Things I Can't Explain Discussion/Review

In this final installment of Clarissa Month, Patricia and special guest Christina, discuss about the 2015 book Things I Can't Explain, the true continuation of Clarissa Explains it All written by the creator himself Mitchell Kriegman. It's been over 20 years since the 1995 pilot Clarissa Now where it tried to continue where Clarissa Explains it All, but didn't. How does this book fare out?

Check out the video down below where Patricia first discusses about Things I Can't Explain back in 2013.

To buy the physical book of Things I Can't Explain, click on the link down below.

http://www.amazon.com/Things-Cant-Explain-Clarissa-Novel/dp/1250046548/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460311583&sr=1-1&keywords=things+i+can%27t+explain

To buy the audio version of Things I Can't Explain voiced by Emily Hart, Melissa Joan Hart's sister, click on the link below.

http://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Things-I-Cant-Explain-Audiobook/B01BLS11BG/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1460311722&sr=1-1

Clarissa Now Discussion/Review

Continuing with Clarissa Month, Patricia discusses about the 1995 CBS pilot Clarissa Now, a spinoff series of the 1991 Nickelodeon sitcom Clarissa Explains it All and gives a review on how well it not only presents itself as a proper followup to the 90's classic, but to see if holds up over 20 years later.

Cooking with Patricia: How to Make Tofu Delicious 3 Different Ways

Continuing with Clarissa Month, Patricia does something completely different with cooking 3 different dishes involving with Janet Darling's favorite ingredient: tofu. Tofu is a food made with coagulated soy milk and pressing the remaining curds into soft blocks. It's mostly used in many Asian cuisines and can be prepared in sweet and savory dishes.

Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe
8oz silken tofu
1 cup of canned quartered artichokes, drained. Reserve 2 tablespoons.
5 oz of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry.
1tbls dried basil
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Place tofu, artichokes, spinach, artichoke juice, basil, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Lightly grease a baking pan or small baking custard cups with a little bit of olive oil. Spoon in dip until evenly distributed into your container. Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes or until the top part of the dip is slightly brown on top.

Serve with raw vegetables, crackers, or pita chips.

Tofu with Sauteed Vegetables
8 oz extra firm tofu.
1/2 diced onion
1 minced garlic clove
1/2 peeled, diced carrot
1/2 sliced zucchini
3 or 4 sliced baby shiitake mushrooms
8 broccoli florets
1/4 cup soy sauce
1-2 tsp grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp honey
2 tbls olive oil

Heat up a pan to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then add the onion and stir for a few minutes until translucent. Next add your garlic clove and carrot and stir for a few more minutes. Then add your zucchini, mushrooms, tofu, and stir until evened in the pan.

Next, add your soy sauce, ginger, and honey evenly coating the tofu and veggies to make sure they get equal amounts of the flavor. Bring your heat up to medium high and let it cook for 5 minutes or until the tofu and veggies absorb most of the soy sauce. Serve over a bed of white or brown rice.

Tofu Berry Sundae
8 oz silken tofu
4 tbls of orange juice
4 tsp of honey
1 cup of the berry of your choice. I had blueberries.

Mix tofu, orange juice, honey, and berries in a blender. Puree until smooth. Sundae is ready to eat or leave in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes until cold.

Please leave in the comments below on your favorite tofu recipes. Also let me know if you enjoyed any of the dishes I prepared.

Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 57: Clarissa Explains it All

Continuing with Clarissa Month, Patricia and special guest Christina discuss about the 1991 Nickelodeon sitcom and why, in their opinion, it's still remember by many people 25 years later.

Old School Lane Casual Chats Episode 56: Interview with Mitchell Kriegman

In this episode of Casual Chats, Patricia interviews writer and creator of Clarissa Explains it All, Bear in the Big Blue House, as well as author of the books Being Audrey Hepburn and Things I Can't Explain, Mitchell Kriegman. Today happens to be the 25th anniversary of Clarissa Explains it All and the first video of Clarissa Explains it All Month!

Check out Mitchell's links down below
http://mitchellkriegman.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MitchellKrie...
https://twitter.com/mkfresh1
https://www.youtube.com/user/mitchell...

