Automan

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Automan
Automan.jpg
Walter Nebicher (Desi Arnaz, Jr.)
and Automan (Chuck Wagner).
Format Science Fiction, Superhero
Created by Glen A. Larson
Written by Sam Egan (4 eps)
Douglas Heyes, Jr. (3 eps)
Larry Brody (2 eps)
Directed by Kim Manners (4 eps)
Winrich Kolbe (3 eps)
Lee H. Katzin (1 ep)
Starring Desi Arnaz, Jr.
Chuck Wagner
Heather McNair
Robert Lansing
Gerald S. O'Loughlin
Composer(s) Stu Phillips
Billy Hinsche
Country of origin  United States
Language(s) English
No. of episodes 13
Production
Executive producer(s) Glen A. Larson
Larry Brody
Producer(s) Donald Kushner
Peter Locke
Running time 50 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run December 15, 1983 – April 2, 1984

Automan is an American science fiction superhero television series produced by Glen A. Larson. It aired for only 12 episodes (although 13 were made) on ABC between 1983 and 1984.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Automan (the "Automatic Man") followed the adventures of a police officer and computer programmer named Walter Nebicher (Desi Arnaz, Jr.), who had created an artificially intelligent crime fighting program that generated a hologram[1] (Chuck Wagner) able to leave the computer world and enter reality to help fight crime.

While in the real world, Automan posed as a government agent who helped Walter by the name of "Otto J. Mann." This was a secret to all the regular characters, except Walter's close associate, Roxanne Caldwell (Heather McNair).

Nebicher could merge with Automan to become one being, sharing both consciousness and skills, while retaining Automan's invulnerability to such things as gunshots and explosions. During the "merges" only Automan's form, a human head atop a glowing body made of circuit patterns and flickering light, could be seen.

Automan had a sidekick named Cursor, a free-floating, glowing, shifting polyhedron-shaped, mote of energy which could three-dimensionally "draw" and generate physical objects as they were needed, generally becoming the object in the process. Cursor could not become another object until dissolving the current object (usually a reversal of the "drawing" effect) and reassuming "his" normal form. Exceptions to this included the fabrication of more conventional outer clothing to hide Automan's unusual body appearance, and a variable dark colored vehicle lined in glowing blue piping. Jokingly referred to as the "Auto car" in one of its earliest appearances, the most common forms taken were a car, a plane, and a helicopter, all of which could defy the laws of physics such as making a 90-degree-angle turn.

Cursor could make the vehicle appear or, by making contact with it, cause it to change from one form into another, such as shifting from a car into a helicopter, and could then detach in order to perform other tasks. Cursor could create vehicles with a more conventional appearance but could not then separate from them as he did the unusual-looking forms without the object dissolving. It is also notable that Cursor was always the first to appear from a computer, after which he immediately "created" Automan's physical body. Automan and Cursor were generally only able to become corporeal at night, since running both had enormous power requirements.

Automan was the only TV program to feature the use of a Lamborghini Countach as transport; the Auto car's most common form was such a car. When driving, Automan turned his car at 90 degree angles (a result of Nebicher's programming). Automan was unaffected, but his passengers were generally knocked from one side of the car to the other.

The show also starred Robert Lansing as the often-drunken Lieutenant Jack Curtis and Gerald S. O'Loughlin as Captain of Detectives E. G. Boyd, Walter's superiors. Both believed that Automan was a friend of Walter's from the FBI. Captain Boyd, a technophobe who had no use for computers, often held up Lieutenant Curtis as the kind of cop he was convinced was the ideal for police--an ideal to which he believed Walter could never rise.

[edit] Features

The show had used several visual effects. The costume itself had reflective plates stuck on it to give the holographic appearance, with a specific lighting system in place.

The Autocar and Autochopper were the most common vehicles created for transport. Each vehicle would appear or disappear as a sequence of wireframes drawn by Cursor, and were black with strips of reflective tape stuck on them. The Autocar was a Lamborghini Countach LP400, which was capable of turning in 90-degree angles and overtaking merely by strafing, rather than turning. The Autochopper was apparently a modified Bell Jetranger though the lack of definition suggest any model, and was capable of landing anywhere. The show also featured a stylised, futuristic airplane as well as a motorcycle, while other episodes featured a handgun and a guitar, all in the distinctive pattern. As with Automan's costumes, Cursor could also create replicas of ordinary vehicles and appliances as a disguise. All these vehicles were invulnerable to firearms and damage.

Another prominent feature of Automan was to wrap himself around Walter as a means of protection. Being a 'perfect' hologram, Automan was invulnerable, and could use it to protect Walter, and appear as one person, but given Walter's interactions with Automan, he would inadvertently end up speaking in two voices. Automan could also manipulate computer records and transactions.

However, Automan's exccessive use of electricity would often mean he would suffer from power shortage during the daytime, so he was rarely active in sunlight. There were still notable exceptions to the rule, such as in an episode set in a more rural area, where he had a vehicle, a costume and firearms created during the day.

[edit] Influences

Automan was inspired by Steven Lisberger's film Tron, which had come out a year earlier. In order not to seem to be plagiarizing Tron, Glen A. Larson involved Donald Kushner, who had been an operating producer of Tron, and his partner, Peter Locke, as operating producers of Automan. This alone lent credibility to the program.

Although similar in appearance, the special effects used to create the Automan look were completely different from the hand-painted effects used in Tron. Automan cinematographer Charles "Chuck" Barbee reports that what they actually did was use reflective material and portable projectors, though the end result looks simply like some kind of blue/green screen chromakey overlay.

[edit] Cast

[edit] International broadcasters

[edit] Episodes

No. Episode Title Director Writer(s) Original Airdate
1 "Automan" Lee H. Katzin Glen A. Larson December 15, 1983
2 "Staying Alive While Running a High Flashdance Fever" Winrich Kolbe Glen A. Larson December 22, 1983
3 "The Great Pretender" Kim Manners Sam Egan December 29, 1983
4 "Ships in the Night" Bob Claver Parke Perine January 5, 1984
5 "Unreasonable Facsimile" Winrich Kolbe Sam Egan January 12, 1984
6 "Flashes and Ashes" Kim Manners Douglas Heyes, Jr. January 19, 1984
7 "The Biggest Game in Town" Winrich Kolbe Larry Brody,
Shel Willens		 January 26, 1984
8 "Renegade Run" Allen Baron Larry Brody,
Douglas Heyes, Jr.		 March 5, 1984
9 "Murder MTV" Bruce Seth Green Douglas Heyes, Jr.,
Guerdon Trueblood		 March 12, 1984
10 "Murder, Take One" Kim Manners Sam Egan March 19, 1984
11 "Zippers" Alan Crosland David Garber,
Bruce Kalish		 March 26, 1984
12 "Death By Design" Gil Bettman Sam Egan April 2, 1984
13 "Club Ten" Kim Manners Michael S. Baser,
Kim Weiskopf		 Unaired*

* "Club Ten" has been broadcast (years later) on The Sci-Fi Channel, and on BBC1 and Bravo in the UK.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ called that at the start of pilot episode one

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automan"