Clarissa Explains It All

and Clarissa quickly became my hero. I watched it all the time. Then, there were reruns, and I watched them too ~! Hahaha! I was addicted to this show, I dunno why. It did for me what Punky Brewster did for me when I was 5. I remember Blossom being on the same time and thinking Blossom wasn't half as cool as Clarissa :)

Clarissa's room was really awesome, too. Remember in the beginning when she had Elvis, the Lizard?

I wish Nick would show reruns again...

I miss the good old days. I remember I use to race home from school to Watch Clarissa. I also remember, back then All the good stuff came on Nick, Stuff like Kenning and Kel, All that (with the original cast), Hey Arnold, AHH Monsters. Just to name a few oldies. Now kids don't even watch nick they watch Disney Channel and what not. Oh yeah remember that game show that used to be on Nick, you had to complete the obstacle course or get slimed,Figure it Out, Double Dare. Oh goodness I could go. But I don't have time, you probably don't either. Nevertheless, These where the good old days.

~!Mya!~

Clarissa was my favorite Nick show back in Nickelodeon's heyday. All the characters were delightfully quirky, and the show was brilliantly written with insights into what teenagers deal with growing up: school, friends, family, peer pressure, etc. The show was so much fun what with the constant fantasy sequences and Clarissa's funky, colorful outfits. It was also great to watch because Clarissa constantly acted as a news reporter on her own life, breaking the fourth wall to speak directly and relate to the audience, and writing on the screen to demonstrate her points. The laugh track was played a little excessively on this show--the "audience" seemed to laugh at everything, but that's still part of what I like about the show because it's sort of satirical, and it's all part of the show's quirky fun. "Clarissa" is also kind of Seinfeld-esque in how it deals with mundane tiopics in an amusing way. This show sort of paved the way for the Unfabulouses and Zoey 101. It also paved the way for Hannah Montana and That's So Raven. Let the 90's live in our hearts...forever.

Clarissa Explains it All may have been modeled on the successes of 1) Ferris Bueler and 2) Blossom. Melissa Joan Hart really got her start on this Nickelodean comedy aimed for younger teen and some pre-teen audiences as Clarissa Darling, a teen girl who often had a few minor dilemmas to work out in each episode. If I were to watch this show now, I'd probably remark how extremely corny it is, but then again, the humor and depth (or lack there of) doesn't have to carry on with me as I get older, since that isn't the point.

Clarissa Explains It All, nonetheless had some great things going for it. For one, it was one of the rare occasions that a show was headlined by a young teen girl, and a rather spunky one at that. Few times do we see this in the early 90s, other than Blossom and later, with another Nickelodean series, The Secret World of Alec Max. Something like Zach Morris and Ferris Beuler were able to do, Clarissa often addressed the audience, usually to reiterate how things are going or to give advice for solving those problems. And they were usually minor things, like dealing with a sneaky older brother, Furgeson, or getting out of some mundane chore. Harmless things like that as rarely did Nickelodeon, if ever, touch upon anything but neutral topics (save the short-lived half-hour news program). She was a likable character and not whiny or obnoxious, although her parents were usually nerds. She had a pet aligator named Elvis, a cool neighbor named Sam, and usually programmed computer games as the ideal way of planning a solution to her problems. It was an amusing show that tried to do things a little differently than the same old, same old. And it seemed to have worked, since the show lasted three years (which is still pretty good, considering).

Nickelodeon did have a quite a few good teen and pre-teen based shows on air in the early 90s. Among them were 'The Adventures of Pete and Pete,' 'The Secret World of Alec Max,' 'Are You Afriad of the Dark?' and of course, 'Clarissa Explains It All.' Check out the show if you can. If American television continues creating garbage shows, then these kinds of shows are truly the last of their kind.

I was born in 1986, and this show came on Nick when I was five. I was a little young during its original run to seriously enjoy it, but now that it's back on Noggin (who are also reviving the genius classic 'The Adventures of Pete and Pete') I think it's one of the most fantastically entertaining shows out there. It may not be the most ground breaking and original show I've ever seen in my life, but it really doesn't matter for the fact that you just can't get enough of it!

Clarissa Darling is a hip and smart high school girl who has the coolest outfits (not to mention the coolest room!) and often finds herself in complicated situations (such as dancing in a talent show and going on a blind date). She also has a little brother from hell named Ferguson (AKA Ferg-face or Ferg-wad), who always tries hard to become a businessman, stand-up comic... you name it.

The parents are just kind of average, but Sam's awesome because it's not too often you see a girl's best friend who's a guy (on a TV show that is).

So all in all, give this show a shot if you get Noggin. It's a classic for all of us who were born in the '80s and grew up in the early '90s. : )