And while this is just a partial list of 90's Nickelodeon greatness, one show always stood out as my favorite, Clarissa Explains It All. The show was quirky, clever, and even cutting edge. Clarissa Darling, played by Melissa Joan Hart, frequently brought up non-kid show friendly topics such as sex, bullying, and teen partying. It did so in a light, fun loving kind of way, without being preachy. The show consistently broke the fourth wall, and Clarissa was cute, quirky, and a major smart *ss. The dynamics between Clarissa, her brother Ferguson, and her parents were amazing. And the unique relationship with Sam, her best friend who only entered her house through her bedroom window using a ladder, was fun and innocent. I guess one of my earliest crushes was Clarissa and that definitely didn't hurt my interest in the show either.

  The show ran from 1991 to 1994, and then in re-runs for quite a few years after. I remember not long after the show ended Melissa Joan Hart was cast in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which really excited me. I was so happy that'd I'd still get to see my Clarissa in a new show. I was sorely disappointed when Sabrina just didn't do much for me. I eventually forgot about Clarissa and her fun loving ways, and pretty much forgot about Melissa Joan Hart until she had her awesome cameo in Can't Hardly Wait and finally starring in her own movie- the terrible Drive Me Crazy in 1999. That was probably the last time I've given Clarissa any thought at all. 

A few weeks ago, I watched an episode of Clarissa Explains It All. I was shocked at how well the show held up content wise, and how charming and funny Melissa Joan Hart was. It took less than thirty seconds to really get back into the show and the end titles came too quickly. I decided to give it's Wiki a look and saw something that just stunned me. In 1995, before Sabrina the Teenage Witch, CBS shot a pilot for a spin-off series called, Clarissa Now, which caught up with Clarissa Darling as she made her way living in New York City and working as an intern at a newspaper. The show was obviously not picked up, but it was shown a handful of times on Nickelodeon. I instantly went to YouTube and ran across a two part upload of the show. Here are my thoughts:

  The show begins with Clarissa breaking the fourth wall, using her usual hyper excitement to talk about how great it is being on a New York City subway. The irony is that this is over the top for laughs, but I could always relate to Clarissa on some level and I once again did. I know that her excitement matches what mine would be if I were to ever ride the subway in New York. Yea, I'm sure its dirty, crowded, and unpleasant, but still, its a subway in New York! For us that don't live in big cities, that would be cool! So far so good.

  Melissa Joan Hart looks a few years older, but the show was taped only a year after Clarissa Explains It All ended. Obviously, her updated wardrobe (away from mismatched 90's teenager clothes into mature responsible adult outfits) and a new hairdo did the trick. We are given a quick title sequence that remixes the classic, "Nah, Nah, to Nah, Nah, Nah" original Clarissa theme with a little noir style tune. I definitely dug the homage. 

The show gets started with Clarissa showing up in a newsroom trying to find the city editor. She ends up mistaking a reporter in training, Spencer, as the city editor and immediately the rude New York stereotypes start to show. After some snippy dialogue, you find out that Clarissa is an intern, and she isn't really wanted by the paper or liked. She's given the title of assistant to Hugh Hamilton, the paper's own celebrity columnist played by Robert Klein. Hamilton is a grumpy, belligerent, drunk who wants nothing to do with an assistant, and has had his last several fired. The paper doesn't exactly want him around, but he's won a lot of awards and is a name, so he's given room to do as he pleases. However, his absence on writing the column the past week has irritated the publisher, Lillian Banion and she is ready to fire Hamilton if he doesn't get a good column out by tomorrow.

  Clarissa's normal up-beat, life is good attitude doesn't mesh with Hamilton. It takes the interference of Lillian, who quickly takes a liking to Clarissa, to get Hamilton to acknowledge Clarissa. He hears Clarissa out and then tells her to get lost. But in typical positive Darling fashion, Clarissa hits the streets in order to find a story for Hamilton to write about the next day. She's mocked by Spencer on the way out the door and basically told she's doomed to fail. 

Clarissa brings Hamilton several people she's met on the street who have interesting life stories for Hamilton to write about. Despite being hung over, he agrees to see what Clarissa has dug up just so he can mock her. Hamilton is able to read all three people that Clarissa brings him and rubs his twenty years of experience in Clarissa's face. Once again, she's told to get lost, but Clarissa's spunk won't let her. She comes back and tells him that she's not used to being disliked and won't allow it to happen.

  After a little more mockery from Spencer, Hamilton's column shows up ready for printing. Everyone is amazed since he never left his office. The column was about Clarissa and her naiveness and excitement over New York City. The column is incredible and Lillian is thrilled. She lets Hamilton know that the only reason he gets to keep his job is because of Clarissa and that he owes her. Lillian gets Clarissa a desk, and welcomes her to the newspaper and Hamilton takes a look at her notes and agrees unhappily to take Clarissa on as his assistant. The show ends with Clarissa offering her new computer as a peace offering to Spencer.

  The show was definitely not that good, and wasn't even close to the greatness of Clarissa Explains It All. In 1995, both Friends, Fraiser, and Newsradio were on the air and this show doesn't have near the polish, humor, or characters to even compete. There is no question about why it wasn't picked up. It just wasn't that good. Honestly, the only way I could see it working is if they dumbed it down just a touch, and moved it to the Saturday morning TNBC (Teen NBC) lineup that would skew a little older audience like myself at the time. On network primetime TV, there is no way this would have it lasted. 

I am glad to know that someone saw that greatness in both Melissa Joan Hart and the Clarissa Darling character and gave it another chance. The casting wasn't bad with Robert Klein and Marian Seldes, but both the Spencer character played by Chris Coburn and the city editor by Lisa Gay Hamilton left a lot to be desired. Melissa Joan Hart was spot on and fantastic as usual. The premise wasn't too bad, I think with some casting adjustments and a tone change it might have worked. Clarissa was just too out of place in the environment she was in. Despite all this, I do think the world is a better place with Clarissa ending on Nickelodeon.

If you grew up a Clarissa fan, I highly recommend you take the twenty minutes and check out what could have been. It's not unwatchable, its just not that good. "Nah, Nah to Nah, Nah, Nah!"