Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:32 — 8.6MB)
X Minus One – How To. 560403 (retro283) A futuristic show about the 21st century, and robots, and both some benefits, and drawbacks of such appliances that are designed to make life easier. We may not exactly have robots yet, but computers certainly can behave like this.
A man browses through a catalog of do it yourself kits. He settles on
a kit to build a robot dog. Hey, they already have robot dogs, but just not in a kit to build your own.
The package comes, but it’s too big for a dog. It turns out to be a regular robot. Just what the wife would rather have, for helping out with the chores. Trouble is that robots are much more expensive than dog-bots. The man knows he should do the right thing, and return the package, but curiosity leads him to build it. You know, just to make sure he can say he built it.
Then, he just has to power it on, just to make sure it will work. Then once the robot is on, and since he is so eager to please, they put him to work doing chores. Albert the robot just takes to it non stop, no worries. What could go wrong?
Next thing you know, another robot shows up. Albert is no ordinary robot. He’s an experimental model who changed his documentation to escape the factory. He’s also programmed to reproduce. Hey, robots that reproduce robots. Isn’t that what happened in the Terminator? Don’t worry the thing to be scared of in this show isn’t the robots. There’s something even scarier. The IRS.
Robots are very expensive, remember? When more robots begin showing up, the IRS begins to question Gordon’s income. How can he afford to have bought so many? What should he do? Sell some off? Albert has something to say about that, and he doesn’t like it.
Not to be out done, and determined not to have his robot kids sold off, Albert takes it upon himself to help with money matters. The more Albert helps, the deeper into trouble that Gordon gets.
Gordon seeks help from a lawyer friend. I think he’s going to need it. Especially when Albert puts his team of robot law clerks on the job to help.
Enjoy this light hearted futuristic, science fiction story. I know I did, and the Retrobots did too. Civil Rights for robots!
Bonus Track:
A snip from the Alan Freid show. 1956.
Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers. Why Do Fools Fall in Love?
