- My Living Doll
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My Living Doll Genre Science fiction sitcom Created by Bill Kelsay
Al MartinWritten by Bill Kelsay
Al Martin
Russell Beggs
Bernard SladeDirected by Lawrence Dobkin
Ezra StoneStarring Bob Cummings (Episodes 1-21)
Julie Newmar
Jack Mullaney
Doris Dowling (Episodes 1-21)Theme music composer George Greeley Composer(s) George Greeley Country of origin United States Language(s) English No. of seasons 1 No. of episodes 26 Production Producer(s) Jack Chertok
Leo Guild
Bill Kelsay
Al Martin
Roland WolpertRunning time 22–24 minutes Production company(s) Jack Chertok Television Productions
CBS Television NetworkBroadcast Original channel CBS Picture format Black-and-white Audio format Monaural Original run September 27, 1964 – September 8, 1965 My Living Doll is an American science fiction sitcom that aired for 26 episodes on CBS from September 27, 1964 to September 8, 1965. This series was produced by Jack Chertok and was filmed at Desilu studios by Jack Chertok Television, Inc., in association with the CBS Television Network. The series was unusual in that it was bought by the network without a formal pilot film (at the request of CBS' president, James T. Aubrey), due to the success of Chertok's previous series, My Favorite Martian.
Contents
Series background
The series starred Bob Cummings as Dr. Bob McDonald, a psychologist who is given care of Rhoda Miller, a life-like android (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 AF 709, and she was a prototype robot that Dr. Carl Miller (Henry Beckman) 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).
Cummings' departure and ratings reception
Bob Cummings was written out of the series after 21 episodes reportedly after he asked to be released from his contract due to the series' initial poor ratings (it initially appeared opposite NBC's Bonanza on Sunday nights, moving to Wednesday nights in December). Writers reassigned his character to Pakistan, and in episode #22, Peter learns Rhoda's secret and takes over the position of watching over her.[1] Nora Marlowe appeared in several of the final episodes as Peter's housekeeper, Mrs. Moffat.
Although My Living Doll was somewhat popular during its short run, it did not rank inside the top 30, as it was scheduled against highly-rated shows such as Bonanza, The Virginian and The Patty Duke Show. As a result, it didn't deliver the ratings that network executives had hoped for and was canceled.
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.
Episodes
# Name Original airdate 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 Lesson 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 *Cummings' final appearance
DVD release
On February 28, 2012, MPI Home Video will release My Living Doll- The Official Collection, Volume 1 on DVD in Region. The 2-disc set will feature the first 11 episodes of the series.[2]
References
- Does not compute (Jesse Sheidlower, American Dialect Society mailing list, 15 September 2001) — cites The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang
Notes
- ^ "My Living Doll" (in English). tvobscurities.com. 2009-05-28. http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/my_living_doll.php#cite23. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Lambert, David. "My Living Doll - The Classic Series Starring Julie Newmar Comes to DVD Early Next Year!". 2011-11-11. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Living-Doll-Volume-1/16205#ixzz1ddidyqUM. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
External links
Categories:- 1964 television series debuts
- 1965 television series endings
- 1960s American television series
- American science fiction television series
- American television sitcoms
- Black-and-white television programs
- CBS network shows
- English-language television series
- Television shows set in Los Angeles, California
- Television series by CBS Paramount Television
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