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My Living Doll

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My Living Doll
GenreScience fiction sitcom
Created byBill Kelsay
Al Martin
Written byBill Kelsay
Al Martin
Russell Beggs
Bernard Slade
Directed byLawrence Dobkin
Ezra Stone
StarringBob Cummings (Episodes 1-21)
Julie Newmar
Jack Mullaney
Doris Dowling (Episodes 1-21)
Theme music composerGeorge Greeley
ComposerGeorge Greeley
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
ProducersJack Chertok
Leo Guild
Bill Kelsay
Al Martin
Roland Wolpert
Running time24 mins.
Production companiesJack Chertok Television Productions
CBS Television Network
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 27, 1964 (1964-09-27) –
September 8, 1965 (1965-09-08)

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 lead to Newmar appearance 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 the one set 35mm negatives were beleaved destroyed in the 1994 Northridge earthquakeAs cited in the LA Times article Peter Greenwood licensing manager for Chertok television is actively seeking the return of the show in order to issue a second volume.please contact MPI via the email listed on the dvd release(note to Wickipeda editors please do not remove this information needed for the return and restoration of this show-thanks Peter Greenwood Chertok TV) .[3]

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.

My Living Doll producer Howard Leeds would go on to create Small Wonder, an eighties sitcom that featured a young girl robot named Vicki. He also employed composer George Greeley who composed the music for My Living Doll.

Leeds, when in the employ of Reg Grundy Productions Australia producing Chopper Squad, proposed and produced a new My Living Doll presentation pilot using a all Australian cast.

References

  • Does not compute (Jesse Sheidlower, American Dialect Society mailing list, 15 September 2001) — cites The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang

Notes

  1. ^ "My Living Doll". tvobscurities.com. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ King, Susan (2012-04-04). "The 'Perfect' '60s Woman". latimes.com. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
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