Clarissa Explains It All is an American teen sitcom created by Mitchell Kriegman for Nickelodeon. In the series, Clarissa Darling (Melissa Joan Hart) is a teenager who addresses the audience directly to explain the things that are happening in her life, dealing with typical adolescent concerns such as school, boys, pimples, wearing her first training bra, and an annoying younger brother.
A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired from March 23, 1991,Television section, New York Times, March 17, 1991, and March 23, 1991. to October 1, 1994, with repeats airing until August 19, 2001.TV Week guide, September 29 – October 5, 1994, Bryan-College Station Eagle. From August 1992 onwards, the series headlined the popular SNICK (Saturday Night Nickelodeon) lineup. Reruns of the show have appeared intermittently on TeenNick's channel block The '90s Are All That, eventually NickRewind, from 2011 to 2020.
A pilot for a spin-off series was filmed titled "Clarissa Now". It featured Clarissa as an intern at a newspaper in New York City. The pilot was not picked up, and aired once as a special on Nickelodeon.
In 2015, Kriegman released a novel, Things I Can't Explain, which serves as a sequel to the series. In the novel, Clarissa is now in her late 20s and trying to navigate life as an adult. In March 2018, it was reported that a sequel to the series was in development at Nickelodeon, with Clarissa now as a mother. In March 2022, Hart revealed the reboot was not moving forward at Nickelodeon.
Premise The main characters in the show are Clarissa Darling, her family (consisting of her father Marshall, her mother Janet, and her younger brother Ferguson) and her best friend Sam, all living in a small, unnamed suburban town in Ohio. Clarissa had a pet baby alligator, Elvis, which she kept in a kiddie-sandbox who appeared sporadically in early episodes.
Clarissa was credited with becoming the first Nickelodeon series to feature a female lead, which led the network to create other shows such as The Secret World of Alex Mack, The Amanda Show and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Its popularity among both boys and girls also helped to debunk a myth that a children's series with a female lead would not appeal to boys.
Clarissa dealt with normal adolescent issues such as first crushes, getting a driver's license and preparing for college and working. These topics were dealt with far less dramatically than they were on other similar shows at the time (such as Full House and Blossom). For instance, in one episode Clarissa accidentally shoplifts a piece of lingerie but is neither caught by store security nor punished by her parents; she spends most of the episode trying to figure out how to remedy the situation on her own. One running gag involved her friend Sam often entering the scene by a ladder (accompanied by a characteristic chord of guitar music) through her bedroom window. A repeating theme during the series was the sibling rivalry between Clarissa and Ferguson, showing their repeated attempts to harm or even (as in the series premiere) to "kill" each other.
Unique to the show was Clarissa's tendency to tackle the episode's central theme through the creation of a fictional video game. The show also integrated some of Hart's real-life likes, such as the band They Might Be Giants.
Episodes
The decision to structure the episodes into five seasons of thirteen episodes each was made after the show ended its original broadcast run. During the original run of the series, the seasons were not well defined.
Characters Main Clarissa Marie Darling (Melissa Joan Hart) – A smart, witty, sarcastic and realistic teenage girl. Despite her rationalism, she often tends to exaggerate any problem she is facing. She was 14 years old when the series began and was a freshman at Thomas Tupper Junior High School. Her interests include computer game programming, photography, journalism and rock music. Though she is usually mild-mannered, she can be just as selfish and calculating as her younger brother Ferguson. Clarissa is best known for her unique fashion sense, typically involving very colorful, mismatched clothing. During Season 1, Clarissa had an alligator named Elvis, but in the first episode of Season 2, Clarissa explained that her parents sent Elvis back to Florida when he grew too big. In Mitchell Kriegman's novel, Things I Can't Explain, Clarissa further elaborated that he "disappeared under mysterious circumstances" and "it took years to get mom to confess that she gave away the reptilian Elvis without telling me after Ferguson tried to shove a pocket watch down its throat thinking it would win him the role of Captain Hook in the school play." In reality David Ellis, who worked as art director in-house on the series, suggested that the show may have been under pressure from the ASPCA to remove the alligator from later episodes and that it would also represent the idea that Clarissa was also growing older. Marshall Darling (Joe O'Connor) – Clarissa and Ferguson's father. He is an architect who designs unusually shaped buildings, mostly retail and tourist attractions (such as the "Fryfel Tower"). Clarissa sometimes comes to him for advice, but he is less reliable in this role than Janet. He often calls Clarissa "sport", seldom addressing her by name. He and Janet are former flower children from the 1960s. In comparison to adult co-star Elizabeth Hess, O'Connor initially had difficulty becoming part of the ensemble and accepting the show was primarily centered around Clarissa and that the rest of the family were more supporting characters. As Kriegman later explained "after a while you kinda have to take a backseat and understand that it's CLARISSA Explains It All, not The Darling Family." In the unaired Pilot, he was played by Terry