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The Darkest Episode of an 80’s Sitcom Ever - Cracked Responds to Small Wonder
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2017
- A little girl's life is torn apart, but don't worry, a couple of kids got a school award and some cake, so everything is good. It's a Small Wonder Very Special Episode.
It doesn't bother dad because he kidnapped that robot from work.
All the dads in the show are kidnappers.
Description Untitled Just like real life.
But he created her though
joelflow
So did that other dad but he was still a kidnapper though.
it would be thieft, considering "she" is a robot.
The marie antoinette of sitcoms.
Writer 1: Guys this is a super dark episode. What should we do?
Writer 2: Let them eat cake!
Well, good to know that were they to pull the show back out ala Fuller House, the son would weigh 400lbs and be burdened with Diabetes. "The housing crash, you guys...!"
Lol damn didn't see that coming
Actually, it was Rousseau who said that, not Marie Antoinette. Second, "cake" was not a pastry, but referred to the caked-on sides of an oven; totally inedible stuff. Just . . . the more you know.
Anthony Sforza Uh.... dunno how to break this, but said actor, Jerry Supiran, was, at last check, broke and homeless in 2012. A stripper he was dating when he was 18 took what was left of his trust fund, then an advisorr stole half a mil from him. Worked steakhouses for 15 years till he got laid off; then he moved back to Cali with a brother that couldn't give him a place tostay, so it's sleeping at the homeless shelter he volunteers at, or under the local bridge.
He's married and is now with a wife and they're helping to keep his mother safe after she had a heart attack in 2012. He was homeless but not anymore!
www.imdb.com/name/nm0839481/bio?ref_=nm_ql_1
Different Strokes: Bicycle Man still haunts me to this day.
Me too! You can’t unsee it.
Was that worse than the All in the family when Edith gets attacked and raped I believed? I still can’t watch that again
yeah my brother ues to call him THE GAY MAN FROM DIFFRENT STROKES
@@minbaridel44 Edith shouldn't have been dressed that way if she didn't want it.
@@minbaridel44 I can’t “like” your comment. But yeah. I was just a kid. It was horrific.
Still not darker than the Different Strokes Molestation episode with the guy who played the Maytag man.
"What you talkin' 'bout, Maytag Man?"
"Shut the fuq up and grab some balls, Arnold! .....We're playing tennis, here."
I was disturbed by the episode and then by the way the show's title changed to "Diff'rent Strokes" with the apostrophe.
Family ties, the episode with the uncle... long kissing his neice in the mouth, twice.
@Lady Robin Ohhh - K. ...........yyYYEAAAH!
@@REXXSEVEN All in the Family when Edith gets attacked is really tough to get through. It also shows what an amazing actress she was.
Lee Greer facts
In a nuclear family where the daughter is actually nuclear.
in that case, you think if she got up to 88 miles per hour...you know where i'm going with this :)
Janet Jackson being tortured with a hot iron by her own mother was the darkest sitcom episode ever. GOOD TIMES!
Big Sonny But that was in the 70s. I'm pretty sure Different Strokes did darker stuff though.
Wait, what???
Generation Renter, you really hate women ?
@ William. I don't hate women. That was a crass comment I made so it's now deleted. Sorry.
Big Sonny what episode was that? Damn
Small Wonder was such a hugely popular show in SouthAsia. They started airing it in the early 90's. These guys are practically superstars in India! Too bad we didn't have internet back then
It very was very popular here in the US too
There is a Small Wonder themed restaurant in Bangladesh. Don't ask me how I know.
The Fresh Prince episode where Will's father leaves almost as fast as he came back into his life will always make me cry because it will always remind me of mine and my dad's rotten relationship.
And yet not the darkest episode of that series by a longshot.
Will did an amazing achievement on that one
I was friends with a girl who's face was supposedly on a milk carton, she lived with her "dad" in the mobile home park we lived in at the time (I was 5 -7) and she would say that she could only come outside and play if he was asleep. When I was 7, (I was told someone from the school recognized her and called the number on the carton) her Mom came from Texas (to California) and took her back to Texas. I often think of her and wonder where she is now and hope she's doing well.
*my heart exploded*
AngelSKitCat have you tried finding her through social media?
I have tried, the issue is she has (had) such a common name and it may not have been her real name of course, and I don't know which town in Texas she lived in. I basically have no where to start. If she changed her name, it would make it that much harder!!
You should bring this onto reddit they may be able to help solve this
🙄
The darkest 1980's sitcom episode ever is the Punky Brewster when her friend Cherie suffocates in a refrigerator she was hiding in. I was scared shit of the refrigerator for 2 years, 4 months and 10 days.
Brian Bianco I remember that. Infact the G.I.Joe cartoon actually had a small segment to remind kids Not to hide in abandon refrigerators when they play hide & seek, lol. No lie.
Just looked it up. That was actually kind of funny if you really think about the episode for a bit.
I mean, at the time (and to this day), refrigerators were manufactured in a way that something like this wouldn't happen. A kid couldn't fit in the fridge and close the door on themselves, and even if they somehow did (like, by removing every shelf) they could still kick open the door from inside. So, the entire premise of the episode should have been impossible.
The solution was to have the girl get stuck in a broken refrigerator from the 1940s.
Oh, also, they had to make sure that since the friend is playing with her friends, she has to go missing long enough to suffocate in the fridge. So, they play hide-and-seek outside, then get asked to play inside. Conveniently, the fridge from the 1940s was left outside because it is going to be donated the next day.
Holy hell. This and small wonder were my 2 favorite shows (my family called me Punky when I was a kid) as a kid. I don't remeber this episode but I'm sure it scared the hell out of me then. Maybe this is why I kinda stay away from our refrigerator when I was that young.
