The Electric Grandmother

Switch on this excellent adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story, "I Sing the Body Electric," about a magical robot who brings love to a motherless home. Mary Poppins has nothing on Maureen Stapleton, who has been built to the exact specifications of recently-widowed Edward Hermann and his three children. She can cook all their favorite foods, squirt orange juice from her fingers and even quote Whitman and Plato. She can do everything but win the heart of the youngest daughter who is afraid she will be abandoned again. This heartwarming program has won many awards, including a Peabody, and justly so. The accessible fantasy-flavored story is especially appropriate for library collections, where it may well inspire young readers to seek out the works of Bradbury and other science fiction writers. It is an intelligent, non-violent program that appeals to the viewer's best instincts. Highly recommended. (Donald Liebenson)