odditycollector

I was all set to ramble on about a different thing which is awesome, but then I discovered that there’s a torrent up for the first season of The Secret World of Alex Mack.

What? I couldn’t have been the only kid who rushed home after school to watch it, right?

In the fine tradition of Marvel heroes from the 1960s, a thirteen year old kid gets drenched in chemicals and develops superpowers. In this case, telekinesis, energy bolts and, my personal favourite, the ability to turn into a talking puddle. (Really. Becoming a talking puddle is a far more useful talent than you would have gathered from watching Superfriends.) Naturally, her neurotic older sister convinces her not to report it to anyone. (“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you – I’m going to need you for my first Nobel prize.” I’ve always liked Annie – there aren’t enough bitchy female scientists around.) So, armed with her new powers, Alex goes on to face many life and death threats, such as basketball games and history midterms and having to get a part time job.

It’s got some of the quirks common to shows aimed at a younger audience. The adults, especially those associated with the Evil Corporation (tm), tend to be more caricatures than developed characters, and there’s a sense of being isolated from the outside world. (Of course, if anyone remembers being thirteen, both were subjectively more or less true.) Also, the theme song has a tendency to get stuck in your head.

It’s silly and fun and, rewatching now, still interesting. Although whenever she stands in the same shot as her parents, I find myself thinking that Annie has a *suspicious* resemblance to Rodney McKay.

A couple episodes, for people who either don’t torrent or don’t yet trust me…

The Solo – Alex’s best friend makes it into the school talent show… thanks to her “help.” High school with superpowers is so full of drama, and we should remember that the soul of an artist is like a delicate flower no really. Anyway, this ep is a good introduction to the basic premise of the show and the characters.

A Cold Day In Paradise – In which we see that I continue to be fond of characters with no fashion sense at all. Alex’s powers have gone haywire, and just when her parents have invited a reporter over for dinner! Oh no! But mostly I picked this one because I giggled quite a bit over the scene involving soup.

Science Fair – Vince, professional evil minion, has watched too many bad scifi movies, and the utterly ridiculous security measures he set up will have you shaking your head. Er, I mean, I should probably give reasons *to* watch. Well, Annie builds a ion beam accelerator out of two pop bottles, masking tape, and silver spray paint, and that is *talent*.