The Secret World of Alex Mack

Plot synopsis:
Alexandra (Alex) Mack lives with her prodigy older sister (Annie), her chemist father (George) and her business marketing mother (Barbara), in the modern corporate town of Paradise Valley. Located in Arizona, Paradise Valley has good weather but is incredibly small and has nothing exciting about it. Its main employer is the obscure and shady Paradise Valley Chemical Plant, where George works on various projects.Alex is thirteen and very concerned about her first day of junior high school. She considers herself to be boring and average, and to have nothing special that stands out about her. She's constantly in the shadow of Annie, who has extreme talents in math and science, and she's embarrassed by her parents, who don't understand her feelings. Barbara packs Alex's lunch in a Trollz lunchbox on the first day of school, and Alex heads out with her best friend Raymond (Ray) Alverado, a kid who, like her, considers himself to be insignificant. Immediately things at school go bad for Alex - her class schedule is ripped in half by a fat boy stepping on it, she fails to answer properly in mathematics class and Ray abandons her to go join the band club. Alex is also bullied by an athletic girl named Jessica for her hideous lunchbox but Scott, a jock kid, intervenes. Dismayed at her bad day, Alex walks home solemnly, muttering to herself that she's a geek. Meanwhile Dave, a truck driver from the chemical plant, accidentally hits Alex with his truck, spilling a barrel of hazardous chemicals all over her. Terrified she runs home, only to find that she now has several powers (telekinesis, "zapping" and "morphing", in which she can turn into a clear gel-like puddle). Annie and Ray keep it a secret, and Alex tries to live out her life as normal as possible, while doing her best to outwit Danielle Atron, the greedy and sadistic owner of the chemical plant and her security guard, Vince.

Tags: paranormal

Review:
"The Secret World of Alex Mack" was, in my opinion, one of the best shows in the twenty-year history of the Nickelodeon television network.
It was well-produced, well-written, and not at all corny (like most other Nick shows of its generation such as "All That" and "Kenan and Kel").
The chemical plant (along with Danielle, Vince, and Lars) portrayed the dark, evil side of town while the Mack family, along with Alex's friends, showed the bright, cheerful side.
We have seen so many shows in which the hero has supernatural powers, but the scientific aspect hasn't really been showcased since the days of Steve Austin on "The Six Million Dollar Man".
I originally watched this show because of the cute girls, then I realized how well done it was.
Great plot line, the characters are hilarious and I loved the different personalities of the characters and how they made light-hearted fun of everyday things like: big business, homeowner's associations, the gym coach, Dave, the environmental wacko friends, the Brainiac sister, dad, and her "nerd" friends.
The parents are fun too.This is when Nickelodeon was at it's best: Clarissa, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Doug, All That.I'm actually watching all of the shows in order on DVD, a couple a week..
I'd completely forgotten about it until I looked up the profile for that girl from "Dark Angel."  I think she was that girl that Alex hated because she was dating the guy Alex liked.
I remember specifically watching the last episode.
Although, I didn't know, then, it was the last episode since they marketed it as the season finale, but it was a pretty good finale (which you could expect considering the gimicky concept.)  Shows like this, "Clarissa", and "Salute Your Shorts" make me wonder whatever will happen with these shows.
They seem like too much fun to just never show again, but there aren't really nearly enough of them to fill a network.
Fabulous!.
Did I mention that is was fabulous?
This show was a great show to watch with your family.
I watched this show as a kid and I really enjoyed it.This show takes place in the fictional town of Paradise Valley.
Alex Mack who is 13 when the series starts, walks home from her first day of high school and her life is changed forever when she is nearly hit by a truck from the Paradise Valley Chemical Plant.
The truck crashes and the mysterious top-secret chemical spills out of the truck drenching Alex.
Alex runs home and discovers that the mysterious chemical has given her special powers including telekinetic powers, she can shoot electricity from her hands and she can morph into a puddle of silver liquid and travel anywhere she wants.
She reveals her powers to only two people, her best friend Ray (who thinks her powers are pretty cool) and her older sister Annie who is a scientific genius.
Annie does tests on Alex to understand how her powers work and considers Alex to be her secret science project.
Alex endeavours to keep her powers a secret from everyone else she knows including her parents.
Also Danielle Atron the corrupt CEO of the Chemical Plant knows that a child in Paradise Valley was drenched in the top-secret chemical and has these powers.
So Alex struggles with the pressures of teenage life while secretly using her powers for her own personal gain or to help other people.
I also liked two of Alex's friends.
Besides who wouldn't want to have those great powers (except for glowing when you get nervous).
Oh I remember watching this show at 4:00 p.m. during my junior high days.
It was not a pleasant experience because I remember watching it when I made my homework.Still, the show caught my attention when Alex displayed her special powers and dealt with the typical junior high problems.But the show wasn't all about adventures and special powers; it was more of an educational effort for a younger audience in order to get more interested in school and biology overall.The lead actress (can't remember her name and I'm too lazy to copy and paste from the main details) delivered a fantastic performance.
