It's Me I'm Alex is an animated web series starring Alex Cochran, an eternally youthful video game enthusiast who is brought to life through digital puppetry, courtesy of his creator and producer, Denise Michelle Norris.
In its own universe, It's Me I'm Alex was a cartoon that aired in syndication from 1992-1999 in new episodes and ran in reruns until 2005 before it was erased from the public consciousness by the Mandela Effect.
Alex navigates his misadventures with four entertainingly eccentric puppet companions: the mischievous Seymour Tierney, the hopeless romantic Leonard Tractor, the apathetic Sally Ellison, and the always-quiet Grace Ford. They are also joined by a few additional side characters, such as his Robot Buddy Rty Intelligentz, his neighbor Miss Ruth, his loyal dog Daisy, and thrift shop owner Gabe Padget.
The show is typically recorded live before a Studio Audience on Twitch
, where Alex will interact with Viewers Like You who are watching the show from home, and the in-universe studio audience watching the show at the broadcast studio where It's Me I'm Alex is filmed.
This series provides examples of:
- Aside Glance: Alex will sometimes look up from what he is playing or watching to look the viewer directly in the eyes to share a silent, knowing glance to express that he saw what you just saw.
- Birthday Episode: When an episode falls on the same day as Alex's birthday, it is likely the whole show will be revolving around said birthdays. The birthdays of chat moderators and viewers are often celebrated when they occur.
- Catchphrase:
- "Don't forget..."
- Catchphrase Interruptus: Every episode ends with Alex imploring the viewer to not forget something, but is interrupted by the GOODBYE screen before he can finish.
- Character as Himself: Alex and the rest of the cast are billed as themselves in the credits.
- Christmas Episode: Sometimes during the Christmas season the show will have a few episodes themed around the holiday.
- Clip Show: Often at the end of the year Alex will show a montage of clips from the previous few years showcasing various moments from the show.
- Couch Gag: Every episode officially begins with The Teaser, featuring Alex's giant disembodied head, who says a few words before saying the name of the show as he floats upward, revealing the show's logo.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- The textures on the show have gotten much more detailed as the show has aged, and Alex's voice became noticeably lower when he turned 14.
- Grace has spoken throughout a few eras of the show, all of them sounding quite different from each other.
- Homage:
- The Cold Opening of the show looks remarkably similar to the opening of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!.
- When the show began, Alex's last name was Benjamin but changed to Cochran in later seasons, not unlike how Jesse Cochran became Jesse Katsopolis on Full House.
- Limited Animation: There are very few variations in the animation of the characters on the show, though their somewhat twitchy movements are completely randomized and unpredictable.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: For the first few years of the show Alex stayed a steady 13-years-old, however in 2019 he had his 14th birthday, a milestone he has celebrated every year since.
- No Fourth Wall: Alex and the other characters know that they are on a show and that it is animated. They have also participated in a few behind-the-scenes episodes with creator and show producer Denise Michelle Norris, showing how the show was created and how it is performed.
- Previously on…: Since most episodes are recorded live, they are preceded by a five-minute countdown and a montage of funny clips chosen by the viewers and historic moments from the show, complete with an ominous narrator announcing "Previously on It's Me I'm Alex."
- Public Service Announcement: One of the in-universe commercials shown from time to time is a public service announcement decrying the usage of hard drugs.
- Robot Buddy: Rty Intelligentz, an artificially intelligent robot butler and cohost of the show.
- Signature Transition:
- "[Jovial Piano Tune] It's me, I'm Alex..."
- "BUM BUM BUM BUM BUM That sound means it's time to go for now..."
- Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: Rty, Seymour, and especially Leonard all qualify as this.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Alex and Leonard often don't see eye to eye, and Leonard will sometimes deliberately antagonize his friend. However, they usually make up in the end.