If you're interested, purchase the sequel to Clarissa Explains it All, Things I Can't Explain, on Amazon. Link is down below.
http://www.amazon.com/Things-Cant-Exp...

Or if you're into audio books, then preorder the book on Audible. Link is down below.
http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_h...

Check out a small clip of the audio version of Things I Can't Explain narrated by Emily Hart, Melissa Joan Hart's younger sister.
https://soundcloud.com/audible/things...

Old School Lane visits the Slimed! and A Christmas Story book events

Hey guys, Patricia here. Just got back from my trip to NYC where Kevin and I went to two book events: the Slimed! book event at 92Y and the A Christmas Story book event at Solas Restaurant. Both events were a lot of fun in different ways. First the Slimed! book event.



When arriving at 92Y, the line was already long. It was crazy because Kevin and I wanted to get there a few hours early to get good seats. Now that's what I call true old school Nickelodeon fans.



Next up, we went inside to see if we could get some VIP tickets, we were so lucky to get the last two. With that, some of the special guests who were appearing at the event were already there talking, mingling with other people, or getting drinks at the small bar. Kevin and I knew who we were going to see first.



Marc Summers, the host of Double Dare and What Would You Do? was going to be the showrunner for the book event. Kevin and I interviewed Marc last year for the Nickelodeon tribute discussing about his years hosting Double Dare, What Would You Do?, and being an executive producer for a couple of Food Network programs. He remembered us interviewing him and we once again thanked him so much for the wonderful thing he did hosting Double Dare. He is one of our childhood heroes and it was amazing meeting him face to face.

The next person we met was Harvey, who was the announcer of Double Dare. Not only was he just the person who would announce the show and tell the contestants what they won, but he also would interact with the audience and tell a bunch of funny jokes alongside with Marc and Double Dare assistant Robin Marella. Robin made it to the event, but unfortunately, we weren't able to have met her. But it was great meeting Harvey nonetheless. Plus we got Harvey's autograph.





Next we met two cast members from one of our all time favorite Nickelodeon sitcoms The Adventures of Pete & Pete, Michael Maronna who played Big Pete, and Hardy Rawls who played the dad. We also got their autographs.





Next we met Vanessa Coffey, who was the vice president of animation for Nickelodeon and was the main forerunner for the original three Nicktoons Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren & Stimpy Show. Not to mention, she was the one who came up with the concept of 11 minute cartoon segments, which is now a staple in cartoons. We didn't recognized her, but she was impressed with Kevin's Doug doll. Since there never was an official Doug doll for Nickelodeon, Disney released Doug merchandise when they bought the rights from Jim Jinkens, the creator of Doug. But speaking of which, Jim Jinkens showed up and Kevin was absolutely floored! As you know, Kevin is a huge Doug fan and he was so excited to finally meet the man who created one of his all time favorite cartoons.

Plus, we also met the voice of Skeeter Valentine, Mr. Dink, and who did the Doug soundtrack, Fred Newman. Fred was also the host of a kids' talk show host from Nickelodeon called Livewire back in 1980 and he's currently the sound effects man for the popular radio show A Praririe Home Companion. He even did the Skeeter voice and honked at us. It was amazing! Plus we gotten Jim and Fred's autograph.




The next following people we met were Jessica Gaynes from Wild & Crazy Kids and Sean O'Neal from Clarissa Explains it All before we were called to take our seats for the main event. Plus, we gotten their autographs as well.





For the next three hours, Kevin and I sat in the front row seats watching the people behind the #1 kids' network. There were a few panels that occured: there was the panel that contained the people who brought Nickelodeon from being almost bankrupt to the #1 network with the first creative director Scott Webb, the director of various Nickelodeon shows Bob Mittenal, the half of the advertising company Fred/Alan Inc. Alan Goodman, and more. The second panel had the co-creator and cast of You Can't Do That on Television, the third panel had the cast of Doug, which included Jim Jinkens, Vanessa Coffey, Doug creative director and creator of Clarissa Explains it All, Fred Newman, the voice actress for Patti Mayonaisse Connie Shulman, and the voice of Doug, Roger, Ren, Stimpy, and hundreds more Billy West. Afterwards, Fred Newman and Doug musician Dan Sawyer played music from Doug which everyone sang out loud. Next, the panel of Clarissa Explains it All, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and a misc. panel concluded the event with joyous cheers from 900 people on their teens, 20s, and 30s reliving their childhoods. For those who missed the event, watch it right here! You can even see Kevin and I on our seats.