One night, about a week before the finale of the series, something seemed to dawn on me, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
It was portrayed as an evil, mega corporation who's motto was:"Progress at Any Cost." It was headed by a cold-hearted executive named Danielle Atron who would stop at nothing to find the kid who was doused in the chemical.
I sure would love to know if anyone else ever had this thought.
I joined the crowd of fans for this show older in chronological age, but too young to see it on television as a kid (no kidding, I was born halfway through this show's run) but the only DVD you can really get of it is the one for the first season because it has Jessica Alba in an early role, trust me though - whether you're a fan or not she is not the reason to revisit the show (I somehow managed to get a hold of all four seasons, in terms of buying DVD's that's actually an accomplishment, granted extremely minuscule accomplishment but an accomplishment nonetheless) I haven't watched the fourth season yet but the question would be if it holds up...
Yes, actually.The plot is that an average teenage girl wants to break out of being average at everything from grades, popularity and everything else in her life, feeling in the shadow from her high-achieving older sister Annie.
The town they live in seems like the boring, yet colorful suburbia that every person living in the suburbs wants it to be but underneath it is corporate greed as a plant for...
science-y things seems to run everything in the entire town (the theory that a hidden message is to not let corporations dominate our lives is something I totally buy!).
One day the transportation of their latest chemical goes haywire and Alex is caught in the middle which gives her superpowers.
The plot of the show from then is to have them try and live life with Alex trying out different things, using her powers to her advantage from time to time in secret and trying to stop the schemes of the plant to find "the kid" and other fiendish things.This show has a fantastic sense of humour for it's time and genre.
I was expecting either humour that would get dated to just have people like me go "What?" the entire time or really lame jokes that would be in a show like this (I mean, just look at what passes off as jokes on live action kid's shows today), but in all honesty - some jokes do get a legitimate laugh, stuff like how in kid's shows like this the parents being oblivious is something they do make fun of and that is refreshing in comparison to other shows like this.I'll also say the show has a charm to it that kind of makes it worth coming back to after all these years.
I mean while some episodes do steep into the kid's show crap such as a situation being "She's made friend's with a goth AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" The show very rarely falls into that trap, with one episode each season with a crap premise or inconsistencies that I think would be called out on even by children watching it.The last thing I'll comment on is something which like the humour I was not expecting - evolution.
Well Alex does get more powerful as the show goes on.
The crush Alex starts having in the pilot isn't the crush she's too nervous to approach for the entire run of the show.
There might be more considering I haven't seen all of it but the effects do get better (even if her turning into water no matter which season you're looking at looks like she's the T-1000) and the show is surprisingly more timeless then most.
Okay, Alex wears a cap on backwards and there's an episode where she gets a job at a video rental but honestly, that's probably all the "This is the 90's" stuff that doesn't get away with it slipping through and becoming timeless.This show is something to revisit for the 90's kids and if there are people looking for different kid's shows of that time then this would be a very good watch.
honestly, it's the one season with no "very good" episodes), I mean while there are bad episodes and over-the-top performances, this honestly needs to be seen again as opposed to fading away..
Yeah, I thought this was so cool, and Larisa Oleynik was the first crush I ever had (AAAAWWWWWW).
But since we couldn't afford to keep Nick, I couldn't see any episodes after Feb. 1996, and maybe that makes me think more of the show than I should.
And I still think that, because as far as I know, there are no plans to release this on DVD any time soon...yeah, life is mean!
I've found that out for sure (though you can find an odd episode every here or there...but I never liked the bootleg copies of things much either).So enough of my sad life:(....Most kids in 7th grade don't NEED powers like Alex gets to get them through life (unrealistic--for sure) but then again, how many towns have a super-evil chemical plants that is willing to do anything for "Progress at ANY cost"?
Gee this show was fun to watch!
My favorite parts were when the kids would have some reason to break into the plant (a video tape or something like that) like a kid's version of "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six" (which years later I got hooked on that game series for probably the same reason) almost!
Then you've got the plant's "security" team who are trying desperately to find the "kid from the accident"...very mean dudes (at least when I first watched the show...they seem more sympathetic to me now).
I feel rather sad for Larisa Oleynik, not sure if she minds this role type-casting her.....but it's what I'll always remember her by.Oh and BTW, the actor that plays Aaron Peirce from "24" is on here too as a school coach or something....too cool!
Maybe he can get the producers of that show to get Larisa in next season of "24".
The actress for Alex Mack was perfect but, the others could've been a lot better.
The plot lines were OK for the time, but they probably should've made it more interesting.
Like, having her fight crime or go for revenge against the chemical plant.
or 2) The actress for Alex Mack.
But, it was pretty good considering the time it was made in.
I'd recommend buying it on DVD and watching it if the mood strikes..
I look back on shows I watched when I was younger, and I laugh at how bad the acting was on some of them.
I just got the DVD set for this show recently want binge watched all of them.
Never knowing whether Vince was going to find her kept you on edge each episode.
