Small Wonder is an American science fiction sitcom that aired in first-run syndication from September 7, 1985 to May 20, 1989. The show chronicles the family of a robotics engineer who secretly creates a robot modeled after a human girl, then tries to pass it off as their adopted daughter.
The story lines revolve around V.I.C.I. (an acronym for Voice Input Child Identicant, pronounced "Vicki"), an android in the form of a 10-year-old girl. V.I.C.I. was built by Ted Lawson, an engineer/inventor for United Robotronics, in an effort to assist handicapped children. The robot is taken home by Lawson so that it can mature within a family environment. V.I.C.I.'s features include superhuman strength and speed, an AC outlet under her right arm, a serial port under her left arm, and an access panel in her back. Despite this, the Lawson family initially tries to pass V.I.C.I. off as an orphaned family member whom they eventually legally adopt as their daughter.
The Lawson family tries to keep the robot's existence a secret, but their disagreeable neighbors, the Brindles, keep on popping up at the most unexpected moments — especially nosy next-door neighbor Harriet, whose father happens to be Ted Lawson's co-worker. The show's humor frequently derived from V.I.C.I.'s attempts to learn human behavior, the robot's literal interpretation of speech and the family's efforts to disguise the robot's true nature.
To explain child actress Tiffany Brissette's aging during the show, the series' producers had Ted give V.I.C.I. an upgrade in the series' third season. He aged her face, dressed her in modern clothes, and allowed her to eat and drink. The food passed through her naturally and the drink cooled her internal system.
Victoria "Vicki" Ann Smith-Lawson (Tiffany Brissette): A robot modeled after a real human girl. The robot was a Voice Input Child Identicant (V.I.C.I.), but was nicknamed Vicki. She has real hair and realistic skin. She possesses superhuman strength and speed and runs on atomic power. Vicki has an access panel in her back, an electric socket in her right armpit, and an RS-232 serial port under her left armpit. Vicki's artificial intelligence is not perfect; she is incapable of emotion, speaks in a monotone voice and interprets most commands literally. She does manage to blend into the real world to a point. Vicki attends school, and no one but her family members and a few trusted friends know her secret. Occasionally Vicki had rare abilities that seemed to only appear in one or two episodes, such as elongating her neck to reach a door's peephole, shrinking her size to become as small as a doll or making herself ten feet tall to get noticed by everyone. Somehow, she could also channel enough electricity through her hands to jump-start a car (or with more control, restart a person's heart after suffering a coronary). One recurring theme was that Vicki had a super-powered learning system which enabled her to improve something such as a new detergent or to greatly increase the gas mileage of cars, which Jamie often saw as a chance to get rich quick, only to find her improvements were not perfect. Vicki lives in a cabinet in Jamie's bedroom, and becomes more human-like over the course of the show.
Jamie Lawson (Jerry Supiran): The 12-year-old son of Ted and Joan.
Ted Lawson (Dick Christie): Jamie's father and Vicki's creator. A robotics engineer who originally created the Vicki robot as a domestic servant with a female child's appearance.
Joan Lawson (Marla Pennington): Ted's wife. Joan, more than anyone else on the show, regards Vicki as a real person.
Harriet Brindle (Emily Schulman): The nosy neighbors' daughter who has a crush on Jamie.
Brandon Brindle (William Bogert): Harriet's father. Becomes Ted Lawson's boss after stealing Ted's ideas. Also a neighbor to the Lawsons.
Bonnie Brindle (Edie McClurg): Harriet's mother and Brandon's wife. Written out after the second season after McClurg joined the cast of The Hogan Family, though Bonnie appears one more time in a third season episode.
Ida Mae Brindle (Alice Ghostley): Brandon's outspoken, know-it-all sister, who is nearly identical to his wife Bonnie.
Reggie Williams (Paul C. Scott): Jamie's best friend and sometimes rival.
Jessica (Lihann Jones): Jamie's sometime girlfriend.
Warren Enright (Daryl Bartley): Jamie's sometime school friend.
