Common Sense Media Review
Harmless, cliché-ridden young teen misadventures.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 5 parent reviews
Based on 10 kid reviews
Kids say this TV show evokes mixed feelings among viewers, with some praising its creativity and fun gadgets, while others criticize the acting and repetitive storyline. Overall, many viewers reminisce fondly about their childhood experiences with the show, though opinions on its entertainment value vary significantly.
- nostalgia
- creativity
- mixed reviews
- character dynamics
- gadget appeal
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
A family from the future is trapped in the suburban present in this rehash of just about every teen show you've ever seen. Although Phil (Ricky Ullman) and his family have access to various futuristic gadgets (a brain switcher, an age transformer). The teen and his friends experience the ups and downs of their age group. For example, in one episode Phil gets a crush on the popular girl at school and has to learn about being himself, and in another story, Phil's best friend Keely (Alyson Michalka) uses the aging machine to see what she'll be like at 25 and has to learn about being herself. Predictably, Phil's sister Pim (Amy Bruckner) is a cute kid who is a complete brat and mean to everyone.
Is It Any Good?
Though the series attempts to impart a few life lessons, the situations are so clichhd and the settings so overly familiar that you can predict everything that's going to happen and everyone's reaction to it long before it occurs, and so the "lesson learned" impact fizzles out. And in case you weren't sure which parts are supposed to be funny, a barrage of sound effects is constantly going off during each episode, adding a cartoonish element that does nothing to enhance the viewing experience. There are far, far better ways to spend half an hour than watching this show.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether the lessons the show is trying to teach are derailed by Phil's sister's behavior. Can you look past her nastiness to see what the message is supposed to be? Is what she does funny or just mean? How would you deal with a sibling who acts like she does?
TV Details
- Premiere date : June 18, 2004
- Cast : Alyson Michalka , Amy Bruckner , Ricky Ullman
- Networks : Disney Channel , Disney XD
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Friendship
- TV rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate