Holmes & Yoyo

Holmes & Yoyo is an American comedy television series that aired on ABC for 13 episodes during the 1976-1977 season. The series follows Detective Holmes and his new android partner Yoyo, on their adventures and misadventures, as Holmes teaches Yoyo what it is like to be human, while trying to keep his quirky partner's true nature a secret from criminals and fellow cops.

Holmes & Yoyo
GenreSituation comedy
Created byJack Sher
Lee Hewitt
StarringRichard B. Shull
John Schuck
Bruce Kirby
Andrea Howard
Theme music composerDick Halligan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerLeonard Stern
ProducerArne Sultan
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesHeyday Productions Inc.
Universal Television
DistributorMCA TV
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 25 (1976-09-25) –
December 11, 1976/
August 8, 1977

Plot

Detective Alexander Holmes is a down-on-his-luck cop who constantly injures his partners. The department gives him a new partner, Gregory "Yoyo" Yoyonovich. Yoyo, as he likes to be called, is clumsy and naive, but good-natured. And because of his mechanical origins, he is very strong. During one of their first cases together, Yoyo is shot, and Holmes discovers that his new partner is an android, a sophisticated new crime-fighting machine designed by the police department as their secret weapon on crime. "You're not a person!" is Holmes' stunned response.

Cast

Production

Development

The executive producer was Leonard Stern, a former staff writer for and executive producer of Get Smart, which featured an android character named Hymie who was, in most respects, a prototype for Yoyo. Several episodes of Holmes & Yoyo were directed by John Astin.[2] Joint series lead John Schuck also appeared as SFPD Detective Sgt. Charles Enright in the McMillan And Wife made-for-television films that starred Rock Hudson alongside Susan Saint James, of which Stern was also creator and executive producer.

Yoyo's abilities

Besides super-strength, Yoyo's other abilities include speed reading, and the ability to analyze clues at the scene. Yoyo had a built-in Polaroid camera: each time his nose was pressed, a Polaroid photograph of his view would be taken and ejected from his shirt pocket. Yoyo's control panel was built into his chest, which could be opened by pulling his tie. The level of Yoyo's batteries was critical, because if they ran down his memory and, effectively, his being would be erased. In one episode his batteries came very close to running down completely, and he was charged by being pushed against an electric fence with his arms extended. Yoyo weighed 427 pounds, and his heavy build could absorb the shock of a bomb.

Much of the show's comedy was derived from Yoyo's constant malfunctions. Some of his common problems included:

  • Uncontrollably spinning head over heels when near an electric garage door that was opening or closing.
  • Bullets causing him to break out dancing
  • Magnets flying at him
  • Picking up radio signals from Sweden
  • A slew of Polaroid photos spewing from his shirt pocket when a criminal punched him in the nose
  • When asked about his previous assignment, he would reply, "The bunco squad," then continue to repeat the phrase no matter what the questioner said, as if he were a skipping record.[3]

Another running gag involved Yoyo's ability to read an entire book by simply fanning its pages; his invariable comment after doing so was, "Thanks for the book! I really enjoyed reading it."

Episodes
No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Pilot"Jackie CooperJack Sher & Lee Hewitt & Leonard SternSeptember 25, 1976 (1976-09-25)
An experienced, but accident-prone, detective is paired with a new partner: a not-quite perfected humanoid robot.
2"Funny Money"Leonard SternLeonard SternOctober 2, 1976 (1976-10-02)
After Holmes unwittingly tries to pass a counterfeit $20 bill, officials throughout the police department discover their wallets are filled with bogus money.
3"The Dental Dynamiter"Leonard SternJack Sher & Lee HewittOctober 16, 1976 (1976-10-16)
Holmes and Yoyo set out to investigate the bombings of dentists' offices all over town.
4"The Last Phantom"Jack ArnoldEarl Barret,
Arne Sultan		October 22, 1976 (1976-10-22)
Holmes and Yoyo have a difficult time finding a suspect who is attempting to kill a movie producer.
5"Yoyo Takes a Bride"Reza BadiyiEarl Barret,
Arne Sultan		October 23, 1976 (1976-10-23)
Yoyo and Maxine go undercover as a pair of honeymooners at a resort hotel, but the computerized Yoyo isn't programmed to respond romantically and Maxine isn't aware he's a robot.
6"The Thornhill Affair"Jack ArnoldJonathan KauferOctober 30, 1976 (1976-10-30)
Holmes and Yoyo go undercover to thwart a plot to steal a world famous gem.
7"The K-9 Caper"John AstinJames RitzNovember 13, 1976 (1976-11-13)
Holmes and Yoyo go after a purse snatcher who is described as about 30 inches in height, weighing 80 pounds and covered with brown hair.
8"The Hostages"John AstinBruce A. TaylorNovember 20, 1976 (1976-11-20)
While Holmes and Yoyo are being held hostage, Yoyo realizes that his battery is going dead, his circuits have shorted and his cooling system has broken down.
9"Key Witness"Richard KinonEarl Barret,
Arne Sultan,
Len Uhley,
John Landis		November 27, 1976 (1976-11-27)
Holmes and Yoyo are sent to protect a frightened informant, but they end up scaring the witness even more than the prospect of a reprisal by the mob.
10"Dead Duck"John AstinJack Sher,
Lee Hewitt		December 4, 1976 (1976-12-04)
Holmes and Yoyo set up to break up an extortion ring by testifying against the leader, but Yoyo can't testify because he's a robot and Holmes is afraid of the Mob.
11"Connection, Connection II"John AstinLeonard SternDecember 11, 1976 (1976-12-11)
One of Holmes' reliable contacts reveals that an important person with City Hall connections is bringing in "stuff" from abroad.
12"The Cat Burglar"Reza BadiyiRichard Freiman,
Stephen Young		August 1, 1977 (1977-08-01)
Someone is stealing precious felines for ransom from prosperous ladies, and Holmes and Yoyo set out to catch the catnapper.
13"Bye, Bye Bennie"Noam PitlikEarl Barret,
Arne Sultan,
Jonathan Kaufer		August 8, 1977 (1977-08-08)
Holmes and Yoyo are waiting as "Big Bad" Bennie Brown, who is wanted by the Kansas City police, arrives in town.

Reception

Today, Holmes & Yoyo is considered one of the worst television series ever made. It ranked number 33 on TV Guide's List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time.[4] Although the series lasted only 13 episodes (undaunted by the failure of the series, ABC green-lighted a similar concept the same season called Future Cop with Ernest Borgnine alongside Michael Shannon; it had the same lack of success as Holmes & Yoyo), the influence of Holmes & Yoyo can be felt in other "robot cop" series and films that followed, most notably the RoboCop films and TV series and the 1993 series Mann & Machine, which used the same premise as Holmes & Yoyo but had more serious storylines and a female robot instead of the stout Yoyonovich. The 2013 series Almost Human once again revisits the theme.

Home media

Holmes & Yoyo was released in France on Region 2 DVD on October 5, 2016 under the title "Holmes et Yoyo - Intégrale de la série". However, audio is French language only, with no English language option.

References
  1. ""Holmes and Yo-Yo" (1976)".
  2. "BBC - Comedy Guide - Holmes And Yoyo". Archived from the original on 2004-05-23.
  3. "Holmes and Yo-Yo".
  4. "TV Guide's 50 Worst Shows of All Time".
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