pain, No Gain" | April 19, 1992 |
| 4 | "Water, Water Everywhere" | April 26, 1992 |
| 5 | "Torch Song" | June 9, 1992 |
| 6 | "Mann's Fate" | June 30, 1992 |
| 7 | "Truth or Consequences" | June 30, 1992 |
| 8 | "Billion Dollar Baby" | July 7, 1992 |
| 9 | "Cold, Cold Heart" | July 14, 1992 |