Melissa Explains It All: Tales From My Abnormally Normal Life by Melissa Joan Hart Page A
Authors: Melissa Joan Hart
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Years later, Mitchell told me it was the one-two punch of my outfit and disdain for popular music that helped him choose me to play Clarissa. That, and the fact that he liked my performance, especially when my overall strap dropped at the exact same part of my monologue during all three auditions—a move he assumed was intentional, but was really the result of how I gestured while reciting my lines. Funny enough, Mitchell had been hard-set on Clarissa being a brunette, since blondes rarely fit his idea of the nonconforming, feisty, smart, and relatable type he wanted to depict on his show. But by being myself, I was able to charm him into admitting that blondes could be all these things too.
* * *
While I was auditioning for Clarissa, I simultaneously tried out three times for the NBC show Blossom, which was about another strong-willed teenager and her family, but I was going back for the role of her ditzy best friend, Six. I thought this character was quirky and silly, but also more naive than Clarissa. If given the choice, which character would I prefer to play? I prayed late into the night, asking for guidance to figure out exactly what I wanted for my future. I was raised Catholic, after all.
In my head, I weighed the pros and cons of being on both channels. As a fan of NBC’s Thursday night lineup, which at the time included The Cosby Show, A Different World, and Cheers, I knew and liked the kind of programming NBC delivered. I also loved Nick, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on a kids’ network. Would teenagers actually tune in? Would I limit future jobs by endearing myself to such a niche audience? Then again, I knew Clarissa would be my show on Nick, and on NBC, I’d be the sidekick. Well, God answered my prayers like He always does. Clarissa it was. I was catapulted into the world of sitcom TV for the first time, and spent the next four years shooting sixty-five episodes of a very funny show that to this day makes me crazy proud.
Clarissa was about a spunky girl with typical preadolescent conflicts that mostly revolved around family, school, and social situations—driving, first crushes, sibling rivalry, drinking, babysitting, bullies, that kind of thing. She had a best friend named Sam, played by Sean O’Neal, who was an optimistic foil to Clarissa’s get-real attitude. There was no sexual tension between them, which was and still is a rare dynamic when you put a boy and girl on a bedroom set together. Clarissa’s parents trusted her to make a lot of her own decisions, but gave her advice when she needed it. This was a newer way to portray the American family, as well. Clarissa looked up to her mom and dad, but more often than not thought she was smarter than her daffy folks, like most teenagers do. I think teens liked watching that dynamic play out. Others watched to hear the “Na Na” theme song, to identify with Clarissa’s friendships, and a lot of fans thought it was fun that she invented her own video games. I think this last point made her relatable to guy viewers, who tuned in to see a pretty, smart girl who was also into a hobby they were.
Today’s tweens have been weaned on girl-centric shows like That’s So Raven and Gossip Girl, but casting a young female as a sitcom lead was still a risky, innovative move in 1990. Square Pegs and Punky Brewster helped pave the way, but before Clarissa, most teen female sitcom characters played sidekicks, girlfriends, and sisters. Girls on The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and The Facts of Life were smart and sassy, but they didn’t have the energy and attitude that Clarissa did. Mitchell has even said in interviews that he named the character Clarissa because it was so distinct she could also hate it—which is what she says in the series opener. Who couldn’t identify with that? (Her last name, Darling, was inspired by Wendy Darling from Peter Pan .)
The way Clarissa was shot also helped the show find its place in the zeitgeist.
Years later, Mitchell told me it was the one-two punch of my outfit and disdain for popular music that helped him choose me to play Clarissa. That, and the fact that he liked my performance, especially when my overall strap dropped at the exact same part of my monologue during all three auditions—a move he assumed was intentional, but was really the result of how I gestured while reciting my lines. Funny enough, Mitchell had been hard-set on Clarissa being a brunette, since blondes rarely fit his idea of the nonconforming, feisty, smart, and relatable type he wanted to depict on his show. But by being myself, I was able to charm him into admitting that blondes could be all these things too.
* * *
While I was auditioning for Clarissa, I simultaneously tried out three times for the NBC show Blossom, which was about another strong-willed teenager and her family, but I was going back for the role of her ditzy best friend, Six. I thought this character was quirky and silly, but also more naive than Clarissa. If given the choice, which character would I prefer to play? I prayed late into the night, asking for guidance to figure out exactly what I wanted for my future. I was raised Catholic, after all.
In my head, I weighed the pros and cons of being on both channels. As a fan of NBC’s Thursday night lineup, which at the time included The Cosby Show, A Different World, and Cheers, I knew and liked the kind of programming NBC delivered. I also loved Nick, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on a kids’ network. Would teenagers actually tune in? Would I limit future jobs by endearing myself to such a niche audience? Then again, I knew Clarissa would be my show on Nick, and on NBC, I’d be the sidekick. Well, God answered my prayers like He always does. Clarissa it was. I was catapulted into the world of sitcom TV for the first time, and spent the next four years shooting sixty-five episodes of a very funny show that to this day makes me crazy proud.
Clarissa was about a spunky girl with typical preadolescent conflicts that mostly revolved around family, school, and social situations—driving, first crushes, sibling rivalry, drinking, babysitting, bullies, that kind of thing. She had a best friend named Sam, played by Sean O’Neal, who was an optimistic foil to Clarissa’s get-real attitude. There was no sexual tension between them, which was and still is a rare dynamic when you put a boy and girl on a bedroom set together. Clarissa’s parents trusted her to make a lot of her own decisions, but gave her advice when she needed it. This was a newer way to portray the American family, as well. Clarissa looked up to her mom and dad, but more often than not thought she was smarter than her daffy folks, like most teenagers do. I think teens liked watching that dynamic play out. Others watched to hear the “Na Na” theme song, to identify with Clarissa’s friendships, and a lot of fans thought it was fun that she invented her own video games. I think this last point made her relatable to guy viewers, who tuned in to see a pretty, smart girl who was also into a hobby they were.
Today’s tweens have been weaned on girl-centric shows like That’s So Raven and Gossip Girl, but casting a young female as a sitcom lead was still a risky, innovative move in 1990. Square Pegs and Punky Brewster helped pave the way, but before Clarissa, most teen female sitcom characters played sidekicks, girlfriends, and sisters. Girls on The Cosby Show, Family Ties, and The Facts of Life were smart and sassy, but they didn’t have the energy and attitude that Clarissa did. Mitchell has even said in interviews that he named the character Clarissa because it was so distinct she could also hate it—which is what she says in the series opener. Who couldn’t identify with that? (Her last name, Darling, was inspired by Wendy Darling from Peter Pan .)
The way Clarissa was shot also helped the show find its place in the zeitgeist.
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