Dr. Bob McDonald (Bob Cummings), a psychiatrist with the 'Space Research Canter, Inc.' ends up co-habiting with 'AF 709' (Julie Newmar, the future purrfidious Bat-villain 'Catwoman'), a top-secret robot (actually a gynoid) that was engineered to look like a beautiful young woman. This series, which followed 'My Favorite Martian' and preceded 'I Dream of Jeanie' and 'Bewitched' was part of the early 1960s 'fantasy comedy' trend and features many of the same tropes and gags. This inaugural episode establishes the main characters and the show's basic premise. Newmar is gorgeous and by far the more interesting of the characters (a fact that prompted Cummings to bail out of the series after only 20 episodes), but I didn't find the show to be particularly funny nor as imaginative as the other shows in the genre. Audiences may have agreed, as 'My Living Doll' only ran for 26 episodes. Of interest to sci-fi fans, AF 709 is considered to be the first robot to utter the classic 'bot- line "That does not compute.". The opening is a brief, early trip into the 'uncanny valley' and is available in both 'gown' and 'baby doll' versions (and Newmar looks great in either).
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews