Holmes & Yo-Yo

Infobox Television
show_name = Holmes & Yo-Yo


caption =
genre = Situation comedy
creator =
starring = Richard B. Shull
John Schuck
Bruce Kirby
Andrea Howard
country = United States
language = English
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 13
executive_producer = Leonard Stern
producer = Arne Sultan
camera =
runtime = 30 minutes
network = ABC
picture_format =
first_aired = September 25 1976
last_aired =
December 11 1976,
August 1977
imdb_id = 0074005
tv_com_id = 1453

"Holmes & Yo-Yo" (alternate spelling, "Holmes and Yo-Yo") is an American comedy television series that aired on ABC for 13 episodes during the 1976-1977 season. The series follows Detective Holmes and his new android partner Yo-Yo, on their adventures and misadventures, as Holmes teaches Yo-Yo what it's like to be human, while trying to keep his quirky partner's true nature a secret from criminals and fellow cops.

Production

The executive producer is Leonard Stern, a former staff writer for "Get Smart", which featured an android character named Hymie who was, in most respects, a prototype for Yo-Yo. Several episodes of "Holmes & Yo-Yo" were directed by John Astin, Gomez in "The Addams Family". [cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/h/holmesandyoyo_7773405.shtml | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040523083752/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/h/holmesandyoyo_7773405.shtml | title=BBC - Comedy Guide - Holmes And Yoyo | archivedate=2004-05-23]

Cast and characters

Co-starring in the series were Andrea Howard and Bruce Kirby. Jay Leno appeared in the pilot as a gas station attendant. [cite web | url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074005/ | title="Holmes and Yo-Yo" (1976)]

Plot

The series stars Richard B. Shull as Detective Alexander Holmes, a clumsy down-on-his-luck cop who constantly injures his partners. The department gives him a new partner, Gregory Yoyonivich (John Schuck). Yo-Yo, as he likes to be called, is good natured, if a bit clumsy, and also surprisingly strong. During one of their first calls, Yo-Yo is shot and Holmes discovers that his new partner is an android, a sophisticated new crime-fighting machine designed by the police department as their secret weapon on crime. "You're not a person!" is Holmes' stunned response.

Besides super-strength, Yo-Yo's other abilities include speed reading, and the ability to analyze clues at the scene. Yo-Yo had a built-in polaroid camera: each time his nose was pressed, a polaroid photograph of his field of vision would be taken and ejected from his shirt pocket. Yo-Yo's control panel was built into his chest, which could be opened by pulling his tie. The level of Yo-Yo's batteries was critical, because if they ran down his memory and, effectively, his being would be erased. In one episode his batteries come very close to running down completely, and he is charged by being pushed against an electric fence with his arms extended. Yo-Yo weighed 427 pounds, and his heavy build could absorb the shock of a bomb.

Much comedy was derived from Yo-Yo's constant malfunctions. Some of his common problems included:
*Uncontrollably spinning head over heels when near an electric garage door as it's opening or closing.
*Bullets cause him to break out dancing.
*Magnets fly out at him.
*He picks up radio signals from Sweden.
*He repeats "Bunco Squad, Bunco Squad, Bunco Squad" over and over when his circuits blow. [cite web | url=http://www.tvparty.com/recholmes.html | title=Holmes and Yo-Yo] Another running gag involved Yo-Yo's ability to read an entire book by simply fanning its pages; his invariable comment after doing so: "I enjoyed it!"

Reception

"Holmes & Yo-Yo" is #33 on TV Guide's List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time. Although the series lasted only 13 episodes, the influence of "Holmes & Yo-Yo" can be felt in other "robot cop" series and films that followed, most notably the "RoboCop" films and TV series, and the 1993 series, "Mann & Machine" which used the same premise as "Holmes & Yo-Yo", only with a sexy female robot instead of the stout Yoyonovich.

References

External links

* [http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/10outlandish.php 10 Most Outlandish Television Concepts Ever]