other guest appearances, in single episodes by notable actors known for their other work. Nancy Youngblut as Mrs. Cheesebrow, a school guidance counselor who tries to get Clarissa interested in "normal" activities in season 2. Cassidy Rae as Elise Quackenbush, Sam's girlfriend in season 2. Paul Kreppel as Joey Russo, Janet's ex-high school sweetheart in season 3. JoAnna Garcia as Fiona, Ferguson's love interest in season 3. Michelle Trachtenberg as Elsie Soaperstein, Clarissa and Ferguson's neighbor and the Soaperstein's spoiled daughter whom Clarissa must babysit in season 4. She also had a crush on Ferguson and often refers to him as "Fergie". Jonathan Mangum as Clarissa's imagined blind date in season 3 (seen only in a dream sequence); the same actor is credited in the role of a waiter and in the role of a pizza delivery man in a fifth-season episode. Wayne Brady as the second pizza delivery man that crossed Clarissa's doorstep in a fifth-season episode. Sheeri Rappaport as Piper Henderson, Clarissa's globe-traveling friend who comes to visit in season 5. James Van Der Beek as Paulie, a boy whom Clarissa attracts as her punk alter-ego Jade in season 5. Shannon Woodward as Missy, a girl whose lost kitten Ferguson finds in season 5. Production Show creator Mitchell Kriegman, who had a background as a short-story writer and video artist, had previously worked on shows such as Saturday Night Live and Sesame Street. He sought to create an offbeat, trendsetting character living a typical teenager's life, but who did not fit the stereotypical representations of teenage girls on television at the time. Kriegman said, "I thought that if other people ... knew what was going on in a 13-year-old girl's mind, it would be cool. They are really experimenting at that age." Clarissa Explains It All was the second sitcom to premiere on Nickelodeon in 1991, after Hey Dude ended its run. It was one of seven new programs (three animated and four live-action) to premiere on Nickelodeon that year, as the network began producing more original programming. It outlived the other live-action series introduced that year, Welcome Freshmen, Salute Your Shorts, and Fifteen, although Fifteen (an imported Canadian series) also lasted 65 episodes. Production on the pilot episode took place in September 1990, with Season 1 production beginning in February 1991 and series production wrapping in December 1993. The show's theme song was sung by Rachel Sweet.