D.A.R.Y.L.

D.A.R.Y.L. is a 1985 science fiction adventure film directed by Simon Wincer and written by David Ambrose, Allan Scott, and Jeffrey Ellis. It stars Mary Beth Hurt, Michael McKean, Kathryn Walker, Colleen Camp, Josef Sommer, and Barret Oliver. It follows a seemingly normal young boy who turns out to be a top secret, military-created robot with superhuman abilities.

The film was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on June 14, 1985, by Paramount Pictures and in the United Kingdom on June 20, 1985, by Columbia Pictures through Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb. For his performance, Oliver won the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor at the 13th Saturn Awards.

A young boy is in a car with an older man being pursued by unknown forces. The man tells him to get out the car, and the car crashes off a cliff. The boy wanders the forest barely aware of his surroundings. He is subsequently discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Bergen, an elderly couple, and taken to an orphanage in Barkenton, South Carolina. However, he has no memory of his true identity or why he was in the woods and only knows his name is Daryl. After being placed with his foster parents, Joyce and Andy Richardson, Daryl begins to exhibit exceptional talents.

Daryl's social skills are limited due to his isolated upbringing, but he befriends Turtle Fox, his sarcastic and wisecracking neighbor. Daryl shares that he has amnesia and hopes his real parents will find him someday. As Daryl observes Turtle playing the video game Pole Position, he effortlessly outperforms him, displaying superhuman abilities. He also does well in school, shocking a stern teacher by correctly correcting another student's work before being given the answers when asked to swap papers. Joyce begins to feel disheartened, however, as Daryl, despite being pleasant, irons his own clothes, makes his own bed, and doesn't seem to need anything from her. Andy decides to teach Daryl social skills through baseball, where Daryl excels, hitting multiple home runs and impressing everyone except Joyce, who is not unkind but uninterested when Daryl excitedly tells her mid-game. Daryl wonders if he has hurt her somehow. Turtle advises Daryl he is too perfect and to let Joyce help him a bit. Daryl then deliberately messes up the game and yells about it, allowing Joyce to comfort him. Turtle laments sarcastically that was it was a bit extreme to throw the game, but Daryl is happy.

Daryl gradually grows closer to his family and Turtle and loosens up, becoming more emotive. Daryl also demonstrates his advanced capabilities when he helps Andy rectify an issue with an ATM and manipulates it to put more than one million dollars into his foster father's account.

During a baseball game, government agents Dr. Stewart and Dr. Lamb locate Daryl and present themselves as his real parents. They are surprised when the Richardsons show fondness for Daryl and say he is nervous to meet his parents. Andy has an emotional farewell in private where he encourages Daryl, who does not wish to leave, to give his parents a chance. After Daryl leaves, the Richardsons express doubt as to how unconcerned Daryl's “parents” seemed about him.

Dr. Stewart and Dr. Lamb reveal who they really are to Daryl as they return him to the TASCOM facility in Washington, D.C., where his memory is restored. His name, Daryl, is an acronym for "Data-Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform." Daryl is an artificial intelligence experiment created by a government company called TASCOM. Physically resembling a human boy, Daryl's brain is actually a highly advanced microcomputer with extraordinary abilities, including exceptional reflexes, multitasking skills, and the ability to hack computer systems. The experiment was intended to produce a super-soldier and was funded by the military, but one of the scientists involved in the project, Dr. Mulligan, became disillusioned and decided to free Daryl. Pursued by a helicopter, Dr. Mulligan sacrificed himself to ensure Daryl's escape, driving his car off a cliff.

Daryl undergoes debriefing, and his past actions with his foster family are analyzed. He is questioned about why he threw the game, and he reveals it was to relate to others. The scientists are also surprised at his new range of emotions which he was not programmed for. Dr. Stewart is amazed while Dr. Lamb insists on referring to Daryl as it and says “it” is merely learning to copy behavior. Dr. Stewart, realizing he misses them, allows Andy, Joyce, and Turtle to visit over Dr. Lamb's protests. They manage to convince them of Daryl's true nature, and it is revealed that his capacity for human emotions has led the project to be labeled a failure, leading to the decision to terminate him. Dr. Jeffrey Stewart, one of Daryl's creators, helps him escape, assisted by Dr. Lamb, who now questions Daryl's true nature.