Unleashing human disguised androids

Leading from
Ash the Robot

and
The Six Million Dollar Man TV Series
and
Metropolis

 

a) The Future Eve
Starting off with in 1886, the term android was made popular by the French novelist Auguste Villiers de l’Isle-Adam in his book, "The Future Eve" or "L'Ève Future" (1886) about a female android that is created to replace a man's fiancée who although had a bothersome personality. 

b) Metropolis
The idea was brought into cinema in 1927 through the movie Metropolis, a robot was created and soon she would have the outward form of a physical human to impersonate the preacher Maria in the film creating mayhem.

c) Twilight Zone episode "The Lonely".

In 1959, an episode of The Twilight Zone about a convict, living alone in an asteroid, who receives from the police a realistic woman-robot.

When comes the time to leave soon afterwards since the prisoner has been pardoned, he can not take the robot back with him so he shoots it in the face with a gun to terminate it revealing a mass of wire and broken circuitry which repeats the word "Corry". (see wikipedia page for more details)

d) Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episode "The Cyborg"
In this episode aired 17 October 1965, Admiral Harriman Nelson visits the cybernetics laboratory of the obese Dr. Tabor Ulrich, where he is forced to make an involuntary donation to a "Memory Bank."  Ulrich creates an android duplicate of Nelson that returns to the Seaview in his place to carry out Ulrich's plan to blackmail the world with nuclear destruction.

Meanwhile the SEAVIEW is pursued by navies of the world, the real Nelson needs the help of pretty female cyborg, Gundi, to escape and save the world from nuclear war.

Destroyed android aboard the Seaview

Source quotes

1. Airdate, 17th October 1965. Robotic scientist Tabor Ulrich creates an android duplicate of Admiral Harriman Nelson, programmed to blackmail the world with nuclear destruction. While the SEAVIEW is pursued by navies of the world, the real Nelson plans his escape from Ulrich (Starlog 33, p 38)
2. Nelson visits the cybernetics laboratory of the obese Dr. Ulrich, where he is forced to make an involuntary donation to a "Memory Bank." As his cyborg double returns to Seaview to carry out Ulrich's plans, Nelson needs the help of pretty female cyborg, Gundi, to escape and save the world from nuclear war. (http://www.iann.net/voyage/episodes/season_2

e) Westworld

In 1973, Westworld was released, it was a movie written and directed by the famous novelist Michael Crichton who sold over 150 million copies of his books worldwide and many of his novels have been adapted into motion pictures.

Well remembered ones are The Great Train Robbery, Jurrassic Park and Andromeda Strain to name but a few that have been turned into successful big budget motion pictures.

It starred Yul Brynner as a robot designed to be a lifelike cowboy in Western themed section an adult amusement park, and here Yul reprised his Magnificent Seven person.

Soon all the robots begin to kill the themepark's visitors and Yul Brenner with the ability to shoot with his gun becomes a very dangerous robot that needs to be stopped.

It is said to have been inspired by the Pirates of the Carribean theme park attraction that opened in 1967 in Disneyland.

f) The Six Million Dollar Man: Day Of The Robot (1974)

In 1974, The Six Million Dollar man starring Lee Majors as a human cyborg came to the television and in an episode called "The Day of the Robot" (Series 1, Episodes 4, February 1974) looking as if it had been very much inspired by the Westworld movie, the concept of complete androids had been introduced to the TV series, androids that were disguised as humans, the original human would be kidnapped and the robot disguised as the kidnapped person would fill in his place.

(See: Alien: Six Million Dollar Man Inspires Ash the robot)

g) The Million Dollar Man: The Return Of The Robot (1975)

On the 26th January 1975, another episode of the Six Million Dollar Man called "The Return of the Robot Maker" that came onto the TV screen (See: Alien: Six Million Dollar Man Inspires Ash the robot)

h) The Stepford Wives
In 1975, the Stepford Wives came out into the cinema based on a 1972 novel, where a group of men's wives are replaced by androids.

i) Maskatron
This character was also to be turned into an action doll named Maskatron by1976 soon to be found in many children's toy cupboards with mask for the robot to assume the liknesses of Major Frederik Sloan, Oscar Goldman and Steve Austin.

j) FutureWorld
In August of 1976, a sequel to Westworld called FutureWorld was released.

The story features a named Delos that creates the androids a plan to replace all the world's leaders with android copies.

k) Logan's Run TV series
In the 1977 series lasting fourteen episodes, Logan 5 with Jessica 6 escapes the city of domes where humans have names with numbers and and are vaporised when they reach a certain age, androids disguised as humans turn up in the surrounding landscape.

Co-Author of the original Logan's run book, William Nolan wrote the pilot introducing the character Rem, a 200 year old android from the City of Stones where humans were dead but robots still operated.

He acted as a sort of a metallic version of Star Trek's Mr Spock who acted as a character with wisdom for the inexperienced Logan and Jessica.

Rem is built in the form of a male human being and he joins the hero Logan on his quest, and at the end of the series, he is seen with parts of his body removed.

Source quote

1. William F Nolan: I think we created some interesting things," Nolan remembers of his pilot script.  "The Stone City was a place where all the humans were dead, but robot servants still operated.This is where Rem came from.   He was my metallic Mr. Spock, someone with the wisdom to temper Logan and Jessica's inexperience. (http://www.johnkennethmuir.com/)