Background:
Mary Kate and Ashley were a dynasty within the 80s-00s. Anyone and everyone knew who the Olsen twins were. Between being Michelle on Full House, and being in many movies, they were two of the biggest stars of the 90s. They had 7 movies and 2 television series that went straight to VHS and were on Full House all in the 90s.
One of those television series was The Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley. This was a made-for-VHS television series that were 30-minute episodes. There were 11 episodes made and were all musical mysteries. Eventually, there would be a book series that was made because of the series. This book series would also include The New Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley when the girls were older. Additionally,the girls were 8-11 years old when making this series. Their sister Elizabeth would be featured in a few episodes, as well as a Basset Hound named Clue.
Most of the episodes were on location, like Sea World or the Space Station in Florida.
Review:
The first episode I watched was Shark Encounter. It started with the theme song that is ingrained in my brain forever. Then, the girls get a call from Pirates, who have a problem. There are singing sharks that are at SeaWorld. Next, the girls end up finding their way there on their bikes, which they stated was 2,000 miles away. They found the pirates there, to sing a very long song called “The Life of a Pirate”. I actually remember that song. I think there was a soundtrack at some point made, and I had it.
Mary Kate and Ashley have a lot of 90s items. They brought a tape deck to record the sharks. The girls also had an atlas to show them where Florida was. They showed sharks singing. The sharks were singing opera, country, and oldies but goodies. It was very corny. These pirates are strange. Also, where are Mary Kate and Ashley’s parents in this? I am confused.
Inevitably, the mystery ends up being why the sharks are singing. It is weird. So, the girls are finding to figure out why the sharks are singing. The girls met Shamu, beluga whales, penguins, and a walrus mascot to see who could sing. They had no luck. This really seems like an advertisement for SeaWorld. They actually showed past episodes about clues. They figured out the fishing poles have something to do with the sharks singing.
We now get information from an expert about sharks and another song, all about sharks. They find out that sharks don’t sing. Wow! Who could have thought that? These girls really don’t understand how animals work.
We find out that the fishing poles that the pirates had were creating a signal from a radio. Which isn’t scientifically correct, but that’s okay. The girls went home before dinner. They get a call at the end to go into the next episode. The end has bloopers from the episode, which are actually funnier than the actual episode. Finally, there was information from an actual shark expert at the very end of the video.
I had these videos as a child but forgot how bad they are. It was not good. The corniest of all the corny videos. It was so bad that I will not watch another one.
You can watch for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s9G4fm67Uo
Final Thoughts:
Does it Hold Up?
⭐
Oof. This is rough. I don’t understand why I like Mary Kate and Ashley as a child. It was not funny, not even for kid standards, and was very old. After the whole Blackfish situation, SeaWorld is not the thing to be promoting. Also, the girls were right next to the killer whales! Dangerous. You can tell the girls aren’t super into it either and it’s just super forced.
Nostalgia Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Mary Kate and Ashley are nostalgic. It is a sign of a different time. It was very nostalgic. Though, it is still not enough to save a terrible show.
If you want to see a much better show, check out this review of Hey Arnold: https://millennialrewind.com/2022/07/28/hey-football-head-hey-arnold-1996/
If you liked this article subscribe to get content straight to your email:
Do you remember this tv show? Post your thoughts in the comments below!
As always, Creating Nostalgia Millennial Style!
