The Secret World of Alex Mack
Encyclopedia
The Secret World of Alex Mack is an American
television series that ran on Nickelodeon
from October 8, 1994 to January 15, 1998, replacing Clarissa Explains It All
on the SNICK
line-up. It also aired on YTV in Canada and NHK
in Japan, and was a popular staple in the children's weekday line-up for much of the mid to late 1990s on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
. Repeats of the series aired in 2003 on The N
, but it was soon replaced there. The series was produced by Thomas Lynch and John Lynch of Lynch Entertainment, produced by RHI Entertainment
, Hallmark Entertainment and Nickelodeon Productions and was co-created by Tom Lynch and Ken Lipman. For home video releases, it was released under the Hallmark Home Entertainment label, making it the first Nickelodeon
show not to be released with Paramount Home Video or Sony Wonder
.
from Terminator 2: Judgment Day
), or to glow, especially under periods of anxiety. She confides only in her sister Annie, and her best friend Ray, about her powers and must keep them a secret from everyone else, including her parents, for fear of what the chemical plant CEO, Danielle Atron, will do to her if she finds out.
and the Santa Clarita Valley
. The Mack home and Paradise Valley Chemical Plant interiors were filmed in a converted warehouse used as a soundstage. The junior-high scenes were filmed at Thomas Helmers and James Foster Elementary Schools. Castaic Middle School was used for high-school scenes. The house, used for exterior shots, is located in the Berwick Place neighborhood of Santa Clarita.
; a subsidiary of RHI Entertainment
) in the DVD format on October 2, 2007.
The first and second seasons are available through Amazon.com
's Instant Video section and through iTunes.
Shout! Factory
announced more seasons of The Secret World of Alex Mack and the complete series on DVD.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series that ran on Nickelodeon
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...
from October 8, 1994 to January 15, 1998, replacing Clarissa Explains It All
Clarissa Explains It All
Clarissa Explains It All is an American teen sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon. Created by Mitchell Kriegman, it aired for five seasons for a total of 65 episodes from March 23, 1991, to December 3, 1994, and then went into reruns....
on the 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...
line-up. It also aired on YTV in Canada and NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
in Japan, and was a popular staple in the children's weekday line-up for much of the mid to late 1990s on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. Repeats of the series aired in 2003 on The N
TeenNick
TeenNick, formerly The N, is an American television network aimed at the teenage market. TeenNick is owned by the MTV Networks subsidiary, Viacom. The channel was originally known as The N from its April 1, 2002 launch until September 28, 2009....
, but it was soon replaced there. The series was produced by Thomas Lynch and John Lynch of Lynch Entertainment, produced by RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment , formerly known as Hallmark Entertainment, is an American producer of television movies and miniseries, founded in 1979 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. as Robert Halmi Incorporated....
, Hallmark Entertainment and Nickelodeon Productions and was co-created by Tom Lynch and Ken Lipman. For home video releases, it was released under the Hallmark Home Entertainment label, making it the first Nickelodeon
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...
show not to be released with Paramount Home Video or Sony Wonder
Sony Wonder
Sony Wonder is a children and family's music and home video arm of Sony Music Entertainment, founded in 1991. The division once distributed material from Sesame Workshop and Classic Media...
.
Plot
Alex Mack is an ordinary teenage girl, living with her parents and older sister in the corporate town of Paradise Valley. After her first day of junior high school, while walking home, Alex is nearly hit by a truck from a chemical plant, and during the incident, she is drenched with a top-secret chemical called GC-161. She soon discovers that the chemical gives her strange powers. These include telekinesis, plus the ability to transmit bolts of electricity through her fingers, or turn into a puddle of water (similar to the T-1000T-1000
The T-1000 is a fictional nanomorph mimetic poly-alloy assassin and the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day controlled by the series main antagonist Skynet. The T-1000 is portrayed primarily by Robert Patrick; however, being a shape-shifter, the T-1000 is played by other actors in some...
from Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
), or to glow, especially under periods of anxiety. She confides only in her sister Annie, and her best friend Ray, about her powers and must keep them a secret from everyone else, including her parents, for fear of what the chemical plant CEO, Danielle Atron, will do to her if she finds out.
Main cast
- Larisa OleynikLarisa OleynikLarisa Romanovna Oleynik is an American actress. She came to fame in the mid-1990s, after starring in the title role of the popular television series, The Secret World of Alex Mack, and has also appeared in theatrical films, including The Baby-Sitters Club and 10 Things I Hate About You...
as Alexandra "Alex" Mack – Alex is an average teenager in Paradise Valley. While walking home from school, she is nearly hit by a truck carrying GC-161 and is doused with it, thus giving her extraordinary powers. - Darris LoveDarris LoveDarris Love is an American actor, most notable for his role as Raymond 'Ray' Alvarado in Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack...
as Raymond "Ray" Alvarado – Alex's closest friend and next-door neighbor. - Meredith BishopMeredith BishopMeredith Anne Bishop is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Annie Mack in Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack, which ran on the network from 1994-1998....
as Anne "Annie" Mack – Alex's older sister, and a scientific genius in her own right. Next to Ray, she is the only one who originally knows about Alex's powers. She administers various scientific tests to ensure Alex's safety. She also hopes to one day present her research, in an effort to stop Danielle Atron. - Michael Blakley as George Mack – Alex's father, a brilliant chemist who works for Danielle Atron at the Plant.