Next was the afterparty where we met Nick Arcade host Phil Moore. Despite Kevin and I making fun of him in Casual Chats episode 1, he was one of the funniest person on the event.


Next, we finally met the man himself, Mathew Klickstein. At the event, we slowly became good friends with him. He also autographed our book.



Next, we met and talked to Nick Arcade creators Karim Miteff and James Bethea, Salute Your Shorts actor Tim "Trevor" Eyster who was Sponge and Are You Afraid of the Dark? actor/meterologist Ross Hull who was Gary. He told us that not only did he remember our interview with him last year, but our interview was his all time favorite. It was a long 4 hour event, but it was worth it and one of the best nights I've ever had.



Next was the A Christmas Story book event at Solas Restaurant. It was small, informal, and much more quiet. It was much needed since being around over 1000 people for 4 hours was very tiring. I met Caseen Gaines for the first time face to face. As some of you know, he was the first person we've ever interviewed for Old School Lane when he talked about his first book Inside Pee-wee's Playhouse. Surprisingly, Mathew Klickstein and Jessica Gaynes showed up at the event and for the next 3 hours, we were talking about the movie, the book, and their upcoming projects. It didn't feel manipulating, it felt like I was talking with real friends. With that, I truly felt like I made some while I was there.



That's all for now. Tune in next time as Kevin and I discuss about the two books, our experiences with the events, and continue with the Nickelodeon tribute.

Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.

-Patricia

Old School Lane's Not-Nickelodeon Tribute Week: Clarissa Now

Around the early 90's, Nickelodeon were in the beginning of their prime of releasing unique shows such as Salute Your Shorts, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and the three original Nicktoons. But the one show that changed the demographic of shows was none other than Clarissa Explains it All. 



As you recall from my review of Clarissa Explains it All, it was the one of the first shows on TV that featured a female protagonist and showed the everyday life of a teenage girl. The show lasted from 1991-1994 and it was one of the most popular shows on Nickelodeon. Girls related to Clarissa Darling with her discussions of boys, clothes, school, and her weird, annoying family members. But at the same time, boys liked her because of her good looks, liking things such as video games, rock bands such as Pearl Jam and They Might Be Giants, and finding things to relate with her. The final episode of Clarissa Explains it All concludes with Clarissa writing her final newspaper article talking about the future. Many people wondered what was going to happen next for her. Around 1995, CBS debuted a pilot for Clarissa spinoff named Clarissa Now or Clarissa for short. It featured a few times in Nickelodeon during the Big Help-a-Thon in which it took place after Clarissa Explains it All. 



The pilot starts with Clarissa talking with the audience about her being in a New York subway going to her first day of work as a assistant journalist. The subway becomes extremely crowded with people and eventually the train stopped and the lights went off. However, Clarissa is still optimistic about her new job and new life. When she arrives in the newspaper office, she gets introduced with a couple of her new co-workers and her boss, editor Hugh Hamilton. She then learns that things aren't as glamorous as she imagined: the co-workers are pretty mean and bitter, her office is small, cramped, and has limited supplies, and she is told to stay away from Hamilton due to being angry due to major burnout. Clarissa, wanting to prove that she's capable of being a great journalist, decides to interview people from around the city and get a story to impress Hamilton. Later on, she meets with Hamilton and shows him her story. Hamilton, not impressed at first, tells Clarissa off of being too young and inexperienced. However, he saw a lot of potential in her and lets her stay in the office.



Clarissa Now never got picked up for a TV series and to this day, has been forgotten. Overall, it wasn't too bad. The pilot sort of reminded me of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Murphy Brown in which it involved with a strong, independent woman trying to get respect in an office setting in a time in which men were the main workforce. It kept the same formula of Clarissa Explains it All, but showed it in a way that was new. There were moments in which the jokes fell flat, but it was still solid. It's such a shame that it never got picked up for a series, but then a lot of teenagers were moving on to other shows such as The Secret World of Alex Mack and more. But then again, if it would've been picked up, then Melissa Joan Hart wouldn't have been in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. At least Mitchell Kriegman is going to try again with telling this story again with the upcoming book Things I Can't Explain which continues the story of Clarissa Darling. To know more info, check out the video below in which I discussed about it and my overall opinion about it.

