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trope added: Lampshade Hanging
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* LampshadeHanging: When Hunter and Alex are discussing what a kid would do if he/she was doused with the chemical, Hunter says "you'd be stupid not to" tell your parents. It was never clear why Alex never told her parents about her powers.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: "I wish I'd never been born at all." [[spoiler: The AllJustADream episode shows that, had Alex not been there to be doused by GC-161, well... Her mother Barbara would've been doused, then she'd be capured and used in experiments. With the side-effect of her father George not being able to ascend at work ''and'' her sister Annie being unable to develop her TewenGenius potential..]]
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: "I wish I'd never been born at all." [[spoiler: The AllJustADream episode shows that, had Alex not been there to be doused by GC-161, well... Her mother Barbara would've been doused, then she'd be capured and used in experiments. With the side-effect of her father George not being able to ascend at work ''and'' her sister Annie being unable to develop her TewenGenius TweenGenius potential..]]
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: "I wish I'd never been born at all." [[spoiler: Had Alex not been there to be doused by GC-161, ''her mother'' would've been hit instead.]]
to:
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: "I wish I'd never been born at all." [[spoiler: Had The AllJustADream episode shows that, had Alex not been there to be doused by GC-161, ''her mother'' well... Her mother Barbara would've been hit instead.doused, then she'd be capured and used in experiments. With the side-effect of her father George not being able to ascend at work ''and'' her sister Annie being unable to develop her TewenGenius potential..]]
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* AllJustADream: The "BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor" wish turned out to be this at the end of the episode.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: "I wish I'd never been born at all."
** AllJustADream: The above wish turned out to be this at the end of the episode.
** AllJustADream: The above wish turned out to be this at the end of the episode.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: "I wish I'd never been born at all."
** AllJustADream: The above wish turned out" [[spoiler: Had Alex not been there to be this at the end of the episode.doused by GC-161, ''her mother'' would've been hit instead.]]
** AllJustADream: The above wish turned out
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* ToxicWasteCanDoAnything: Alex gains her powers after being splashed with toxic waste.
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* GovernmentConspiracy
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* GovernmentConspiracyGovernmentConspiracy: Paradise Valley seems to revolve around Danielle Atron and the Paradise Valley Chemical Plant.
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** Vince himself, who is easily as much of a villain as Danielle Atron, as it is unknown what happened to him after his last appearance in the episode where Annie left for college.
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** Vince is this, especially to Dave.
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** Vince is this, especially to Dave. [[TheDogBitesBack Fortunately, Dave eventually gets sick of it.]]
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* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: In the third intro, there is a small glimpse of this happening to Alex as, in narration, she explains what the people at the chemical plant want to do with her.
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Moved to Trivia page
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* BillingDisplacement: A young Creator/JessicaAlba appeared in ''three'' episodes... yet still got mentioned on the DVD cover... twice.
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----
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----
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* TookALevelInJerkass: Scott, whom Alex had a crush on from the start of the series, did this by lying to Alex about his opinion on her photography. This would definitely make it clear as to why he would spend more time with [[AlphaBitch Kelly]].
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* AmbiguousEnding: We never find out whether or not [[spoiler:Alex took the antidote to GC-161 and lost her powers]]. Although [[WordOfGod Larisa Oleynik]] maintains that [[spoiler:she didn't]].
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Removed pedophilia-oriented note.
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* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Alex ends up naked after morphing the first time [[note]] Nothing to get excited about. She transforms into her quicksilver form, only her clothes are left behind in a pile. She almost immediately changes back behind a stack of boxes and is shown from the shoulders up for the remainder of the scene. [[/note]]. Also, in a later episode, her aunt talks of how she made a jackass out of herself at christmas.
to:
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Alex ends up naked after morphing the first time [[note]] Nothing to get excited about. She transforms into her quicksilver form, only her clothes are left behind in a pile. She almost immediately changes back behind a stack time, though of boxes and course nothing graphic is shown from the shoulders up for the remainder of the scene. [[/note]].shown. Also, in a later episode, her aunt talks of how she made a jackass out of herself at christmas.
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* SecretSecretKeeper: [[spoiler:And, unbeknownst to any of them until the finale, Dave, the driver responsible for the accident.]]
to:
* SecretSecretKeeper: [[spoiler:And, unbeknownst to any of them until the finale, Dave, the driver responsible for the accident. Dave himself found out without much effort.]]
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* KarmaHoudini: In "The Feud" Ray almost sells Alex out to the plant, just because he's miffed she didn't invite him to a concert. He's never properly called out on this.
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* KarmaHoudini: In "The Feud" Ray almost sells Alex out to the plant, just because he's miffed she didn't invite him to a concert. He's never properly called out on this. YMMV on this though, since Ray reveals that he had no intention of selling her out, and pulled a BatmanGambit on Vince instead.
