Cast
Dick Christie – Ted Lawson
Marla Pennington – Joan Lawson
Jerry Supiran – Jamie Lawson
Emily Schulman – Harriet Brindle
Tiffany Brissette – Vicki the Robot

Plot
Dad creates a robot, Vicki, but the family keeps it secret from the rest of the world (including nosy neighbors), pretending she is really part of the family.

Why it’s on the list
The only funny thing about Small Wonder is how bad the show was. Just goes to show that 1980s show standards were slightly lower than they are today. Really? A lame girl robot? And it ran for four seasons?

http://tv.popcrunch.com/the-25-worst-sitcoms-ever/

http://tv.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/small-wonder.jpg

Okay the premise of the show was a little lame, but for the 80s nothing was out of the question. Don't forget this is a kids show.

However... have you seen the episodes recently? I bought the season 1 dvds and the comedy one-liners hold up fine, and there are a lot of them! The cast has some noteworthy actors - namely the entire Brindle family.

Okay the premise of the show was a little lame, but for the 80s nothing was out of the question. Don't forget this is a kids show.

However... have you seen the episodes recently? I bought the season 1 dvds and the comedy one-liners hold up fine, and there are a lot of them! The cast has some noteworthy actors - namely the entire Brindle family.

I agree. The show really isn't that bad. I think it gets mocked so much because of the premise which is very far fetched and the production values were lower than low. I have the DVDs which I watch fairly regularly and a lot of the writing and jokes still hold up. I think the worst of actors of the bunch are the adults. The mom and the dad were pretty wooden but I think Tiffany Brissette was a good actress.

You have to remember that Small Wonder was a first run syndicatiion show and as such it's production budget was much smaller than what a network show would have. I think they made a very good show within the limits they had.

You have to remember that Small Wonder was a first run syndicatiion show and as such it's production budget was much smaller than what a network show would have. I think they made a very good show within the limits they had.
I agree Marv. I always enjoyed the show. :)

I agree. The show really isn't that bad. I think it gets mocked so much because of the premise which is very far fetched and the production values were lower than low. I have the DVDs which I watch fairly regularly and a lot of the writing and jokes still hold up. I think the worst of actors of the bunch are the adults. The mom and the dad were pretty wooden but I think Tiffany Brissette was a good actress.

The premise of Small Wonder sort of reminds me of the Not Quite Human books, which would later be turned into a trilogy of Disney Channel movies. The key difference is that said robot was a boy and was physically made to look like a teenager. I think the idea of having Vicki be a pre-teen instead of several years older, kind of makes the underling circumstances creepier (a la in almost a Toddlers & Tiaras sort of way perhaps).

You have to remember that Small Wonder was a first run syndicatiion show and as such it's production budget was much smaller than what a network show would have. I think they made a very good show within the limits they had.

Agreed! It was a family oriented show. If it were to be on network television during this time, it should have been paired with Alf. The 80's were a time when science fiction was used as a formula for comedy.

Agreed! It was a family oriented show. If it were to be on network television during this time, it should have been paired with Alf. The 80's were a time when science fiction was used as a formula for comedy.
I agree, Small Wonder is actually funny in a hokey lame sort of way that you should just leave your brain at the door.

You mentioned ALF, on the other hand is completely unwatchable and of the two I'm shocked that ALF was aired on a major network, what genius executive green lighted this? The jokes are bad you can almost play a drinking game in knowing what different laugh tracks there are.

I think Small Wonder is a classic case of it's so good that it's good.:) :cool:
I watched Small Wonder as a kid and loved it- it's still fun to watch now.
And I have to disagree with this-

You mentioned ALF, on the other hand is completely unwatchable and of the two I'm shocked that ALF was aired on a major network, what genius executive green lighted this? The jokes are bad you can almost play a drinking game in knowing what different laugh tracks there are.

You're welcome to your opinion of course- but I LOVE ALF- it's a great, funny show. I loved watching it as a kid and I still love watching it now. The comic book series based on the show is a great read too.:) :cool:

I think Small Wonder is a classic case of it's so good that it's good.:) :cool:
I watched Small Wonder as a kid and loved it- it's still fun to watch now.
And I have to disagree with this-

You're welcome to your opinion of course- but I LOVE ALF- it's a great, funny show. I loved watching it as a kid and I still love watching it now. The comic book series based on the show is a great read too.:) :cool:
I agree. Both were good shows.

Well I get where Brian is coming from; the show could be a little cloying and hokey. But the Lawson family were so cute and charming it balanced out the corny writing. I found SW enjoyable, though certainly not in my top tier of favorite shows.

I loved this show growing up and I still love it today! I wish the remaining seasons would be released soon but I highly doubt they will. It actually surprises me that The Hub or another channel isn't airing this in reruns.

the show is the greatest I love it the only character that I really didn't like was Jamie Lawson he was an ass hole to everybody in the show

For a low-budget show the writing could be pretty funny. When Vicki was eating everything in sight, the line at the flower vase, "This bud's for you", was pretty funny!

the show is the greatest I love it the only character that I really didn't like was Jamie Lawson he was an ass hole to everybody in the showYes he was and he took advantage of Vicki.

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon show.
Along with Harry and the Hendersons, Out of this World, and My Secret Identity

It's so corny , that's what makes it enjoyable!

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon show.
Along with Harry and the Hendersons, Out of this World, and My Secret Identity


Saturday evening for me at 6pm

I've been watching this on Antenna on weekends, but Emily Schulman's bad "acting" is really starting to get on my nerves, lol.

Cast
Dick Christie – Ted Lawson
Marla Pennington – Joan Lawson
Jerry Supiran – Jamie Lawson
Emily Schulman – Harriet Brindle
Tiffany Brissette – Vicki the Robot

Plot
Dad creates a robot, Vicki, but the family keeps it secret from the rest of the world (including nosy neighbors), pretending she is really part of the family.

Why it’s on the list
The only funny thing about Small Wonder is how bad the show was. Just goes to show that 1980s show standards were slightly lower than they are today. Really? A lame girl robot? And it ran for four seasons?

http://tv.popcrunch.com/the-25-worst-sitcoms-ever/

http://tv.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/small-wonder.jpg

I don't agree that the only funny thing about this show was had bad it was. I will accept the fact that the special effects were incredibly cheap looking and most of the actors who played the family and neighbors were bland and or annoying but Tiffany Brissette was fantastic. I especially enjoyed the way she would take some line that another character would say and repeat it out of context using the same tone and inflection and it would sound hysterically funny coming from the usually deadpan V.I.C.K.I. She was so good at switching between robot monotone and eerie mimic that it made the rest of the cast bearable, and distracted you from the fact that she slept in a closet in her brother's room.

I love this show! I think it is a case of "so bad it was good". It will always be considered a bad show by many people, but I personally think it's a very cute show that should be treated way better.

I don't agree that the only funny thing about this show was had bad it was. I will accept the fact that the special effects were incredibly cheap looking and most of the actors who played the family and neighbors were bland and or annoying but Tiffany Brissette was fantastic. I especially enjoyed the way she would take some line that another character would say and repeat it out of context using the same tone and inflection and it would sound hysterically funny coming from the usually deadpan V.I.C.K.I. She was so good at switching between robot monotone and eerie mimic that it made the rest of the cast bearable, and distracted you from the fact that she slept in a closet in her brother's room.
Don't forget that in the final season, she played her double who was evil. I saw it on youtube and it stretched her acting abilities.

...I will accept the fact that the special effects were incredibly cheap looking...

Actually, I thought the special effects weren't bad. Most videotaped shows don't even do them. When they attempted to do an outside scene--now, those looked pretty bad. I remember one fishing scene that looked really cheesy.

This show is pure campiness. I couldn't stand it during it's original run, but I watch it now and it has a sort of 1980's low-budget charm. Especially the bad special effects like when Vicki picks up something impossibly heavy with one hand. I guess the phrase "so bad that it's good" is an accurate description.

Small Wonder was one of those shows that would definitely, in hindsight, had totally benefited today's money, technology and special effects? The ironic thing though, is that part of the show's cheesy '80s charm was how shoddy the effects were (even if you get around the excuse that it was a syndicated program instead of a more prestigious network one).

Nope. It is easily one of the stupidest (and misogynistic) shows of all time. Who the hell would green lit a show about a one-dimensional monotone robot and think that it's a good idea for a sitcom? The plot lines and characterizations were just plain terrible. I'm shocked it last as long as it did...but I suppose they had lower standards in the 80s :lol:

Actually, I thought the special effects weren't bad. Most videotaped shows don't even do them. When they attempted to do an outside scene--now, those looked pretty bad. I remember one fishing scene that looked really cheesy.

Small Wonder would've been at home with those low-rent, live-action, videotaped Saturday morning shows that Sid and Marty Krofft produced back in the 197s like Land of the Lost or Electra woman and Dyna Girl.

I remember falling in love with Small Wonder when I first saw the intro clip on Youtube and I thought it would be really cute and so for Christmas I asked my mom to buy me Small Wonder on DVD and when I got it I really liked Small Wonder because Vicki was so darling and sweet and really funny too. It's a shame Small Wonder just like Eight Is Enough isn't shown on TV anymore and it would be a good fit for METV
Bestie

I honestly think that show like Small Wonder can seriously work today. It could work if you see it as an allegory of sorts of children who are on the autism spectrum (https://wrongplanet.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7020). I'm not entirely sure if that was actually the producers actual intent right from the beginning. But had something like that actually been the core of the show's message (the show for the most part, seems to present things quite unironically), then I don't think that people would've been so quick to right Small Wonder (http://dorkdroppings.com/small-wonder-a-child-unlike-other-girls/) off as just some kitschy, low-rent syndicated kids show.

This show is pure campiness. I couldn't stand it during it's original run, but I watch it now and it has a sort of 1980's low-budget charm. Especially the bad special effects like when Vicki picks up something impossibly heavy with one hand. I guess the phrase "so bad that it's good" is an accurate description.

I kind of see Small Wonder (https://books.google.com/books?id=3i1HGbyT85MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=What+Were+They+Thinking?:+The+100+Dumbest+Events+In+Television+History&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjakOqKx4_oAhUBOKwKHWpSB2cQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg#v=onepage&q=Small%20Wonder&f=false) as kind of an '80s variation of I Dream of Jeannie. I Dream of Jeannie was also a very campy, almost live-action cartoon about a naive, female child (well, Jeannie was a grown woman unlike Vicki, but she none the less, acted like a child), who had special abilities. Also, Jeannie like Vicki had her own "uniform" that she always wore in just about every episode. And Major Nelson, like the Lawsons in regards to Vicki on Small Wonder, always tried his hardest to keep Jeannie's special abilities a "secret".