Tipped off on the sly by busybody Bonnie Brindle, Child Services threatens to take Vicki away unless the Lawsons can produce her past -- and she passes a medical exam.

Introducing the recurring prim civil service character of Child Services investigator Olivia Fernwald, and Jamie goes "Vicki drag" for the first time to save Vicki's can.

Originally Fernwald was to've been a whole lot more snoopy than the Brindles, sensing something "sweetly strange" about Vicki that she can't quite grasp. According to Vicki's forged adoption papers, she was born in Victoria, capital of the Seychelles, and was orphaned by a freak accident of a plane falling on her "parents'" train and taken in by convent nuns. Sure, the state's gonna check that out, right?

Derisive techie fan mail kills several silly robotic powers presented in this episode, such as Vicki shrinking to the size of a BarbieŽ doll. The dawning of such a nit-picking college and teenage audience and the show's "6" syndicated Nielsen launch ratings gave the production incredible boost to morale and was to sow the seeds of creative disenchantments between staff and free-lance writers that would help kill a fifth season.

Production Title: "The Adoption"
Completed: 1-Nov-85/
Show no: 110
Written by Adrienne Armstrong and Mitzi McCall
Directed by John Bowab
Produced by Budd Grossman

Guest Cast:
Olivia Fernwald: Kelly Britt

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