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* ComboPlatterPowers: Lightning generation and TK make a little bit of sense, but how either one fits with turning into what looks like quicksilver is beyond me.
to:
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome:
** Libby Flanders ("The Test") who claims that she'll get back at Alex but is never heard from again save for a dream-sequence cameo in the series finale.
** Alex's early rival Jessica, who vanishes for good after three Season 1 episodes. Her character is officially dropped in the beginning of Season 2 when it's mentioned that Jessica moved out of town.
** Alex's friend Nicole, who is not seen at all in Season 4.
* ClipShow: "The Storm", Season 3
* ComboPlatterPowers: Lightning generation and TK make a little bit of sense, but how either one fits with turning into what looks like quicksilver isbeyond me.puzzling to say the least.
** Libby Flanders ("The Test") who claims that she'll get back at Alex but is never heard from again save for a dream-sequence cameo in the series finale.
** Alex's early rival Jessica, who vanishes for good after three Season 1 episodes. Her character is officially dropped in the beginning of Season 2 when it's mentioned that Jessica moved out of town.
** Alex's friend Nicole, who is not seen at all in Season 4.
* ClipShow: "The Storm", Season 3
* ComboPlatterPowers: Lightning generation and TK make a little bit of sense, but how either one fits with turning into what looks like quicksilver is
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* TheDragon: Vince. Even after being fired he constantly tries to convince Danielle to re-hire him.
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* TheDragon: Vince. Even after being fired he constantly tries to capture Alex as a way to convince Danielle to re-hire him.
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* IJustWantToBeNormal: During the first season (and some parts of the second season), she frequently complains about her powers and wishes she never had them. Despite the trouble they get her into and the people hunting her down because of them, she grows to enjoy her powers. [[spoiler:She even keeps them at the end of the series when given a chance to be normal]].
to:
* IJustWantToBeNormal: During the first season (and some parts of the second season), she frequently complains about her powers and wishes she never had them. Despite the trouble they get her into and the people hunting her down because of them, she grows to enjoy her powers. [[spoiler:She even keeps them at the end of the series when given a chance to be normal]].normal, at least according to the lead actress]].
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* MindOverMatter: Telekinesis is probably Alexs' most used power.
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* MindOverMatter: Telekinesis is probably Alexs' Alex's most used power.
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* PhlebotinumBreakdown: Alex's powers go haywire when she gets the common cold.
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* PhlebotinumBreakdown: Alex's powers go haywire Frequently, usually when she Alex gets exposed to foreign chemicals. Even getting the common cold.cold messes with her powers.
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* SearchingTheStalls: Alex Mack once avoided detection this way, when her stall was opened for examination, she had liquefied and hid in the toilet bowl.
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* SearchingTheStalls: Alex Mack once avoided detection this way, way: when her stall was opened for examination, she had liquefied and hid in the toilet bowl.
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* SuperStrength: Later in the series, she gains the ability to become super-strong [[PowerUpFood after eating curry.]]
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* SuperStrength: Later in the series, she gains the ability to become super-strong A temporary effect [[PowerUpFood after eating curry.]]curry]].
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'''''The Secret World of Alex Mack''''' was a live-action show which aired on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and told the story of Alex Mack (Larisa Oleynik), a young girl who lives with her parents and older sister in a planned community owned by a chemical plant, where her parents work. She has a bad first day at her new school, and to make matters worse, a truck from the plant crashes and drenches her in a top-secret chemical called GC-161.
The chemical gives her an... [[ComboPlatterPowers interesting variety of superhuman powers]]: [[PsychicPowers telekinesis]], the ability to [[ShockAndAwe zap electricity]] from her fingers, the ability to [[strike:turn into a puddle of cheesy CGI "water"]] melt a la ''{{Franchise/Terminator}} 2'', and glow when she senses danger or gets upset. Her best friend Ray Alvarado (Darris Love) and her older sister Annie (Meredith Bishop) learn soon after and try to keep it a secret from anyone else. Unfortunately, Danielle Atron (Louan Gideon)--the head of the chemical plant that created GC-161--wants to see what effect the chemical has on human beings and has decided that finding the kid who was drenched and experimenting on him/her is a good way to go about this. She enlists the help of Vince Carter (John Marzilli), the head of plant security, to track her down. Vince is partnered up with Dave Watt (John Nielsen), the driver responsible for the accident, who may or may not (more likely the latter) be able to recognize the child.
