M3GAN, the new Blumhouse flick about a homicidal robot doll (in theaters Jan. 6), is not Hollywood’s first foray into little-girl AI.
A campy ’80s sitcom called Small Wonder followed the exploits of Vicki — an acronym for Voice Input Child Identicant — who was a child android played by Tiffany Brissette, then 10. The show was created by the late Howard Leeds, who wrote on Bewitched and The Brady Bunch. Leeds had also written on My Living Doll, a short-lived sitcom from 1964 starring Julie Newmar as a robot woman. He borrowed that premise for Small Wonder, which debuted in syndication on Sept. 10, 1985. (It aired on the newly launched Fox network from 1986 until its cancellation in 1989, then lived on in reruns.)
After a nationwide search for the role of Vicki, producers “just loved Tiffany,” says Dick Christie, who played her inventor dad, Ted Lawson, “because she could pull off that monotone for the first three seasons.” (By season four, Brissette was permitted to speak more naturally, while her growth spurt was explained as being a “system upgrade.”) Beneath her signature red-and-white dress was a circuitry board on her back.
“They had guys who were well-versed in the electrical boards of the time,” recalls Christie. “They could make them flash and beep.”
The humor of the show, geared at young audiences, relied on gags involving Vicki taking language too literally (she throws salad across the room when asked to “toss the salad”) and duping the nosy neighbors who suspect she might not be human (Edie McClurg played the mom next door in the first two seasons). Among the guest stars were wrestler/future Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura and late NFL defensive lineman Lyle Alzado.
Christie, now 75 and in his ninth year on CBS’ The Bold and the Beautiful, thinks Small Wonder endures because of its fantastical premise: “Think about it — you’re 9 years old and you’re given a robot for a sister that will do anything you want. ‘Make the bed.’ ‘Set the table.’ ‘Do my homework.’ Kids loved that.”
This story first appeared in the Jan. 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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