I have a bet with a few ...

Question: I have a bet with a few friends of mine who insist that I'm going insane. I say there used to be a TV show (on, I think, in the '70s) called Holmes and Yoyo or something close to it. I know I used to watch it as a child, but none of them remember anything like this. Can you help? Thanks.

Answer: Congratulations, Alisin, for being the first person I can remember who's got a bet and an argument about her sanity going with friends. (Keep in mind, however, that though I'm paid to remember countless details about old TV shows, I have a lousy memory for just about everything else. So for all I know, you're the fifth.)

Yes, indeedy, there was a comedy called Holmes and Yoyo on ABC from September to December 1976. The setup was that hapless police detective Alexander Holmes (Richard B. Shull), whose bad luck injured partner after partner, was assigned a robot to work with. The theory was, of course, that Gregory "Yoyo" Yoyonovich (John Schuck), named for his inventor, would be impervious to all Holmes-inspired mishaps.

As you may remember, though, Yoyo, whom just about everyone thought was human, suffered various indignities despite his many robotic advantages (an internal trash compactor, a photographic memory etc.). And whenever he shorted out, he was stuck uttering the phrase "bunko squad" over and over. Add to that an amorous female officer (Andrea Howard) who tried to put the moves on the unresponsive android and you had a recipe for a comedy smash.

Or not. While fans of the show appreciated gags similar to those from producer Leonard Stern's earlier Get Smart, there weren't enough who got the jokes and it was canceled after three months.