Secret Adventures

Premise

The series is set in Hampton Falls, New Jersey, a fictional stand-in for Princeton, located roughly halfway between New York City and Philadelphia. Drea Thomas and her friends Kim and George attend Hampton Falls Junior High School, where Mrs. Joan Long is the principal. Drea babysits Mrs. Long's two children, Rebecca and Matt, who are in elementary school. Each episode uses Grandpa as a framing device to reinforce the moral lesson, and Drea often narrates to her electronic diary (E.D.) to provide additional context.

The secret adventure segment is a short animated vignette in which Drea, Rebecca, and Matt are magically transformed into animated characters, typically anthropomorphic animals, and encounter situations that clarify the episode's moral. For instance, in the episode "Spin," Drea runs for class president and must decide whether to lie to win, while Matt hides a mistake with paint. Their secret adventure as fish illustrates how lies have consequences, encouraging them to tell the truth.

At the episode's conclusion, Drea and Grandpa explicitly state the moral lesson; if a Christian message is present, Grandpa usually connects it. Drea's active imagination brings everyday objects to life, such as her talking Toaster, achieved with computer animation. Rebecca and Matt can see these animations, but other characters cannot.

Cast

Tamara Daniels portrays Andrea 'Drea' Thomas, the 13-year-old protagonist who babysits the Long siblings. Michele Scarabelli plays Laurie 'Mom' Thomas, Drea's mother who works as a marketing manager for Jamison's department store. Gary Bayer appears as Jim 'Dad' Thomas, a music professor. George Murdock plays Ben 'Grandpa' Thomas, Drea's grandfather and moral center, often seen gardening.

Clare Kirkconnell portrays Mrs. Joan Long, the school principal and single mother of Rebecca and Matt. Sarah Martineck plays Rebecca Long, who frequently picks on her younger brother Matt, played by Michael MacLeod. Doug Barr appears as John Long, the children's father who moved away before the series began, shown briefly in a flashback in "Split." Heidi Lucas plays Kimberly Andow, Drea's best friend.

Ian Christopher Scott portrays George Easton, Drea's love interest who competes with her for a biology internship. Marnette Patterson plays Arlene Blake, the popular and mean-spirited rival with voluminous blond hair and high fashion sense, while Frankie Ingrassia plays her sidekick Marcy Manmington. Jerry Houser voices Mister Toaster, a chrome-plated talking toaster, and also voices Morton Mouse, Esq., an animated mouse in "Snag." Alan Johnson voices The Shakespearean Fox, an animated fox in "Shrug" who speaks in adapted Shakespeare quotes.

Michael W. Smith appears as Billy Holden, a famous rock-star pianist who was taught by Jim Thomas. A.C. Green plays himself, a Phoenix Suns basketball player, and Cheryl Miller plays Polly Robinson, the new girls basketball coach in "Slam."

Episodes

"Spin: Truth, Tubas and George Washington" involves Kimberly signing Drea up for class president, where she learns about honesty after lying to win. Matt and Rebecca ruin Dad's sheet music with finger paint and hide it. In the secret adventure, the trio become a dolphin, an angelfish, and a puffer fish, encountering a clown fish who pretends to be a shark, leading to consequences akin to The Boy Who Cried Wolf. "Snap: How to Act Like a Responsible Almost-Adult" finds Drea mistakenly scheduling babysitting over a planned shopping trip.

The dog Floyd wreaks havoc on a dining room renovation and is banished outside, then escapes. In the secret adventure, they become dogs to think like Floyd, rescuing a baby in a runaway carriage. Back in reality, Matt finds Floyd at his litter of puppies, noting Floyd's new responsibilities as a father.