Secret World of Alex MacK-1st Season (1994)

"...an undeniable charm...a lot of impressive illusions with some primitive visual effects. Plus, big points for chic retro styling...  Adam Arseneau, DVD Verdict

Editor's Note A freak chemical spill endows teenager Alex Mack with special powers, including the ability to "zap" electric shocks, liquefy into a puddle, and move objects with her mind. Fearing discovery, Alex only shares her secret with her whiz-kid sister, Anne, and her trusty best friend, Raymond. But will any of Alex's marvellous new abilities help her face the awkwardness of junior high? A replacement for the popular CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL, this hit Nickelodeon series mines similar territory with its savvy young heroine dealing humorously with the complications of adolescent life. Included here is the show's complete first season, which features appearances by a young Jessica Alba.

	Darris Love
	Jessica Alba
	Larisa Oleynik
	Michael Blakley
	Charles Conner - Production Designer
	Christine Kenton, et. al. - Editor
	Daniel J. Vivanco - Art Director
	David Brookwell - Producer
	Jerry Grant - Original Music By
	Ken Lipman, et. al. - Writer
	Kristan Andrews - Art Director
	Kristan Andrews - Production Designer
	Philip Holahan, et. al. - Cinematographer
	Shawn Levy, et. al. - Director
	Tommy Lynch - Executive Producer

DVD Verdict 8 of 10
While not the best-acted show, or even the best-written, The Secret World of Alex Mack has an undeniable charm. There is decent entertainment value to be had for pre-teeny types--you've got secret mysterious organizations chasing after kids in a bumbling, yet always vaguely threatening, fashion, a girl with bizarre superpowers that turn her into liquid and let her zap things with electricity, and your standard mix of Disney Channel-style boy crushes, friend in-fighting, jealousy, and math tests. These days, entire cable channels are devoted to programming like this, but back in 1994, The Secret World of Alex Mack was fairly novel...Egregiously painful fashion stylings and lame dialogue cement Alex and her peers smack in the middle of California during the early 1990s, an embarrassing place to be, still rooted so firmly in the 1980s fascination with high pants, bad hats, and pastel colors. If you can get over the tackiness, the show is fairly charming in its own pubescent sort of way...The special effects are pretty dire, no doubt, but you can tell the creators did the best they could with a limited operation budget. All things considered, they pull a lot of impressive illusions with some primitive visual effects. Plus, big points for chic retro styling--you gotta love the corniness. - Adam Arseneau