Tv historical past is full of loads of notorious flops that hardly made it to air earlier than the networks gave them the chop: 2012 crossdressing collection “Work It,” a 2007 musical drama “Viva Laughin” that the New York Instances known as probably “the worst present within the historical past of tv,” and the 1990 British sitcom about Hitler “Heil Honey, I’m House.” 25 years in the past, an animated collection adaptation of Kevin Smith‘s 1994 cult movie “Clerks” joined that doubtful membership — and appeared cheerfully conscious of its destiny the whole time.
Within the pilot episode of the ABC grownup animated sitcom, which remarkably was not one of many two episodes that had been broadcast earlier than the present received canceled and burned off over at Comedy Central, the lead characters Dante and Randal (voiced by Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson) watch an episode of “The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer” — “America’s #1 sitcom,” as they put it. A comparatively deep reduce reference even within the yr 2000, most individuals now would assume the present, in regards to the Black butler of Abraham Lincoln’s White Home, is only a faux present invented as a gag. But it surely was very actual: it premiered in 1998 on UPN, was the topic of boycotts and protests by the NAACP for its insensitive dealing with of slavery, and finally was canned after 4 episodes aired.
By invoking such a infamous flop, the “Clerks” animated collection was virtually daring the identical destiny upon itself — and in the long run, it solely lasted half so long as “Desmond Pfeiffer.” However that joke additionally exemplifies why the present, which premiered with its fourth episode on Might 31, 2000, was such a bizarre, delightfully unpredictable hidden gem, and nonetheless the very best factor Kevin Smith has ever hooked up his identify to.
Developed for tv by Smith, his frequent collaborator Scott Mosier, and David Mandel (finest identified for his work on “Seinfeld”), “Clerks: The Animated Collection” took the unique movie — a black and white, dirtbag hangout comedy made on a minuscule price range — and turned it right into a densely wacky animated collection, full with a megalomaniac billionaire named Leonardo Leonardo (Alec Baldwin) that bears greater than a little bit of a resemblance to Mr. Burns from “The Simpsons.” That makes it simple to dismiss the present as simply silly, an tried translation of a cult hit that misses the mark on what made it particular. However the present, which renders the characters of the movie within the appealingly thick-lined fashion of “Kim Attainable” and “Danny Phantom” artwork director Stephen Silver, was subtly subversive and contemporary, with a meta strategy to its humor that feels a couple of years forward of its time.
The prime instance is the second episode, a parody of a traditional TV clip present that got here a stable decade earlier than “Group” did an analogous bit. In it, Dante and Randal get trapped in a freezer and reminisce about their loopy adventures — which largely include the identical clip from the pilot (which, once more, hadn’t even truly aired due to the way in which ABC aired the present) repeated a number of occasions. The joke escalates from there: they begin flashing again to earlier moments from the episode, they get trapped in a loop of flashbacks of the identical second, and finally the present strikes on to flashbacks of scenes we’ve by no means seen earlier than.
That’s the funniest and cleverest episode of the present, however the different 5 have lots to love about them as properly. A bit meaner and rougher than Smith’s different work — which tends to be moderately sentimental at coronary heart — “Clerks: The Animated Collection” isn’t notably keen on making its characters and their dead-end lives relatable. As a substitute, the episodes veer into absurd, cheekily weird instructions, breaking the fourth wall at each alternative. Episode 3 begins with Randal and Dante opening fan mail and addressing the shortage of variety on the present by introducing the primary Black character (who isn’t truly allowed to talk or do something of observe). The fourth episode, a parody of a courtroom drama wherein Dante will get sued by Jay (Jason Mewes) after the slacker slips on the Fast Mart, leaves the case unresolved when a disclaimer that the episode’s ending was misplaced precedes a parody sequence purporting to be a brand new ending created by an outsourced Korean animation workforce. The ultimate episode ends in a tribute to the long-lasting “Looney Tunes” brief “Duck Amuck,” which doesn’t work as a strategy to shut out the barebones plot in any respect, however suggestions its hat to the inspirations behind the present’s anarchic, non-sequitur humor.
Not all the pieces about “Clerks: The Animated Collection” holds as much as time. It’s an especially 2000 collection in each respect: its common burnout vibe, its cultural references to urgent points like disappointment over “The Phantom Menace,” and its tendency in direction of edgelordey shock humor and homosexual jokes — although the finale, at the least, instantly self-mocks how a lot the collection overplays the bro-ey homosexual panic. However its faults are simple to forgive when the six episodes are so humorous and intelligent, and make you want there have been extra. You get the sense that the individuals behind the present had been content material for it to be a short-lived gem although: by the sixth episode, when Dante and Randal attend a panel to talk about making “Clerks” and get accosted by followers of the film who hate the present, it’s fairly clear that the collection was round for time, not a very long time.
Each episode of “Clerks: The Animated Collection” may be bought on Apple TV+.