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Occasionally, someone on the list will compare MJH with another actress or CEIA with another show. (One comparison that keeps on popping up on the list is that between CEIA and Blossom.) Here are some comments along those lines.
``Are You Afraid of the Dark'' was a mild surprise -- a so-so story but a good-looking show. (What would CEIA be like if they had the budget of, say, ``Blossom?'')
Someone said to me the other day, ``Hey, have you seen that Clarissa rip-off, 'Blossom'?'' Heh. I don't know which came first; I suppose Blossom could have been around since before Clarissa started and I wouldn't have known. But I assume it wasn't. Clarissa is much better. ^_^ And imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Or that's what they tell me.
Can't resist mentioning that the Pete and Pete ``Summer Vacation'' special will be on next week (murmurs of ``so what'' from the electronic audience); have I mentioned my theory that Alison Fanelli could *almost* give Ms. Hart a run for the money in the comedic timing department (cries of ``heresy!'', ``get a rope!'', etc.) -- not to mention Megan Berwick from ``Salute your Shorts''...Exit, pursed by electronic bear!
Which one of the girls is Megan Berwick ... sorry, but typically I lose track of who is who on the various shows.
Megan plays ``Z Z Ziff'', the nature freak. No, she's not in the same league as Ms. Hart (put those bats down, folks), but she is pretty good in the role. I've wondered why Nick doesn't promote ``Salute your Shorts'' more; they have a solid ensemble cast, and have come up with some clever scripts.
I wondered when they'd try a Cathy Darling/Patty Darling shot. Rummaging through the TV memories of my Wasted Youth, the closest match to Ms. Hart _would_ be Patty Duke. (Wonder how Ms. Hart's Helen Keller is?)
LOOK what I found when poking around alt.tv.Ren&Stimpy kinda loopy, huh? flame the article write if you like. Have fun!> How did they
> ever manage to get a great show like R&S on the same channel as CLARISSA
> EXPLAINS IT ALL or whatever that is? Sorry, just babbling.)
> Mike Gebis mjg51721@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu m-gebis@uiuc.edu
In fact the whole series is pretty odd. The first one I remember was several years ago, with Whoopi Goldberg. More recently there's been one with the actress who playes ``Becca'' (sp?) on ``Life goes on''. And then our very own Ms. Hart. Now as much as I enjoy CEIA, I'm not sure I'd put Whoopi and Melissa in the same catagory, famewise...
Do we also discuss about FIFTEEN?
Ok Ok...I got the message, no discussion of Fifteen on your precious Mailing list here.
A little history as to why I watch Clarissa. Up until last November, I was a photography major emphasizing in Fashion (teens) and so I wanted to keep in touch with any sort of teen shows, therefore, I watched Fifteen, Clarissa, Save by the Bell (although, that got annoying after a while), and other such shows. So I don't have any special fondness for Clarissa over Fifteen.
I was just wondering how man of the subscribers to this list are also Blossom fans?I'm a die-hard, never-miss-an-episode fan of each show, and I often spot similarities in the respective scripts. When you stop and think about it, both shows are essentially the same: title role character is a strong, independant teenage female who is much more astute than the members of her family.
I usually rate the shows about neck & neck, but at the moment Blossom has a slight lead since Mayim Bialik sent me a nifty autographed photo and personal letter... I haven't heard from MJH yet :(
Hmm.. I've only watched once (it was okay) -- but don't they do 'issue' shows? In fact the one I saw had something about one of her friends getting seriously sloshed, and Blossom wondering what to do about it.Reality programming is all well and good, but frankly the thought of ``Tonight, on a very special Clarissa Explains It All...'' would send me screaming from the room. CEIA's generally unrealistic, but unreality's generally more entertaining.
I try to catch it every week, but, I am not into it as much as Clarrisa...
>In fact the one I saw had something about one of
> her friends getting seriously sloshed, and Blossom wondering what
> to do about it.That one was kinda ``cute''...
>CEIA's generally unrealistic, but
> unreality's generally more entertaining.HERE HERE!
I kinda think Rosanne is a bit real and unreal, too, which make it funny.
Earlier Scott mentioned the similarities between Blossom and CEIA:>When you stop and think about it, both shows are essentially the same:
>title role character is a strong, independent teenage female who is much
>more astute than the members of her family.Lately I've been watching ``Avonlea'' on the Disney channel, and while at first (or tenth) glance it couldn't be more unlike CEIA, lead characters Sarah Stanley and Clarissa Darling do share those traits Scott singled out. Even the actresses look similar, though Sarah Polley is I think a bit younger (and definitely plainer) than Ms. Hart. And both are completely convincing in their roles.
> I renew my observation that Ferguson's behavior resembles that of the
> Ferengi (Ferengis?) on Star Trek: TNG/DS9.That sounds to me like a shrewd observation -- though I'm not really into Star Trek, particularly the later stuff where the Ferengi have appeared. (I *think* they're a recent creation -- don't recall them before TNG. I've only seen bits and pieces of DS9 so far.) From what I've seen of Ferengi behavior, though, that's a pretty good analogy.
I've wondered if the CEIA powers-that-be weren't thinking a bit of Michael J. Fox's character in ``Family Ties'' when they 'designed' Ferg. Though the twist is Ferg's sister is older and sharper (maybe not in raw IQ), unlike Mallory Keaton.
TV Guide has another magazine at a checkout stand near you: ``Parent's Guide to Children's Entertainment''. In the ``Rest (and Best) of Kidvision'' section (p.67) we readClarissa Explains It All
Nickelodeon
Ages 8-upMelissa Joan Hart stars as a precocious teen who is this generations's female Dobie Gillis: She talks to the camera, has fun, and tries to cope with the insecurities of adolescence. [...]
( [...] the obvious TV Land parallel is The Patty Duke Show, not The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, but what the hey.)
Disagree. I see more parallels with Dobie than Patty. Clarissa talks to the screen, and the premise is more of coping with life than getting into mischief. Also - no twin!
See Alternate episode titles for help with an unofficial title or other episode reference you don't recognize.
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