My Secret Identity

My favorite thing to do was to record the show on audio cassette and listen to them when I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep. I didn't have a TV in my room, but I was so obsessed with the show that I never wanted to stop being in that world.

I remember this particular bit...Andrew was in his room, supposed to be studying geometry, but he was completely bored with it...

"I, Andrew Clements, invested with the powers of Ultraman, do hereby declare that all trapezoids, squares, triangles, and all other stupid shapes shall be banished from this planet and replaced with one long straight line!" Aw, good stuff.

I chanced upon this series in an odd way: I had a foster boy who the kids called 'Clements' (his name was Jesse Martin) and I didn't know why until I saw this show. He was a dead ringer for Jerry O'Connell at that age. (He doesn't look like him any more---thank God!).

We all started watching this series (and ribbing Jesse as much as possible). Rarely did we miss an episode. And, although it seemed to decline some in the last season, it had a spirit not found in similar type shows. In my opinion, the first season seemed to be the best. I wasn't overly fond of Bolton who played O'Connell's best friend in the 2nd and 3rd season.

Personally, I like Jerry O'Connell (esp. Sliders). His kid movies have always had a special presence that stood out. (Even to the singing cockroaches in 'Joe's Apartment'.) The kid was a good actor---unlike most kid actors these days.

Also, the combo of O'Connell and Derek McGrath (Dr. Jeffcoat) was ideal and kept this series from ever being boring. For a low-budget production, they did a fantastic job.

The only faults I can find with this series are that there should have been more use made of O'Connell's super powers. (Some episodes had only a brief, almost unnecessary, use of his powers.) And, some of the guest actors were horrible!.

This series is now running on the Space channel (from Bell Expressvu). It airs on Monday mornings at 4:30am Mountain Time. As of the date of this review they have just started the first season again.

This is a rather fun and dynamic show, starring Jerry O'Connell as teenager Andrew Clements, who accidentally gets himself zapped by friend Dr. Benjamin Jeffcoate's scientific experiment, causing him to have superpowers. As a result, Andrew uses his newfound power to help people and fight crime, while concealing his abilities from his family and friends.

It's a charming show full of imagination, comedy, adventures and sci-fi action - all in a delightful display of inspiration for the younger audience who look up to "superheros" while growing up.

There's good acting for the most part and fast-paced episodes that kept the show exciting to watch each time.

Grade A-

no comments yet on this show?!?! This show rocked so hard. I still remember him using spray paint cans to fly LOL. I wish I could find the shows on tape somewhere. Post up your "my secret identity" moments here people!. I will be surprised if I'm the only avid fan of the show!. Still to this day, whenever I have spray paint cans and nobody is around I will try and point them down, start spraying and just think of the good ole days when shows like this were on TV. Maybe they will release the shows on DVD someday so we can all enjoy these shows over and over. Jerry O'connel is such a talent and this is really where his career took off. Matt

I remember "My Secret Identity" with Jerry O'Connell. This was a really cool show from the late 80s and very early 1990s that revolved around a 13 year old kid named Andrew Clements that gets superpowers from his nerdy next door neighbor's plant growing laser beam. The series seemed to revel in it's campy setting, and there were plenty of injokes for comic book fans. Jerry O'Connell did this show after "Stand By Me" but before "Sliders", "Jerry Maguire" or any of his really big hits from the mid 90s to the present, so he was a recognizable 13 year old name but not a huge, elite name at the time. And while he was no longer "the fat kid" like he was in "Stand By Me", he didn't yet look like some big studly jock, so the character of Andrew Clements had a very believable dorky aspect to him.

Andrew like most 13 year olds, just loves the idea of having superpowers. He's not like many heroes who hates having the powers and the responsibility of being a hero. For Andrew it's the greatest thing in the world to be a superhero, he even calls himself "Ultraman", but in a move that grounded the series in some mode of reality...he never goes public with his powers, only him and Dr. Jeffcoat (whome he calls Dr. J in a very dated reference now) know about the powers...ala "The Greatest American Hero". I think what ruined the series was when Andrew moved from middle school to high school and sprouted into this big, 5'10+ hulking guy. Jerry O'Connell blossomed into this huge athlete and no longer came across as the uber geek anymore during the 1990-1991 final season. That best friend he had was just plain annoying, it seemed like Andrew lost some of his friendship with Dr. J and hung out more with his new high school pal. The magic was just gone as a result of the kid getting older and losing his innocence. But watch the 1988-1990 part of the series, especially the first season, it was a very different and unique series about a middle school boy that is as excited as ever about getting superpowers.