Did she die???
@@qty1315 back then some refrigerators had a handle that latched. It wasn't simply a seal around a door. The handle had to be pulled down. If you got in that one simply kicking it from inside wouldn't have done anything.
honestly those boys in that episode pretty realistically depicted the majority of all news reporters
@Mnomad1313 sure why not
ominous jack He was a journalist. I hope you don’t call yourself an American.
ominous jack You’re a real piece of work.
60% of the time, it works all the time
Easy career at the New York Times or CNN.
this is just like the episode of punky brewster where their friend julie/jennifer (played by candace cameron) is on the milk carton and didn't know she was missing.
oh wow i don't even remember, so long ago, crazy what passed for a "concept" back then
Didn't a girl die in a fridge in the yard on Punky Brewster?
@@Brizostar Punky and her friend brought her back with CPR, it was the fan written episode
Darkest sitcom episode of the '80s?
Five words: Diff'rent Strokes: The Bicycle Man.
Thank you and drive through.
NJGuy1973 I was born in '80. Stranger danger man...funny how it was usually someone you knew...was for me. Just like the bicycle man...he gains your trust and destroys it
NJGuy1973 Don't forget Mr. Belvedere episode the Counselor.
First thing I thought of.
@@JJB11 that one was just flat out nasty. It actually shows the dude groping the kid, and the kid looks like he's about to puke
@@doctorfeinstone6524 How come you say that?
There was actually an episode that I remember about somebody seeing Viki the robot and thinking it was their daughter that had been missing. Turns out they actually modeled her face after a picture in the newspaper that they had seen of a missing girl. It was really sad because that Dad thought that he had found his missing daughter and turned out it was just a robot.
Man, I wanna see that episode! Sadly, I missed out on Small Wonder when it was on. TBH, I'd never heard of it, until I saw a segment on I Love the 80s about it, lol.
Wow that’s a pretty sick episode too that was a disturbing show all around ew
Omg !! 😆😆😱😱
And I’m guessing nobody thought it was suspicious that whoever made this robot modeled her after a little girl who’s face appeared in a newspaper because she went missing and was still missing to that day.
With that back story wouldn't it have been more effective for Vicki to see her own picture on the milk carton?
The girl finding herself on a milk carton was also done in an episode of Punky Brewster.
the drama Our House too
When J.J, from Good Times was shot by a gang and the gang leader's mother disowned him? Anybody old enough to remember that one? Chilled me pretty good and I was a high school kid.
His dad was also shot and killed, so there's that
No, but I remember when the dad died. And Janet Jackson had her arm burned.
It gets better. The IMDB description for this episode is "Reporters Jamie and Reggie learn to check facts."
Lol. Just wait till they see the media in 2022
Diffrent strokes(child molester) and good times(child abuse) way darker
infamous420 hip hop Don't Forget the Camp Councilor episode of Mr Belvedere!!!😖Poor Wesley!!!
infamous420 hip hop Good times wasn't Child abuse! Kids Today sure could use a serious Ass whooping 👋 James Evans style 👊!
Jon MacDonald what happened to Wesley?
Jon MacDonald streaks on the China?
Jon MacDonald didn’t you ever see the episodes with Penny? I can’t iron clothes without thinking of the episode where they find out her mom is a monster.
That episode of growing pains where Matthew perry dies in a car accident stuck with me
Could I be any more dead???
Yes! I remember that!!
@@davidellis8349 😂😂😂😂
Sandy
@@davidellis8349 hahaha!
You always knew when it was going to be a dark episode when the promo commercials started with, "Next time, on a very special (insert name of show)..."
The most tragic moment of my childhood was walking home from school only to see my family brutally murdered when I walked through the front door.
That would have really been a bad day if I didn't have an extra piece of cake in the fridge.
The most magic part of my childhood was when I was walking by that day and saw you brutally murder that extra piece of 🎂.
The most tragic moment of my life was when I murdered this kids whole family. I saw that there was cake left so I decided not to kill the last one.
Someone needed to eat that cake.
Big_dro David Bain? Is that you?
Brem I don’t know that is
Big_dro Don't play dumb with me David!
the 80's were a time unto itself.
Terry Bradford --> Thank you Captain Obvious! Let us also discuss the fact that Monday is a weekday unto itself, and 9am an hour unto itself designed for regretting the drinks consumed the weekend nights before!!*
(*Sorry for the snark level there. You left the door so wide open, my stand up comedy past could not resist...😉)
I loved that show "Small Wonder" would always watch it at my cousins house after school in the 2nd grade :)
Klm49 You did stand up comedy? Hahaha now there's a joke.
wmfivethree
I think the 90.s is mostly when people started to hide their open drug habits from the 80.s.
#I can quit when I want to
🍸🍸🍸
Yes it was. Loved it.
Lol, I went to school with the girl that played the robot daughter. Man, I totally forgot about that!
Tiffany Brissette?! How cool!
Different strokes when Kimberly had been touched inappropriately. Lots of dark story lines in the 80s.
What episode is that? I don’t remember that
@@jake92forreal36 The episode where Kimberly ans Arnold were picked up by a hitchhiker in season 6 parts 1 and 2. Albeit one scene was cut for syndication.
But was the school cafeteria serving horsemeat?
It should have triggered an investigation.
It probably was and thats why they were told off. The school was covering their own asses.
He said horse meat, not donkey meat.
He was asking if they had proof so that he could cover it up.
Back in the day beef was more horse meat as steak
I don't think most ppl get the trigger reference
She also seems well adjusted, unabused, and she's attending school. The dad seems to be doing his due diligence, maybe the mom is the unstable one and he's trying to give her a better life 🤔
and it just gets worse
Possible, but in most kidnapping cases neither parent is really objectively worse but they both want exclusive access to the children.
