Line #90 Series/OneHundredThingsToDoBeforeHighSchool


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/100_things_to_do_before_high_school.jpg]]
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3	A Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} middle school sitcom about three middle school teens; CJ Martin, Christian "Crispo" Powers, and Fenwick Frazier. They try to think of things to do to make middle school easier because, as CJ's brother told her, high school will be harder and friendships will fall due to all of the pressures.
4	This show [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot began as a TV movie in 2014]], which then was turned into a sitcom with pretty much the same cast, though the principal, who was the main antagonist in the movie, is pretty much absent.
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6	Pretty much the DistaffCounterpart to fellow Nickelodeon sitcom ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'', right down to both having the same creator/director, Scott Fellows.
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8	On November 25, 2016, it was announced the show had been canceled and not renewed for a second season.
9	----
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11	!!This show contains the following tropes:
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13	* AbhorrentAdmirer: Mindy Minus is this to Crispo.
14	* AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil: Averted in "Run for Office Thing!", but the student council president did succeed in convincing the school board to add one minute of time between classes.
15	* AbsurdPhobia: In "Run with the Bears Thing!", Fenwick reveals that Crispo has a phobia about orange juice pulp.
16	* AlliterativeName: Fenwick Frazier, Mindy Minus.
17	* AlphaBitch: Mindy
18	* AsHimself: In "Meet Your Idol Thing!", Crispo's idol snowboarder Louie Vito appeared as did Fenwick's idol, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson appeared.
19	* BedsheetGhost: In "Stay Up All Night Thing!", Ronbie gets tangled up in a sheet during the school sleepover, which becomes a CoincidentalAccidentalDisguise as the middle-schoolers are panicking about the 'ghost janitor'.
20	* BlackAndNerdy: Fenwick is said to be the smartest student in his grade.
21	* BrutalHonesty: In "Always Tell the Truth (But Not Always) Thing!", CJ, Fenwick and Crispo vow to always tell the truth. However, while CJ and Fenwick quickly find themselves trapped in a web of lies, Crispo keeps the vow and winds up becoming brutally honest: becoming a CausticCritic in his cooking class and landing himself in hot water.
22	* CausticCritic: Crispo becomes one in his cooking class in "Always Tell the Truth (but Not Always) Thing!" His teacher initially liked his BrutalHonesty but Crispo went overboard.
23	* CoincidentalAccidentalDisguise: In "Stay Up All Night Thing!", Ronbie gets tangled up in a sheet, turning him into a BedsheetGhost just as the middle schoolers are freaking out about the 'ghost janitor'.
24	* CreepyDoll: CJ's doll freaks out her father. It has one eye missing. He especially dislikes the accompanying knife that the doll can hold.
25	* DeadPetSketch: Fenwick's elderly godmother's beloved cat died and Fenwick didn't have the heart to tell her he was dead so he convinced her that it was pet week at his school, keeping the dead cat in his locker. One idea of his was to [[OfCorpseHesAlive strap it to an RC car]]. That idea was quickly nixed. [[spoiler: At the end, a stray cat that looked just like her cat came in just as Fenwick was about to tell her the truth.]]
26	* DeanBitterman: Principal Hader is the principal of Pootatuck Middle School. In the first episode she serves as the main antagonist, but in the rest of the series she serves as the secondary antagonist/anti-heroine. She is a very strict authority figure and usually doesn't care about others' opinions. Her nickname is 'Darth Hader'.
27	* DisguisedInDrag: In the episode "Change Your Look and See What Happens Thing!", Crispo accepts Mindy's help and dresses as a girl to avoid Mr Roberts and the fire chief when he thinks he is in trouble for burning a tree.
28	* DistractedByTheSexy: Middle school version. In the episode "Be a Fairy Godmother Thing!" Crispo got a 19 on a history test because he was distracted by girls' pony tails.
29	** Inverted in the same episode when CJ's brother uses wigs of the founding fathers with pony tails to get him to learn.
30	* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Creator/IsabelaMoner, the actress who stars as CJ, sings the theme song.
