Small Wonder (1985)
Synopsis
When genius cybernetics engineer Ted Lawson brings home his top-secret invention, a Voice Input Child Identicant or V.I.C.I., life becomes anything but mechanical for the Lawson Family. With his boss and his nosy family living next door, Ted, his wife Joan and their son Jamie must pass Vicki off as a real child. It is easy for Joan, who cannot help doting on her like a daughter, but harder for precocious Jamie, who uses Vicki to do his homework and to ward off Harriet, the annoying redheaded girl next door.
Network
Syndication
Episodes
Vicki's Homecoming
Ted brings home his own cyber creation an android in the form of a ten year old girl he nicknames Vicki.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The Brindles, the Lawson's nosy neighbors, come across Vicki and tries to find out their secret.
Robositter
Jamie has the entire house to himself, not knowing that Vicki is his babysitter!
Nerd Crush
Warren Enright, the class nerd, falls in love with Vicki.
Runaway Jamie
Because Vicki is getting more attention, Jamie decides to run away to see what his parents might think.
Lights! Camera! Ego!
Jamie and his friend Reggie Williams are involved in putting together a sci-fi movie project for school, but the power of directorial duties goes to Jamie's head.
White Lies
Jamie realizes the value of constant truthfulness when he can't convince his parents that he's not responsible for breaking (and secretly gluing together) a teapot caused by Harriet's smart-aleck cousin.
The Bully
A bully extorts money from Jamie's neighborhood club, which quickly reconsiders its boys-only policy via Vicki's strong-arm "assistance."
DisHonor Student
Jamie uses Vicki's new speed-scan reading ability to complete 55 chapters of his homework overnight, which earns him the school honor roll -- along with snowballing guilt.
Vicki's Adoption
Tipped off on the sly by busybody Bonnie Brindle, Child Services threatens to take Vicki away unless the Lawsons can produce her past -- and she passes a medical exam.
Child Prodigy
To circumvent Child Services' orders to send Vicki to school and risk exposure, the Lawsons hire a pompous tutor who mistakes her computer abilities for genius. To remedy the situation, Joan crams to follow-through her marriage-postponed teaching degree to act as Vicki's "tutor," while Ted takes over the kitchen and creates a mess.
Brindles Move In
A house fire moves Ted's new boss, Brandon Brindle, into the Lawsons' house, scheming for insurance fraud.
RoboBrat
When overexposure to Harriet infects heuristically mimicking Vicki with Harriet's personality traits and shrieking tantrums, Ted must purge the brat out of her at his factory -- but not before Harriet and Bonnie Brindle wonder where Vicki suddenly vanished to and summon the police.
The Burrito Story
Jamie attempts to mass-produce burritos made by Vicki.
Babes in the Woods
The Lawsons and Reggie and Harriet take a wilderness camping trip, and get lost.
First Love
To charm prissy and picky Jessica, Jamie throws an expensive party for her, ignoring a surprising school tomboy.
Substitute Dad
When golf-crazed Ted neglects taking Jamie to a Father-and-Son picnic for a golf tournament, Brandon steps in and incites a "father war" while Joan uses Vicki to voice her disapproval to Ted.
The Robot Nappers
When keen-eyed recruitment officers from a rival robotics firm drop by to interview Ted, they suspect Vicki is a robot and plan to "robotnap" her.
Ted's Lay-Off
United Robotronics cutbacks have the Lawsons scrambling for odd jobs.
Health Nuts
Ted is motivated to get the family into shape when an obese co-worker loses a record amount of weight.
The Reluctant Halfback
Ted is proud that Jamie's made the Pee Wee Football league, unknowing that Jamie only does it to please his dad.
Vaudeville Vicki
When a vaudeville actor thinks Vicki is his long-lost daughter, he drafts her into a show and threatens her adoption.
The Birds, The Bees, and Robots
When timid Ted uses the "stork theory" in answering Jamie's questions about sex, Jamie believes Dad's in serious need of sex education and tries to help him out.
Grandpa Lawson's Visit
Ted has the unenviable task of explaining to his unwary Vicki-doting father, who bitterly lost his job to automation, that his new lovely adopted granddaughter is really a robot.
Cast
Details
Original Title
Small Wonder
Status
Ended
Seasons
4
Episodes
99
Production
Metromedia Video Productions, 20th Century Fox Television
