Editing Clarissa Explains It All (section)

==Production==
[[File:Com04901.jpg|thumb|left|''Clarissa Explains It All'' taping at [[Nickelodeon Studios]], 1991]]
Show creator [[Mitchell Kriegman]], who had a background as a short-story writer and video artist, had previously worked on shows such as ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' and ''[[Sesame Street]]''.<ref name=":2" /> He sought to create an offbeat, trendsetting character living a typical teenager's life, but who did not fit the stereotypical representations of teenage girls on television at the time. Kriegman said, "I thought that if other people ... knew what was going on in a 13-year-old girl's mind, it would be cool. They are really experimenting at that age."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Moca|first=Diane Joy|date=1991-04-07|title=Video wizardry and a little make-believe help 13-year-old as 'Clarissa Explains It All'|page=26 A|work=The Courier-Journal|location=[[Louisville, Kentucky]]|url=|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-23 |title='It Was Their Childhood': Looking Back on 30 Years of Clarissa Explains It All |url=https://www.spin.com/2021/03/clarissa-explains-it-all-interview/ |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

''Clarissa Explains It All'' was the second sitcom to premiere on Nickelodeon in 1991, after ''[[Hey Dude]]'' ended its run.<ref name=":2" /> It was one of seven new programs<ref name=":0" /> (three animated and four live-action) to premiere on Nickelodeon that year, as the network began producing more original programming. It outlived the other live-action series introduced that year, ''[[Welcome Freshmen]]'', ''[[Salute Your Shorts]]'', and ''[[Fifteen (TV series)|Fifteen]]'', although ''Fifteen'' (an imported Canadian series) also lasted 65 episodes. Production on the pilot episode took place in September 1990, with Season 1 production beginning in February 1991 and series production wrapping in December 1993.<ref name="For Final Time" />

The show's theme song was sung by [[Rachel Sweet]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Klickstein |first=Mathew |date=2012-02-27 |title=Inside Clarissa Explains It All with Creator Mitchell Kriegman |url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/02/explaining-clarissa-explains-it-all.html |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=John |date=2021-08-12 |title=Clarissa Is Here to Explain It All |url=https://www.theringer.com/tv/2021/8/12/22617757/clarissa-explains-it-all-melissa-joan-hart-interview |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]] |language=en}}</ref> It consisted entirely of a melody sung on the syllable "Na," punctuated with the occasional "Way cool!" or "All right! All right!" and underscored by rhythmic instrumentation, ending with a resounding "Just do it!"

A pilot for a follow-up series, ''Clarissa'', was shot for [[CBS]] in 1995, but was not picked up by the network.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 1, 2018 |title=13 Things You Didn't Know About 'Clarissa Explains It All' |url=https://www.bustle.com/articles/144559-13-things-you-didnt-know-about-clarissa-explains-it-all |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=[[Bustle (website)|Bustle]] |language=en}}</ref> The pilot was shown on two occasions on Nickelodeon after the original series had ended production. The new series would have involved Clarissa's internship at a New York City newspaper. Comedian [[Robert Klein]] costarred in the pilot as the newspaper's editor. Supporting roles were played by [[Marian Seldes]] and [[Lisa Gay Hamilton]]. In 2002, Hart said that she would not be interested in a cast reunion project: "No. [[Shirley Temple]] taught me one thing. And that was once you finish a career, you move on." In her next television series, ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series)|Sabrina, the Teenage Witch]]'', her character actually did become a journalist.