Clerks

This animated series, based on Kevin Smith's 1994 film of the same name, centers on Dante Hicks and Randal Graves, the clerks at The Quick Stop and RST Video. These "slackers" spend most of their time spoofing pop culture and whining about their miserable lives. Adding color to their lives are the resident "hetero-life partners" Jay and Silent Bob, who hang out and sell drugs outside the store (though it's never said that they are dealers in the show -- that was established in the films Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back). Every show needs an evil villain, so to accommodate, Leonardo Leonardo was created -- a rich, gay psychopath, who was the evil foil for our heroes. Leonardo's sidekick, the menacing Plug, was a robot. NBA player Charles Barkley voiced himself in nearly every episode, playing the nemesis of Jay and Silent Bob. And Lando was created in episode 3 to address the lack of black characters in the show. Utilizing the animation, the makers inserted tons of film and television spoofs, and cameos from many stars.

This short lived series not only set a record for the length of time it spent on the air, but for the length of the titles as well! The show was green lighted by ABC for six episodes, but the release date kept getting pushed back and after a spot on the Superbowl, they finally got around to airing the series on May 31, 2000. After playing the show for two weeks, the series was abruptly jerked off the air, even though the additional four episodes were scheduled. Plans were made to cut the episodes into a feature film, but this idea was eventually scrapped and all six episodes appeared on video and DVD the following year. The DVD has had much success and more of a cult following than most other cartoons today.

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