
When genius cybernetics engineer Ted Lawson brings home his top-secret invention, a Voice Input Child Identicant or V.I.C.I., life becomes anything but mechanical for the Lawson Family. With his boss and his nosy family living next door, Ted, his wife Joan and their son Jamie must pass Vicki off as a real child. It is easy for Joan, who cannot help doting on her like a daughter, but harder for precocious Jamie, who uses Vicki to do his homework and to ward off Harriet, the annoying redheaded girl next door.






Jamie (Jerry Supiran) learns a lesson about white lies when he's blamed for damage caused by Harriet's cousin (David Glasser).
Jamie learns a sobering lesson in using smoking and chewing tobacco to elevate his freshman status in junior high.
Still out to flatter the redoubtable Jessica, Jamie takes her out to an expensive restaurant while tightwad Ted puts Vicki in charge of household expenses.
Jamie tries to recover his respect in class when his mother comes in as substitute teacher by trying to humiliate her out of her job.
Playing a judge in a class simulation of a courtroom, Jamie dispenses uneven justice and gets impeached, while parking-ticket-skipping role model Ted tries to get himself arrested.
Joan's civic project with the homeless prompts Jamie to bring home a bum, who virtually takes over the Lawson household.
When Jamie is taken by a slick curbside vendor with a bad mini-TV, Ted goes after him for reparations -- and gets conned himself.
Jamie pushes Harriet aside in an unrequited crush on her 16-year-old cousin, who teaches him a lesson in respect.
When he's punished for thoughtlessly dropping the family's reservations to Mexico, Jamie dreams that the others are robots under his control.
To help Jamie's shy and withdrawn classmate who stutters, Ted programs Vicki to be her speech therapist.
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.
While in a store with Jamie looking for a present for her mock birthday party to convince Child Services that they treat her well, Vicki picks up an expensive watch and is picked up for shoplifting.