Mann & Machine
| Mann & Machine | |
|---|---|
| Created by | |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company(s) | |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | April 5 – July 14, 1992 |
Mann & Machine is an American science fiction/police drama series that aired for nine episodes on NBC from April 5 to July 14, 1992.
Synopsis
Created by Dick Wolf and Robert De Laurentis, the series starred Yancy Butler as Sgt. Eve Edison, a beautiful police officer who is also a sophisticated gynoid robot capable of learning and emotion. She is partnered with Det. Bobby Mann (David Andrews), a human officer who holds disdain for robots. Rounding out the regular cast was S. Epatha Merkerson as Capt. Claghorn, Mann and Edison's superior officer.
The series focused on Mann and Edison's criminal investigations in a Los Angeles of the "near future"—sometime around the beginning of the 21st century though the exact year is never stated. An ongoing subplot of the series focused on Eve's continuing education about what makes humans tick, and her ever-growing capacity for emotion, highlighted by the penultimate episode "Billion Dollar Baby" in which Eve is placed in charge of caring for an infant, activating unexpected maternal feelings.
Although Butler received good reviews for her performance in one of her first major roles, the series was criticized heavily, with many comparing it to a failed 1970s comedy series with a similar premise, Holmes & Yo-Yo. The series was pulled from NBC's schedule after only four episodes. The remaining five were aired as summertime filler.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Prototype" | Vern Gillum | Story by : Dick Wolf & Robert De Laurentiis Teleplay by : Robert De Laurentiis | April 5, 1992 |
| Los Angeles Police Detective Bobby Mann is teamed with a cyborg cop named Eve to investigate the murders of international steel brokers. Eve finds evidence that implicates another cop, who is also Mann's childhood friend. | ||||
| 2 | "Dating Game" | Bill Corcoran | Story by : Robert De Laurentiis & Glenn Davis Teleplay by : Glenn Davis & William Laurin | April 12, 1992 |
| Eve has her first date, with the prime murder suspect stalking women through a dating service. | ||||
| 3 | "No Pain, No Gain" | Brian Grant | Story by : Robert De Laurentiis & Michael I. Wagner Teleplay by : Michael I. Wagner | April 19, 1992 |
| Eve revives an ex-cop, who wants to die, by getting him to help investigate murders committed for body parts. | ||||
| 4 | "Water, Water Everywhere" | Allan Arkush | Story by : Robert De Laurentiis, Glenn Davis & William Laurin Teleplay by : Neil Cohen | April 26, 1992 |
| Mann's neighbor, a food reporter, investigates the murder of another reporter who broke the story about a contaminated reservoir. | ||||
| 5 | "Torch Song" | James A. Contner | Story by : Robert De Laurentiis & Glenn Davis Teleplay by : Nancy Bond | June 9, 1992 |
| Eve's capacity for emotion expands when she makes friends with a singer fearful of a music executive suspected of killing her sister. | ||||
| 6 | "Mann's Fate" | James Quinn | William Laurin, Robert De Laurentiis & Glenn Davis | June 16, 1992 |
| Mann moves in with Eve after a psychotic bomber destroys his home, seeking the person who arrested him. | ||||
| 7 | "Truth or Consequences" | Armand Mastroianni | Story by : Michael I. Wagner & Robert De Laurentiis Teleplay by : Morgan Gendel | June 30, 1992 |
| Eve learns more about humans while guarding a young girl and her mother, who is to testify against her accountant husband's mobster employers. | ||||
| 8 | "Billion Dollar Baby" | Vern Gillum | Story by : Robert De Laurentiis & Nancy Ann Miller Teleplay by : Nancy Ann Miller | July 7, 1992 |
| A genetically-engineered baby is sought by baby brokers who will kill to find the child. The baby's presence prompts parental instincts in Eve. | ||||
| 9 | "Cold, Cold Heart" | James Quinn | Phil Bedard & Larry Lalonde | July 14, 1992 |
| Mann poses as Eve's dying brother to investigate the death of a doctor, who was the only hope for a terminally-ill cryonics scientist. | ||||