tek's rating:

Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street, on Amazon
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This kind of reminds me of shows like Eerie, Indiana and The Zack Files. That is, it's sort of a paranormal show for kids. But most of the time, the paranormal elements are very subdued. There are three friends named Gortimer Gibbon (Sloane Morgan Siegel), Mel Fuller (Ashley Boettcher), and Ranger Bowen (Drew Justice). Gortimer seems to be the most keenly aware of anything unusual, but he also seems to be... well, I sort of want to say the most "normal" member of the trio. But actually, Mel might be the most normal one. Anyway, she's the smartest one. Ranger is probably the least normal one, but not in a paranormal way. Honestly, I don't really know how to describe any of these kids, because they're all basically pretty normal, and mellow. (Ranger is the most mellow, like a little too mellow.) Actually... over the course of the series, I guess they do all become more aware of the abnormal things that happen on Normal Street, but most of the time they take it all in stride, as much as possible. Mostly they have to deal with more ordinary issues.

I want to mention that Gortimer's mom, Claire, is played by Robyn Lively. And Ranger's mom, Vicki, is played by Kim Rhodes (whom I mainly know from a recurring role on Supernatural). And Mel's mom, Lora, is played by Paula Marshall (whom I know from a few things). And Mel herself is played by Ashley Boettcher, who voiced Dorothy in Lost in Oz. There are also some other friends of the main trio, including a girl named Catherine Dillman, and a boy named Stanley Zielinski, both of whom appear in several episodes in season one, but more often in season two. And a girl named Abigail Arroyo, who's in just one episode of season one, but appears much more often in season two. Also in season 2, Claire starts dating a guy named Adam Hernandez. (Claire is divorced from Gortimer's father, Greg, whose work keeps him far away most of the time, but we do see a little bit of him, sometimes.) Oh, and I guess I should mention that Gortimer has a younger brother named Gardner, though he's too young to be of any importance to the show.

Anyway... the series was released from 2014 to 2016, but I didn't have access to Amazon Video until like a couple years after the series had ended. The first season has 13 episodes, and the second has 26 (broken up into two parts, so that the second part is more like a third season). I don't want to reveal too many specifics of what happens throughout the series, though it's worth noting that Mel experiences a devastating personal tragedy near the end of season 2, part 1. And a little over halfway through season 2, part 2, Gortimer finds out that his family will have to move away, and he spends the rest of the season worrying about that, because he can't bear to think of life without his friends around.

Well, I don't know what else to say. When I started watching the series, I thought it was just sort of okay (I rated it three smileys, when I wrote my initial review). But as it progressed, I came to care about it a lot more (and eventually changed my rating to one heart). I'm not sure how much my love of the show is about the quality of the stories; mostly it's because I really like the characters and their friendship. (And a little part of my love for the show is the closing theme music, which is pretty simple, but just sort of makes me happy. That may be as much about its association with the show as it is with the music itself.) So, anyway, I'm sad that the series is over, but I'm really glad to have seen it.


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