It's definitely possible.
Daniel Saldana so many unanswered questions
Maybe. But kidnapping her (taking her away without the knowledge and permission of the other parent) is bound to lead to more trouble for both the girl and the dad. They'll either have to keep her mostly hidden or be on the run constantly when people find out. That's not a better life for her. And if/when they get caught? The dad's definitely going to prison, and that's going to be traumatizing for the girl. Either way, the situation is fucked up.
... It's funny that we're having such a serious discussion over an 80s sitcom. Not that I mind.
It wasn't explicitly intentional, but the underlying intentionality of 1980s culture was to terrify children. This was the era of Stranger Danger, of kids kidnapped from the dark recesses of Black Vans (the fear far beyond the reality), of the whole "Strangers with Candy". The idea was to terrify children so that they would stay indoors (and watch shows like Small Wonder and Different Strokes). This was the beginning of the home video game market, designed to occupy children in the original "safe space".
The goal was achieved. Children became terrified of the outdoors and "stayed off the streets". As the goal was achieved fairly quickly, the 1990s rewarded those kids, now teenagers, by telling them how Rad, Awesome, and Cool they were.
As channels like this one "examine" the shows in question, rarely is any context offered as to why these things are occurring. It's "These poor fools just didn't know any better. We sure are smarter than them".
Hold on, I thought it was white vans we were supposed to be afraid of. Were my authority figures lying to me?
I have to say that as a child growing up in the 1980’s and early 1990’s who had the tendency to wander off and not tell anyone where I was going which would freak my mother out so she decided to make up a story (at the time I didn’t know it was fictional) that there was a man with strawberry blonde hair who drove a red convertible and had attempted two abduct 2 or 3 different kids in the city where we were living (Worcester,MA) but was unsuccessful and at the same time had not been apprehended by police and let me tell you this worked on me, it scared me straight, I definitely stayed inside ALL the time watching sitcoms and soap operas and some very strange lifetime original movies with stories that were probably not suitable for someone my age, but yeah, it was during those years that kids were being kidnapped all around the country at random, you don’t hear about that too much anymore with technology and DNA and all that being available now
These people are too young to comment on this show or any 80s show. It gets way darker.
Well older shows are reruns so we all can comment on it
The best comment on this vid is the description LOL
"A little girl's life is torn apart, but don't worry, a couple of kids got a school award and some cake, so everything is good."
That's was pretty dark
Death Wizard No your grammar is.
Death Wizard
From dark to dank. Time to make it a meme about horrible events that end with cake.
Ashish Bose, a full stop after is might have added impact to your point.
+God Bear - You should know by now - there's no cake at the end. They lied.
Death Wizard I read that comment in the voice of Skwisgaar from Metalocalypse
Small wonder was one of my favorite shows as a kid. And listen, us 80s kids heard about actual missing kids in between our cartoons every Saturday morning, the entire 80s was a dark, very special decade
There was a Small Wonder episode where the guest actor was a raging alchoholic and the episode was about dealing with alcoholism but in a funny, family friendly way
The finale to Dinosaurs was pretty dark. The factory poisoned the environment and causes the deep freeze that kills all the dinosaurs. It ends with them all sitting there waiting to die.
That aired in 1994. The video is about 80s sitcoms.
@@bdjoh011 so what ..still a dark very dark episode. Too much policing makes one miss the point
Small Wonder was not a hit?? I thought it was.
Syndicated sitcoms couldn't really get close to the kinds of ratings needed to be considered a hit show* because they air in time-slots that have much lower total TV viewers to begin with.
Even if compared strictly to other syndicated sitcoms it would be in the "average" category. The hits would be _"Mama's Family"_ and _"Charles in Charge"_ . To put that in perspective, both of those shows were originally network programs and both were cancelled after one season due to poor ratings.
Still, Small Wonder had a good run. And it actually was a hit in a few other countries! Very popular in India, Brazil and Italy.
4 seasons and 96 episodes definitely tested the premise's built-in expiration date. Any further and they'd have to explain why the robot girl is becoming a robot woman.
* _ftr, a "hit" requires ratings higher than the combined average of all viewers ÷ shows of that season._
I thought it was a hit, too. But I'm sure that's because I loved it so much as a little girl.
I have never heard of the show.
It was a hit in my eyes. I am the same age as Tiffany Brissette, and was so obsessed with the show that I decided to be an android for Halloween and at my older brother’s party I literally talked in a robot voice the entire night. I even tried to convince my friends at school that I was an android. So I definitely thought the show was a hit too. I still love it even with all its cheesy acting.
Lovi Poekimo What do we know...we just grew up watching shows like that.
Small wonder is a cult classic in India. It has huge fan following over here
sumit dalal That actually makes sense. India has some screwed up ideas and the idea of having a child servant must appeal to their lack of self worth which is reenforced by their strict caste system.
@@magnuschristianssen8999 ohhhh yeah. Like you people had slaves on the basis of Color. Bloody bastard
@@007dalal Fuck that guy, he's an asshole. I like hearing about cult followings for shows and shit in other countries, makes the world sound more and more interesting.
@@magnuschristianssen8999child slave ??? Have you ever noticed how much Joan loved VICI, I bet you mom & dad would have never loved you that much. Whole world is dark if you only wanna see darkness
Of course, to any backwards country it must be amazing TV.
How about the final episode from the "Dinosaurs" sitcom... where EVERYBODY DIES.
That was a 90s show.
Was a very early 90s show, and yes. Apparently, the teens have to reassure the scared baby that they will all stay together and not be separated.
