It's the series that launched Melissa Joan Hart as a star, but if you're saying "who?" you're not alone. It's not as if this Nickelodeon sitcom for peewees boded well for its then-adolescent headliner in its 1991 debut season, when throughout 13 episodes, Hart's just-barely-teenaged Clarissa broke the fourth wall to whine directly at the audience about her clueless parents, her dorky little brother Ferguson, and the tough trials of being a contemporary teen. Rarely have I encountered a more vapid television series that was so enamored of its own sense of importance: it manages to turn Clarissa's desire for nonconformity into a barrage of sitcom clichés, and completely misses the irony of presenting an episode in which Clarissa's mom declares no TV for a week. DVD bonus features include an episode of MTV's Cribs featuring Hart, and a “Nick Time Capsule: 1991-93.” Optional. (M. Johanson)
Clarissa Explains It All: Season One
Paramount, 2 discs, 328 min., not rated, DVD: $27.99 July 25, 2005
Clarissa Explains It All: Season One
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