The chemical gives her an... [[ComboPlatterPowers interesting variety of superhuman powers]]: [[PsychicPowers telekinesis]], the ability to [[ShockAndAwe zap electricity]] from her fingers, the ability to [[strike:turn into a puddle of cheesy CGI "water"]] melt a la ''{{Franchise/Terminator}} 2'', and glow when she senses danger or gets upset. Her best friend Ray Alvarado (Darris Love) and her older sister Annie (Meredith Bishop) learn soon after and try to keep it a secret from anyone else. Unfortunately, Danielle Atron (Louan Gideon)--the head of the chemical plant that created GC-161--wants to see what effect the chemical has on human beings and has decided that finding the kid who was drenched and experimenting on him/her is a good way to go about this. She enlists the help of Vince Carter (John Marzilli), the head of plant security, to track her down. Vince is partnered up with Dave Watt (John Nielsen), the driver responsible for the accident, who may or may not (more likely the latter) be able to recognize the child.
to:
The chemical gives her an... [[ComboPlatterPowers interesting variety of superhuman powers]]: [[PsychicPowers telekinesis]], the ability to [[ShockAndAwe zap electricity]] from her fingers, the ability to
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I hope I made no mistakes.
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* ProperlyParanoid: [[spoiler:Louie]] doesn't take it seriously when Ray told [[spoiler:him not to discuss Alex's secret at a cell phone. That's how Danielle's spies learn the secret.]]
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* KarmaHoudini: In "The Feud" Ray almost sells Alex out to the plant, just because he's miffed she didn't invite him to a concert. He's never properly called out on this.
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* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Alex ends up naked after morphing the first time. Also, in a later episode, her aunt talks of how she made a jackass out of herself at christmas.
to:
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Alex ends up naked after morphing the first time.time [[note]] Nothing to get excited about. She transforms into her quicksilver form, only her clothes are left behind in a pile. She almost immediately changes back behind a stack of boxes and is shown from the shoulders up for the remainder of the scene. [[/note]]. Also, in a later episode, her aunt talks of how she made a jackass out of herself at christmas.
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* PlatonicLifePartners: Alex and Ray, a rare example of a platonic friendship portrayed realistically. In one fourth-season episode, Ray gains a girlfriend, and Alex grows jealous because Ray spends more time with his girlfriend than with her now. Both Alex's parents call her out on this, saying that Alex is acting like a jilted ex and has never been romantically interested in Ray, so she should be happy for him instead. Alex and Ray's girlfriend eventually come to terms because the girlfriend admits that Ray cares about Alex more than anyone else. It definitely helped that she helped Alex out when Jo (mentioned above in [[PlatonicLifePartners]] tried to bully her again.
to:
* PlatonicLifePartners: Alex and Ray, a rare example of a platonic friendship portrayed realistically. In one fourth-season episode, Ray gains a girlfriend, and Alex grows jealous because Ray spends more time with his girlfriend than with her now. Both Alex's parents call her out on this, saying that Alex is acting like a jilted ex and has never been romantically interested in Ray, so she should be happy for him instead. Alex and Ray's girlfriend eventually come to terms because the girlfriend admits that Ray cares about Alex more than anyone else. It definitely helped that she helped Alex out when Jo (mentioned above in [[PlatonicLifePartners]] above) tried to bully her again.
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* PlatonicLifePartners: Alex and Ray, a rare example of a platonic friendship portrayed realistically. In one fourth-season episode, Ray gains a girlfriend, and Alex grows jealous because Ray spends more time with his girlfriend than with her now. Both Alex's parents call her out on this, saying that Alex is acting like a jilted ex and has never been romantically interested in Ray, so she should be happy for him instead. Alex and Ray's girlfriend eventually come to terms because the girlfriend admits that Ray cares about Alex more than anyone else.
to:
* PlatonicLifePartners: Alex and Ray, a rare example of a platonic friendship portrayed realistically. In one fourth-season episode, Ray gains a girlfriend, and Alex grows jealous because Ray spends more time with his girlfriend than with her now. Both Alex's parents call her out on this, saying that Alex is acting like a jilted ex and has never been romantically interested in Ray, so she should be happy for him instead. Alex and Ray's girlfriend eventually come to terms because the girlfriend admits that Ray cares about Alex more than anyone else. It definitely helped that she helped Alex out when Jo (mentioned above in [[PlatonicLifePartners]] tried to bully her again.
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* LoveTriangle: Alex with her initial crush Scott and his girlfriend [[AlphaBitch Kelly]].
to:
* LoveTriangle: Alex with her initial crush Scott and his girlfriend [[AlphaBitch Kelly]]. Later on in the series, Scott's true colors come out when he gets caught in a lie about some volunteer photography work Alex had done by claiming her teacher hated them when in actuality the teacher loved them.
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* AlphaBitch: Kelly. There was also a character named Libby who was like this and was intended to develop into a bigger character but pulled a BrotherChuck and her spot was taken by Kelly.
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* AlphaBitch: Kelly. There was also a character named Libby who was like this and was intended to develop into a bigger character but pulled a BrotherChuck and her spot was taken by Kelly. Libby did appear in a dream sequence in the finale along with Kelly where everyone knew about her powers.
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** AllJustADream: The above wish turned out to be this at the end of the episode.
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* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Alex to Annie, although their relationship [[CharacterDevelopment gradually improves over the series]].
