Small Wonder

The storylines revolved 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, 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 parallel port under her left arm, and an access panel in her back. Despite this, the Lawson family tries to pass the robot off as their adopted daughter.

The Lawson family tries to keep the robot’s existence a secret, but their disagreeable neighbours, the Brindles, keep on popping up at the most unexpected moments — especially nosey red-headed girl next door Harriet and her parents, Bonnie and Brandon; the latter just happens to be Ted Lawson’s boss. The show’s humor frequently derived from V.I.C.I.’s attempts to learn human behavior, V.I.C.I’s literal interpretation of speech and the family’s efforts to disguise the robot’s true nature.

The writers needed to explain child actress Tiffany Brissette’s aging during the show. In Season 3, Ted gave V.I.C.I. an upgrade. 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. in Italy is called super vicki!