The series won the 1989 International Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Programming for Children and Young People.

[2] O'Connell stars as 14-year-old Andrew Clements, who while looking one day for his friend, Dr. Benjamin Jeffcoate (McGrath), trips and is hit by a photon beam, causing him to develop superpowers.

Later in that season, after being struck by the photon beam a second time, Andrew develops superhuman strength but loses his invulnerability.

For the entirety of the series, Andrew loses his powers when exposed to radiation (e.g. electromagnetic waves and x-rays).

Dr. Jeffcoate (supposedly the fourth-smartest man in the world) is a close friend of the family who lives next door.