Clarissa Explains It All

Clarissa was my favorite Nick show back in Nickelodeon's heyday. All the characters were delightfully quirky, and the show was brilliantly written with insights into what teenagers deal with growing up: school, friends, family, peer pressure, etc. The show was so much fun what with the constant fantasy sequences and Clarissa's funky, colorful outfits. It was also great to watch because Clarissa constantly acted as a news reporter on her own life, breaking the fourth wall to speak directly and relate to the audience, and writing on the screen to demonstrate her points. The laugh track was played a little excessively on this show--the "audience" seemed to laugh at everything, but that's still part of what I like about the show because it's sort of satirical, and it's all part of the show's quirky fun. "Clarissa" is also kind of Seinfeld-esque in how it deals with mundane tiopics in an amusing way. This show sort of paved the way for the Unfabulouses and Zoey 101. It also paved the way for Hannah Montana and That's So Raven. Let the 90's live in our hearts...forever.