Most tv shows didn't last long on Nickelodeon but this one managed to do 4 seasons, and with good reason..
Always watched Nickelodeon for cartoons or game shows as a kid.
I was never interested in sitcoms or the likes, but I remember the first night I saw a preview for the Alex Mack show.
As a child I rarely cared about watching things on a schedule, but this was definitely the first show besides Beavis and Butt-head that I grew to love and found myself watching every episode when it aired it's new episodes.
This was the 1st show Nick aired that actually had a sophisticated story, great acting, comedy, grew with the audience over 4 years, used very cool graphics and animation, and just stuck to it for a couple seasons (4 I believe).
I remember anticipating the final episodes while I was in middle school.
I remember wondering what movies with Larisa Oleynik be in, how popular will she become, and was very disappointed to only see her in 3rd Rock from the Sun and honestly no movies I have ever cared about.
Larisa Oleynik was without a doubt one of the prettiest child actresses growing up, she was also very sophisticated finishing high school and continuing throughout college.
Yea my 1st boy crush on a girl I would never meet but always dreamed of, I probably set my standards and likings to every girl that resembled Larisa (or really Alex with the chewing gum, happy attitude, good sense of humor).
Larisa without a doubt turned into a beautiful women, and I am glad she still acts and does material she loves and enjoys even if it isn't the biggest most expensive material.
When I think about it, I remember it pretty well.
I hope some network brings it back so I can see every episode.
Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever, even though I'm not sure if I've seen every episode.
Now, in conclusion, if some network ever brings it back, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good..
I love all the characters, especially Alex, who is the PERFECT woman!
Always makes me laugh and feel good when I watch this show.
Kid A may synchronise with EVERY episode!.
Well, it's about a girl named Alex who's a supposedly 'average' teen.
On her first day on junior high a 'cool' girl embarrasses her in front of all the older guys and then she walks home feeling sorry for herself and then eventually gets dumped by a truck full of a secret chemical made by the power plant which gives her the power to morph into a rain-puddle, shoot electricity from her fingers, and telekenesis.
(Sort of figures, don't it?)Alex has ultra-conservative parents who treat her like a three year old, and a genius sister.
And the only people who knew about Alex's power were her annoying nerve-wrecking best friend (played by Darris Love) and her sister, they keep it a secret out of fear that she will become the plant's personal lab rat.If this would've happened in real life, Alex would've been sent to a hospital and her parents would've had to know.
Another thing I found unrealistic about this was the way Alex and her friends talk.
If you listen to the dialogue carefully, you would notice that Alex and her friends all talk like philosophers, lawyers from Pennsylvania, intellectuals, and Harvard graduates!
Alex's wardrobe on this show was downright trendy and she and her friends all act like they're going on 25!
And these are supposed to be 'average' teens?I only watched maybe 4 or 5 episodes when the show was in it's infancy.
If you like to be entertained with unrealistic teen behavior and fantasy, then watch this show or something like it.
You would have to watch a movie like "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" if you want to see how kids and teenagers would really act!!!.
One of the things I like most about movies or tv shows is the fact when we can relate to said movie or tv show.
What really made the show shine was the lead actress, Larisa Oleynik.
One of my favorite episodes *SPOILER* was the one when the show took place during Christmas, and Alex was forced to take a job to try and help out with the Christmas chores.
During the course of the show, she ends up saving a monkey just like herself in superpowers, or at least she thing she does, and later mourns and hopes that the monkey turned out alright, which he does.
Alex, after going through so much trouble in the episode, still wants peace and happiness for others by shining a peace sign in the night sky with her powers.
I only hope that one day Nickelodeon one day decides to open up a channel where they showcase old Nick shows, with "The Secret World of Alex Mack" being in them.
Here's hoping that other people find out about this show and realize that it was quite possibly one of the greatest tv shows ever..
Spoilers!!!!This show is very good, its about the life of Alex Mack, a girl who is walking home after her first day in Junior High when a chemical called GC-61 is dumped on her, and this chemical has some unusual side effects...The show is basically about Alex's life, her sister uses her as a science project, her friend shares her adventures, and her parents have no idea, well not until the final episode...
The show started maturing in the 3rd season, soon Alex had a boyfriend, the show was getting more and more serious than before, and also kept getting better.It's very tough to place genres for this show, you can call it a comedy but there's too little humor, you can call it a drama but there's too little drama, you can call it an adventure series but...
there's too much normal life placed in the episodes.Vince was funny and creepy throughout, and boy could you have chosen a better villain than Ms. Atron, Dave is bound to make you laugh in all scenes that he is in.Annie and Ray are wonderful sidekicks for Alex.The Final two episodes are the best, wow!
When the bomb was set we certainly thought that Alex was going to die although usually the main character never dies, and Ms. Atron's threatning, vicious speech to Alex, and the wonderful meeting between Dave and Alex at the end, excellent, I rate these 2 episodes 1000/10.Kids and Teens have to enjoy this excellent humorous, exciting adventure series.