The Runaway Robot
Reviewed by Bruce Dettman

Robots have come a long way since Czech novelist and playwright Karel Capek wrote R.U.R., the theatrical vehicle that introduced the species to the general public way back in 1920. As a kid, very little that was intended to frighten me up on the big (or little) screen succeeded, not vampires or werewolves, not mummies or even the big guy with the bolts and ultimate flat top, but for some reason, perhaps it was their complete lack of humanity, robots invariably got under my skin. Of course, we who came along in the pre-George Lucas era, weren't overly demanding of our robots. I have to admit with some embarrassment that the famous "Walking Water Heater" made notorious in Republic serials, actually sent a few shivers up my adolescent spine when I first encountered him tangling with my boyhood hero the Copperhead in The Mysterious Dr. Satan, as did the scowling metallic menace in The Phantom Creeps with Bela Lugosi. To be honest, I didn't even totally trust Tobor or even Robbie, although they were supposedly benevolent creations.

The one robot, however, who never bothered me in the least was Hero from The Runaway Robot, part of the first year's episodes of TAOS. It is, I think, a testimonial to the acting skills of Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane that she managed to register legitimate terror and fear at the sight of a creature that can best be described as an ungainly composite of the Tin Woodsman from The Wizard of Oz and Mr. Potato Head. Not only did Ms. Coates cower and emote with admirable believability given the silly appearance of her attacker, but she also managed several dynamite multi-octave screams as only she could (I rate her right up there with the late Fay Wray in the lung department). But that was the way it was in those days.

No matter what the premise, how cheap the special effects, how questionable the plot line the actors gave it their all, never had tongue in cheek or appeared to look down at the material. That's what makes all these old shows so memorable and fun to look back at. They were always played straight. Nonetheless, Runaway Robot is certainly less serious in theme and execution than most of Robert Maxwell's first year efforts. For one thing, despite their willingness to have Hero do away with both Lois and its scatterbrained inventor Horatio Hinkle (Lucien Littlefield), the trio of bad guys which includes Russell Johnson (years away from his role as the Professor on Gilligans's Island), Dan Seymour (who would also show up on The Mind Machine and The Stolen Costume) and one of screendom's greatest weasels John Harmon, are hard to take seriously and more closely resemble some of the series' later miscreants than other first year bad guys who are rarely a laughing matter. Ironically, despite the lighter tone of the episode, it seems as though the entire cast is a bit on the testy and volatile side. Everyone seems to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed for this one - Clark ("Superman's not psychic, Jimmy!"), Perry, Lois - the whole gang just seem off their game. Perhaps the next Daily Planet payday was too far off. Who knows? Fortunately, they finally get to blow off a little steam at Inspector Henderson's expense when the torch appliance from Hero's dismantled carcass singes the detective's behind (in Clark's apartment at the Standish Arms). It's a fun episode but not one of the first year's best. Still I think an Emmy should have gone to Ms. Coates for that one scene alone.

June 2005
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