Series Background
The series starred Bob Cummings as Dr. Bob McDonald, a psychologist 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 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.
Many episodes deal with Rhoda learning how human society works, and learning from that. 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 the 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 learned behaviors, the result of passive 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 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; Marlowe replaced Dowling in the cast when she left the series with Cummings.
Read more about this topic: My Living Doll
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