If you're a fan of Clarissa Explains it All, check out the Clarissa Now pilot sometime. 

That's all for now. Tune in next time as we take a look at the continuation of a popular Nicktoon on the Disney Channel with Brand Spankin' New Doug.

Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Thanks for reading.

-Patricia

Mitchell Kriegman is releasing a Clarissa Explains it All Sequel

A quick news announcement about Mitchell Kriegman, the creator of Clarissa Explains it All, saying he's going to release the long awaited sequel to Clarissa Darling's story named Things I Can't Explain in Fall 2014...in book form. Is Patricia excited about this? Let's see.

To find out more about it, click on the link below.

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2013/03/22/clarissa-explains-it-all-things-i-cant-explain/

Old School Lane's Nickelodeon Tribute: Get the Picture/Clarissa Explains It All

As Nickelodeon was slowly beginning its golden era year, a new game show came out around March 18, 1991. That game show was called Get the Picture.

The show was about two teams answering questions and playing mini-games in order to connect the dots and guess the hidden picture that was displayed on a giant screen. The screen compiled of 16 smaller screens and for each correct answer, they would get to see a fragmented colored version of the hidden picture. If they chose a number that had the "Power Surge" challenge, they would play the game to win an opportunity to see the real section of the picture. 

The first team to win would play the final challenge involving to find the missing pictures on the screen in 60 seconds or less to win money and various prizes. 

The show was hosted by Mike O'Malley. This was his first appearance on TV. He was a pretty good host that shows him more on his goofy side. Nonetheless, he always had fun with the contestants. Not much to say about this show, but not really the highlight Nickelodeon game show that everyone remembered very much. Just a really basic kids' game show. Nothing special.

Now time for our main review. On March 23, 1991, Nickelodeon decided to release a new teen sitcom that the girls can sit down and enjoy. That show was Clarissa Explains it All.



The show was about a teenage girl named Clarissa Darling (played by Melissa Joan Hart) explaining about regular teenage problems directly to the audience such as acne, getting a driver's license, getting her first training bra, school, and boys. She discussed these topics in a way that girls can be able to relate with her. She wasn't a perfect teen; she's was just a regular teen. She has a very colorful style of clothes similar to Lisa from Saved by the Bell and Blossom from Blossom, she loved rock music like They Might Be Giants and Pearl Jam, she created computer games at a time in which girls playing video games was impossible to see, she believes in UFOs, she sometimes over exaggerates simple problems whenever she gets grounded or stay outside longer than her curfew, and she complains about her annoying brother Ferguson.



Ferguson (played by Jason Zimbler) is the younger brother of Clarissa and the thorn on her side. He sometimes plays himself as annoying, but never at the point in which you want to jump on the TV and kill him. He tries to get into get-rick-quick schemes to make a ton of money. Similar to Alex Keaton from Family Ties, he's also a Republican who respects Dan Quayle and Ronald Reagan. But never in a way that is too show off-y like Alex is. Although Ferguson and Clarissa get themselves into a lot of fights, they also collaborate with each other to solve each other's problems.





Clarissa's and Ferguson's parents Marshall and Janet Darling (played by Joe O'Connor and Elizabeth Hess) were your typical parents. Marshall was an architect who designs unusual buildings like the Fryfel Tower. He's a bit clueless when it comes to giving Clarissa advice. Janet is a teacher, an environmentalist, and an organic foodie who cooks healthy food for her kids. Most of the times they end up looking and tasting really bad such as the tofu sundae. For all you organic foodies and vegetarians, this was around the 90s in which they didn't present healthy food well. Please excuse the stereotypical discussions that tofu and vegetables are evil!



Clarissa had a best friend that would visit her from her window named Sam Anders (played by Sean O'Neal). He's a very optimistic guy who loves skateboarding and surfing. In some episodes, they would sit down and watch some TV. Sam would constantly visit the Darling family because his single mom was almost never around due to her being on the road with her Roller Derby team. His dad was a busy working sports announcer. Nonetheless, he was very supportive and fun.