The producers said the ending had an important message (and it did, it was about environmentalism and not limiting corporations) that was delivered with "subtlety" (uhhh, no. That was as harsh and blunt as getting hit with a club.)
But almost all of that series had an unsettling/sad/disturbing undertone with a lot of very specific social commentary.
One of the running jokes is that the baby genuinely hates the father, and the father reacts by resenting the baby, which is played for laughs in a fairly unhealthy way.
Everytime someone opened the fridge, you would hear the desperate cries for help of the small live animals they had trapped in there.
At a certain age, everyone was expected to "depart" by being ceremonially hurled into a hot tar pit.
The Mom has two near-death experiences.
It was a lot of adult messages and black humor, considering they partly marketed it to children (but producing kids faire that either had very, very upsetting elements, was developmentally inappropriate, or was mindless garbage that no one had put any effort into,
or any combination thereof,
was a big theme of the 70s to early 90s. I assume there was a lot of cynical and lazy marketing, hallucinogens and coke involved among production management)
My Mom just barely saw Dinosaurs, she would be on the phone the whole time, and would sometimes look up and say "what cute puppets!" But after a while I stopped watching, it was clearly not meant for my age group,and for a comedy marketed to families, it could be pretty bleak.
@@melissasaint3283 I stopped reading midway through, but I think I get your point.
@@melissasaint3283 Wasn't a very early 90s show. The series ended in 1994 and it's the final episode the OP is referring to.
@@bdjoh011 The person who said "that was a 90s show" seemed to be saying that it shouldn't be included here. But that show premiered in 91, and feels late 80s/early 90s to me. It lacks the sunnier tone that increased in the mid to late 90s.
"You guys are gonna feel a lot better when you bury your face in a big piece of that cake."
I buried my face in my hands when he said that.
Jaywasright should’ve had a big piece of cake 🍰
No words. I got nothin'. The only way this could have been any worse would be if the father moved to a new city, took the name Mr. Horton, and became "The bicycleman".
Brand Gamblin shut the fuck up
Danny D. Lol
Awwwww... that.s fucked up. But kinda funny. I don.t know if many people get the connection. Let.s get a banana split, but don.t tell dad, ok?
🍸🍸🍸
I totally forgot about this show, and that was a crazy episode. I was going to mention the Different Strokes molestation episode, because that actually gave me the courage as a child to tell my mom and older sister what was being done to me. Unfortunately, I had to get myself outta that situation, because they were too afraid of my abusive POS uncle, so, they was allowing the abuse. They all faced 2 karmas. Me when I grew up, and the actual karma came for them all. I can't say that I'm sad for them, because I wasn't the only child going thru hell in our family. I've managed to marry a man, who's, helped make me stronger, but I'd die before I'll just let bad things happen to my babies like that. Any child I can help, and I will.
Power to you for having the courage to tell someone! I was molested. The boy was under 13 so apparently can't be prosecuted. I was seven I think. I never thought I'd have a normal life cos I didn't trust men. It's been hard , but at 26 I had my first kiss and at 29 lost my virginity to my soon to be husband. I never thought I'd get a normal life and get to have a husband and kids and why did my molester get to have those things. Very happy now. I hope myolester rots though
I'm sorry to hear that - sorry about your uncle being a monster, and doubly sorry that your mother let you down - but glad you made it.
Stay strong and remember that the best revenge is a good life!
Have some cake and cheer the fuck up.
That's horrible that happened! There is no karma, but if the uncle repented to God, who is merciful during our life on Earth in the person of Christ and would forgive, he would still feel horrible; if not, he's going to feel horrible for eternity in a whole crazy different way as judge by Christ as the just judge. Of course, we have to forgive or want to forgive to be forgiven for unrelated sins. Bible aside, cosmically, holding onto wrath would keep you from spiritual freedom, as you would keep yourself from that as much as you'd be punished by the one who forgives us and wants to save us from ourselves.
I went through something similar except for it was my adoptive father I was really little I was 6 when he got arrested but back in 1983-84 a sex offender got away with it he ONLY GOT EIGHT YEARS probation AND VISITATION ... Unsupervised ZERO prison time for what he did to me and my four other (older) sisters I was the youngest of his KNOWN victims They where a prominent foster care and adoptive parents in the 60's&70's
I still don't understand why she has jedi powers when she's just a robot.
mystery of mysteries lol
Magnetic
People have always had wild ideas about what technology would be capable of in the future. As long as you're making stuff up, why limit your imagination? Just because we can't do it now doesn't mean it won't be possible at some point. There's plenty of things tech can do now that was completely inconceivable even just 50 years ago, let alone more.
It's a different part of the multi-verse. In their timelines droids don't have emotions so they counter the sand-hating kids boinking ex-Senators deal that other Jedi ran into. Plus she can vacuum under the couch by lifting it with one leg and presumably using the force to keep it from breaking under it's own weight.
I LOVED this show as a kid. Recently, I found it on a streaming service and was so excited to experience a little nostalgia. Instead, I realized the show sucked HARD.
& the picture on the milk carton was a recent pic. It's not like she was kidnapped as a kid & had no memory of mom & the situation. This was recent. I can't think of an instance where a girl that old would not know there was drama & something was up.
it was recent yet she didn't know she was kidnapped she was like "i am going to ask my dad" when that wasn't even her dad.
You are way over thinking a plot point which any reasonable person would dismiss as a error.
I think the idea it that it was her father. It might have been a fairly early stage of the kidnapping, took her and moved and has not told her that she isn't going back?
Chrissa Todd, no. That was her dad. The idea is that he kidnapped her from home. I.E. Him and her mother were separating for whatever reason and he took their daughter and vamoosed. Which is still very illegal and as the video points out, he's going to prison for.
