10 TV Shows That Re-Used Props From Other Shows

For all that they're nothing more than an assemblage of inanimate parts, a well-designed recycled prop can have the star power and career longevity that is the envy of their human castmates. Dome-headed android Robby The Robot is just such a prop.

Originally built by the MGM props department for an enormous $125,000 (around 7% of the total budget) for Shakespeare-in-space movie classic Forbidden Planet, Robby was one of the single most expensive film props to date. His reuse as a repeatedly recycled TV prop was, then, partly about his makers getting their money's worth.

But Robby also displayed an instantly iconic mix of personality and futuristic design unmatched by past screen robots. And that made him instantly appealing to TV producers looking for a characterful automaton.

The Twilight Zone was mostly filmed at MGM Studios and, as such, made extensive use of Forbidden Planet props. Robby, with a can-shaped new face beneath the dome, showed up as an abusive bot in the fifth season. He would go on to appear in Lost In Space where Robby battled that show's own iconic Robot (which was also a product of Robby's designer Robert Kinoshita).

Other sci-fi TV shows of the 60s and 70s to use Robby included The Man From UNCLE, Project UFO, Wonder Woman and Space Academy, while he also found a niche in sitcoms; whether high concept ones like Mork And Mindy and The Addams Family or the less paranormal likes of The Gale Storm Show.

He was even the killer in an episode of Columbo. Or should that be "the murder weapon"? As ever with the robo-star, it's hard to tell where the inanimate prop ends and the performer begins.