The Journey of Allen Strange was a television series on Nickelodeon's SNICK block of programming for three seasons from 1997 to 2000.
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) and her younger brother Josh (Shane Sweet) and father. This family eventually adopts him, giving him the name "Allen Strange". Allen 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 Allen's 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. Allen has an affinity for canned cheese, and lives in the family's attic in a strange alien cocoon.
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 Allen 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." The blue ooze would then clear out and the interrupted promo would conclude as if nothing had happened.
Characters
- Allen Strange - The main protagonist whose a Xelan alien disguised as a human. All he wishes to do is to go back to his planet. He's played by Arjay Smith.
- Roberta "Robbie" Stevenson - 16 years old and helps Allen how to fit in with humans. She's played by Erin Dean.
- Joshua "Josh" Stevenson - Robbie's younger brother at age 10. He's played by Shane Sweet.
- Ken Stevenson- Robbie and Josh's dad who is aware of Allen Strange as an alien.
Book series
A nine-book series, based on the episodes, was also printed, written by several authors, including John Vornholt and Mel Odom.
- The Arrival
- Invasion
- Split Image
- Legacy
- Depth Charge
- Alien Vacation
- Election Connection
- Joyride
- Changeling Diapers
Episodes
- Main article: List of The Journey of Allen Strange episodes
| The Journey of Allen Strange episodes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Ep # | First Airdate | Last Airdate |
| Season 1 | 13 | November 6, 1999 | February 19, 2000 |
| Season 2 | 26 | July 15, 2000 | April 7, 2001 |
| Season 3 | 16 | January 19, 2002 | September 14, 2002 |
Trivia
- The creator named Allen's character which is close to Alien, what Allen is.
- The show produced 11 songs but never released them.
External links
- Template:Tv.com
| SNICK | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1992-1994 | Clarissa Explains It All • Roundhouse • The Ren & Stimpy Show • Are You Afraid of the Dark? | |
| 1994-1996 | The Secret World of Alex Mack • All That • Space Cases • Kenan and Kel• The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo • KaBlam! | |
| 1997-1999 | Rugrats • The Journey of Allen Strange • Animorphs • Cousin Skeeter | |
| 1999-2002 | SpongeBob SquarePants • The Amanda Show • 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd • The Nick Cannon Show • Taina | |