Being that I have a daughter now, I'm very careful about what she watches on TV. Granted, I don’t really think kids should watch any TV until they are well into their teens but realistically that's not possible. I tend to let her watch DVDs, that way I can better monitor what she's watching and get less surprises. When I check out some of the newer shows for kids I have to shake my head as what utter crap they are. The promise of educational materials usually acts as a guise for outlandish marketing in order to get the kids hooked on equally crappy snacks or toys. It is a given that any movie or show that is positive is still going to have some amount of marketing, after all they need to make money to survive. So I carefully look at the DVDs we get in order to find something that will entertain without being too crass. Over the last few years I've received a lot of shows that I think are well produced and enjoyable for the whole family, even some that are a little bit on the sappy side. But kids like sappy, and so do I.

Last week I received a DVD set for the first season of "The Secret World of Alex Mack."

I had heard good things about "The Secret World of Alex Mack" when it originally aired on Nickelodeon, but not having a daughter at the time ever watched it. I looked the set over and read the premise, which involved a junior high schooler who accidentally acquires a bunch of interesting powers. She can levitate objects and the like. The cover of the box promoted the fact that a young Jessica Alba starred in the series (though not as the lead character - which was played by Larisa Oleynik). I wasn't too thrilled with that being a big part of the marketing, considering who that marketing would be targeted at, but I understood the need to use any advantage to promote the product.

After checking out a few of the episodes, I pretty quickly determined that my daughter would definitely enjoy them. They have the simple silliness that one would expect from the older Nickelodeon shows, but certainly nothing harmful or inappropriate. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of the 'magic' that Alex can do, and will no doubt run around the house pretending she can do the same.

Admittedly for the adults watching you'll recognize some of the more formulaic plotlines dealing with school bullies and the like, as well as the ability to solve the problems in less than a half hour. However, after the first couple of episodes the cast really begins to gel, and the acting does start to improve to a point where we can enjoy it to. This is good, since I highly recommend watching it with your kids (as you should watch EVERYTHIG your kids watch).

The DVD set has 14 episodes, but no special features. I was a little surprised that there wasn't anything added in the way of interviews or 'how they did its' being that Warner Brothers is usually a little better about that. Still, even without the features "The Secret World of Alex Mack" is 'better than your average bear' in the world of kid's shows and I'm looking forward to experiencing with my daugher.

Episodes:
The Accident
Shock Value
Hoop War
Cold Day In Paradise Valley
False Alarm
School Daze
The Science Fair
Alex And Mom
The Feud
The Video Tape
The Solo
Annie Bails
Road Trip

Starring: Larisa Oleynik, Jessica Alba, Darris Love, Meredith Bishop, Dorian Lopinto, Michael Blakley
Extras: None
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Genius Entertainment
Release Date: 10/2/2007
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website

We'll give The Secret World of Alex Mack: Season 1 a B-.