Automan

1 9 8 2 - 1 9 8 3 (USA)
1 x 120 minute telemovie
13 x episodes

Automan was released originally as a two-hour movie and then as a 13-episode series in 1982 and 1983. The series was created by Glen A. Larson, who was brought the idea by Donald Kushner and Peter Locke. Kushner had produced the film Tron and wanted to use the same technology for TV. Kushner and Locke became co-line producers of the series and later went on to even greater glory as the producers of Divorce Court.

A Tron rip-off of sorts, the series was actually the opposite of the film. In Tron, a human enters the game world. In Automan, the game character enters the real world. At the time, the Automan pilot was one of the most expensive TV films ever made because of all the special effects.

The stars were Desi Arnaz Jr. as Walter Nebicher (a police computer geek), Chuck Wagner as Automan, and a black Lamborghini Countach striped with reflective tape as the Autocar. 

Together, Walter and Automan along with Cursor, a small floating droid that can create any object Automan needs, battle the criminal elements of the city. They sometimes work with Lt. Jack Curtis - a hot shot detective (who believes Automan is a government agent by the name of Agent Man).