History Series / TheZackFiles

* FMinusMinus: In "Looking for Zack Greenburg", Zack receives an F- in a psychics pop quiz.

** Zack and his dad are respectively named after the books' author's son and the author himself. The addition of their surname as "Greenburg" throws out any illusion that these names are coincidental.

** Cam has a few. In "The Talented Mr. Talisman", it is revealed that he plays with - or at least used to play with - Barbie and Ken dolls. In "Zack Zero", Zack takes a photo of him in ducky underwear.
** Spencer has a few as well. In "You Don't Say", Zack's inner voice Mel reveals that Spence sleeps with a nightlight, which Spence is actually a visual aid. In "Zack Girl", it is mentioned that Spence slept with a stuffed rabbit until the previous year. In "The Terrible Truth", Spence mentions that he is not allowed to wear spandex.

* ClipShow: In the penultimate episode, "Who Did You Say I Was?", Zack gets amnesia and the others have to remind him of his adventures.

* PainfulTransformation: Zack transforms into a ''tree'' at the end of one episode.

* SchoolPlay: In the series finale "Zackeo and Juliet", Horace Hyde-White stages RomeoAndJuliet with Zack and Gwen as the title characters, Cam as Tybalt and Spence as the Monk.

* {{Tuckerization}}: Zack and his dad are respectively named after the books' author's son and the author himself. The addition of their surname as "Greenburg" throws out any illusion that these names are coincidental.

''The Zack Files'' was a Canadian live-action paranormal show that aired in the early Noughties that was [[AdaptationDisplacement based off of a willfully strange and off-the wall children's book series]]. The show revolved around Zack Greenburg and his friends [[HighSchoolHustler Cameron]], [[SeekerArchetype Spencer]], and [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Gwen]] as they experience various paranormal hijinks thanks to Zack essentially having a literal WeirdnessMagnet-gene. Spencer chronicles these adventures, which he dubs "[[TitleDrop The Zack Files]]" in his hopes of studying and proving the existence of the paranormal.

Coincidentally, this show has [[OnlySoManyCanadianActors pretty much the same cast]] as ''Series/BlackHoleHigh'', and a number of the actors wound up on ''Series/{{Degrassi}}''.

* BookDumb: Cam occasionally has shades of this.

* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure:
** In "Frog Prince", Zack is upset when Cam mocks his poor swimming in front of people. He accidentally turns Cam into a frog and he can't become human again until they repair their friendship.
** In "Looking for Zack Greenburg", Zack gets a physics tutorial downloaded into his brain and becomes a genius. He is entered into the city physics championship and competes against Spence, putting their friendship at risk.

* AloneWithThePsycho

* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Jeb [=McFadden=] in "Blast from the Past".

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* GenderBender: In one episode, Zack turns into a girl after trying some girls' deodorant.
** GenderBenderFriendship: In a slight twist on the usual trope, he spends his time trying to set Gwen up with Cameron, not with himself.

* WeirdnessMagnet: Pretty much the whole premise.
** The books offer this as one of two possibilities. The other is that this stuff happens all the time, and [[WeirdnessCensor Zack's the only one who notices.]]

* TrumanShowPlot: The Season Two episode "The Zack Show", Zack discovers that he is the star of a reality show which is broadcast in a parallel universe. The only problem is that ratings are flagging and, if the show is cancelled, his universe will be destroyed.

* NotWearingPantsDream: In "Exit, Stage Fright", Zack has one which bleeds into the real world, leaving him, Cam and Spence without pants.

* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: In "Frog Prince", Zack is upset when Cam mocks his poor swimming in front of people. He accidentally turns Cam into a frog and he can't become human again until they repair their friendship.

* UnmanlySecret: Cam has a few. In "The Talented Mr. Talisman", it is revealed that he plays with - or at least used to play with - Barbie and Ken dolls. In "Zack Zero", Zack takes a photo of him in ducky underwear.
** Spencer has a few as well. In "You Don't Say", Zack's inner voice Mel reveals that Spence sleeps with a nightlight, which Spence is actually a visual aid. In "Zack Girl", it is mentioned that Spence slept with a stuffed rabbit until the previous year.
** In "The Terrible Truth", Spence mentions that he is not allowed to wear spandex.

* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: In "Quiet Please, I'm Reading Your Mind", Zack becomes telepathic. Cam wants to use it to make his fortune.

* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Jeb McFadden in "Blast from the Past".

* TimeTravelEpisode: In "Blast from the Past", Zack, Cam and Spence turn the clock back five minutes and are sent back in time to 1912. They accidentally bring a student named Jeb McFadden, who turns out to be Gwen's great-grandfather, back with them to the present.

* DawsonCasting: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Like their characters, Robert Clark, Jake Epstein, Michael Seater and Noah Giffin were 13 when the first season began and 14 when the second season began. Katie Boland was actually a year younger than Gwen.

* RealLifeRelative: Zack's future son Mack is played by Daniel Clark, who is the elder brother of Robert Clark who played Zack.

* {{Parody}}: The title video game in "Crypt Seeker" and its protagonist Tara Bond are parodies of ''TombRaider'' and Lara Croft respectively.

Coincidentally, this show has [[OnlySoManyCanadianActors pretty much the same cast]] as ''BlackHoleHigh'', and a number of the actors wound up on ''Series/{{Degrassi}}''.

* LastMinuteProject: Zack is a master of this trope, which usually causes problems of a paranormal variety from him, Cam and Spence.

* ArbitrarySkepticism: Gwen is very dismissive of the paranormal and often tries to convince Spence and Zack to forget about it.

* IveNeverSeenAnythingLikeThisBefore: Spencer's CatchPhrase.

* ClipShow: The penultimate episode, "Who Did You Say I Was?", Zack gets amnesia and the others have to remind him of his adventures.

* {{Narcissist}}: Cam but he's much nicer than many other examples. Spence even gives him the code name "Narcissus" in "The Eyes of Gwen Killerby", much to Cam's annoyance.

* {{Poltergeist}}: In "Things to Do at Horace Hyde White When You're Dead", the ghost of a student named Gilbert Millerson, whom only Zack can see, starts playing pranks around the school.

* TrumanShowPlot: One season two episode involves Zack's life being broadcast as a reality show on an alien planet.

* AlternateUniverse: Zack sends himself, Cam and Spence to one in "What's Eating Zack Greenburg?" and visits another in "Black and White".

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The AlternateUniverse in "Black and White".

* AdultsAreUseless: Zack's father Dan qualifies. He means well!

* Poltergeist: In "Things to Do at Horace Hyde White When You're Dead", the ghost of a student named Gilbert Millerson, whom only Zack can see, starts playing pranks around the school.

* SternTeacher: Mr. Munk.

* CampingEpisode: Zack, Spence and Cam go camping and are sent to a parallel universe.

* Narcissist: Cam but he's much nicer than many other examples. Spence even gives him the code name "Narcissus" in "The Eyes of Gwen Killerby", much to Cam's annoyance.

* Telepathy: Zack gains the ability to read people's minds in "Quiet Please, I'm Reading Your Mind".