Superkid

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.

Comic book stories sometimes by their nature are wish fulfillment fantasies because it's always that notion that one day we will have are chance to become and do something great.

This show is one that has flown under the radar and it's another childhood gem of mine. Yeah, sometimes like most comic book stories it's not perfect but the show does gain some altitude.

It was unique for it's time because we never really had many live action shows let alone comics on the young populace having superpowers at the time; but have now became common place with shows like the movies "Cronicle", "Power Rangers", the graphic comic and upcoming TV series "Runaways", and many more. To me watching this show was almost a dream come true as we saw a young boy having superpowers and getting to use them. Let alone seeing this take place in Canada which is cool, so we have a little insight into the country.

The effects on the powers are solid and practical, mainly the one that stands out is the super speed where he can run as fast as "The Flash". And we get to see some decent action where he gets to use them. I even like the theme song which I think is very good, it's really catchy and memorable.

However I think what really gives the show power is the character Andrew himself. What really made the show unique from most superhero shows at the time, was that it really did focus on the identity behind the superhero hence the title of the show and made the superhero alter ego secondary; sort of like if you make a Superman story more about Clark Kent than Superman. I personally thought that was a interesting idea as I never got enough insight as to the personal life of a superhero.

Jerry O Connell whom I think is an underrated actor is really solid in the role. I like that he's a comic book collector/fan and how well he knows his comics, he's a big fan of a "Superman" comic called "Ultraman" which is ironic considering that was the name of Superman's alternate counterpart; that's also cool because I'm a comic book collector/fan myself and "Superman" is my fifth favorite comic book series. This I feel gives his character a reliability factor because he's sort of a common geek that does love these things but also has to deal with contemporary reality himself.

I also like that there is a light spin on the whole super powered motif where we see the character actually have fun and not get all mopey about the consequences or any other grief it could bring him which I feel is drama I've seen too many times already. This gives it a bit of a emphasis factor because if I was in the same situation yeah I think I would be psyched to be able to do all those things.

Andrew is a good natured person and has a clear conscious, he doesn't misuse his powers in anyway even though he could he's knows he shouldn't it wouldn't be right. But I like how he has this fun charisma and energy. Ambitionous as he is constantly wondering what more he can do and what he wants the most from life. And most importantly he cares about the well being of others.

Really like his back and forth with the Doctor which I feel really powers the show. The Doctor is sort of Andrew's mentor and uncle figure as he is constantly training and figuring out the extent of Andrew's abilities, while also worry about Andrew misusing his powers or something going wrong that could hurt him. Though it's funny as the Doctor is getting some uninteional grief from Andrew though most of that unintentional grief is really coming from himself and his own insecurity.

The show has some good messages on how people are capable of becoming and doing more with themselves. But also about heroism how you don't really need superpowers to be a hero. It's true Andrew has superpowers but in most episodes he doesn't really need to use them (except when the situation calls for it) because he's pretty much already a hero as it is as he is constantly helping people with social issues or anything else mostly as himself.

But the series does fly into some turbulence. One thing is Andrew doesn't get to kick enough ass. We never really get to see him utilize his powers nearly enough. Most of the time it's just for tacked on situations, not to say it's not life or death but it's not exactly a high Jepardy factor; which makes the show not that exciting. The comedy and drama focused on highly is also it's weakness you could say the show has a bit of an identity crisis, like it's more of one but not enough of the other. Last the third season was no doubt the weak point of the series, it tried flying a different direction but it was the wrong direction which sadly grounded the series.

I wouldn't mind a revival, though they could make it a bit more like "Static Shock" where the Doc does have his experiment go haywire but not just zap Andrew but create this wave that has affected the teenage populace. Have Andrew kick more ass or try to reason with others that have and misused their superpowers. Not to say we should do that super powered villain of the week thing just sometimes. It's a idea worth a test flight at least.

My Secret Identity flies.

Rating: 3 stars

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 remember "My Secret Identity" with Jerry O'Connell. This was a really cool show from the late 80s and very early 1990s that revolved around a 13 year old kid named Andrew Clements that gets superpowers from his nerdy next door neighbor's plant growing laser beam. The series seemed to revel in it's campy setting, and there were plenty of injokes for comic book fans. Jerry O'Connell did this show after "Stand By Me" but before "Sliders", "Jerry Maguire" or any of his really big hits from the mid 90s to the present, so he was a recognizable 13 year old name but not a huge, elite name at the time. And while he was no longer "the fat kid" like he was in "Stand By Me", he didn't yet look like some big studly jock, so the character of Andrew Clements had a very believable dorky aspect to him.

Andrew like most 13 year olds, just loves the idea of having superpowers. He's not like many heroes who hates having the powers and the responsibility of being a hero. For Andrew it's the greatest thing in the world to be a superhero, he even calls himself "Ultraman", but in a move that grounded the series in some mode of reality...he never goes public with his powers, only him and Dr. Jeffcoat (whome he calls Dr. J in a very dated reference now) know about the powers...ala "The Greatest American Hero". I think what ruined the series was when Andrew moved from middle school to high school and sprouted into this big, 5'10+ hulking guy. Jerry O'Connell blossomed into this huge athlete and no longer came across as the uber geek anymore during the 1990-1991 final season. That best friend he had was just plain annoying, it seemed like Andrew lost some of his friendship with Dr. J and hung out more with his new high school pal. The magic was just gone as a result of the kid getting older and losing his innocence. But watch the 1988-1990 part of the series, especially the first season, it was a very different and unique series about a middle school boy that is as excited as ever about getting superpowers.

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.