My Living Doll: Difference between revisions
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==DVD release== |
==DVD release== |
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On March 20, 2012, [[MPI Home Video]] released ''My Living Doll- The Official Collection, Volume 1'' on DVD in Region 1. The 2-disc set features 11 episodes of the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Living-Doll-Volume-1/16349|title=My Living Doll - Julie Newmar in 'The Official Collection, Vol. 1' Announced: Finalized Date, Box Art, More!|last=Lambert|first=David|publisher=2011-12-27|accessdate=27 December 2011}}</ref> The episodes featured on the DVD collection were created from 16mm prints of the show held by collectors as one set of the original 35mm negatives were destroyed in the [[1994 Northridge earthquake]]. Chertok Televisions Peter Greenwood continues to search for the film elements needed to restore the show for a second. Having spearheaded the first |
On March 20, 2012, [[MPI Home Video]] released ''My Living Doll- The Official Collection, Volume 1'' on DVD in Region 1. The 2-disc set features 11 episodes of the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Living-Doll-Volume-1/16349|title=My Living Doll - Julie Newmar in 'The Official Collection, Vol. 1' Announced: Finalized Date, Box Art, More!|last=Lambert|first=David|publisher=2011-12-27|accessdate=27 December 2011}}</ref> The episodes featured on the DVD collection were created from 16mm prints of the show held by collectors as one set of the original 35mm negatives were destroyed in the [[1994 Northridge earthquake]]. Chertok Televisions Peter Greenwood continues to search for the film elements needed to restore the show for a second volume. Having spearheaded the first release<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/04/entertainment/la-et-living-doll-20120404|title=The 'Perfect' '60s Woman|last=King|first=Susan|date=2012-04-04|publisher=latimes.com|accessdate=15 April 2012}}</ref> |
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==In popular culture== |
==In popular culture== |
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Revision as of 06:21, 16 April 2012
| My Living Doll | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction sitcom |
| Created by | Bill Kelsay Al Martin |
| Written by | Bill Kelsay Al Martin Russell Beggs Bernard Slade |
| Directed by | Lawrence Dobkin Ezra Stone |
| Starring | Bob Cummings (Episodes 1-21) Julie Newmar Jack Mullaney Doris Dowling (Episodes 1-21) |
| Theme music composer | George Greeley |
| Composer | George Greeley |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Jack Chertok Leo Guild Bill Kelsay Al Martin Roland Wolpert |
| Running time | 24 mins. |
| Production companies | Jack Chertok Television Productions CBS Television Network |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | 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.
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
- Mrs. Moffat - Peter's housekeeper; played by Nora Marlowe
Cummings' departure
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]
Reception
Although My Living Doll was somewhat popular during its short run, it did not rank in 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. The cancellation had the side benefit of freeing Newmar to appear as Catwoman in the 1965 Batman TV series.
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 March 20, 2012, MPI Home Video released My Living Doll- The Official Collection, Volume 1 on DVD in Region 1. The 2-disc set features 11 episodes of the series.[2] The episodes featured on the DVD collection were created from 16mm prints of the show held by collectors as one set of the original 35mm negatives were destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Chertok Televisions Peter Greenwood continues to search for the film elements needed to restore the show for a second volume. Having spearheaded the first release[3]
In popular culture
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.
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". tvobscurities.com. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Lambert, David. "My Living Doll - Julie Newmar in 'The Official Collection, Vol. 1' Announced: Finalized Date, Box Art, More!". 2011-12-27. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ King, Susan (2012-04-04). "The 'Perfect' '60s Woman". latimes.com. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
External links
- 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