Have a Heart

Jamie tries to show Vicki the meaning of compassion by sharing, which she does -- including the dress off her back, while the Brindles move in with their marital dispute.

This wasn't a particularly notable episode unless you wish to see Vicki and Harriet dressed as each other and Vicki wrestling Jamie.  It basically missed the mark of exploring an intriguing premise in artificial intelligence: Can a computer learn the basics of compassion? This is different from computers acheiving emotions.  The premise of Small Wonder's proposed spin-off, Too Good To Be True, was that Vicki's advanced twin, Vanessa, was capable of comprehending emotions without actually possessing them: a concept not so farfetched as cyberneticists strive to make domestic robots truly "family friendly" and "sensitive," though with Vanessa a knowledge of emotions without true empathy proves one hazardous talent.

Notable: Brissette looking good in twin ponytails in a new (Schulman's) outfit.  The staff and crew had to smother chuckles during the scene where Vicki sits on Jamie's chest to relieve him of a ring because ultra-featherweight Brissette kept sliding off Supiran's mock struggle till he was directed to just lightly thrash his limbs and yell.

Production Title: "You Gotta Have Heart"
Completed: 07-Nov-86
Air sequence: 210
Show no: 211
Written by Jerry Rannow
Directed by Leslie H. Martinson

Guest Cast:
Brandon Brindle: William Bogert
Bonnie Brindle: Edie McClurg