The Journey of Allen Strange
| The Journey of Allen Strange | |
|---|---|
 The cast of The Journey of Allen Strange | |
| Created by | Thomas W. Lynch |
| Starring |
Arjay Smith Erin Dean Shane Sweet Jack Tate |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 57 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Original release | November 8, 1997 – April 23, 2000 |
The Journey of Allen Strange is an American television series that aired on Nickelodeon's SNICK block of programming for three seasons from 1997 to 2000.[1][2]
Premise
The series follows the story of a young Xelan alien (Arjay Smith) who is stranded on Earth, and meets up with a young girl Robbie Stevenson (Erin J. Dean), her younger brother Josh (Shane Sweet), and their father Ken (Jack Tate). This family eventually adopts him, giving him the name "Allen Strange". He has extraordinary powers, including the ability to turn into his alien form, which allows him to hover. He uses his abilities to bring a mannequin in a sporting goods store to life; this "animated mannequin" poses as his Earth father, Manfred, for events like parent-teacher conferences. He also possesses extremely high intelligence and can read incredibly fast by simply placing his hand on the cover of a book. He has an affinity for canned cheese, and lives in the family's attic in a strange alien cocoon.[3]
Allen states he has "chosen" to be African-American when confronted with the task of blending in with society. His naivety on the subject (bringing in plain black posterboards for his Black History Month presentation) sparked a Black History Month episode, featuring him learning information about slavery and The Civil Rights Movement.
In the weeks leading up to the series' premiere, Nickelodeon ran a series of teaser ads which would at first appear to be promos for other shows, or for Nickelodeon in general, when a blue ooze would fill the screen as an announcer said cryptically, "Something strange is coming to SNICK. November 8." It would then clear out and the interrupted promo would conclude as if nothing had happened.
Characters
- Allen Strange (Arjay Smith) - The main protagonist who's a Xelan alien disguised as a human. All he wishes to do is to go back to his planet.
- Roberta "Robbie" Stevenson (Erin Dean) - A 15-year-old girl who enjoys surfing and helps show Allen how to fit in with humans.
- Joshua "Josh" Stevenson (Shane Sweet) - Robbie's 10-year-old younger brother and a science whiz.
- Kenneth "Ken" Stevenson (Jack Tate) - Robbie and Josh's father who is unaware of Allen as an alien.
- Gail Stevenson (Mary Chris Wall) - Robbie and Josh's mother who is separated from their father, but always comes to visit them.
- Manfred Strange (Robert Crow) - Originally just a store mannequin, but was brought to life to serve as Allen's earth father. He often helps Allen out of dangerous situations and is a good friend of Ken who nicknames him "Manny".
- Harold "Moose" Johnson (Sean Babb) - The captain of the high school wrestling team and also a bully. Allen tries several times to befriend him after he unintentionally upsets him, but his strange habits only annoy him.
- Phil Berg (Dee Bradley Baker) - Allen's arch-enemy, a crazed Alien hunter and journalist who constantly tries to capture Allen and expose him for a top news story. He was later captured by Xelan's enemies the Trykloids and used as a pawn for information on earth.
Book series
An eight-book series, based on the episodes, was also printed,[4] written by several authors, including John Vornholt and Mel Odom. A list of these books is available at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
Episodes
Season 1
| # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Arrival" (Pilot) | November 8, 1997 |
| 2 | "Entry" | November 15, 1997 |
| 3 | "Space" | November 22, 1997 |
| 4 | "Gronpoly" | December 6, 1997 |
| 5 | "Starwalk" | December 13, 1997 |
| 6 | "The Visit" | December 27, 1997 |
| 7 | "Battle" | January 3, 1998 |
| 8 | "The Guardian" | January 10, 1998 |
| 9 | "Collision" | January 17, 1998 |
| 10 | "Compute" | January 24, 1998 |
| 11 | "Rescue" | February 21, 1998 |
| 12 | "Home, Part 1" | February 24, 1998 |
| 13 | "Home, Part 2" | February 26, 1998 |
Season 2
| # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | "Passage" | August 31, 1998 |
| 15 | "The Day of the Beagle" | September 2, 1998 |
| 16 | "Haunted" | September 7, 1998 |
| 17 | "Pride of the Dolphin" | September 9, 1998 |
| 18 | "Strange Culture" | September 14, 1998 |
| 19 | "Two for the Road" | September 16, 1998 |
| 20 | "The Broken Puzzle" | September 23, 1998 |
| 21 | "Portal, Part 1" | September 28, 1998 |
| 22 | "Portal, Part 2" | September 30, 1998 |
| 23 | "The Truth About Lies" | October 5, 1998 |
| 24 | "A Room of My Own" | October 12, 1998 |
| 25 | "Cash Crunch" | October 21, 1998 |
| 26 | "Father & Son" | November 4, 1998 |
| 27 | "A New Leaf" | November 23, 1998 |
| 28 | "Secret of the Deep" | November 30, 1998 |
| 29 | "Dances with Moose" | December 2, 1998 |
| 30 | "Baby on Board" | December 14, 1998 |
| 31 | "Eye of a Stranger" | February 8, 1999 |
| 32 | "Unmasked!" | March 10, 1999 |
| 33 | "Fast Friends" | March 17, 1999 |
| 34 | "Space Bugs" | March 24, 1999 |
| 35 | "All Apologies" | March 31, 1999 |
| 36 | "Strike Out" | April 7, 1999 |
| 37 | "Down the Tube" | April 14, 1999 |
| 38 | "Bust a Move" | April 21, 1999 |
| 39 | "Shadows in the Sky | April 28, 1999 |
Season 3
| # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | "First Day of School" | |
| 41 | "Split Decision" | |
| 42 | "Mother and Child Reunion" | |
| 43 | "Twist of Fate" | |
| 44 | "As the Millennium Turns" | |
| 45 | "A Day at the Races" | |
| 46 | "Hamilton's Missing" | |
| 47 | "Science Friction" | |
| 48 | "Blue-Up" | |
| 49 | "Out on a Limb" | |
| 50 | "A Burp in Time" | |
| 51 | "Love Stinks" | |
| 52 | "Allen on TV" | |
| 53 | "Out to Lunch" | |
| 54 | "Bringing Up Baby" | |
| 55 | "Heroes" | |
| 56 | "Life of the Party" | |
| 57 | "Message from Beyond" (Series Finale) | April 23, 2000 |
References
- ↑ Rose, Devin (October 13, 1998). "Strange Is A Trip Worth Taking". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
- ↑ "Allen Strange Makes Rocky Journey to TV Movie Format". The Los Angeles Times. December 4, 1999. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
- ↑ Mangan, Jennifer (November 20, 1997). "New Comedy From Nickelodeon Explores Serious Issues". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
- ↑ "Journey of Allen Strange". fantasticfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
- Book references
- Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (9th ed.). Random House Publishing Group. p. 717. ISBN 9780307483201.