Source: By Diane Joy Moca, Los Angeles Daily News.
Section: WEEKEND CHICAGO
Dateline: LOS ANGELES
Memo: Television.
Copyright Chicago Tribune
When newscasters want to discuss survey results or sportscasters want to
examine a football play, video devices-such as computer-generated graphics
and instant replay-make their jobs easier.
Wouldn`t it be convenient if computer-generated graphics could pop up
instantly beside you when someone asked a question, or instant replay were
available any time you had a dispute with someone?
It sure might save a lot of time and effort-and that`s the point of
``Clarissa Explains It All,`` according to Mitchell Kriegman, creator and
producer of this show, which premieres at 5 p.m. Saturday on Nickelodeon.
Kriegman knows we don`t have such devices available in day-to-day life,
so he has created a television character who can-and does-take advantage of
these kinds of luxuries.
``I`m not a big fan of old-fashioned sitcoms; they`re so slow,`` Kriegman
said in an interview. ``You get one story.
`` `Clarissa` tells lots of stories and gives lots of information. It`s a
quickening of a pace of a sitcom. You`ve got a sitcom going on, but she gives
you a reader`s guide on the side.``
``Clarissa Explains It All`` is centered on the perspective of Clarissa
Darling, an imaginative 13-year-old who uses video devices to tell her
viewers everything she knows about herself, her family and life in general.
Kriegman said that aside from the show`s modern look, it presents a
refreshing point of view.
``I watch a fair amount of TV,`` he said. ``You tend to see two kinds of
girls that age: one who is baking cookies for her boyfriend or the sexy girl.
They`re never someone more original or in between.``
In contrast, Clarissa does ``really typical things, but she has a
different take on typical things.``
She and her friends Sam and Jody ``are a lot more interesting than a lot
of adults,`` Kriegman said. ``It`s hip to have a character that is exploring
and a trendsetter.`` He added that Clarissa thinks ``she`s the only abnormal
child in her perfect family.
``I thought if other people-adults, boys and girls-knew what was going on
in a 13-year-old girl`s mind, it would be cool. They are really experimenting
at that age.
``This comes from my background as a short-story writer and a video
artist,`` said Kriegman, who has written, produced and directed for network,
cable and public television, including ``Saturday Night Live`` and ``Sesame
Street.``
The first episode of ``Clarissa Explains It All`` is a sneak preview for
the original series that begins weekly in April. The show is Nickelodeon`s
fourth original weekly series added to this year`s lineup, which also
includes ``Welcome Freshman,`` a teenage sketch comedy series set in high
school; ``Fifteen,`` a teenage soap opera; and ``Get the Picture,`` a
children`s game show.
PHOTO: Melissa Joan Hart as Clarissa.