31	* EggSitting: In "Adopt a Flour Baby Thing!", CJ agrees to adopt a flour bag baby for 24 hours to prove she is responsible enough to own a Guinea pig. A spirit of competitiveness causes Crispo, Fenwick and CJ's dad to join the contest. Because he is allergic to wheat, Fenwick has to parent a bag of potato chips.
32	* EmbarrassingCoverUp: In "Pilot", Mindy wants to know where Crispo disappeared to during sixth period (he was actually involved in CJ's ZanyScheme and has come back in different clothes as a result). Crispo replies that he was in the bathroom. When Mindy says that he was gone for ''an hour'', he adds "Yeah. It was so bad I had to change clothes". Mindy gets a disgusted look on her face and stops asking questions.
33	* EpisodeTitleCard: The episode's subject, also in the title, is shown on CJ's phone right before the theme song.
34	* {{Expy}}: The first episode/special had CJ and Ronbie watching "High School High: The Musical", very similar to Disney's "High School, the Musical".
35	** Character wise, the PowerTrio is pretty reminescent of those of ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'': CJ is a DistaffCounterpart of Ned (adventurous, socially awkward) starting a list of things to do in comparison with Ned's advices guide. Fenwick is the geeky TokenBlackFriend of the protagonist like Cookie and Crispo is the good-looking one of the group [[ChickMagnet attracting the attention of the opposite sex]] and playing the role of BigGuy [[DistaffCounterpart is similar to]] Moze.
36	* ExplodingCloset: In "Become a Millionaire and Give It All Away Thing!", C.J. has to clean out the gym store room. Every time she opens the door, she gets buried beneath an avalanche of balls of different sizes.
37	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: While many episodes last for about one school day, "Sit at a Different Lunch Table Thing!" lasts only for one lunch period ()minus the epilogue).
38	* FakinMacGuffin: In "Sit at a Different Lunch Table Thing!", CJ drops her worthless ring down the sink in order to trick Principal Hader into thinking she has dropped Mindy's mother's expensive ring down the drain. (ItMakesSenseInContext.)
39	* ForkliftFu: Entirely accidental, but in "Pilot" CJ demolishes Principal Hader's new office with a lift truck.
40	* FoodFight: Subverted in "Sit at a Different Lunch Table Thing!" when Crispo and the boys accidentally hit the emo girls with food twice. The lunch lady even started to give out food to start a food fight, but Crispo, who was very hungry, took the graham crackers at the girls' table with the marshmallow fluff at their table, and made a S'more with some chocolate sauce. This made everyone happy and averted the food fight.
41	* GirlPosse: The Mindettes are minions to AlphaBitch Mindy Minus. They dress like Mindy and follow her every command.
42	* GoofySuit: The school's bear mascot costume is notoriously hot, stuffy, and hard to see out of, which causes the mascot to keep walking in to walls. At one point, the coach remarks that he's lost three bears this, causing CJ to wonder how you can lose three bears in a week. In "Say Yes to Everything For Day Thing!", CJ becomes the new mascot and has to wear the bear suit.
43	* {{Goth}}: The Black Lipstick Girls are a clique of goth girls who seem to scare the other students (and some staff) just by existing. CJ briefly joins them in "Change Your Look and See What Happens Thing!"
44	* GroupieBrigade: "Meet Your Idol Thing!" culminates in CJ and an increasingly obsessed Mindy trying to make their way through a horde of crazed Anthony Del Rey fans in an effort to meet the pop star. HilarityEnsues.
45	* HalloweenEpisode: "Have the Best Halloween Ever Thing!"
46	* HeroStoleMyBike: In "Get the Most Out of a Sick Day Thing!", Crispo tries to help CJ by going to her house during school, but accidentally stole the a police bike from the school. He then has to figure out how to get it back without being seen.
47	* HeroicSacrifice: In "Adopt a Flour Baby Thing!", Fenwick was surrounded by teachers who wanted his chips (he was using it as a surrogate baby). To keep his baby safe, CJ throws her flour bag baby from a second story window as a distraction.
48	* HippyTeacher: Miss Claymore, the ceramics teacher. She spends a lot of time talking abut auras and healing energy.
49	* HowWeGotHere: "Become a Millionaire and Give It All Away Thing!" starts off with the trio getting out of a limo and the rest of the episode explains how they got to that point.
