The Journey of Allen Strange
Encyclopedia
The Journey of Allen Strange is a television series on Nickelodeon
's SNICK
block of programming for three seasons from 1997 to 2000.
(Arjay Smith
) who is stranded on earth, and meets up with a young girl Robbie Stevenson (Erin J. Dean) and her younger brother Josh (Shane Sweet
) and father. This family eventually adopts him, giving him the name "Allen Strange". Allen has extraordinary powers, including the ability to turn into his alien form, which allows him to hover. He uses his abilities to bring a mannequin in a sporting goods store to life; this "animated mannequin" poses as Allen's Earth father, Manfred, for events like parent-teacher conferences. He also possesses extremely high intelligence and can read incredibly fast by simply placing his hand on the cover of a book. Allen has an affinity for canned cheese
, and lives in the family's attic in a strange alien cocoon.
Allen states he has "chosen" to be African-American when confronted with the task of blending in with society. His naivety on the subject (bringing in plain black posterboard
s for his Black History Month presentation) sparked a Black History Month episode, featuring Allen learning information about slavery and The Civil Rights Movement.
In the weeks leading up to the series' premiere, Nickelodeon ran a series of teaser ads which would at first appear to be promos for other shows, or for Nickelodeon in general, when a blue ooze would fill the screen as an announcer said cryptically, "Something strange is coming to SNICK. November 8." The blue ooze would then clear out and the interrupted promo would conclude as if nothing had happened.
and Mel Odom.
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
's SNICK
SNICK
SNICK was a two-hour programming block on the American cable television network Nickelodeon, geared toward general audiences, that ran from August 15, 1992 until August 28, 2004. It was aired on Saturdays starting at 8 p.m and ending at 10 p.m. ET. In 2004, SNICK was revamped as the Saturday night...
block of programming for three seasons from 1997 to 2000.
Premise
The series follows the story of a young Xelan alienExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
(Arjay Smith
Arjay Smith
Arjay L. Smith is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his teenage role portraying the titular character of the Nickelodeon children's television series, The Journey of Allen Strange. Most recently, he portrayed terrorist Laurent Dubaku during Season 7 of the Fox thriller/drama 24...
) who is stranded on earth, and meets up with a young girl Robbie Stevenson (Erin J. Dean) and her younger brother Josh (Shane Sweet
Shane Sweet
Shane Sweet is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Josh Stevenson, Robbie's younger brother, on Nickelodeon series The Journey of Allen Strange....
) and father. This family eventually adopts him, giving him the name "Allen Strange". Allen has extraordinary powers, including the ability to turn into his alien form, which allows him to hover. He uses his abilities to bring a mannequin in a sporting goods store to life; this "animated mannequin" poses as Allen's Earth father, Manfred, for events like parent-teacher conferences. He also possesses extremely high intelligence and can read incredibly fast by simply placing his hand on the cover of a book. Allen has an affinity for canned cheese
Easy Cheese
Easy Cheese is the trademark for a processed cheese product distributed by Kraft Foods, also referred to as aerosol cheese or spray cheese, and is a descendant of squeeze cheese . It comes packaged in a spray can, much like canned whipped cream and does not require refrigeration...
, and lives in the family's attic in a strange alien cocoon.
Allen states he has "chosen" to be African-American when confronted with the task of blending in with society. His naivety on the subject (bringing in plain black posterboard
Display board
Display board is a generic term for a board-shaped material that is rigid and strong enough to stand on its own, and generally used for displaying paper or other materials affixed to it. Types of display board include poster board or posterboard....
s for his Black History Month presentation) sparked a Black History Month episode, featuring Allen learning information about slavery and The Civil Rights Movement.
In the weeks leading up to the series' premiere, Nickelodeon ran a series of teaser ads which would at first appear to be promos for other shows, or for Nickelodeon in general, when a blue ooze would fill the screen as an announcer said cryptically, "Something strange is coming to SNICK. November 8." The blue ooze would then clear out and the interrupted promo would conclude as if nothing had happened.
Characters
- Allen Strange - The main protagonist whose a Xelan alien disguised as a human. All he wishes to do is to go back to his planet. He's played by Arjay SmithArjay SmithArjay L. Smith is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his teenage role portraying the titular character of the Nickelodeon children's television series, The Journey of Allen Strange. Most recently, he portrayed terrorist Laurent Dubaku during Season 7 of the Fox thriller/drama 24...