I think its a completely believable story, if your dad and mom divorce then your dad tells you were going away from mom for a while you wouldnt know you were being kidnapped
The robot has no capacity for human emotion but what's everyone else's excuse?
Cake?
The 80's. Ever see American Psycho?
American Psycho was released in the year 2000.
(Actually, I was about to comment that it was released late nineties before I double-checked. For some reason, I thought it was released in 98/99.
Burn!
The twist is they're all human destroying robots and Vicki's pretending to be a robot to survive!
80’s sitcoms were the Wild Wild West. They gave zero fucks about feelings.
sadly true, same with alot of raunchy comedy movies tbh
I disagree. What more of a disclaimer did you need except for, "And now, a very special episode of...?"
Candace Cameron auditioned for this role, and sooooo glad she did not get it.
Which role?
@@auser6828 the robot girl (Vicki)
No way this is darkest ep of 80s..Nothing touches The bicycle shop owner giving dudley&arnold alcohol & drugs so they will get naked and pose for pictures
Amen to that.
Oh, hell no you didn't! Yeah that's right that one is darker and creepier. At least this one is funny but that one had no redeeming comedy, how can you joke about pedophilia. It was gross too because they actually show pedos how to groom kids.
The all time creepiest half hour of TV. Still gives me the chills. Just horrifying.
@@balemonte727 That right! Damn, that's probably why they even did it. Everything's way more sinister than most people understand.
Dang, this episode was dark! What's really a trip is that I watched "Small Wonder" religiously when I was a little girl, and I don't even remember this episode! I remember every episode being having lighthearted plots involving trying to make Vicky more like a human little girl.
Modern viewpoint. Someone commented people wouldn't have thought about this stuff back in the 80's. I sure didn't till it was pointed out
I have no memory of this episode either. It certainly isn't because people didn't think about this stuff in the 80s as apparently other people seem to think. The thread here about other shows' "very special" episodes should be evidence enough of that.
Aerin Lockeadon Old head view point: "stranger danger" was actually a constant concern in the 80's. There were literally PSA's and after school specials about not getting into vans with strangers for candy and such. There was a show called America's Most Wanted with real criminals, many of which had abducted children. The social climate about kidnapping, "stranger danger" and domestic abuse in the 80's was at threat-con 50. Yes, ppl DEFINITELY thought about these things in the 80's.
I think the reason why Small Wonder did this milk carton episode is bc everyone else was already doing it. This was so commonplace in the 80's.
You kids these days have a really idealized idea of the 80's. Trust me, it was NOT innocent. It was bonkers jaded back then. Everything was dark. You have no idea! In fact, I think I'll re-post tjis in the general comments, bc more ppl really should understand this. The world didn't get the way it is today from nothing. Things lead to the way it is now.
Bet if you went back and watched it you would be surprised by how much you thought was lighthearted and normal. I sure do everytime I go back and watch stuff I used to love as a kid.
This was my show back in the days
I grew up in then80s so I remember these very serious and often controversial episodes we all learn something from the 80s growing up as children, unfortunately nowadays this stuff won't fly because parents are overly sensitive on such subjects
What about the "Small Wonder" episode where the investors from Japan look into the bedroom window and mistake the Ginger Haired girl for The Robot Prototype and kidnap her instead?
Hahahahahahahahahahaha
i really barely remember that show, you must have a really good memory, or you've been watching way too much classic shows on an app of some kind lol. jk :) anyway i only remember the episode where a drug dealer tries selling weed to the little boy, mainly cause it was mocked on a watchmojo video i think
@@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075 I am sure you will find what I just said if you download the show.
@@KellyClement oh right, that makes sense, though i daren't do that cause i don't download anything i don't already trust but i appreciate you trying to help :)
Remember that episode where one of the brother’s friends convinced him to get into smoking and then that friend ends up getting cancer?
This was before Amber Alerts. Wow, this was pretty dark.
Check out all the information people researched on Voat. It’s crazy! The orphans has parents!
voat.co/v/pizzagate/1582644
Tin foil hat time
It wasn't before Amber Alerts. They had them on "The Andy Griffith Show" in the 1960's.
I Actualy got to meet "Vicky" the robot girl..she was really super religious, and was with her mother (her agent) her mother does all the talking btw, but she was very friendly..just sort of strange..
My sister went to high school with her..Very friendly girl.
Cult
Child actress and actors in the 80s were in a sttange world.
Why does this read like a joke, Mead?
"....strange....robotic-like...."
When this show was on, there was this girl in my class that had a huge crush on me and not shy about letting me known it. She also loved this show. To try and "impress" me she would do imitations of the robot girl from the show. It was a very uncomfortable time for me.
omg that is too funny. makes you wonder what ever happened to her doesn't it? i sure do lol
@@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075 omg are you trying to say that that was you and you found me after all these years? Mandy is it really you?
@@alexthomas5838 what? no, i just visualized the gag and thought it was a funny story, i often wonder what happened to people i used to know as well
Lol
The girl who played Vicki was in reality talented. You can see glimpses of her potential when she is allowed to “impersonate” the other cast, dance or sing and she would not only do it perfectly but perfectly in character. Not really her fault she was asked to talk that way and given horrible lines. But I believe she did as good as one could expect given her directions. I’ve seen her in clips singing and being herself and it’s too bad they didn’t let her be herself. They could have upgraded her programming to act more human and let the girl shine.
Tiffany brisette
No way, at least this episode had a good ending. 'Diff'rent Strokes' "The Bicycle Man" is far far far darker than this.
Did Arnold eat cake while the rapist moved to another state?
bL1X absolutely. That episode was way darker.
