1. The Secret World of Alex Mack pretty much dominated Nickelodeon in the '90s.
2. And you could get these awesome books to accompany you on your Alex adventures.
3. The show's heroine was really just a normal teenage girl who walks home from school one day only to get HIT BY A TRUCK FROM A CHEMICAL PLANT!
4. Even though being covered in weird nuclear goop was a total inconvenience, it gave Alex some nifty superpowers.
Initially, when Alex morphed she ended up without clothes, but the writers luckily changed that because it was slightly awkward.
5. Her ability to turn into a puddle made teen viewers particularly envious – just imagine how easy it was for her to get out of awkward social situations!
6. Plus she could even use her puddle superpower to transport and protect other people.
7. The zap ability gave her a totally cool edge.
8. Alex was super brave – the evil company that caused her accident were always trying to hunt her down.
9. The chemical plant guys looked TERRIFYING.
10. They had hazmat suits way before Breaking Bad had them.
11. And the evil company was fronted by a diabolical woman called Danielle Atron, played by Louan Gideon.
Fun fact: Gideon also starred in Saved by the Bell as Becky Belding, aka Mr Belding's one and only true love. There's a memorable episode where she gives birth in a lift with the help of Zack Morris.
12. Apart from being brave, Alex Mack was someone you could totally relate to.
She wasn't the shiny airbrushed version of a teenager you see in a lot of TV shows today. She was very real, kickass yet grounded, meaning you didn't just want to be Alex Mack, you WERE Alex Mack, just minus the puddle thing.
13. She echoed all your teenage angst.
14. Even though her parents were lovely, she acted out like every teenager.
15. She had awesome friends, like Raymond.
16. Her sister was basically a feminist icon.
17. Of course, one of the main reasons we loved Alex was her crazy hat obsession.
In fact, here are all the 66 hats Alex Mack wore.
18. They even used her love of hats to advertise the show:
View this video on YouTube
This promo will transport you right back to the '90s.
19. And if she didn't like your hat, you'd know about it.
It was also pretty rich considering Louis wore these fugly sandals WITH socks:
20. Anyway, Alex would never let a bully get to her. No matter what, she remained true to her love of hats!
21. Her style in general satisfied the tomboy in you.
22. In Season 1 Jessica Alba played Jessica, Alex's rival.
23. So when Alex did this, it made us feel like she was messing with the snobby girls on behalf of all of us!
24. Of course, the TV show ended with an insane cliffhanger, after Alex reveals her secret to her parents.
Alex's dad presents her with a cure that would rid her of her powers. The final scene sees Alex holding a vial of the cure, smiling coyly at her beloved fans.
If this has kept you up your entire life, check this out: Alex doesn't take the cure. This is what the series co-creator and producer Thomas W. Lynch told the Huffington Post: "I liked the idea that the choice would remain hers, if she took the medicine or not, if she took the cure or not. She was not going to be dictated to. That was my conscious thought in writing it. ... I wanted at the end – I didn't want the world to dictate to her, I wanted her to dictate to herself what she was going to do."
See, Alex Mack decides her own fate, people!
As a bonus, this is what Oleynik looks like now as Cynthia Baxter in Mad Men:
Proof that if you can be an angsty teenager that glows a radioactive shade of yellow when embarrassed, you WILL turn into a classy ass lady.