Post by Admin on Apr 11, 2017 17:57:58 GMT -4
The series starred Bob Cummings as Dr. Bob McDonald, a psychiatrist who is given care of Rhoda Miller, a lifelike 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 is AF 709, and she is a prototype robot that Dr. Carl Miller (Henry Beckman) built for the U.S. Air Force. Through a series of mishaps, the robot ends up in the care of Dr. Miller's friend, Air Force psychiatrist Bob McDonald, when Miller is transferred to Pakistan. Bob is initially reluctant but soon becomes intrigued by the experiment of educating this sophisticated but naive robot. Bob's initial goal is to teach Rhoda how to be a perfect woman, which he defines as one who "does what she's told" and "doesn't talk back". He also strives to keep her identity secret from the world.
Many episodes deal with Rhoda learning how human society works. She also begins showing (or at least emulating) rudimentary emotions as the series progresses; in the episode "The Kleptomaniac", for example, she displays a childlike, playful attitude. At one point, McDonald notices this and utters, "What a goofy robot!", to which Rhoda replies, beaming, "The goofiest!" At the conclusion of this episode, Rhoda giggles without prompting after pulling a plot-resolving prank on another character. Another episode, "The Pool Shark", has Rhoda displaying apparent enjoyment in playing pool. The series doesn't explore whether these are truly learnt behaviors, or the result of programming, or if (in the fantasy context of the series) Rhoda is truly learning human emotion. The concept of a robot gaining human emotion is a frequently visited topic in science fiction television, with characters such as Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the android leads in Holmes & Yo-Yo, Mann & Machine, and Future Cop.
Other regular cast members included:
Peter Robinson – A lecherous colleague and neighbor of Bob's, who decides that Rhoda is the girl of his dreams; played by Jack Mullaney
Irene Adams – Bob's sister, played by Doris Dowling, whom he asks to move in as his housekeeper and chaperone to keep his neighbors from thinking that something inappropriate is going on between him and Rhoda.
Mrs. Moffat – Peter's housekeeper; played by Nora Marlowe; Marlowe replaced Dowling in the cast when she left the series with Cummings.
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