NRK MKW The name of this video is "The darkest episode of an 80's sitcom ever" and it was simply about a child who was abducted by her own parent. In the episode I referenced, two preteen children were given alcohol, shown child pornography and one was molested. I think it is you who doesn't get the point or is it that child rape is so mainstream within our culture now that I'm wrong and it's not as big a deal as I believe it to be?
bL1X liberals want to legalize it so.....🔯🔫
Magnum force Mopar what does that have to do with Jews?
What? Hahahahahaha!!! great ending F the kid have some cake LMFAO
Michael Tepes It accidentally works really well. I can totally believe that the dad would just need to shut the kids up with cake because it's always something with these fuckers and there's really no way to address any issues they might have with living in a world full of crime and horror. So here, have some cake.
Not sure if your phrasing is good or not since "F(fuck) the kid have some cake" seems ok but that one pedophile scene in the above video might have skewed my perception slightly.
Honestly what could they have done about it at that point?
I had a crush on the girl robot as a kid.
Me too! Uhhh...as a kid, I mean. (Not now.)
@lee van cleef Maybe.......I'm not confessing to Lee Van Cleef!
She had a pretty smile.
@@johnellizz same, so glad i wasn't alone, and yeah we were kids, i don't think its creepy cause its not like we still have the crush, and some people had crushes on Simba from the Lion King lol
@@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075 I had a big crush on the female fox in Disney's Robin Hood when I was little. Maid Marian.
For some reason, I really liked this show when I was a kid. Looking back as an adult it was really weird and ridiculous. How did anyone not notice that Vicki talked in a robotic monotone voice?!?
@Amer Hamad this should have like, 100 likes or something, cause its so true. why does no one notice bruce wayne and batman sound similar, and have the same mouth? why does no one realize the same five teenagers who hang out all the time wear the same colors as the power rangers? so many examples lol
You'd be surprised what people put up with.
At my job, a gorgeous college student went to pick up a package. She literally grunted and made small noises, and the clerk helped her like it was nothing.
I said to my coworker "That girl is so pretty, she doesn't even have to speak words any more and she gets whatever she wants"
The 80s were really weird and you just didn't ask a lot of questions.
When i was little i seriously thought that why people at honda in japan working on humanoid robots when small wonder already have quite advanced robot already.
Because the father stole the prototype and set everything back 50 years!
Because the USA is the most advanced country in the world. USA! USA! USA!
What was the Indian copy version of this show!?
Arunima Tiwari it was called small wonder only.
Arunima Tiwari Karishma ka Karishma
Two words: Bicycle man.
moonwalker 9705 only real ones would get this comment😅
YES! That is exactly what came to my mind. Small Wonder has nothing on Diff'rent Strokes when it comes to darkest episode. That $#!+ was bonkers.
You mean Dudley (Arnold's friend)? From what I remembered, it was STRONGLY implied that the Bicycle Man had molested Dudley in some way. Perhaps not full on rape, but there was a level of molestation implied. However, some viewers will argue that nothing happened while other viewers will state that something did happen. Could be open to interpretation. However, Bicycle Man was alone with him for a long time.
John Penguin the 3rd i also thought the bicycle man tried to get kimberly too. You can correct me if im wrong.
Webster and the math tutor mr Toddson in season 2 a Diff'rent Strokes ripoff of that too!
you are all wrong.....darkest episode...different strokes episode...."the hitchhikers" arnold and kimberly kidnapped. it was so dark...it needed 2 parts.
I Agree.
um...that's not even close to being the "darkest episode of an 80's sitcom ever"
It's always darkest before The Batman kicks yo ass
Snoopy Fod 😂😂😂😂
Snoopy Fod Wtf? Lmao this had me seriously lmao!
Idk guys... Arnold, Willis, Kimberly and Mr Drummond still left Dudley in that bike shop...
they ain't knew what was going on that's why!
RIP Dudley
The Different Strokes episode and the All in the Family episodes, 1 where Edith is sexually assaulted and 2 where Archie and his friend are beaten, Archie hospitalized and his friend killed are what got me as a kid.
Wow forgot about that one (All in the Family).
I still remember an interview with the guy who played the rapist and he said that he was trying to figure out how to play the guy, and he actually said, "once we decided that it was not going to be a FUNNY RAPE, then I knew how to play it." That was decades ago and it is still horrifying. Also, Natalie and Jo were also victims of attempted sexual assault on the Facts of Life. Jo thought she was going to a dance with one of Blair's friends. He took her right past the dance to the golf course where he tried it, thinking she was trash. Since this was in 79/80, I imagine he would be minus a few body parts and still limping today!
@@christineharrelson4831 Was that the transvestite Beverly who was killed?
There was a Gimme A Break where a kid does a minstrel bit for a talent show...
This "Small Wonder" show needs to come back, and the little robot girl accidently kills and sometimes deliberately murders people on the show, and it would also have the laugh track throughout the show.
Oh, I would definitely watch that!
It could be followed by The Blood Boat, lol.
@@jonp3890 The Blood Boat soon will be upping the body count...
sounds like a mix between Dexter and Punky Brewster or something lol
UPDATE: Hollywood did make a movie like this in 2022, "M3GAN", but they didn't use a laugh track. The budget for "M3GAN" was $12 million U.S dollars with a box office take of $181 million. So yeah, great idea.
Actually the darkest episode of a sitcom ever was the episode of roseanne when she didn't pay the electricity bill.
Ah...good one. Actually, it's a funny coincidence that you brought up Roseanne; when I saw they were going to be talking about dark sitcom episodes, my mind went to the episode in which it comes out that Jackie's boyfriend has been abusing her. The scene with the big reveal is absolutely harrowing, with a stellar performance by Laurie Metcalf.
😐
I loved Small Wonder when I was a kid... it was a kids show.
I loved Small wonder growing up ,I was an 80s child.