Layman. Janet Darling (Elizabeth Hess) – Clarissa and Ferguson's mother. She is the only family member Clarissa sees as a voice of reason and thus she seeks advice from her occasionally. She is a teacher who works at a children's museum. She is also an environmentalist and an organic food enthusiast who often cooks bizarre meals using lima beans or tofu. Despite an extensive background in theatre and performing arts, Hess later recalled that Kriegman advised her that she didn't need to use her "very big range as an actress" and that he cast her because he thought she was a "sexy mom". Despite this, Kriegman commented years later that Hess "was always fun" on the set. In the unaired Pilot, she was played by Nancy Youngblut. Ferguson W. Darling (Jason Zimbler) – Clarissa's younger brother, a mischievous youngster. He and Clarissa continually antagonize each other. She refers to him with several epithets such as "Ferg-face", "Fergwad", "Ferghead", "Ferglips", "Fergbrains", "Fergbreath." He loves money and comes up with get-rich-quick schemes. He is also a Young Republican who idolizes Dan Quayle and Ronald Reagan. He attends school with her and is approximately one or two years younger. In some episodes Clarissa and Ferguson occasionally collaborate, usually to the advantage of both. However, he is somewhat less popular at school than Clarissa. Ferguson's mom gave him her maiden name for a first name. Despite achieving fame relatively early in his career, unlike co-star Hart, Zimbler decided to not pursue an acting career and attended college instead. As Zimbler later recalled, "somewhere on the show, I think I grew up." Samuel "Sam" Anders (Sean O'Neal) – Clarissa's best friend and confidant. Generally more optimistic and upbeat than she is, he often asks "What's the worst that can happen?" He is perhaps best known for entering her second-story bedroom with a ladder after a distinctive guitar chord plays followed by Clarissa's "Hi, Sam" greeting. Creator Mitchell Kriegman explained that Sam entering the house through Clarissa's bedroom window was "a way to get him into her room [...] and start interacting faster" as well as keeping their relationship non-sexual. He is smart and polite and enjoys skateboarding. His parents are divorced (mentioned in the pilot) and it is mentioned early on that his mother left his father to join a Roller derby. Sam's father works as a sports journalist and later gives Clarissa the opportunity to complete some work experience with him. In the unaired Pilot, he was played by Darren E. Higgins.
Recurring
Aunt Mafalda (Heather MacRae) – Clarissa and Ferguson's aunt from Canada whom Clarissa dislikes and tries to get rid of in two episodes in the first two seasons. Clifford Spleenhurfer (David Eck) – Originally a bully who harassed Ferguson in Season 1, he developed a crush on Clarissa when she stood up to him. She later misses his affections in Season 2, and they begin a relationship which ends in Season 4. He appeared in a total of five episodes, the most of any recurring character. His defining characteristic was a big appetite, much to Marshall's annoyance. Dr. Festerspoon (Bob Noble) – The family doctor, who appears in two episodes in seasons 1 and 4. Hillary O'Keefe (Sara Burkhardt) – Clarissa's friend from Thomas Tupper High, who appears in four episodes in seasons 2 and 3. Deborah "Debbie" Anders (Susan Greenhill) – Sam's estranged mother who is often on the road with a traveling women's Roller derby team. She appears in a third-season episode where she tries to take custody of Sam and make him move to Seattle and again in the fourth season when she stays with the Darlings and becomes a burden. Olivia DuPris (Nicole Leach) – Another one of Clarissa's friends from high school, who appears in seasons 4 and 5. The Soapersteins – The Darlings' mostly unseen next-door neighbors, referred to continually throughout the series. The mother and daughter appear once in season 4, and the family's dog appears in season 5.
Notable guest appearances
These are other guest appearances, in single episodes by notable actors known for their other work. Nancy Youngblut as Mrs. Cheesebrow, a school guidance counselor who tries to get Clarissa interested in "normal" activities in season 2. Cassidy Rae as Elise Quackenbush, Sam's girlfriend in season 2. Paul Kreppel as Joey Russo, Janet's ex-high school sweetheart in season 3. JoAnna Garcia as Fiona, Ferguson's love interest in season 3. Michelle Trachtenberg as Elsie Soaperstein, Clarissa and Ferguson's neighbor and the Soaperstein's spoiled daughter whom Clarissa must babysit in season 4. She also had a crush on Ferguson and often refers to him as "Fergie". Jonathan Mangum as Clarissa's imagined blind date in season 3 (seen only in a dream sequence); the same actor is credited in the role of a waiter and in the role of a pizza delivery man in a fifth-season episode. Wayne Brady as the second pizza delivery man that crossed Clarissa's doorstep in a fifth-season episode. Sheeri Rappaport as Piper Henderson, Clarissa's globe-traveling friend who comes to visit in season 5. James Van Der Beek as Paulie, a boy whom Clarissa attracts as her punk alter-ego Jade in season 5. Shannon Woodward as Missy, a girl whose lost kitten Ferguson finds in season 5.
Production
Show creator Mitchell Kriegman, who had a background as a short-story writer and video artist, had previously worked on shows such as Saturday Night Live and Sesame Street. He sought to create an offbeat, trendsetting character living a typical teenager's life, but who did not fit the stereotypical representations of teenage girls on television at the time. Kriegman said, "I thought that if other people ... knew what was going on in a 13-year-old girl's mind, it would be cool. They are really experimenting at that age."