Secret World of Alex Mack (Secret World of Alex Mack)

Member Name: jaygami1986

Product:	Secret World of Alex Mack
Date:	08/02/08 (77 review reads)
Rating:

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I think ive gone a bit crazy but I just seem to be thinking about all the old Nickelodeon programmes I use to watch as a teenager and I just feel like writing about my favourite ones. Now my previous review was on Sister, Sister. This review will focus on another show aired on Nickelodeon, however with a totally different concept. Im reviewing the "Secret World of Alex Mack", which aired between October 1994 and January 1998.
The show was originally scripted to replace Clarissa Explains it all which finished some months before the start of this show. Nickelodeon executives wanted a show that would be just as popular amongst the teenage crowd, and del with more grown up issues such as friendship, individuality and anything else teenagers go through nowadays. I have to admit, the reason I was fond of this show was because it was more of an action drama show, most of Nickelodeons previous shows were comedy based and had a lot of humour, however this one was somewhat different.
As stated the show replaced Clarissa Explains it all which was part of the Snick Line up.

Brief info on Snick Line-up:

SNICK, which was short for Saturday Night Nickelodeon was a two hour block of shows that were aired between 1994 and 2002. It was a chance for people to catch up on some cable television. Whilst also enjoying shows such as Alex Mack, Ren and Stimpy and so on.

Main Premise of Alex Mack:

The show focuses on a teenage girl by the name of Alexandra "Alex" Mack, who in the first episode is starting her first day of Junior High. On her way to school, she is accidentally doused with a lethal mysterious liquid chemical compound called GC- 161, which as a result changed her life forever. The affects of the GC- 161 meant Alex now had super human power such as zapping electrical charges into objects, and morphing into any liquid shape, this totally reminded me of the T1000 in terminator 2, too bad they didn't pick Alex Mack as the bad guy hey!
Throughout the show, the company responsible for the contamination and leak are on a quest to find the human that was infected by this GC -161, and test the person in a lab, making them almost a lab rat. Alex must be careful were she uses her power and more importantly make sure the bad guys don't find out its her. Alex does however confide in her sister Annie (Meredith Bishop) and her best friend Ray (Darris Love) Together they help protect Alex identity not only from the bad guys but also from her parents, one of who works for the company looking for Alex. The series focuses on Alex ability to stay away from the bad people, whilst also living a teenage life.

Characters:

Alexandra "Alex" Mack (Larisa Oleynik)

Well it doesn't take a genius to work out Alex is the main character around thee show. She's not what you would expect from a typical teenage girl role, she's not interested in make up or boys, she's more of a guy's girl, a tom boy, more into her ability to be a good friend with Ray. I have to say I really enjoyed Alex's character because to some extent every teenager could identify with her situation. Alex new power made her different from the world, she wasn't normal and had to deal with the life she was given. I feel this told kids its ok to be different from the crowd, different is good. We also see Alex struggle with her life; she is torn between being a normal persona and someone with superhuman powers. She so desperately wants to tell her parents, but feels that doing so will make things worse. Her parents might not accept her, and this is likewise in many normal day to day situations. Kids can't always talk to their parents and sometimes they have to hid secrets.

Raymond "Ray" Alvarado (Darris Love):

Ray is Alex closest friend and someone that Alex tells her secret identity to. Rays the stereotypical best friend, but he plays it well. He is always their for Alex when she needs him, he helps her come to terms with her powers and is just like a shoulder to lean on. However like best friends they do have falling outs from time to time.

Anne "Annie" Mack (Meredith Bishop):

Annie is Alex older sister and another person she tells her secret to. Annie is the older, brainy sister who is again like the family favourite, something Alex hates. They have a hate love relationship, like most siblings tend to have, but I think deep down inside Annie was always envious of Alex and her abilities, it made her different and she saw her as something special.

There are several characters in the show, but to be honest in my opinion the show is more focused around these three main characters with a greater attention focused on Alex. The show also focuses general teen issues such as school life, family and friends issues and of course the boyfriend issue. I always though the show was very well written for a teenage show. The power Alex had were un human, however they were also believable, she didn't have the X men or Superman Powers, she wasn't even a super hero to say the least. She was simply a teenage girl trying to live a normal life, but evidently couldn't because she was always on the look out of being captured and kept as a lab rat.

Useful info: Some people may not no that Jessica Alba also get her acting career started by appearing on the show in the pilot episode and two other episodes throughout the series.
The show also creates many books in the same name, and was aimed at the fans of the show as well as the younger generation of readers.

Cast:

Larisa Oleynik
Darris Love
Meredith Bishop
Michael Blakley
Dorian Lopinto
Louan Gideon
John Marzilli
Natanya Ross
Alexis Fields
Will Estes
Josh Keaton
Benjamin Smith

No: of Episodes: 78, which lasted four seasons (1994- 1998)

Run Time: 22 minutes approx.

Summary: One Day Alex......................