I thought that they were going to talk about the episode where the visiting grandfather has a heart attack and Vicki (The robot girl) uses her own power supply as a defibrillator. Once the grandfather recovers enough to return, (before the heart attack he was against the idea of a robot in the family) the father explained what had happened to the grandfather, who after getting the idea that she essentially jumpstarted him like a car, he was much more accepting of the robot girl.
I loved Small Wonder as a kid. I never realised however, just how thrown together the episodes really were.
Then I guess I was a sadist back then ha ha. The show was dopey and dumb, but I loved it anyway. It was bad then, it's bad now. I'm not so sure I'd still watch it today, perhaps in limited doses. I remember back then what a huuuuuge crush I had on that kid, the boy...not the son, but his friend. Reggie? 🤔
It was cool cause we were kids and liked the idea of robots period... story didn't matter cause she was cute too
They were?
There was a cold war going on then, we were used to the doom and gloom that was already looming in our lives. And yes, child abductions were very common back then. We didn't have the Amber Alert system then.
Kristina Romano True.
But every soccer mom will tell you it's way worse now lol
Kristina Romano what paint are you huffing ?? Making it out like Americans lived in doom and gloom in the 80s catch a grip
The Waltons actually started with a woman giving away her kid to the family because she didn't think she could feed her anymore. And with a dozen kids to play with and a little home spun, awe-shucks wisdom from grandpa, they reunite the family and mosey right on towards WW2, and more hilarious hijinks of the early 20th century!
will crow The Waltons was an awesome show. We need more "family values" shows that are gritty and realistic. I grew up watching smarmy shows like "Full House" and my dad was like "Too smarmy!" Because he used to watch the old sitcoms of the 1950's and 1960's.
@@magnuschristianssen8999 exactly! i was merely making the observation that difficult subjects have been discussed before.
I binge watched the whole Waltons series and here's what happened: Maryellen's doctor husband faked his death in Pearl Harbor because he lost his penis in the bombing(at least it didn't work).
Lol i love American humour
Always demonizing the dad.
I think this is one of the only TV shows where the child actually looks like it's father. Most shows the kids look nothing like they're related. That kid looks like he could be that guys child.
My roommates and I always thought that was uncanny but I think you might have cracked the case. You deserve a piece of cake too.
I used to love that show when I was a kid
Drink Your Nail Polish high line...
Drink Your Nail Polish same I loved our cartoons better lol
Honestly, back then it would've never occurred to me that the father would be arrested.
Every episode of Small Wonder was creepy to me. As an eight year old, I was creeped out that the dad made a little girl robot to be his "daughter."
Imagine if the dad just lied about the girl being returned to her mother while on the phone,just to make the kids feel better - I can imagine that.
That's the darkest you could find? How about that 'Growing Pains' episode where Tracy Gold's boyfriend gets into a car accident. They think he'll recover only for him to die from internal bleeding by the end of the episode. Or that 'Family Ties' episode where Michael J. Fox faces survivor's guilt because he and his friend got in a car accident. Alex survived, but his friend didn't. (That's an Emmy reel one) Or the whole premise of the 'Hogans'. Originally it was Valerie Harper PTA, but when the lead wanted more money, they fired her, in story she died. And the Hogans continued a life full of sitcom shenanigans. .
YES! The 80's pushed the boundaries of creativity & quality. But I think 'cracked' was referring to the way the characters ignored the tragedy. (Harper quit her show, so the writers were stuck)
Is this Daniel O'Briens personal account?
Yeah, I agree. I don't think the point is that it's the darkest purely on content - it's that it's super dark but not treated like it is.
Tracey Gold's dead boyfriend was played by Matthew Perry
Rahsaan Footman Pretty sure they mean unintentionally dark.
It was on for five years so it was considered a hit.
I remember watching it.
The shows a hit here in India. And how can a flop show run for 4 seasons???
You’re 25 year olds analyzing a show made 40 years ago for 6 to 14 year old kids.
You guys are legends in your own minds
This is tame compared to the Good Times' episode about child abuse and the Different Strokes's episode about child molestation. Y'all need to step your game up Cracked
Ashton Turner Overused.
Ashton Turner
Did you watch that“ smart guy “ episode in the 90s when the pedophile had them strip half naked for a photo shoot ?
Ashton Turner Yeah the Different Strokes / Gordon Jump episode.
Good Times is cheating. That whole show was dark
1. "Different Strokes" molestation episode
2. "Good Times" Penny's abuse episode
In India, we had a ripoff of this show called 'Karishma ka Karishma'
.
I'm crying.
The Small Wonder episode that sticks out in my mind is the one where Vicki gets disassembled instead of the evil twin.
Small Wonder is the prequel to West World
Fahri Akalin to be fair that would be saving her.
And so the plot thickens.
Seems legit.
Since West World was originally broadcast in 1973, I doubt that.
Throatwobbler Mangrove prequals are rarely made before something else. besides ot was a joke.
Mr. Belvedere episode the Counselor is one of the Darkest Episode. The Camp Counselor touched Wesley's shoulder while he's shirtless.
Alton Coates It was one of the few Very Special Episodes which actually focused on one of the main characters. (Quite often they focused on a guest character). Diff'rent Strokes did that too.
@@julieporter7805 It was always "Diff'rent Strokes", babygirl. Why you too lazy to spell?
PROVEN FACT VIDEOS Yes, the stupid Autocorrect changed it on me.
@@julieporter7805 Imagine that...this dumb auto correct actually thinks the show would have been spelled "Different Strokes"...how stupid are machines these days?
PROVEN FACT VIDEOS Don't worry about it. I should have seen it myself.
I was like “This isn’t the darkest sitcom episode” but than when it wasn’t resolved, “THIS IS DARK!!!”