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* BlackBestFriend: Ray
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* BlackBestFriend: RayRay.
* BrainyBrunette: Annie.
* CoolBigSis: Annie to Alex.
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* FifteenMinutesOfFame: Alex and one of her friends runs across a kid trapped under a giant pipe. Her friend tries to lift it and Alex uses her powers to make it seem like he does in order to save the kid. The kid turns out to be the governor's son, promptly putting the spotlight on her friend.
to:
* ExtremeDoormat: Robyn Russo, a friend of Alex who has extremely low self-esteem.
* FifteenMinutesOfFame: Alex andone of her friends runs Louis across a kid trapped under a giant pipe. Her friend Louis tries to lift it and Alex uses her powers to make it seem like he does in order to save the kid. The kid turns out to be the governor's son, promptly putting the spotlight on her friend.Louis.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Alex and Annie respectively.
* FifteenMinutesOfFame: Alex and
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Alex and Annie respectively.
* JerkAss: Louis in his initial appearance. He gets better over the series and evolves into a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
* LoveTriangle: Alex with her initial crush Scott and his girlfriend [[AlphaBitch Kelly]].
** Also a non-romantic platonic example occurs when Louis first moves to town and becomes such good friends with Ray that Alex begins to fear that her own friendship with Ray was in jeopardy.
** Also a non-romantic platonic example occurs when Louis first moves to town and becomes such good friends with Ray that Alex begins to fear that her own friendship with Ray was in jeopardy.
* NewTransferStudent: Louis.
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* SeriousBusiness: The student council election Ray takes part in. Big Time!
* In the first episode, after being exposed to the GC-161, Alex leaves her clothes behind the very first time she shapeshifts into a puddle.
* In the first episode, after being exposed to the GC-161, Alex leaves her clothes behind the very first time she shapeshifts into a puddle.
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* SeriousBusiness: The student council election Ray takes part in. Big Time!
* In the first episode, after being exposed to the GC-161, Alex leaves her clothes behind the very first time she shapeshifts intoTime! His opponent even runs a puddle.series of [[AttackOfThePoliticalAd unflattering negative ads]] against him.
* In the first episode, after being exposed to the GC-161, Alex leaves her clothes behind the very first time she shapeshifts into
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* SmallNameBigEgo: Louis Driscoll
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* SmallNameBigEgo: Louis DriscollLouis.
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* AdultsAreUseless: {{Lampshaded}} in the finale when her parents wonder why she never told them about her powers in the first place.
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* AdultsAreUseless: {{Lampshaded}} {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the finale when her parents wonder why she never told them about her powers in the first place.
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* TheBlob: Alex's most infamous power was turning into goo. Went from a jellyfish-looking thing to actual silvery goo.
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* BlobMonster: Alex's most infamous power was turning into goo. Went from a jellyfish-looking thing to actual silvery goo.
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natter
Deleted line(s) 47 (click to see context) :
** Back to the drawing board?!? How about going with what they have? Who wouldn't want to buy that stuff knowing what it does?
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** Back to the drawing board?!? How about going with what they have? Who wouldn't want to buy that stuff knowing what it does?
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[[quoteright:242:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alexmack_8822.jpg]]
'''''The Secret World of Alex Mack''''' was a live-action show which aired on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and told the story of Alex Mack (Larisa Oleynik), a young girl who lives with her parents and older sister in a planned community owned by a chemical plant, where her parents work. She has a bad first day at her new school, and to make matters worse, a truck from the plant crashes and drenches her in a top-secret chemical called GC-161.
The chemical gives her an... [[ComboPlatterPowers interesting variety of superhuman powers]]: [[PsychicPowers telekinesis]], the ability to [[ShockAndAwe zap electricity]] from her fingers, the ability to [[strike:turn into a puddle of cheesy CGI "water"]] melt a la ''{{Franchise/Terminator}} 2'', and glow when she senses danger or gets upset. Her best friend Ray Alvarado (Darris Love) and her older sister Annie (Meredith Bishop) learn soon after and try to keep it a secret from anyone else. Unfortunately, Danielle Atron (Louan Gideon)--the head of the chemical plant that created GC-161--wants to see what effect the chemical has on human beings and has decided that finding the kid who was drenched and experimenting on him/her is a good way to go about this. She enlists the help of Vince Carter (John Marzilli), the head of plant security, to track her down. Vince is partnered up with Dave Watt (John Nielsen), the driver responsible for the accident, who may or may not (more likely the latter) be able to recognize the child.
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* AccidentalArt: Robyn's oral narrative "The Dogs Ate My Homework" gets a good grade, even though that ''really was'' the story of what happened.
* AccidentalAthlete: Alex is sprinting down the hallway of her school attempting to avoid being late to class and getting in trouble. She is still late for class, but instead of getting chastised she is recruited for the track team.
* AdultsAreUseless: {{Lampshaded}} in the finale when her parents wonder why she never told them about her powers in the first place.
