Future Cop, 1977. 'Looks human. Talks and acts human...but he's not.'
Today, we shine a spotlight on a mostly-forgotten, short-lived TV series from 1976-77 known as Future Cop.
Future Cop first aired in May of 1976 for a single episode and returned in March, 1977 for a brief, six-week run. The show starred Ernest Borgnine and John Amos as the veteran (human) cops and Michael Shannon as Haven the android. Joan Collins was a guest star in “The Kansas City Kid” episode of April, 1977.
Sci Fi writers Ben Bova and Harlan Ellison sued Paramount for taking their idea and eventually won a $337,000 payment. Future Cop was re-configured slightly and returned in March, 1978 for a single TV movie appearance, this time entitled Cops and Robin, before fading away forever.
Not only did Future Cop predate Robocop by almost a decade it also seems quite similar to my childhood favorite, Holmes & YoYo, from the same, 76-77 timeframe.