50	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Every episode name describes a thing to do before high school, and usually ends with "Thing!".
51	* ItTastesLikeFeet: In "Always Tell the Truth (But Not Always) Thing!", Crispo becomes a CausticCritic in his cookery class. He tells one pair their cookies are "Too buttery... As in too much butt!" and compares his teacher's cookies to elephant dung.
52	* MakeoverMontage: In "Be a Fairy Godmother Thing!", CJ gives a makeover to a girl named Scout as part of her attempt to be a fairy godmother
53	* MeaningfulName: Mindy Minus, resident AlphaBitch.
54	** A lot of the staff also fit this trope:
55	*** The hated Principal Hader
56	*** Mr. Bandt, the band teacher
57	*** Mr. Bored, the droning history teacher
58	*** Miss Claymore, Ceramics teacher
59	*** Mrs. Knapp--Spanish teacher who loves to sleep in class.
60	* MeritBadgesForEverything: In "Be a Fairy Godmother Thing!", CJ asks Scout what merit badges she is currently working on. The response: Love Poet, Necklace Wizard, Scone Chef, and Crowbar Master.
61	-->'''CJ:''' I can work with that.
62	* MexicanStandoff: In "Stay Up All Night Thing!" the trio each hold two spray bottles at each other. They ultimately fire at each other to stay awake.
63	* NecktieHeadband: In "Sit at a Different Lunch Table Thing!", Fenwick gets carried away with his impersonation of an 8th grader, and ends up dancing on the 8th grade patio wearing his tie as a headband.
64	* NewspaperThinDisguise: Crispo spends the second half of "Pilot" attempting to disguise his identity by holding a book in front of his face.
65	* NonIndicativeName: With the show only lasting 24 episodes, there's clearly far less things to do before high school than 100.
66	* NoodleIncident: In the PilotMovie, it's shown that the "rescue mission" that first brought CJ, Crispo, and Fenwick together was liberating a doll from a high shelf in a classroom. It's later shown that they succeeded in this, as CJ keeps the doll at her house, but it's never shown how, as Crispo failed to bring the rope that CJ intended to use for their initial attempt.
67	* NumberOfObjectsTitle
68	* ObliviousJanitorCut: In "Have the Best Halloween Ever Thing!", the garbage man is wearing headphones and so fails to hear Principal Hader screaming at him as she falls into the dumpster he is hoisting into his truck.
69	* OfCorpseHesAlive: In "Be a Fairy Godmother Thing!", Fenwick mounts his godmother's dead cat on top of a remote-control car and zooms it around her house in an effort to persuade that he is still alive.
70	* OncePerEpisode: Every episode has CJ announce what she, Crispo and Fenwick are going to do and she holds up her phone showing what they'll be doing in the episode (doubling as the EpisodeTitleCard), before cutting to the theme song.
71	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Crispo. His name is an acronym of his first and last names, Christian Powers.
72	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Mr Roberts, the guidance counselor. He gently encourages the kids while giving them appropriate discipline.
73	* RecycledSoundtrack: Some of the background music is reused from ''Big Time Rush''.
74	* RunningGag: In the hourlong pilot, the rolling cart that C.J. knocked down the stairs early in the episode was constantly seen rolling down the street. It even helps when the slow driver Ronbie is driving behind swerves to miss it and helps him to speed up.
75	* RushedInvertedReading: In the pilot, Crispo keeps holding a maths book in front of his face to disguise the fact that he is talking to CJ and Fenwick. Most of the time, he is holding it upside down.
76	* {{Scandalgate}}: In "Run for Office Thing!", Blake and his administration are forced to resign after attacking Crispo in a bear costume in a scandal referred to as 'Pootie-gate'.
77	* ScienceFair: In "Be a Mad Scientist Thing!", stress and competition take their toll on each friend's quest to take home the winning prize at the Pootatuck science fair.
78	* ShoutOut: "Have the Best Halloween Ever Thing!" is a take on ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas''.
79	** Also in the above episode, Crispo's Mario reenacted Donkey Kong, trying to save the princess from an ape with barrels, sound effects included.
80	** The episode "Become a Millionaire and Give It All Away Thing!" has a scene where they had to find a treasure using a special glass to shine a light pointing to where the treasure was buried. Very reminiscent of ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''.
