Ultraman - Mein geheimes Ich

This engaging Canadian-shot series cast Jerry O'Connell (after "Stand By Me" and before "Sliders") as teenager Andrew, a superhero fan who after getting hit by a ray from his neighbour's laser machine developed super powers - flying, superspeed, impervious to pain - and took it upon himself to battle evil as "Ultraman," though his lack of a uniform and the fact that only said neighbour Dr. Jeffcoat ("Dr J") knew about his secret identity meant that he never became a household name - much as he wanted to, but as the doctor put it in one episode where Andrew saved the day without superpowers, "What's wrong with Andrew Clemens saving the world now and then?" (There was one episode where most of the main characters were trapped in a snowdrift and Andrew convinced Dr. J that it would be better for him to get them out and expose his secret than to remain there - but they were rescued just before he could do it!)

In spite of being created by "Family Matters"'s Fred Fox Jr. and "Beethoven"'s Brian Levant, the show worked because Andrew, unlike most other heroes nowadays, was positively gleeful over his abilities; he enjoyed being a hero, and the show conveyed the overall lack of cynicism. People need a break from angst sometimes, without going all the way into "Batman"-style campiness. The show also had likeable characters and actors, and some decent writing to go with them - it even succeeded in giving Andrew a little sister who wasn't a pain.

It only really slipped in the third and final series when the producers gave Andrew a new male best friend, and lost some of its appealing innocence as a result, but this was a fun show all round.

Well, that comment wasn't exactly true. Every fanboy's dream would be to get a date, stop working at Wal-Mart,and get out of his parent's basement!! Onto the show!!! It's about a kid -Jerry O'Connell of Sliders- who after a laboratory accident, gains the ability to hover, move at super human speeds and is invulnerable. The show was half of a sunday night kid's block also featuring the Adventures of Beans Baxter. It was later moved next to the live action Superboy. If you are not a comic book fan, you won't get it. If you are, you probably already have...

I chanced upon this series in an odd way: I had a foster boy who the kids called 'Clements' (his name was Jesse Martin) and I didn't know why until I saw this show. He was a dead ringer for Jerry O'Connell at that age. (He doesn't look like him any more---thank God!).

We all started watching this series (and ribbing Jesse as much as possible). Rarely did we miss an episode. And, although it seemed to decline some in the last season, it had a spirit not found in similar type shows. In my opinion, the first season seemed to be the best. I wasn't overly fond of Bolton who played O'Connell's best friend in the 2nd and 3rd season.

Personally, I like Jerry O'Connell (esp. Sliders). His kid movies have always had a special presence that stood out. (Even to the singing cockroaches in 'Joe's Apartment'.) The kid was a good actor---unlike most kid actors these days.

Also, the combo of O'Connell and Derek McGrath (Dr. Jeffcoat) was ideal and kept this series from ever being boring. For a low-budget production, they did a fantastic job.

The only faults I can find with this series are that there should have been more use made of O'Connell's super powers. (Some episodes had only a brief, almost unnecessary, use of his powers.) And, some of the guest actors were horrible!.

This series is now running on the Space channel (from Bell Expressvu). It airs on Monday mornings at 4:30am Mountain Time. As of the date of this review they have just started the first season again.

My favorite thing to do was to record the show on audio cassette and listen to them when I was laying in bed trying to go to sleep. I didn't have a TV in my room, but I was so obsessed with the show that I never wanted to stop being in that world.

I remember this particular bit...Andrew was in his room, supposed to be studying geometry, but he was completely bored with it...

"I, Andrew Clements, invested with the powers of Ultraman, do hereby declare that all trapezoids, squares, triangles, and all other stupid shapes shall be banished from this planet and replaced with one long straight line!" Aw, good stuff.

All superheros had to start somewhere. This entertaining series is about Andrew Clements(Jerry O'Connell). An ordinary teenager with a love for superhero comics, One day visits his scientist friend Dr. Benjamin Jeffcoate(played comically well by Derek Mcgrath), gets hit by a photon beam, and gets superpower, like some of the superheros he reads about in comics. But Andrew has yet to become a superhero. He must use his superpowers for one thing first, surviving High School. A good series, and a good premise. But has Jerry O'Connell got older, the series began to wear it self out. This inspired another show with a similar premise called The Secret World Of Alex Mack.