There were other recurring characters in the show such as Clarissa's high school friends Hillary and Olivia. Also, there was the school bully Clifford Spleenhurfer (okay) who would constantly tease Ferguson around Season 1. In Season 2, she confronted him to stop teasing. Throughout the seasons, they even began dating at one point in Season 4. Clarissa and Sam even tried dating once, but declared it to be "weird" and "gross".

Throughout the show, we watched Clarissa grow from an 8th grader to a high school senior. The shows lasted for 5 seasons ending its run on December 3, 1994. But, at one point, it wasn't the end for Clarissa. Around 1995, a new spinoff show was made on CBS simply called Clarissa or Clarissa Now. The show was about Clarissa as a young adult moving to New York City becoming an intern for a local newspaper office.

The show was a disaster. It only lasted for a few episodes before it was cancelled due to low ratings. After Clarissa Explains it All ended, the actors went on to do different things.

Melissa Joan Hart went on to do other movie and TV roles like Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, Law & Order: SVU, Holiday in Handcuffs, My Fake Fiance, and Melissa and Joey. She's married to musician Mark Wilkerson and has two sons, with a third one on the way.



Jason Zimbler had done a lot of theater work after Clarissa Explains it All before becoming the co-founder of a theater company called The Re-Theater Instrument in Portland, Oregon. He's currently the software designer of HBO.



Sean O'Neal had done a few TV and movie roles such as Cop and a Half, Noir, RahXephon, and The Cost.



Elizabeth Hess is currently an acting teacher at the New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, and Fordham University at Lincoln Center.



Joe O'Connor had done other movie and TV roles such as Friends, Sabrina: The Teenage Witch, The Ice Storm, ER, Malcolm in the Middle, Mad Men, Castle and The Green Hornet.



Clarissa Explains it All was groundbreaking for its time for it to star a teenage girl as oppose to a teenage boy or a group of high school kids. It was the kind of show that girls can watch and relate to. Also, it had a bit of a following for boys. They knew that they were watching a girls' show, but there was something so real about it that made them want to watch. Boys didn't care if they were made fun of watching it. Think of it sort of like a precursor to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. There was such a charm to the show that made both teenage boys and girls watch it and enjoy it. The show was created by Mitchell Kreigman, a former Saturday Night Live writer who wanted to create a show that was differed from other teen shows that were showing at the time. He succeeded quite well. 



Overall, looking back at this show, there are a few things about it that are extremely dated. Especially the clothes, the technology, the pop culture references, and the slang. Looking back at it, it makes me laugh just looking at some of the clothes that Clarissa would wear. It looks completely ridiculous by today's standards.



Other than that, out of all the teen sitcoms that came out in the 90's, Clarissa Explains it All has aged quite well when it comes to the message that it delivers. Compared to teen sitcoms in the 90's like Saved by the Bell, Blossom, Beverly Hills 90210, and Full House, it was the most realistic. It had a teenager that wasn't too girly, too tomboyish, too odd, too quirky, or too materialistic. It was someone that was very tolerable that felt like a friend from school that everyone knew and loved. She worried about getting zits, she worried about getting boys, she's worried about getting a license, she thinks that her younger brother is annoying, she has friends, she has issues. Guess what? Those are real teenagers! Also, the parents are real, yet goofy at times, Sam is a cool optimistic guy despite having a dysfunctional family, and Ferguson had a pretty good balance of being annoying, conniving, and intelligent. It would be the stepping stone for other teen sitcoms starring female protagonists like The Secret World of Alex Mack, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, iCarly,  and Victorious.

As we go through some of the other shows throughout the tribute, you'll see that they would eventually make a change for the worse to get almost perfect looking pop stars acting like divas living completely unrealistic lives and hanging around with extremely annoying teenagers. As we look back at Clarissa Explains it All, we see a perfect way of how kids lived in the 90's and how to create a balance between making a show funny, yet realistic to the teenage world. I highly recommend checking this show out.



That's all for now. Tune in next time as we check out Hey Dude's superior concept of a summer camp teen sitcom Salute Your Shorts.



That's all for now. Hope to see you around Old School Lane soon. Take care.

-Patricia