* AnAesop
* AlphaBitch: Kelly. There was also a character named Libby who was like this and was intended to develop into a bigger character but pulled a BrotherChuck and her spot was taken by Kelly.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: "I wish I'd never been born at all."
* TheBlob: Alex's most infamous power was turning into goo. Went from a jellyfish-looking thing to actual silvery goo.
* BigBad: Danielle Atron
* BillingDisplacement: A young Creator/JessicaAlba appeared in ''three'' episodes... yet still got mentioned on the DVD cover... twice.
* BlackBestFriend: Ray
* CharacterDevelopment: Alex goes through a surprising amount for a series of this nature. Throughout the series, she gradually becomes more confident, less whiny, more respectful of Annie and begins to accept and even embrace her powers rather than complain about them.
* ComboPlatterPowers: Lightning generation and TK make a little bit of sense, but how either one fits with turning into what looks like quicksilver is beyond me.
* CompanyTown: Nearly everyone in the town works for the chemical company that sprayed Alex.
* CoolLoser: Alex and her group of friends aren't considered cool or popular, but Alex is on the school newspaper and generally considered to be a fun, nice person, and Ray is on the basketball team.
* CorrespondenceCourse: One plot has Dave taking a course in detective work and eventually discovering Alex's secret identity. This also led to him using ObfuscatingStupidity for the rest of the show to stop anyone from realizing he knew.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Danielle Atron
* CursedWithAwesome: Essentially, the whole premise of the show.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: When Danielle Atron realized that GC-161 has too many side effects to be used as a weight loss product she decided to sell it as such anyway and leave the country with the money before the FDA would realize what happened. It never occurred to her that she would be able to make a lot more money (and not be an outlaw) if she would sell it to the army as a SuperSerum.
* TheDragon: Vince. Even after being fired he constantly tries to convince Danielle to re-hire him.
* ElementalPowers: Electricity and Water.
* EvilTwin: In one episode, Alex got a duplicate, who among other things, nearly killed her by trapping her in the basement of a building scheduled for demolition and later by trapping her puddle form in some clogged plumbing and waiting for her to either suffocate or reform while still inside the pipes.
* ExactEavesdropping: That's how Dave learned Danielle's true colors.
* FifteenMinutesOfFame: Alex and one of her friends runs across a kid trapped under a giant pipe. Her friend tries to lift it and Alex uses her powers to make it seem like he does in order to save the kid. The kid turns out to be the governor's son, promptly putting the spotlight on her friend.
* FreakyFridayFlip: Alex switches bodies with her mom, but it was AllJustADream.
* FreeTheFrogs
* FunWithFlushing: Alex travels through plumbing pipes in puddle form.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Annie and Alex, though the rivalry itself takes a back seat to Annie's fascination with Alex's powers and Alex's reliance on Annie's smarts when she gets in trouble.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Alex ends up naked after morphing the first time. Also, in a later episode, her aunt talks of how she made a jackass out of herself at christmas.
* GovernmentConspiracy
* HauntedHouse: In the Halloween episode.
* HeelFaceTurn: Dave, when he finds out Danielle Atron wants to kill the child he contaminated with the GC-161.
* HeroAntagonist: Dave qualifies without knowing it. While he actively helps Danielle and Vince, he honestly thought he'd be helping "the accident kid."
* IJustWantToBeNormal: During the first season (and some parts of the second season), she frequently complains about her powers and wishes she never had them. Despite the trouble they get her into and the people hunting her down because of them, she grows to enjoy her powers. [[spoiler:She even keeps them at the end of the series when given a chance to be normal]].
* ImagineSpot: Alex has a bunch, especially in the early seasons.
* InspectorJavert: Vince is ''obsessed'' with finding the kid from the GC-161 accident, even after he's fired as head of security.
* LabPet: The bunnies are named and are never killed or dissected, not surprising as it is a children's show.
* LethalJokeItem: According to George Mack, GC-161 was intended for a mundane usage. [[note]]A dietary aid for weight loss.[[/note]] Guess they need to go back to the drawing board with that one.
* LoveMakesYouDumb: Annie, who's regularly a supergenius, falls apart around her new cute lab partner.
* LuminescentBlush: Alex, [[PowerGlows literally]], as a side effect of the chemical.
* MagicalGirl
* {{Masquerade}}
* MindOverMatter: Telekinesis is probably Alexs' most used power.
* NaiveEverygirl
* NeverBareheaded: You almost never see Alex without some sort of hat on her head. {{Lampshaded}} as sometimes others even mention her frequent hat usage. It was also made fun of in a promo for the show, which featured a song called "Alex Mack wears a hat."
* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Alex, she even says "I was just another average kid until an accident changed my life" in the opening credits. It's also worth noting that she wore a similar outfit to the one mentioned in the description of this trope on the day she was soaked with the chemicals that gave her superpowers.
