Small Wonder (TV series)
Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox television Small Wonder is an American comedy 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, Vicki. The series turned out to be a surprise hit, specifically among children, with reruns airing internationally. Owing to its popularity in some countries, the show had to be dubbed for different languages.
Premise
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 young girl. Vicki was built by Ted Lawson, an engineer/inventor for United Robotronics, in an effort to assist handicapped children. Lawson takes the robot home so that it can mature within a family environment. Vicki's features include superhuman strength and speed, an AC outlet under her right arm, a data port under her left arm, and an access panel in her back. Despite this, the Lawson family initially tries to pass Vicki off as an orphaned family member whom they legally adopted 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 Vicki's attempts to learn human behavior, her unprecedented echolalia, 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 Vicki an upgrade in the series' third season. He aged her face, dressed her in casual clothes, and allowed her to eat and drink. The food passed through her naturally and the drink cooled her internal system.
Cast and characters
- Dick Christie as Ted Lawson - Jamie's father, Joan's husband and Vicki's creator. A robotics engineer who originally created the Vicki robot as a domestic servant with a female child's appearance.
- Marla Pennington as Joan Anderson<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lawson - Ted's wife and Jamie's mother. Joan, more than anyone else on the show, regards Vicki as a real person.
- Jerry Supiran as Jamie Lawson - The 10-year-old son of Ted and Joan.
- Emily Schulman as Harriet Brindle - The nosy neighbors' daughter who has a crush on Jamie.
- Tiffany Brissette as Victoria "Vicki" Ann Smith-Lawson - 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 realistic hair and skin. She possesses superhuman strength and speed and runs on atomic power. Vicki has an access panel in her back, an electrical outlet 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, serve as a defibrillator to save the life of a person suffering a heart attack). 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.
Recurring
- Kelly Britt as Mrs. Fernwald - the bothersome social worker.
- William Bogert as Brandon Brindle - Harriet's father. Becomes Ted Lawson's boss after stealing Ted's ideas. Also a neighbor to the Lawsons.
- Edie McClurg as Bonnie Brindle - 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.
- Alice Ghostley as Ida Mae Brindle -Brandon's outspoken, know-it-all sister who is nearly identical to his wife Bonnie.
- Paul C. Scott as Reggie Williams - Jamie's best friend and sometimes rival.
- Lihann Jones as Jessica - Jamie's sometime girlfriend.
- Daryl Bartley as Warren Enright - Jamie's sometime school friend.
- Tiffany Brissette as Vanessa - Evil robot who looks identical to Vicki, but does not speak in a monotone (seasons 3–4).
Reception
Despite proving popular among viewers, it has been regarded by some critics as one of the worst sitcoms of all time, such as Robert Bianco, TV critic for USA Today, who listed it as a contender for one of the worst TV shows of all time in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to the BBC, it "is widely considered one of the worst low-budget sitcoms of all time."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Young Artist Award | Best Young Supporting Actress in a New Television Series | Emily Schulman |
| 1987 | Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Long-Running Series, Comedy or Drama |
Episodes
Template:Main List of Small Wonder episodes
Home media
Shout! Factory has released the first two seasons of Small Wonder on DVD in Region 1.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
| DVD name | Ep# | Region 1 |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 24 | February 16, 2010 |
| The Complete Second Season | 24 | June 22, 2010 |
See also
- My Living Doll. Howard Leeds, producer of Small Wonder, also produced this 1964–1965 sitcom starring Bob Cummings and Julie Newmar with the same premise as Small Wonder (except the gynoid is an adult female and the lead male character takes custody of the robot as opposed to building her).
- Not Quite Human, a series of novels in which a scientist creates an android, passing him off as his son, telling only his daughter the truth. The series was made into several TV movies for the Disney Channel.
- Karishma Kaa Karishma, the Indian television sitcom remake.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The series aired on STAR Plus.
- Dr. Slump, where a crazy Japanese inventor makes an android daughter so he can become closer to a local teacher he is in love with.
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence – also known as A.I., is a 2001 American science fiction film written, directed, and produced by Steven Spielberg, and based on Brian Aldiss's short story "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long". The film stars Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Sam Robards, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson, and William Hurt. Set sometime in the future, A.I. tells the story of David, a childlike android uniquely programmed with the ability to love.
- Bahu Hamari Rajni Kant — The Indian television series in which a scientist named Shaan Kant creates an android for his boss and names it RAJNI (Randomly Accessible Job Networking Interface), who becomes his wife Rajni-Kant and makes a good impression on his family. The truth about her is known only to Shaan and his friend Dev.
- Yo soy Franky and I Am Frankie - The Colombian children's telenovela and American remake has a teenage android named Frankie Gaines created by a robot scientist who wants to see how she does in high school, and has to keep it a secret from the general student body. Other androids are developed by rivals who also appear at the school.
- D.A.R.Y.L. - 1985 American science fiction film about a government-created "Data-Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform".
- Astro Boy - a manga, TV series and animated film about a scientist who replaces his dead son with a life-like android.
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- 1980s American children's comedy television series
- 1980s American comic science fiction television series
- 1980s American multi-camera sitcoms
- 1985 American television series debuts
- 1989 American television series endings
- American children's science fiction television series
- American children's television sitcoms
- American television series about children
- American television series about families
- Androids in television
- American English-language television shows
- First-run syndicated sitcoms
- Television series about robots
- Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
- Television series by Metromedia