Thursday, July 11, 2013

Sunday Funnies: Clarissa Explains It All (1991)

Nickelodeon has had a track record of creating stars, much like sister network MTV used to back in the day. One of their most popular stars of the early 90's was Melissa Joan Hart, who bowed in the network's 1991 sitcom, Clarissa Explains It All. Clarissa Darling (Hart) regularly broke the 4th wall to spin her tale to the audience and move the episode along. It was clear from the go that her brother, Ferguson (Jason Zimbler), was both a knockoff of Michael J. Fox's iconic Alex P. Keaton (Family Ties) and a black hole when it came to presence. No wonder Clarissa hated him so much!

After the series ended, Nick suits thought about the next chapter, sending Clarissa off to college, but the pilot went nowhere. Instead, corporate parent Viacom tapped Hart to star in Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, and, of course, the rest is history. Hart currently co-stars on the ABC Family series, Melissa & Joey, with another 90's fan favorite, Joey Lawrence (Blossom).

Here's a sample promo clip:



Clarissa has returned periodically as part of TeenNick's The 90's Are All That late night block, so check your cable guide.

Rating: B.

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