* ParentalObliviousness: Rather selective. The Mack parents often notice the problem of the episode that Alex and/or Annie is having, but didn't notice Alex's powers or Annie studying her for four years.
* ParentsAsPeople
* PhlebotinumBreakdown: Alex's powers go haywire when she gets the common cold.
* PhlebotinumRebel
* PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize: Alex Mack and Danielle Atron. Also, in a couple fourth season episodes, Alex and school bully Jo. Jo didn't have any idea she was BullyingADragon, not that Alex used her powers when dealing with Jo.
* PlatonicLifePartners: Alex and Ray, a rare example of a platonic friendship portrayed realistically. In one fourth-season episode, Ray gains a girlfriend, and Alex grows jealous because Ray spends more time with his girlfriend than with her now. Both Alex's parents call her out on this, saying that Alex is acting like a jilted ex and has never been romantically interested in Ray, so she should be happy for him instead. Alex and Ray's girlfriend eventually come to terms because the girlfriend admits that Ray cares about Alex more than anyone else.
* PowerUpFood: Whenever Alex eats curry, she'd gain SuperStrength.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: When Alex turns into an amorphous puddle, she also can turn things she touches (usually her clothes) amorphous as well, though this takes at least some effort--the first time she tries it, she ends up naked. Also, she can still see while amorphous, despite no longer having any visible eyes, and can speak, despite lack of a mouth.
* RomanticFalseLead: Three of 'em, in fact, though two were only one-shot characters.
* SearchingTheStalls: Alex Mack once avoided detection this way, when her stall was opened for examination, she had liquefied and hid in the toilet bowl.
* SecretKeeper: Annie and Ray, and later Alex's boyfriend [[spoiler:Hunter Reeves]].
* SecretSecretKeeper: [[spoiler:And, unbeknownst to any of them until the finale, Dave, the driver responsible for the accident.]]
* SeriousBusiness: The student council election Ray takes part in. Big Time!
* In the first episode, after being exposed to the GC-161, Alex leaves her clothes behind the very first time she shapeshifts into a puddle.
* {{Shorttank}}: Alex.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Louis Driscoll
* {{Snapback}}: Due to episodes not being aired in production order, there is a moment that seems this way. In one episode, Ray provides the plant with false evidence as to the identity of the accident victim (in order to get the $250 reward), and accidentally convinces Vince that he himself is the kid. He nearly gets vivisected, but Alex helps him escape. In the next episode, in which all of the students in Alex's school get one-day jobs at the plant as part of a project, Ray is working with Atron herself and Vince doesn't seem to recognize him. Later episodes actually have Ray covering his face as he walks past Vince.
* SuperSerum: GC-161
* SuperStrength: Later in the series, she gains the ability to become super-strong [[PowerUpFood after eating curry.]]
* TeenGenius: Annie, though with a lot less angst most of the time.
* TheyWouldCutYouUp
* [[ThoseTwoGuys Those Two Girls]]: Alex's other friends, [[GranolaGirl Nicole]] and [[EmoTeen Robyn]].
* ThreeAmigos
* TomboyishName: She prefers it to her [[EmbarrassingFirstName real first name]], "Alexandra."
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Danielle Atron, though considered a BitchInSheepsClothing by anyone who has met her, works to maintain a good public image.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: The "shape" being an amorphous puddle, but whatever.
* WhatIf: Ray has an AllJustADream episode where [[LightningCanDoAnything a bolt of lightning]] causes Alex's powers to jump to him and Alex has two WhatIf episodes: one where she switches bodies with her mother (making her mom have Alex's powers) and one where [[WonderfulLife Alex sees what the world would be like if she were never born]], which also includes her mom being the victim of the chemical accident that led to Alex's powers.
* WonderfulLife: See BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: At first, Danielle was interested in keeping the GC-161 child alive as a test subject. However, once the development of the GC-161 reached a level where having the child would be of no use to further development, she wanted the child destroyed.
* YouKilledMyFather: Hunter Reeves's motivation for taking down Danielle Atron.
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'''''The Secret World of Alex Mack''''' was a live-action show which aired on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and told the story of Alex Mack (Larisa Oleynik), a young girl who lives with her parents and older sister in a planned community owned by a chemical plant, where her parents work. She has a bad first day at her new school, and to make matters worse, a truck from the plant crashes and drenches her in a top-secret chemical called GC-161.
The chemical gives her an... [[ComboPlatterPowers interesting variety of superhuman powers]]: [[PsychicPowers telekinesis]], the ability to [[ShockAndAwe zap electricity]] from her fingers, the ability to [[strike:turn into a puddle of cheesy CGI "water"]] melt a la ''{{Franchise/Terminator}} 2'', and glow when she senses danger or gets upset. Her best friend Ray Alvarado (Darris Love) and her older sister Annie (Meredith Bishop) learn soon after and try to keep it a secret from anyone else. Unfortunately, Danielle Atron (Louan Gideon)--the head of the chemical plant that created GC-161--wants to see what effect the chemical has on human beings and has decided that finding the kid who was drenched and experimenting on him/her is a good way to go about this. She enlists the help of Vince Carter (John Marzilli), the head of plant security, to track her down. Vince is partnered up with Dave Watt (John Nielsen), the driver responsible for the accident, who may or may not (more likely the latter) be able to recognize the child.
