Home Sweet Sale

Ted begins remodeling the house, and Joan's new real estate side job gets upstaged when Vicki sells the Lawson homestead to an unscrupulous cowpoke couple.

Despite the absurd premise, this was a piviotal episode of sorts, being originally scripted as the preamble for the season's next finale episode and swan-song to Vicki as central character for the never-produced next episode entitled "Too Good to Be True" (not to be confused with TGTBT the Lost Series ), wherein Vanessa's memories are inadvertently downloaded to Vicki's CPU and creates a new blended human-like pert personality just in time for high school and to perk a wider teen viewer base.

This revamp was prompted by Vanessa's fan popularity and the writers' compassion to expand Brissette's restrained personality and abilities for teenage situations.  Finally recognizing that even a robot girl needs her own room, this episode half-demolished the living room set in preparation for the Lawsons expansion plans to include Vicki/Vanessa's own bedroom.  Unfortunately, Fox's crazily primitive lineup and a spate of raunchier sitcoms such as the new Married...with Children was to try Vanessa's character development.  Creator Leeds, ever reluctant to dispel Vicki's little girl image and lukewarm with saucy Vanessa, clashed with Fox and staff writers on turning Vanessa into a mini-Kelly Bundy to perk the ratings.  TGTBT was tentatively tabled as a fifth season opener instead which would ultimately evolve into seeds for a new series, but neither came about.  Shrewd fan mail asked why the Lawson home looked the same after the big "renovation."

Production Title: "For sale by robot"
Completed: ?
Show no: 319
Written by Steve Granat and Mel Sherer
Directed by Leslie Martinson

Guest Cast:
Mrs. Pflug: Annie O'Donnell
Mr. Pflug: Reno Goodale