Dad takes daughter because the court would never give a dad rights to their own child, so freaking dark!
Having grown up in foster care, I find most movies about 'orphans' very disturbing. Next time you see a 'cutsie' movie about orphans, take some time to think about what it means to have grown up with people who you knew were not your parents and who didn't even pretend to be your parents.
Heather Spoonheim pimp on heather i feel u
what kills me. have you ever seven Myrna from the Looney Tunes. I've seen people get animals and not keep them right. and then I've seen people adopt children as if they were a pet or something. one kid their kid was a spoiled rotten brat and the other kid was pretty much treated like Harry Potter was. the adopted kid had to go in the living room and sit while their kid had run of the house. this is a little different but once my brother's wife was babysitting his son-in-law's daughter. she threw a tantrum at the table because she didn't want to eat or whatever it was everyone was eating. I think it was steak. she was about four they sent her to bed because you wouldn't eat with everyone else was eating. not 5 minutes after this my niece went to her mother and asked if she can make herself a hot dog. so essentially her daughter did the same thing as the other little girl who I think was about a year younger. it was okay for daughter to do it but not the other girl. And the part that got me about it was my sister-in-law I never even realized that she was doing it. completely biased.
Calvin Barrett that is so sad and terrible just evil!
It always depends on the people if i adopt children i will as my children period
Here here
Nobody at the table was old enough to to remember this
Soren is 34 years old. Plenty old enough to remember "Small Wonder"
DJ D-Rex Im around their same age (late 20s early 30s), and I remember this show. They used to show reruns of this around Alf and Beverly Hill billies. You didnt necessarily need to 'be there' to know the show. Hell, I still remember the theme song.
autumntee85 --> true, so true. I remember regularly watching Gilligan' s Island and being very familiar with plot points and knowing the theme song, but I'm 33. It was regular reruns that made it possible.
"Nobody at the table was old enough to to remember this."
New invention. It's called DVD. Old shows can get put on them, and you can watch them. Look into it.
They would have been a young children, but that looks like this show's target audience, so I'm not sure what you're talking about.
It was the 80s !! Nobody took anything seriously!! Wish it were the 80s now !
yes, my best friend in 3rd grade used to bring a carton of those candy cigarettes to lunch often, her mom was so kind as to dip the ends in chocolate so they looked like they were lit. no one thought anything of it but you know today it would become a national news story.
@@talksolot the good ole days. Lol. I remember my friend and I could walk to the corner gas station to buy our parents cigarettes, without IDs and we were obviously young, like 12, and nobody said anything. We would take the change and buy a pack for ourselves. Cheap "basics" were like 99 cents back then. Or maybe 1.99, anyway they were cheap af.
@@talksolot the bubble gum cigarettes were the best. If you blew on them, a puff of smoke would come out to make it look like you were smoking. It was from the fine powder on the gum so the cigarette paper didn't stick to it.
YEAH GO BACK IN THE 80'S WHEN RACISM WAS STILL AN ISSUE.
@@meIatonin racism will never die because ppl like you are everywhere screaming about it.
This thread wasn't about race, this video wasn't about race, but here you are.... SCREAMING!
I remember this episode....didn’t realize how messed up it was when I was 7 though ....lol
“What do you know about Small Wonder? I know enough that it wasn’t a hit.” 😂😂
She was a robot and his daughter, who was also treated like a servant.
Desi C lil a servant
*Adopted Daughter. Originally she was the niece/cousin, then she was adopted by the family as the daughter/sister.
Yeah...that always bothered me
@Desi C:
Golly, aren't robots handy! And multi-purpose too LOLOLOLOLOLOL hahahahahaha
th-cam.com/video/cco_DvSzrts/w-d-xo.html
The way Vicki talks is the actress’s best possible imitation of how 1980s voice synthesizers sounded. At the time digital audio equipment was a very new technology and hadn’t reached the capability to sound like a real voice like it does now. Look up what a 1980s Speak and Spell sounded like and you’ll get the idea of how crude the technology was compared to now, yet was groundbreaking in its own time.
Well, this and those ABC after school specials were the thing during the 80's. Always creepers lurking.
for some reason the show small wonder was called vicky in south Africa. this is why i could never find any info on the show
Here in Brazil it was "Super Vicky". Guess it's just easier to process maybe?
in japan full house is called Michelle so yeah they do that in other countries.
Speaking of Japan, I saw a video not too long ago that was basically about a Japanese guy saying that most Japanese view black people as bad. And he said it might have to to with the fact that the movies imported into Japan are filtered and so in many of those movies the black person is alway shown as the bad guy. WTF?
yeah i've heard they are racist over there that explains probably why. But that's insane
Japan is quite xenophobic, there is a reason why "gaijin" is seen as a negative thing to say to a person.
Lol I remember that episode I was just to young to realize that it was her dad that kidnaped her
I didn't understand that there were such things as divorce and custody so when she said she had to talk to her dad about it
I thought he must of kidnaped her as a baby but didn't know how they got a currant picture of her
Lol messed up episode I was very confused still didn't freak me out like the bike shop episode of different strokes
I could never look at the Maytag repair man the same again
I don't blame the dad for taking Chrissy. Family court laws are biased against men and he clearly loves his daughter.
And yet the people watching never thought anything about it. Back when TV was about entertainment and not PC.
Because Adults were in charge of our society back then. These shows taught us all important topics. I grew up outside of Atlanta during the Missing and Murdered kids era. We were terrified of being away from our parents when we went to the store, and I am white! These shows that warned kids about crazy shit going on helped us understand what might happen and what to watch out for. It is cheesy now of course but it was far better than the stupid films we watched at school.
Well said