Small Wonder Season 2, Episode 5: The Hustle

1

Root Beer, Women and Song

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.

21 min

2

My Mother the Teacher

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.

21 min

3

Vicki for the Defense

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.

21 min

4

Homeless Causes

Joan's civic project with the homeless prompts Jamie to bring home a bum, who virtually takes over the Lawson household.

21 min

5

The Hustle

When Jamie is taken by a slick curbside vendor with a bad mini-TV, Ted goes after him for reparations -- and gets conned himself.

21 min

6

Jamie's Older Woman

Jamie pushes Harriet aside in an unrequited crush on her 16-year-old cousin, who teaches him a lesson in respect.

21 min

7

My Robot Family

When he's punished for thoughtlessly dropping the family's reservations to Mexico, Jamie dreams that the others are robots under his control.

21 min

8

The Wonder Worker

To help Jamie's shy and withdrawn classmate who stutters, Ted programs Vicki to be her speech therapist.

21 min

9

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.

21 min

10

Latchkey Dreams

To get on a community-sponsored Thanksgiving ski trip for disadvantaged kids, Jamie convinces the sponsors that his parents are separated.

21 min

11

Computer Dating

To pay for a new bike he bought from the neighborhood bully, Jamie uses Vicki to run a school computerized match-making business.

21 min

12

Smoker's Delight

Jamie learns a sobering lesson in using smoking and chewing tobacco to elevate his freshman status in junior high.

21 min

13

Movin' Up

While Vicki learns to spend a day without duties or instructions, Ted's new prestigious job offer in Massachusetts tests the family's taste to social climb vs. its price of morality.

21 min

14

Project Blender

To make his dad's ""button-pusher"" job seem important to his friends, Jamie hints that Ted is head of a top-secret project -- which even Ted's jealous boss, Brandon, believes.

21 min

15

Class Comedienne

Nagged by classmates that Vicki has a wooden personality, Jamie overdoes it in secretly programming her a livelier one.

21 min

16

Little Miss Shopping Mall

The Lawsons take up the Brindles' snobby challenge and enter Vicki in a mall pageant against Harriet.

21 min

17

Victor/ V.I.C.I.

To help his Little League team's rock-bottom status, Jamie disguises Vicki as a boy to use her robotic abilities to bat for the pennant.

21 min

18

Look into My Eyes

After Vicki watches a TV hypnotist turn volunteers into clowns and animals, she starts practicing her new mesmerizing ""skill"" on the Lawsons with hysterical results.

21 min

19

Pint Sized Pick-Up

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.

21 min

20

Community Watch and See

After being burglarized (while Vicki's home and they're at a restaurant), the Lawsons join the neighborhood watch.

21 min

21

Here Kitty, Kitty!

To train Vicki to be more affectionate, Ted buys her a toy cat that only makes her mimic Jamie's past jealousy and run away.

21 min

22

Vicki Goodwrench

During Jamie's part-time gas station job, Vicki fine-tunes a car to go 50 miles a gallon, causing oil companies and oil sheiks alike to drop by the Lawsons' door.

21 min

23

The Wedding

Ted and Joan decide to have the ceremonial wedding they never had -- until the Brindles butt in.

21 min

24

Wham-Bam-Body Slam

Joan invites Wally Crandal, a former 90-pound weakling college classmate, over for dinner to meet his former school tormentor: Ted, who rigs Vicki to play even crueler tricks. Only Ted's unaware that Wally's grown into a top pro wrestler.

21 min