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!!This show provides examples of:
* AccidentalArt: Robyn's oral narrative "The Dogs Ate My Homework" gets a good grade, even though that ''really was'' the story of what happened.
* AccidentalAthlete: Alex is sprinting down the hallway of her school attempting to avoid being late to class and getting in trouble. She is still late for class, but instead of getting chastised she is recruited for the track team.
* AdultsAreUseless: {{Lampshaded}} in the finale when her parents wonder why she never told them about her powers in the first place.
* AnAesop
* AlphaBitch: Kelly. There was also a character named Libby who was like this and was intended to develop into a bigger character but pulled a BrotherChuck and her spot was taken by Kelly.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: "I wish I'd never been born at all."
* TheBlob: Alex's most infamous power was turning into goo. Went from a jellyfish-looking thing to actual silvery goo.
* BigBad: Danielle Atron
* BillingDisplacement: A young Creator/JessicaAlba appeared in ''three'' episodes... yet still got mentioned on the DVD cover... twice.
* BlackBestFriend: Ray
* CharacterDevelopment: Alex goes through a surprising amount for a series of this nature. Throughout the series, she gradually becomes more confident, less whiny, more respectful of Annie and begins to accept and even embrace her powers rather than complain about them.
* ComboPlatterPowers: Lightning generation and TK make a little bit of sense, but how either one fits with turning into what looks like quicksilver is beyond me.
* CompanyTown: Nearly everyone in the town works for the chemical company that sprayed Alex.
* CoolLoser: Alex and her group of friends aren't considered cool or popular, but Alex is on the school newspaper and generally considered to be a fun, nice person, and Ray is on the basketball team.
* CorrespondenceCourse: One plot has Dave taking a course in detective work and eventually discovering Alex's secret identity. This also led to him using ObfuscatingStupidity for the rest of the show to stop anyone from realizing he knew.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Danielle Atron
* CursedWithAwesome: Essentially, the whole premise of the show.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: When Danielle Atron realized that GC-161 has too many side effects to be used as a weight loss product she decided to sell it as such anyway and leave the country with the money before the FDA would realize what happened. It never occurred to her that she would be able to make a lot more money (and not be an outlaw) if she would sell it to the army as a SuperSerum.
* TheDragon: Vince. Even after being fired he constantly tries to convince Danielle to re-hire him.
* ElementalPowers: Electricity and Water.
* EvilTwin: In one episode, Alex got a duplicate, who among other things, nearly killed her by trapping her in the basement of a building scheduled for demolition and later by trapping her puddle form in some clogged plumbing and waiting for her to either suffocate or reform while still inside the pipes.
* ExactEavesdropping: That's how Dave learned Danielle's true colors.
* FifteenMinutesOfFame: Alex and one of her friends runs across a kid trapped under a giant pipe. Her friend tries to lift it and Alex uses her powers to make it seem like he does in order to save the kid. The kid turns out to be the governor's son, promptly putting the spotlight on her friend.
* FreakyFridayFlip: Alex switches bodies with her mom, but it was AllJustADream.
* FreeTheFrogs
* FunWithFlushing: Alex travels through plumbing pipes in puddle form.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Annie and Alex, though the rivalry itself takes a back seat to Annie's fascination with Alex's powers and Alex's reliance on Annie's smarts when she gets in trouble.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Alex ends up naked after morphing the first time. Also, in a later episode, her aunt talks of how she made a jackass out of herself at christmas.
* GovernmentConspiracy
* HauntedHouse: In the Halloween episode.
* HeelFaceTurn: Dave, when he finds out Danielle Atron wants to kill the child he contaminated with the GC-161.
* HeroAntagonist: Dave qualifies without knowing it. While he actively helps Danielle and Vince, he honestly thought he'd be helping "the accident kid."
* IJustWantToBeNormal: During the first season (and some parts of the second season), she frequently complains about her powers and wishes she never had them. Despite the trouble they get her into and the people hunting her down because of them, she grows to enjoy her powers. [[spoiler:She even keeps them at the end of the series when given a chance to be normal]].
* ImagineSpot: Alex has a bunch, especially in the early seasons.
* InspectorJavert: Vince is ''obsessed'' with finding the kid from the GC-161 accident, even after he's fired as head of security.
* LabPet: The bunnies are named and are never killed or dissected, not surprising as it is a children's show.
* LethalJokeItem: According to George Mack, GC-161 was intended for a mundane usage. [[note]]A dietary aid for weight loss.[[/note]] Guess they need to go back to the drawing board with that one.
