Clarissa Explains It All

Clarissa Explains It All

Title card
Format Teen sitcom
Created by Mitchell Kriegman
Starring Melissa Joan Hart
Jason Zimbler
Elizabeth Hess
Joe O'Connor
Sean O'Neal
Narrated by Melissa Joan Hart
Theme music composer Rachel Sweet
Anthony Battaglia
Willa Bassen
Opening theme Rachel Sweet
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 5[1]
No. of episodes 65[2] (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Mitchell Kriegman
Marjorie Cohn
Brown Johnson
Geoffrey Darby
Andy Bamberger
Location(s) Universal Studios
Orlando, Florida
Camera setup Multi-camera setup
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Thunder Pictures
Broadcast
Original channel Nickelodeon[3]
Picture format NTSC
Audio format Stereo
Original run March 23, 1991 (1991-03-23)[1][4] – December 3, 1994 (1994-12-03)[1][5]
Not to be confused with Clarissa, a 1991 British TV series

Clarissa Explains It All is an American teen sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon.[6][7] Created by Mitchell Kriegman, it aired for five seasons for a total of 65 episodes[1] from March 23, 1991,[4] to December 3, 1994,[5] and then went into reruns.

In the series, Clarissa Darling, who is played by Melissa Joan Hart,[8][9][10][11] is a teen girl who addresses the audience directly to describe the things that are happening in her life, dealing with typical pre-adolescent concerns such as school, boys, pimples and an annoying little brother. Reruns of the show have appeared intermittently on TeenNick's channel block The '90s Are All That since July 25, 2011.[12][13]

Contents

Overview

The main characters in the show are Clarissa Darling, her family (consisting of her father Marshall, her mother Janet and her little brother Ferguson) and her best friend Sam living in a small suburban town in Ohio. Clarissa and Sam's relationship was a novelty on television at the time, due to few television series allowing a girl and a boy to be merely friends without romance blossoming. (One episode featured the idea of their having a romance, but ultimately ended without their getting together.) Clarissa also had a pet baby caiman named Elvis whom she kept in a kiddie-sandbox in the left corner of her room. He lasted only the first few episodes of the first season.

The show was credited with becoming the first Nickelodeon series to feature a female lead, which led the network to create other shows such as The Secret World of Alex Mack, Unfabulous, iCarly, and Victorious. Its popularity among both boys and girls also helped to debunk a myth that a children's series with a female lead would turn off boys from it, whereas only children's series with a male lead would attract both boys and girls.[14]

The show was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida. The final two seasons headlined the popular SNICK (Saturday Night-Nickelodeon) lineup, which was a lead-in to shows like All That, and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. Despite its seemingly innocent reputation, it pushed a few boundaries at the time for "kids television", even making subtle references to sex and teen partying, though in a lighthearted, contemporary fashion. In one episode, Clarissa accidentally shoplifts lingerie. It was one of the few Nickelodeon shows to actually say and spell out the words "hell" (last time was the Rocko's Modern Life episode "Carnival Knowledge") and "sex" on screen. The pilot of the series revolved around Clarissa's attempt to kill her brother Ferguson; although in the end it was a harmless attempt using helium balloons, it highlighted the issue of sibling rivalry.

Clarissa dealt with normal issues facing kids, such as first crushes, getting a driver's license, sibling rivalry, grades at school, insecurities, and drinking, confronting the issues as an independent freethinking teenager. However, these topics were dealt with far less dramatically than they were on other similar shows at the time (such as Full House and Blossom). One such was bullying, which was addressed, and ended up creating one of the longest lasting story arcs on the show. In the episode "Bully", Clarissa finds out Ferguson is being picked on by school jock Clifford Spleenhurfer. Clarissa defends Ferguson, angrily confronting Clifford verbally. This produced unforeseen results to everyone involved, Clarissa most of all. She became the first person to stand up to Clifford and, as a result, he fell in love with her. She was shocked to discover this, and even more shocked to discover she liked him as well. They began dating soon after, and they stayed together for quite a while. The issue of whether a girl would stand up and fight a boy was also a hot topic at the time.

Unique to the show was its representation of each episode's theme by showing Clarissa tackling the episode's issue through a fictional video game.

The show's theme song was sung by singer/comedian/actress/writer Rachel Sweet. It consisted entirely of "Na, na, na-na-na, na-na-na-na, na-na", punctuated with the occasional "Way cool!" or "All right! All right!", and underscored by rhythmic instrumentation, ending with a resounding "Just do it!".

A pilot for a follow-up series, Clarissa Now, was shot for CBS in 1995, but was not picked up as one. However, the pilot was shown on a few occasions on Nickelodeon after the original series had ended production. It would have revolved around Clarissa's internship at a New York City newspaper. Comedian Robert Klein costarred as its crusty editor, Hugh Hamilton. Supporting roles were played by Marian Seldes and Lisa Gay Hamilton. In 2002, Hart said that she would not be interested in a cast reunion project; "No. Shirley Temple taught me one thing. And that was once you finish a career, you move on." In her next big television show, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, her character actually did become a journalist.

Characters

Recurring characters

Episodes

Home video releases

Throughout the early 1990s a number of VHS tapes were released though Sony Wonder each containing 2 or 3 episodes, usually centered around a certain theme such as school, dating, sibling rivalry, etc.