81	* SickEpisode: "Get the Most Out of a Sick Day Thing!". Fen is stuck at home, but appears in each class on an iPad's webcam. CJ gets better after taking medicine and tries to go back to school, in part, to be lab partners with a cute boy. Crispo is sick but his parents [[WorkingThroughTheCold force him to go to school anyway]].
82	* ASimplePlan: The plot of the first episode/special was this. CJ convinced her two friends to help her release a raccoon the science teacher had caught. This leads CJ and Fenwick being late to their first class, accidentally destroying the new principal's office that was still being constructed, and missing their entire sixth period class when they hid in CJ's mother's car and go to her house.
83	* SleepingDummy: In "Stay Up All Night Thing!", CJ, Crispo and Fenwick stuff their sleeping bags when they sneak out of the school sleepover to see the sunrise.
84	* SnowballLie: In "Always Tell the Truth (But Not Always) Thing!". CJ tells a lie about her grandmother in order to get into drama class and play Juliet to her crush's Romeo. This lie spirals completely out of control until they are doing a special production of the play solely for CJ's grandmother.
85	* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide''. In terms of premise, both series are trying to give their audience tips on how to make the most out of their middle school experience. However, they approach it in different ways-- ''One Hundred Things'' gives the audience ways to make Middle School more fun, but ''Ned's'' was about just trying to get through another day without encountering worst case scenarios.
86	* StuffedIntoALocker: In the "Raise Your Hand Thing!" episode, the three fifth graders CJ is trying to give a middle school tour to stuff her in her locker.
87	* SundialWaypoint: In "Become a Millionaire and Give It All Away Thing!", CJ, Fenwik, Criscpo and Mr. Roberts take the crystal from Pooty's shield and place it on the Pooty the Bear bear statue. At 2:55, the sun hits the crystal, which shines a ray of light onto the ground. The four begin digging in the spot and find Alfred's million Pootabucks.
88	* TaeKwonDoor: In "Pilot", Crispo uses the door to knock out Hall Monitor Paul Schmolitor when he catches CJ in the science room attempting to release the raccoon.
89	* TerminallyExclusiveClub: In "Join a Club Thing!", Fenwick attempts to join the Genius Club. Eugene, the club's president and sole member, keeps setting him ridiculous tests because he is a JerkAss, and because there is only one Genius Club shirt and he wants to keep it.
90	* ThisIsNotADrill: Combined with CryingWolf in the episode "Find Your Super Power Thing!". The principal is trying to beat the record for fastest fire drill and won't accept not beating the record. Therefore, she held multiple fire drills each day for a couple of days, infuriating the teachers and annoying the students. She also misused the fire extinguishers much to the consternation of the guidance counselor, Mr Roberts. When finally no one reacted to one fire drill, she tried to get the sprinkler system to go off in the science room, but accidentally started a fire with no way to put it out. Now it was up to Crispo to tell everyone it was not a drill.
91	* TokenTrio: Fenwick (sole [[BlackAndNerdy black kid]]), CJ ([[TheSmurfettePrinciple sole girl of the group]]), and Crispo (white kid).
92	* TrainingMontage: '[[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in "Master a Thing Thing!" when the narration of CJ says "Cue the training montage".
93	* TreasureHuntEpisode: "Become a Millionaire and Give It All Away Thing!" turns into this after CJ's Pootabucks (Pootatuck Middle School money) are lost and she discovers a TreasureMap for a million Pottabucks hidden somewhere on the school grounds.
94	* TwoGuysAndAGirl: CJ, the girl to Fenwick and Crispo.
95	* WickedStepmother: Averted in "Be a Fairy Godmother Thing!". CJ, trying to play matchmaker, gives Scout a makeover to get the attention of a boy Scout has a crush on during a dance. Just when they meet, Scout's stepmother calls her to alert her that she is waiting outside due to her curfew. CJ, acting as a fairy godmother, [[WrongGenreSavvy tries to convince Scout to stay and defy her evil stepmother]], but Scout tells CJ that her stepmother isn't evil, she just has an early curfew.
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Context Series / OneHundredThingsToDoBeforeHighSchool