An android named Geoffrey

(1994 made-for-cable movie; originally aired 10/13/94 on USA)

A highly entertaining science fiction film set in the near future, Bruce Greenwood plays Geoffrey, a computerized android purchased by famous romance novelist Gillian Tanner (Kathryn Harrold in a finely detailed performance) who programs him first to be her servant, then her friend and finally her lover. In an effort to make him more human, she adds unpredictability to his personality, which leads the literally designed android to become overly possessive and eventually homicidal when he thinks their relationship might be threatened.

Greenwood gets to play Geoffrey at various levels of programming and is particularly disarming as the simplistic android of the earlier scenes but brings off the more campy second half with understated delicacy. A great favorite of Bruce Greenwood's fans, this made-for-cable movie received remarkably good reviews, especially for the acting of the two protagonists. Even though it's basically a tv movie, the film has a quiet but signficant message about the future and how dependent man could some day become on machines as well as an unpretentious examination on just how human such androids might become. There's also a Nowhere Man tie-in in a wonderfully amusing scene with Bryon Cranston (Sheriff Wade in The Alpha Spike) who plays the novelist's former boyfriend, while Brion James, who played Greenwood's outlaw brother in Rio Diablo plays an overly-aggressive neighbor.

This title was released on video in 1995 and is still easily available; it's repeated often on USA and other cable stations.

USA Network/Michael Phillips Productions.