- Dorian Lopinto as Barbara Mack – Alex's mother, a more down-to-earth woman who works in a public relations firm.
Recurring cast
- Benjamin Kimball Smith as Louis Driscoll – Alex's and Ray's abrasive friend.
- John Nielsen as Dave Watt – the dim-witted truck driver who was driving the truck that dumped the GC-161 chemical on Alex. As the only witness to the accident, Dave is often forced to serve as Vince's partner in trying to capture Alex. He later finds out Alex is the kid and in the series finale, Alex thanks him for keeping her identity as the GC-161 kid a secret.
- Jason Strickland as Scott Greene – Alex's junior high crush.
- Jessica AlbaJessica AlbaJessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
as Jessica – Scott's first girlfriend, and Alex's nemesis. - Hilary SalvatoreHilary SalvatoreHilary Salvatore is an American film and television actress.-Education:Salvatore comes from an acting family; her brother Jack is also a noted actor...
as Kelly Phillips – Kelly is Alex's school rival and Scott's second girlfriend. She deviously discredits Alex at every given turn, much to Alex's dismay. - Natanya RossNatanya RossNatanya Ross is an actress who is most famous for playing Robyn Russo, a regular character in The Secret World of Alex Mack. She has also starred in The Baby-Sitters Club and the 1995 television version of Freaky Friday....
as Robyn Russo – one of Alex's neighborhood friends. Though she processes a sardonic sense of humor and is fun to be around, she suffers from low self-esteemSelf-esteemSelf-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
. - Alexis Fields as Nicole Wilson – Another of Alex's friends. An opposite personality to Robyn, has a take-charge attitude and strong-willed demeanor.
- Louan GideonLouan GideonLouan Gideon is an American actress best known for her role as Danielle Atron, the Antagonist, on Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack. She was also the final actress who played Liza Walton Sentell on the soap, Search for Tomorrow.-Biography:Gideon, born in Erath County, Texas, was a jazz...
as Danielle Atron – the owner/CEO of the Paradise Valley Chemical Plant, and Alex's main nemesis. She wants to market GC-161 as a radical new weight-loss drug, and has made it her mission to find the GC-161 child (whom she does not know is Alex) and capture her, as both a test subject and a threat to the secrecy of her plans. - John Marzilli as Vince Carter – the maniacal head of plant security, he makes it his obsessionObsession-Literature:* Obsession , a 1998 nonfiction book by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker* Obsessed , a 2005 thriller by Ted Dekker* Obsession , a novel by Jonathan Kellerman* Obsession, a 2009 novel by Gloria Vanderbilt...
to find the GC-161 child even after he gets fired. In fact, Danielle knew Vince well enough to be sure he'd keep looking for the child even after being fired. - Kevin Quigley as Lars Frederickson – skilled chemist hailing from the Plant's foreign branch in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He becomes Danielle Atron's chief subordinate after Vince gets fired. - Will EstesWill EstesWill Estes is an American actor best known for his role as JJ Pryor, on the NBC drama American Dreams. In 2010, he joined the cast of Tom Selleck's new CBS police drama Blue Bloods...
as Hunter Reeves – Hunter comes to Paradise Valley with an agenda concerning the disappearance of his father in relation to GC-161. He later becomes Alex's confidanteConfidanteA confidante is a type of sofa, originally characterized by a triangular seat at each end, so that people could sit at either end of the sofa and be close to the person sitting in the middle...
and boyfriend.
Production
The series was filmed in Valencia, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and the Santa Clarita Valley
Santa Clarita Valley
The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant...
. The Mack home and Paradise Valley Chemical Plant interiors were filmed in a converted warehouse used as a soundstage. The junior-high scenes were filmed at Thomas Helmers and James Foster Elementary Schools. Castaic Middle School was used for high-school scenes. The house, used for exterior shots, is located in the Berwick Place neighborhood of Santa Clarita.
Availability
The show's first season (consisting of 13 episodes on two discs) was released by Genius Entertainment (also known as Genius ProductsGenius Products
Genius Products was an entertainment company based in Santa Monica, California, United States.On December 5, 2005, Genius Products, Inc. announced a distribution joint venture with The Weinstein Company called Genius Products, LLC, with Weinstein holding a 70% stake...
; a subsidiary of RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment , formerly known as Hallmark Entertainment, is an American producer of television movies and miniseries, founded in 1979 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. as Robert Halmi Incorporated....
) in the DVD format on October 2, 2007.
The first and second seasons are available through Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
's Instant Video section and through iTunes.
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
announced more seasons of The Secret World of Alex Mack and the complete series on DVD.