Just a kindly grandmother plugging herself in for the night.
Written by Ray Bradbury, this 1982 NBC Made-for-TV Movie is an expanded retelling of his The Twilight Zone (1959) episode "I Sing the Body Electric," written in 1962, then later retold in a short story collection in 1969.
While some plot elements are different than the original, the basic concept and many story beats are exactly the same: a grieving family receives a robot grandmother (Maureen Stapleton) as a replacement for the mother who has recently died, and while three of the family members – sons Tom (Robert MacNaughton and Timothy (Charlie Fields), and the father (Edward Herrmann) – quickly come to love the AI replacement, the daughter, Agatha (Tara Kennedy), does not, and reacts with hostility.
This movie contains examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion: The movie mostly follows the original Twilight Zone episode, but it goes a bit further, adding in additional details such as the following:
- The grandmother is now a bit more clearly robotic. She can emit milk, string and juice out of her fingers, uses a plug to recharge herself at night (and can "wake up" to plug herself back in), and can record and play back voices.
- The finale of what happens to the children when they're growing up is expanded upon more, including a "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue.
- There are multiple examples of Agatha trying to sabotage the grandmother, such as unplugging her while she's recharging, or at least express her displeasure through misbehavior.
- There's a new plot point: the grandmother must please all members of the family within 30 days or she must go back to the factory. This creates tension between the brothers and sister.
- Artificial Family Member: The android grandmother who joins the family. She is, well, an android, but most of the family accepts her. All but Agatha, the daughter.
- Brain Uploading: Of a very unusual sort. The android grandmothers share knowledge with each other after they've left their families, to help each other improve.
- But Now I Must Go: The android grandmother is promised with a 30-day money back guarantee. If all members of the family are not satisfied within 30 days, she goes back to the factory. And since the daughter is upset with and angry at her, she must go back to the factory.
- Just a Machine: Agatha literally uses these exact words in anger at the grandmother, and even unplugs her while she's recharging.
- Made of Iron: The android grandmother rescues Agatha from being hit by a car, taking the blow herself, but she takes no damage.
- Raised by Robots: A positive example that shows the outcome in the movie's final scene. We learn what happened to the kids when they grew up, and they all had very successful, happy careers.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: Other than the visible plug she uses to recharge at night, and the ability to emit needed things such as milk or string out of her fingers, the grandmother looks and acts exactly like a human.
- Taking the Bullet: The grandmother goes to rescue Agatha from being hit by a car, being hit herself instead. But since she's Made of Iron, it's not a sacrifice.
- Voice Changeling: Of a sort. The grandmother can record perfectly what people say and play it back verbatim, since it's a recording.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The grandmother talks about what happened to the children after they grew up and reached adulthood, providing a form of this trope in dialog.