* LoveMakesYouDumb: Annie, who's regularly a supergenius, falls apart around her new cute lab partner.
* LuminescentBlush: Alex, [[PowerGlows literally]], as a side effect of the chemical.
* MagicalGirl
* {{Masquerade}}
* MindOverMatter: Telekinesis is probably Alexs' most used power.
* NaiveEverygirl
* NeverBareheaded: You almost never see Alex without some sort of hat on her head. {{Lampshaded}} as sometimes others even mention her frequent hat usage. It was also made fun of in a promo for the show, which featured a song called "Alex Mack wears a hat."
* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Alex, she even says "I was just another average kid until an accident changed my life" in the opening credits. It's also worth noting that she wore a similar outfit to the one mentioned in the description of this trope on the day she was soaked with the chemicals that gave her superpowers.
* ParentalObliviousness: Rather selective. The Mack parents often notice the problem of the episode that Alex and/or Annie is having, but didn't notice Alex's powers or Annie studying her for four years.
* ParentsAsPeople
* PhlebotinumBreakdown: Alex's powers go haywire when she gets the common cold.
* PhlebotinumRebel
* PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize: Alex Mack and Danielle Atron. Also, in a couple fourth season episodes, Alex and school bully Jo. Jo didn't have any idea she was BullyingADragon, not that Alex used her powers when dealing with Jo.
* PlatonicLifePartners: Alex and Ray, a rare example of a platonic friendship portrayed realistically. In one fourth-season episode, Ray gains a girlfriend, and Alex grows jealous because Ray spends more time with his girlfriend than with her now. Both Alex's parents call her out on this, saying that Alex is acting like a jilted ex and has never been romantically interested in Ray, so she should be happy for him instead. Alex and Ray's girlfriend eventually come to terms because the girlfriend admits that Ray cares about Alex more than anyone else.
* PowerUpFood: Whenever Alex eats curry, she'd gain SuperStrength.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: When Alex turns into an amorphous puddle, she also can turn things she touches (usually her clothes) amorphous as well, though this takes at least some effort--the first time she tries it, she ends up naked. Also, she can still see while amorphous, despite no longer having any visible eyes, and can speak, despite lack of a mouth.
* RomanticFalseLead: Three of 'em, in fact, though two were only one-shot characters.
* SearchingTheStalls: Alex Mack once avoided detection this way, when her stall was opened for examination, she had liquefied and hid in the toilet bowl.
* SecretKeeper: Annie and Ray, and later Alex's boyfriend [[spoiler:Hunter Reeves]].
* SecretSecretKeeper: [[spoiler:And, unbeknownst to any of them until the finale, Dave, the driver responsible for the accident.]]
* SeriousBusiness: The student council election Ray takes part in. Big Time!
* In the first episode, after being exposed to the GC-161, Alex leaves her clothes behind the very first time she shapeshifts into a puddle.
* {{Shorttank}}: Alex.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Louis Driscoll
* {{Snapback}}: Due to episodes not being aired in production order, there is a moment that seems this way. In one episode, Ray provides the plant with false evidence as to the identity of the accident victim (in order to get the $250 reward), and accidentally convinces Vince that he himself is the kid. He nearly gets vivisected, but Alex helps him escape. In the next episode, in which all of the students in Alex's school get one-day jobs at the plant as part of a project, Ray is working with Atron herself and Vince doesn't seem to recognize him. Later episodes actually have Ray covering his face as he walks past Vince.
* SuperSerum: GC-161
* SuperStrength: Later in the series, she gains the ability to become super-strong [[PowerUpFood after eating curry.]]
* TeenGenius: Annie, though with a lot less angst most of the time.
* TheyWouldCutYouUp
* [[ThoseTwoGuys Those Two Girls]]: Alex's other friends, [[GranolaGirl Nicole]] and [[EmoTeen Robyn]].
* ThreeAmigos
* TomboyishName: She prefers it to her [[EmbarrassingFirstName real first name]], "Alexandra."
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Danielle Atron, though considered a BitchInSheepsClothing by anyone who has met her, works to maintain a good public image.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: The "shape" being an amorphous puddle, but whatever.
* WhatIf: Ray has an AllJustADream episode where [[LightningCanDoAnything a bolt of lightning]] causes Alex's powers to jump to him and Alex has two WhatIf episodes: one where she switches bodies with her mother (making her mom have Alex's powers) and one where [[WonderfulLife Alex sees what the world would be like if she were never born]], which also includes her mom being the victim of the chemical accident that led to Alex's powers.
* WonderfulLife: See BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: At first, Danielle was interested in keeping the GC-161 child alive as a test subject. However, once the development of the GC-161 reached a level where having the child would be of no use to further development, she wanted the child destroyed.
* YouKilledMyFather: Hunter Reeves's motivation for taking down Danielle Atron.
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