h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I recently saw the pilot episode and the parents explicitly stated they had four children (Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy). Sondra was never mentioned, even in passing or as an unnamed additional sibling, and was not in the opening credit sequence. Does anyone know when Sondra was added and how they worked her into the show?

Well, the pilot shows are usually significantly different from the normal episodes. A great example is Seinfeld, where they renamed a character, didn't have a main character, went to a different restaurant and had a different apartment, to name a few things. Usually after seeing the pilot, network executives will switch things around and ask for all sorts of different things.

I'm not 100% sure when Sondra was introduced, but my best guess is the first regular episode.

Hmmm... perhaps I underestimated the television savvy present here. I was using the colloquial usage of "pilot", meaning first regular episode, not necessarily the actual pilot episode. I should have known better than to drop my famed (and often annoying) pedantism

As far as I know, what I saw was the first regular episode, though what one means by "regular" is debatable. It's possible they aired an episode and then retooled the show for the rest of the season. I was just hoping someone would have the definitive version of what happened with Sondra.

What was the plot?

I was afraid you were going to ask that

Theo comes home with 4 D's on his report card and announces he doesn't plan to go to college. I found an episode guide and they list the title of this episode as "Pilot" and indicate it aired 20 September 1984. Since the second episode "Mr. Fish" aired 27 September 1984, I think it's safe to assume this really was the first regular episode.

Consulting this same episode guide, I see "Bon Jour Sondra" (episode 10) listed as the first appearance of Sondra. This is the episode where she comes home for Thanksgiving and announces her plans to spend the summer in Paris.

So I think I need to rephrase (change) the question. In episode 1 they mention they have only 4 children and in episode 10 Sondra appears as the fifth child. Was there some mention of Sondra before episode 10, to prep the audience for her arrival? Or did they simply add her in and not bother with an explanation? It was nine episodes later, after all.

Yes, I think that was the pilot. It was a good one, I think

For your new question, I thought she was added after the pilot, but I suppose not now. The entry explains (I think it does) that Bill Cosby wanted to show the effects of parenting, IE a grown child. I guess she was added when Cosby got this notion...

Your entry covered the motivation behind the addition of Sondra quite clearly. I'd never heard this before I read it here (though it was also mentioned in that episode guide).

I suppose if the number of children in the family was never mentioned again until episode 10, there'd really be no need to explain Sondra. Who was going to remember back to the first episode and note the inconsistency?... well, me, I suppose Of course, I had the luxury of watching the pilot again after years of tuning in.