Mann & Machine

• Created by Dick Wolf and Robert De Laurentis
• April 5, 1992 to July 14, 1992
• NBC

Main Cast

• Sgt. Eve Edison-Yancy Butler
• Det. Bobby Mann-David Andrews
• Capt. Claghorn-S. Epatha Merkerson

In the near future a sophisticated gynoid capable of learning and emotion is working for the police department along with a wise-cracking maverick partner solving a variety of crimes.

If you haven’t heard of Mann & Machine don’t feel too bad. It was an early 90s nine-episode series with the final four or so getting dumped during the summer to suck up time. The thing is given the general quality of the show I think it could’ve gone for more than nine simple episodes, but all too often networks-especially back then-were looking for the mega science-fiction hit right away and that doesn’t happen. You need to nurture them a bit.

It’s a police procedural but it is clear to the uninitiated that they don’t really follow any kind of police procedures. For example the police just can’t break and enter because they think somebody might be guilty of something. At least that is not the norm. You can’t rough up suspects because they’re dicks. And that’s among many other things.

Like older cop shows there is a little more humor than there was drama in this but it wasn’t a comedy. The humor and drama essentially balance each other out. It lightens the mood. Personally I think the show have leaned in to the more serious and ditched the general humor.

The android of Eve Edison (Yancy Butler) is a prototype unit designed to be a cop. Why they went with a hot chick and not something more like C-3PO I do not know. Then again C-3PO would not have gotten the young male demographic that network executives like. The plots while essentially mysteries that also allowed the characters to comment on humanity or some aspect thereof. There was a continuing focus on Eve’s growing emotional capacity.

Eve was partnered with Robert “Bobby” Mann (David Andrews) who was a guy’s guy. He was into baseball and sports in general and a bit of a throwback if you were to watch it today. While appearing to be a jerk, he had a strong sense of right and wrong and underneath the gruff exterior was a good guy.

S. Epatha Merkerson rounds out the regular cast as the police captain. She was annoyed by Mann and rather coddled Edison. Beyond that not much was done with the character. There were only a handful of episodes, but they never even tried to do much with her. Merkerson is a talented actress and it was a real disservice to her.

As the show progressed it was clear they were angling for an attraction between Eve and Mann. Not sure if that was necessary or even right. She was built like an adult woman but emotionally a child. That is just creepy. I’m not sure how fully functional she was as a machine as well. If they had actually done a romance between the two that would’ve gone in a whole different area similar to what they did with Data in TNG. He gave himself a penis people!

I personally would’ve liked more connectivity between from episode to episode. Maybe not a connected narrative but an order in which the show needed to be watched in order to get the most out of each episode.

The production values of Mann & Machine were reminiscent of any number of direct to video or lower budgeted science-fiction films that I rented on VHS cassette tape. I mean that as a compliment. It may not have had a Blade Runner budget, but with what they had they managed to make it feel like the future.

While I enjoyed the regular cast, the regular cast was too small I felt. It really limited the story telling potential. I think they needed more characters. Maybe not main characters but certainly supporting and recurring characters. These characters had no world beyond the events and people of the episode.

I wouldn’t call the show groundbreakingly original, but it was an enjoyable watch. You got an entertaining story that was well presented and a show that looked good and not like it cut corners.

Mann & Machine certainly wasn’t a bad show and it definitely had potential with some tweaks. What I watched I found on YouTube and some of those episodes seem to come and go. There are indications it is physically available. Having said that if you want to check out something entertaining then track this down and watch it.