In May 2005, the show's first season was released on DVD as part of the Nickelodeon Rewind Collection by Nickelodeon's parent company, Paramount Pictures.[15] The second season was scheduled to be released a few months later, but it was pulled from Paramount Pictures' release schedule shortly after the company's merger with Dreamworks. To this date, there are no plans to release the series further on DVD.

Season one is currently available on DVD,[15] iTunes, Xbox Live, and the PlayStation Store.

Production

Clarissa Explains It All was the second sitcom to premiere on Nickelodeon in 1991 after Hey Dude ended its run. It was one of seven new programs (three animated and four live-action) to premiere on Nickelodeon in 1991 when the network began producing more original programming. It outlived the two other live action programs; Salute Your Shorts, and Fifteen.

Awards

In 1994, the series was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program. In addition, Melissa Joan Hart, Sean O'Neal, and Jason Zimbler also received multiple Young Artist Award nominations. Melissa won three for her role as Clarissa.[16]

Broadcast history

The series reran on Nick from 1994 to 1999. It appeared briefly in 2001 as part of TEENick block. The show was referred to by the network in 2003, in order to promote reruns of Sabrina on TEENick and again in 2004, as part of Nick's "Before They were Stars". It reran on The N from 2002 to 2003.

The series reran on Nick @ Nite Latin America from 2006 to 2009.

Clarissa Explains it All returned to TeenNick on July 25, 2011 as part of its The 90s are All That block. The show aired at 10 PM (Pacific) 1 AM (Eastern) with the first episode having been 'The Understudy' from Season 2.[12][13] TeenNick replaced the show with Hey Arnold! on September 5, 2011.[17] Fans are allowed to vote for the series featured on the block.[18]

In popular culture

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b c d TV.com- Clarissa Explains It All at TV.com
  2. ^ "Clarissa To Explain It All For Final Time". Orlando Sentinel. December 17, 1993. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-12-17/news/9312170769_1_clarissa-nickelodeon-melissa-joan-hart. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  3. ^ Moca, Diane Joy (March 23, 1991). "`Clarissa` Gives Tv Its First High-tech Sitcom". Los Angeles Daily News. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-03-23/entertainment/9101260387_1_clarissa-darling-sesame-street-perfect-family. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  4. ^ a b Television section, New York Times, March 17, 1991, and March 23, 1991.
  5. ^ a b TV Week guide, September 29 – October 5, 1994, Bryan-College Station Eagle.
  6. ^ Lipton, Laura (March 17, 1991). "Nickelodeon gets inside the head of a 13-year-old named Clarissa Darling". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1991-03-17/news/tv-1046_1_clarissa-darling. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  7. ^ Witchel, Alex (August 25, 1991). "UP & COMING: Melissa Joan Hart; The Melissa Inside Clarissa Explains It All for Us". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/25/arts/up-coming-melissa-joan-hart-the-melissa-inside-clarissa-explains-it-all-for-us.html. Retrieved 2010-08-10. 
  8. ^ a b Hinman, Catherine (June 22, 1991). "Clarissa She's 14, Hip And Hot The Spunky Tv Teen Has Captivated Viewers And Put Orlando-based Nickelodeon Studios On The Sitcom Map.". Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1991-06-22/lifestyle/9106210244_1_clarissa-nickelodeon-studios-sitcom-map. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  9. ^ Minor, Debra K. (February 12, 1991). "New Nickelodeon Show To Be Produced Here". Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1991-02-12/lifestyle/9102110174_1_clarissa-darling-clarissa-explains-mitchell-kriegman. Retrieved 2010-09-03. 
  10. ^ Shrieves, Linda (January 3, 1993). "Melissa Explains Clarissa". Orlando Sentinel. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-01-03/entertainment/9212310300_1_clarissa-melissa-hart-nickelodeon. Retrieved 2010-09-02. 
  11. ^ Clarissa Explains It All Cast and Crew
  12. ^ a b Smiley, Brett (March 10, 2011). "Nick At Nite For Twentysomethings On The Way". MTV.com. http://clutch.mtv.com/2011/03/10/nick-at-night-for-twentysomethings-on-the-way/. Retrieved 2011-05-22. 
  13. ^ a b Rice, Lynette (March 10, 2011). "TeenNick goes retro with '90s programming -- EXCLUSIVE". EW.com. http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/03/10/teennick-goes-retro-with-90s-programming-exclusive/. Retrieved 2011-05-22. 
  14. ^ Holbert, Ginny (September 29, 1994). "Clarissa's Grown Up And Gone // Nickelodeon Sends Off Its Star After 3 Years". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4249830.html. Retrieved 2011-03-10. 
  15. ^ a b "Clarissa Explains It All - Season One (1991)". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007Y08LK. 
  16. ^ Awards for Clarissa Explains it All at IMDB.com
  17. ^ Rice, Lynette (August 24, 2011). "TeenNick adds two more shows to '90s Are All That block -- EXCLUSIVE". http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/08/24/teennick-90s-are-all-that/. Retrieved September 29, 2011. 
  18. ^ http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2011/08/teennick-fall-2011-schedule-bounce-tv.html

External links