| Clerks: The Animated Series | |
|---|---|
Title card featuring the four main characters. Top from the left: Dante Hicks, Randall Graves, bottom from the left: Jay, and Silent Bob. |
|
| Also known as | Clerks |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Format | Animation |
| Created by | Kevin Smith David Mandel |
| Developed by | David Mandel Scott Mosier |
| Voices of | Brian O'Halloran Jeff Anderson Jason Mewes Kevin Smith Alec Baldwin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 6 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Bob Weinstein Harvey Weinstein David Mandel Scott Mosier Kevin Smith |
| Running time | 27 minuets (approx.) |
| Production company(s) | View Askew Productions (2000) Woltz International (2000) Miramax Television Touchstone Pictures (2000) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC (2000) Comedy Central (2002) |
| Picture format | 4:3 SDTV |
| Original run | May 31, 2000 – June 7, 2000; December 14, 2002 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Clerks |
Clerks (retronym: Clerks: The Animated Series) is an American animated sitcom based on Kevin Smith's 1994 comedy of the same name. It was developed for television by Smith, Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier and former Seinfeld writer David Mandel with character designs by Stephen Silver.
Contents |
| Actor | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Brian O'Halloran | Dante Hicks |
| Jeff Anderson | Randall Graves |
| Jason Mewes | Jay |
| Kevin Smith | Silent Bob |
| Alec Baldwin | Leonardo Leonardo |
| Dan Ethridge | Mr. Plug |
| Tara Charendoff-Strong | Giggling Girls |
| Walt Flanagan | Fanboy |
| Bryan Johnson | Steve-Dave Pulasti |
| Charles Barkley | Himself |
Only two episodes were broadcast on ABC in the year 2000 before the series was canceled.[1] Several factors contributed to the cancellation, including low ratings, the show's not fitting in with ABC's other programming, unsuccessful test-screening to older audiences, and ABC's decision to air the shows out of order. ABC aired the fourth episode first, as opposed to the intended first episode, and then aired the second episode despite the fact that the second episode is the 'flashback' episode, and derives much of its humor from the fact that it flashes back almost exclusively to the first episode. Additionally, the second episode aired without the scene from "Flintstone's List", the fictional RST Video rental that spoofed Schindler's List.
All six episodes were released on DVD (as well as VHS) in 2002, marking one of the first occasions in which a short-lived TV series found success in this format. The DVD commentary features cast and crew who frequently cite their disagreements with the network over the show's development. The entire series was eventually aired on Comedy Central, with the unaired episodes airing for the first time on television on December 14, 2002. In 2006, digital freeview channel ITV 4 in the UK, began broadcasting episodes late on Monday nights. Starting November 14, 2008, Adult Swim aired the series on Friday nights.
Several scenes filmed for, but cut from, the film Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (but included on the film's DVD release) contain metafictional moments when Randall makes references to the animated series, as well as its cancellation. On his DVD commentary for the film, Smith said the intent was to make the quick cancellation of the series a running gag.
Clerks: The Animated Series was produced by Miramax, View Askew Productions in association with ABC Studios.
| # | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Leonardo Leonardo Returns and Dante Has an Important Decision to Make" | December 14, 2002 |
| Billionaire Leonardo Leonardo returns to Leonardo, New Jersey and opens the Quicker Stop right across from the Quick Stop, nearly costing Randal and Dante their jobs. | ||
| 2 | "The Clipshow Wherein Dante and Randal are Locked in the Freezer and Remember Some of the Great Moments in Their Lives" | June 7, 2000 |
| Dante and Randal get locked in the freezer. There, they look back on their lives, primarily in clips from the same and previous episode. | ||
| 3 | "Leonardo Is Caught in the Grip of an Outbreak of Randal's Imagination and Patrick Swayze Either Does or Doesn't Work in the New Pet Store" | December 14, 2002 |
| Quick Stop is put under government control after Leonardo is said to have been infected with a deadly virus by a monkey at the new pet store next to RST Video. | ||
| 4 | "A Dissertation on the American Justice System by People Who Have Never Been Inside a Courtroom, Let Alone Know Anything About the Law, but Have Seen Way Too Many Legal Thrillers" | May 31, 2000 |
| Jay sues the Quick Stop for $10,000,000 slipping on Randal's soda. | ||
| 5 | "Dante and Randal and Jay and Silent Bob and a Bunch of New Characters and Lando, Take Part in a Whole Bunch of Movie Parodies Including But Not Exclusive To, The Bad News Bears, The Last Starfighter, Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom, Plus a High School Reunion" | December 14, 2002 |
| Leonardo Leonardo decides to let Dante manage his Little League team, which includes Jay and Silent Bob. Meanwhile, Randal is put into slave labour after beating the high score on an old video game. | ||
| 6 | "The Last Episode Ever" | December 14, 2002 |
| Series finale. Dante and Randal work inside the Quick Stop discussing various things. Meanwhile, outside, Dante's supposed to have a date with Caitlin Bree, Jay and Silent Bob go to a fair where havoc ensues, Walt and Steve-Dave need stuff, Leonardo Leonardo finds a soccer team on his roof, and Dante keeps getting called by a guy who wants to show him "the truth about The Matrix". Eventually, due to a phone call unknowingly made to the President, the Army surrounds the Quick Stop, the President is attacked by hookers and vampires who are enraged to find RST closed, and Dante and Randal finally go outside. | ||
According to the DVD commentary, these were some ideas that were being considered for episodes of the show if it were to continue:
For several years following the series' cancellation, Smith has announced plans to make an animated direct-to-video film. The basic plot involved Dante and Randal making a movie about their lives at the Quick Stop, a reference to the production of the original film. As of September 2009, the status on the project is unknown. In a recent interview Kevin Smith expanded on the delays surrounding the film. Apparently, when Harvey and Bob Weinstein left Miramax, owned by Disney, the split was not completely amicable. The rights to the Clerks television show are still owned by the Disney Corporation, who as a result are reluctant to work with The Weinstein Company, throwing the future of Clerks: Sell Out into question.[2] At the 2007 Cornell Q/A Kevin said due to the Miramax/Weinstein argument "you will see a Jay and Silent Bob cartoon before Clerks: Sell Out."
However, when Miramax was bought in 2011, Kevin Smith revealed on his podcast 'Jay And Silent Bob Get Jobs' is that Miramax has contacted him for new projects, and they discussed the possibility of bringing back the series.
Clerks: The Animated Series was named the 98th best animated series by IGN, comparing it to Firefly due to the few number of episodes. They specifically praised the second episode for its parody of the old television staple of clip shows, by showing clips of the previous episode as well as clips from the episode itself.[3]
The show was released on DVD in a two-disc collector's edition set called "Clerks Uncensored." The "Uncensored" of the title refers to the restoration of a segment that was cut from the ABC broadcast of the second episode, as well as uncensored episode introductions by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith.
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