Vanessa (Tiffany Brissette): Evil robot who looks identical to Vicki, but does not speak in monotone. (Seen in seasons 3 and 4)
On January 14, 2009, on Fox's The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, Tiffany Brissette appeared in-studio as a guest for a "Where Are They Now?" segment; unbeknownst to her until the segment began, Dick Christie, Marla Pennington, and Edie McClurg were all present for the interview via satellite. Fond remarks and memories were shared about Brissette in the very brief segment. On the show, Brissette had stated that she was living in Boulder, Colorado and attending nursing school, but this news
The story lines revolve around V.I.C.I. (an acronym for Voice Input Child Identicant, pronounced "Vicki"), an android in the form of a 10-year-old girl. V.I.C.I. was built by Ted Lawson, an engineer/inventor for United Robotronics, in an effort to assist handicapped children. The robot is taken home by Lawson so that it can mature within a family environment. V.I.C.I.'s features include superhuman strength and speed, an AC outlet under her right arm, a serial port under her left arm, and an access panel in her back. Despite this, the Lawson family initially tries to pass V.I.C.I. off as an orphaned family member whom they eventually legally adopt as their daughter.
The Lawson family tries to keep the robot's existence a secret, but their disagreeable neighbors, the Brindles, keep on popping up at the most unexpected moments — especially nosy next-door neighbor Harriet, whose father happens to be Ted Lawson's co-worker. The show's humor frequently derived from V.I.C.I.'s attempts to learn human behavior, the robot's literal interpretation of speech and the family's efforts to disguise the robot's true nature.
To explain child actress Tiffany Brissette's aging during the show, the series' producers had Ted give V.I.C.I. an upgrade in the series' third season. He aged her face, dressed her in modern clothes, and allowed her to eat and drink. The food passed through her naturally and the drink cooled her internal system.
Victoria "Vicki" Ann Smith-Lawson (Tiffany Brissette): A robot modeled after a real human girl. The robot was a Voice Input Child Identicant (V.I.C.I.), but was nicknamed Vicki. She has real hair and realistic skin. She possesses superhuman strength and speed and runs on atomic power. Vicki has an access panel in her back, an electric socket in her right armpit, and an RS-232 serial port under her left armpit. Vicki's artificial intelligence is not perfect; she is incapable of emotion, speaks in a monotone voice and interprets most commands literally. She does manage to blend into the real world to a point. Vicki attends school, and no one but her family members and a few trusted friends know her secret. Occasionally Vicki had rare abilities that seemed to only appear in one or two episodes, such as elongating her neck to reach a door's peephole, shrinking her size to become as small as a doll or making herself ten feet tall to get noticed by everyone. Somehow, she could also channel enough electricity through her hands to jump-start a car (or with more control, restart a person's heart after suffering a coronary). One recurring theme was that Vicki had a super-powered learning system which enabled her to improve something such as a new detergent or to greatly increase the gas mileage of cars, which Jamie often saw as a chance to get rich quick, only to find her improvements were not perfect. Vicki lives in a cabinet in Jamie's bedroom, and becomes more human-like over the course of the show.
Jamie Lawson (Jerry Supiran): The 12-year-old son of Ted and Joan.
Ted Lawson (Dick Christie): Jamie's father and Vicki's creator. A robotics engineer who originally created the Vicki robot as a domestic servant with a female child's appearance.
Joan Lawson (Marla Pennington): Ted's wife. Joan, more than anyone else on the show, regards Vicki as a real person.
Harriet Brindle (Emily Schulman): The nosy neighbors' daughter who has a crush on Jamie.
Brandon Brindle (William Bogert): Harriet's father. Becomes Ted Lawson's boss after stealing Ted's ideas. Also a neighbor to the Lawsons.
Bonnie Brindle (Edie McClurg): Harriet's mother and Brandon's wife. Written out after the second season after McClurg joined the cast of The Hogan Family, though Bonnie appears one more time in a third season episode.
Ida Mae Brindle (Alice Ghostley): Brandon's outspoken, know-it-all sister, who is nearly identical to his wife Bonnie.
Reggie Williams (Paul C. Scott): Jamie's best friend and sometimes rival.
Jessica (Lihann Jones): Jamie's sometime girlfriend.
Warren Enright (Daryl Bartley): Jamie's sometime school friend.
Vanessa (Tiffany Brissette): Evil robot who looks identical to Vicki, but does not speak in monotone. (Seen in seasons 3 and 4)
On January 14, 2009, on Fox's The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, Tiffany Brissette appeared in-studio as a guest for a "Where Are They Now?" segment; unbeknownst to her until the segment began, Dick Christie, Marla Pennington, and Edie McClurg were all present for the interview via satellite. Fond remarks and memories were shared about Brissette in the very brief segment. On the show, Brissette had stated that she was living in Boulder, Colorado and attending nursing school, but this news
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