. - Roberta "Robbie" Stevenson - 16 years old and helps Allen how to fit in with humans. She's played by Erin DeanErin DeanErin J. Dean is a former American actress notable for playing Robbie Stevenson, the sixteen year old girl who teaches an alien how to fit in with humans, in the Nickelodeon television show The Journey of Allen Strange. She also appeared in the movies Lovers Lane and Lolita...
. - Joshua "Josh" Stevenson - Robbie's younger brother at age 10. He's played by Shane SweetShane SweetShane Sweet is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Josh Stevenson, Robbie's younger brother, on Nickelodeon series The Journey of Allen Strange....
. - Ken Stevenson -Robbie and Josh's dad who is aware of Allen Strange as an alien.
Book series
An eight-book series, based on the episodes, was also printed, written by several authors, including John VornholtJohn Vornholt
John Blair Vornholt is an American science fiction author known primarily for his media tie-ins, particularly Star Trek novels.-Original works:*The Troll King*The Troll Queen*The Troll Treasure*The First Third...
and Mel Odom.
Season 1
| # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Arrival" (Pilot) | November 8, 1997 |
| 2 | "Entry" | November 15, 1997 |
| 3 | "Space" | November 22, 1997 |
| 4 | "Gronpoly" | December 6, 1997 |
| 5 | "Starwalk" | December 13, 1997 |
| 6 | "The Visit" | December 27, 1997 |
| 7 | "Battle" | January 3, 1998 |
| 8 | "The Guardian" | January 10, 1998 |
| 9 | "Collision" | January 17, 1998 |
| 10 | "Compute" | January 24, 1998 |
| 11 | "Rescue" | February 21, 1998 |
| 12 | "Home, Part 1" | February 24, 1998 |
| 13 | "Home, Part 2" | February 26, 1998 |
Season 2
| # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | "Passage" | August 31, 1998 |
| 15 | "The Day of the Beagle" | September 2, 1998 |
| 16 | "Haunted" | September 7, 1998 |
| 17 | "Pride of the Dolphin" | September 9, 1998 |
| 18 | "Strange Culture" | September 14, 1998 |
| 19 | "Two for the Road" | September 16, 1998 |
| 20 | "The Broken Puzzle" | September 23, 1998 |
| 21 | "Portal, Part 1" | September 28, 1998 |
| 22 | "Portal, Part 2" | September 30, 1998 |
| 23 | "The Truth About Lies" | October 5, 1998 |
| 24 | "A Room of My Own" | October 12, 1998 |
| 25 | "Cash Crunch" | October 21, 1998 |
| 26 | "Father & Son" | November 4, 1998 |
| 27 | "A New Leaf" | November 23, 1998 |
| 28 | "Secret of the Deep" | November 30, 1998 |
| 29 | "Dances with Moose" | December 2, 1998 |
| 30 | "Baby on Board" | December 14, 1998 |
| 31 | "Eye of a Stranger" | February 8, 1999 |
| 32 | "Unmasked!" | March 10, 1999 |
| 33 | "Fast Friends" | March 17, 1999 |
| 34 | "Space Bugs" | March 24, 1999 |
| 35 | "All Apologies" | March 31, 1999 |
| 36 | "Strike Out" | April 7, 1999 |
| 37 | "Down the Tube" | April 14, 1999 |
| 38 | "Bust a Move" | April 21, 1999 |
| 39 | "Shadows in the Sky | April 28, 1999 |
Season 3
| # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | "First Day of School" | |
| 41 | "Split Decision" | |
| 42 | "Mother and Child Reunion" | |
| 43 | "Twist of Fate" | |
| 44 | "As the Millennium Turns" | |
| 45 | "A Day at the Races" | |
| 46 | "Hamilton's Missing" | |
| 47 | "Science Friction" | |
| 48 | "Blue-Up" | |
| 49 | "Out on a Limb" | |
| 50 | "A Burp in Time" | |
| 51 | "Love Stinks" | |
| 52 | "Allen on TV" | |
| 53 | "Out to Lunch" | |
| 54 | "Bringing Up Baby" | |
| 55 | "Heroes" | |
| 56 | "Life of the Party" | |
| 57 | "Message from Beyond" (Series Finale) | April 23, 2000 |