Secret World of Alex Mack, The

1 9 9 4 – 1 9 9 8 (USA)
78 x 30 minute episodes

This fantasy comedy from Nickelodeon starred 13-year-old girl Alexandra “Alex” Mack (Larisa Oleynik), who was living in the pleasant suburb of Paradise Valley when she gained superpowers after she was doused with a top-secret chemical (GC-161) in a freak accident.

Bewildered Alex found herself able to levitate objects, set electrical appliances in operation by looking at them, even morph into a golden blob and escape through the pipes.

Only two people knew of her powers: her brainy, bossy older sister, Annie (Meredith Bishop), who constantly put Alex down but nevertheless looked after her and got her out of scrapes, and her best friend, Raymond (Darris Love), a saxophone-playing black classmate who was as immature as she was.

Superpowers should have made junior high bearable, but Annie told her that if anyone found out about them she would be locked in a cage as a living experiment. So the powers had to be kept secret, which was not easy since Alex would sometimes glow or emit sparks when frightened.

George (Michael Blakely) was her amiable father, who worked at the plant where the chemical was made, and Barbara (Dorian Lopinto) her worrywart mother.

Seen occasionally were Danielle Atron (Louan Gideon), the scheming plant executive responsible for the illegal chemical GC-161, and her henchman Vince (John Marzilli), both of whom were determined to find the “mystery kid” who they knew had been doused.

In 1995, Alex gained a new friend in Louis (Benjamin Smith), a wisecracking kid from Cincinnati, but did not immediately tell him about her powers. Robyn (Natanya Ross) and Nicole (Alexis Fields) were other pals.

Annie became an intern at the chemical plant, looking for evidence to expose its illegal experiments, but Miss Atron and her flunky Vince – who was replaced by Lars (Kevin Quigley) in 1996 – stayed one step ahead of her.

Annie left for college in early 1997 and was seldom seen thereafter, leaving Alex, Ray, and Louis pretty much on their own.

In the two-part finale, as the plant prepared to release the dangerous GC-161 to the public as a “weight loss drug”, Alex’s secret was discovered and she and her parents were taken prisoner in the fortified plant to prevent them from revealing the chemical’s real effects.

Atron and Lars were ultimately exposed and arrested, and Alex had to decide whether to take an antidote to ‘cure’ her of the effects of GC-161.

Alexandra “Alex” Mack
Larisa Oleynik
Annie Mack
Meredith Bishop
George Mack
Michael Blakely
Barbara Mack
Dorian Lopinto
Raymond Alvarado 
Darris Love
Danielle Atron
Louan Gideon
Vince Carter
John Marzilli
Dave Watt
John Nielsen
Robyn Russo
Natanya Ross
Nicole Wilson
Alexis Fields
Louis Driscoll
Benjamin Smith
Lars Fredrickson
Kevin Quigley
Bryce
Josh Keaton
Hunter Reeves
Will Estes
Mr Alvarado
J.D. Hall
Gordon Kramer
Corey Joshua Taylor
Coach Rooney
Glenn Morshower
Hannah Mercury
Charlotte Ayanna