History Trivia / ClerksTheAnimatedSeries

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Was it ever! Only episodes two and four made it to air before it was pulled off by ABC as they felt it didn't gel with their programming. One has to wonder why they even bothered to greenlight the show at all.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Was it ever! Only episodes two and four made it to air before it was pulled off by ABC as they felt it didn't gel with their programming. ([[WhatAnIdiot One has to wonder why they even bothered to greenlight the show at all]].)
** But, on the plus side, all six of the episodes have been released on DVD, and Creator/AdultSwim does air all six episodes on occasion. They even aired the second episode with the scene where Randal and Dante watch a ''Film/SchindlersList'' parody called ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Flintstone]]'s List''. In the ABC version, they only showed Randal and Dante watching the TV with the sounds from the movie playing. On Cartoon Network and the DVD, there's an actual clip from the movie.

** The DVD commentary said that had the series continued, a RunningGag would have the mayor always appearing in his Mayor [=McCheese=] costume, claiming he was about to go to or coming back from a costume party, and have some reason not to remove it. The reason for this was to have a unique mayor character like [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mayor Quimby]] and [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Mayor McDaniels]].

-->'''Kid:''' Grandpa, what's prejudice?
-->'''Grandpa:''' Where did you hear that?
-->'''Kid:''' Kenny told me.
-->'''Grandpa:''' Who's Kenny?
-->'''Kid:''' My Jewish friend.
-->'''Grandpa:''' That's prejudice. You think of him as your Jewish friend instead of just your friend.
** There was also going to be a [[SaturdayMorningCartoon Saturday Morning]] spin-off called ''Li'l Clerks'', which would feature [[SpinoffBabies child versions of the characters]]. [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming Each episode would have a]] [[RhymesOnADime rhyming theme]], like "Date Fate" and "Clerk Jerk".

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Was it ever. Only episodes two and four made it to air before it was pulled off by ABC as they felt it didn't gel with their programming. ([[WhatAnIdiot One has to wonder why they even bothered to greenlight the show at all]].)

** Other networks (most notably Adlt Swim and Creator/ComedyCentral) were interested in picking up the show for new episodes after ABC canceled it, but ABC refused to sell the rights and has simply sat on them. We're lucky we at least got reruns on those networks and a DVD.

** The reason ABC greenlit the show then abruptly canceled it was due to the fact that there was a rush by many networks in the late '90s/early 2000s to have adult-themed animated primetime shows following the success of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''. However, between the time episodes began production and when they aired, ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' became a breakout hit and ABC sought to bury ''Clerks'' so it could give an extra half-hour to the game show. The moral: It doesn't matter how much time and effort you put into a TV show, networks are fickle with desires that change on a whim. Though Kevin Smith has admitted that he loved hearing Regis say, "Up next: Clerks." All of two times.

** The DVDCommentary briefly mentioned an episode idea where Creator/BenAffleck would play the King of Canada. The episode premise was also described as "the Disney/{{Aladdin}} parody."

* ActorAllusion: Judge Reinhold appears as a version of himself in episode 4 which leads to a dream sequence referencing his role in ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'' and a scene referencing ''Film/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh''.

* NoBudget: Amusingly, this is even the case for the DVD commentary. It's obvious there's only one microphone in the room, with Smith coming in loud and clear while everyone else is barely audible.

** Randal buys [[Series/KnightRider KITT]] at a used car lot. The car becomes jealous of Randal's relationship with Dante and attempts to kill Dante and impersonate him at the store (a reference to ''Film/SingleWhiteFemale''). He manages to trick everyone except Dante (and most likely Silent Bob) with his thin disguise.

** Notice how much Leonardo Leonardo looks like [[Film/DieHard Hans Gruber]]? That's because they originally wanted Creator/AlanRickman to voice him. However, Rickman didn't want to "reprise" the role, nor did he want him to look like Gruber. So they tried different designs for Leonardo until they went back to the original design when Baldwin was hired.
** The show was very nearly picked up by Creator/{{HBO}}. If it had, all swearing, sex, and drug-related references would've been allowed to air without censorship.
** Originally, the series was considered for UPN, with an initial run of thirteen episodes and the promise of heavy promotion. Production instead went with ABC (rather than being "the big fish in a little pool,") which they conceded was a mistake.

** WordOfGod stated that there were plans for [[http://www.mtv.com/news/2624634/new-clerks-animated-series-2013/ a revival that is scheduled to debut in 2013]]. However, [[http://www.smodcast.com/news/is-clerks-the-animated-series-ready-for-a-reboot that went down the drain REAL quick.]]

** Combine this with the fact that when they were pitching the show to ''another'' network (often thought to be Creator/{{UPN}}) wanted to basically let them do what they wanted and make them their flagship show (similar to Creator/{{Fox}} and ''Franchise/TheSimpsons''). Smith compares it to someone outright asking you to be the big fish in a little pond, but since ABC was a bigger network (''and'' was owned by [[Creator/{{Disney}} the company]] which owned Creator/{{Miramax}} at the time alongside [[Creator/TouchstonePictures Touchstone Television]]) they signed with them. Smith and Mosier admit in the commentary that this wasn't their finest hour.

** Notice how much Leonardo Leonardo looks like [[Film/DieHard Hans Gruber]]? That's because they originally wanted Creator/AlanRickman to voice him.
*** However, Rickman didn't want to "reprise" the role, nor did he want him to look like Gruber. So they tried different designs for Leonardo until they went back to the original design when Baldwin was hired.

* MissingEpisode: ''Four'' of the '''six''' episodes in the series. See ScrewedByTheNetwork below for more information.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Was it ever. Only episodes two and four made it to air before it was pulled off by ABC as they felt it didn't gel with their programming; ([[WhatAnIdiot one has to wonder why they even bothered to greenlight the show at all]].)
** But, on the plus side, all six of the episodes have been released on DVD ''and'' Creator/CartoonNetwork does air all six episodes on occasion. They even aired the second episode with the scene where Randal and Dante watch a ''Film/SchindlersList'' parody called ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Flintstone]]'s List''. In the ABC version, they only showed Randal and Dante watching the TV with the sounds from the movie playing. On Cartoon Network and the DVD, there's an actual clip from the movie.
** Other networks (most notably Creator/AdultSwim and Creator/ComedyCentral) were interested in picking up the show for new episodes after ABC canceled it, but ABC refused to sell the rights and has simply sat on them. We're lucky we at least got reruns on those networks and a DVD.

** There was also going to be a [[SaturdayMorningCartoon Saturday Morning]] spin-off called ''Li'l Clerks'', which would feature [[SpinoffBabies child versions of the characters]]. Each episode would have a [[RhymesOnADime rhyming theme]], like "Date Fate" and "Clerk Jerk".

* WordOfGod stated that there were plans for [[http://www.mtv.com/news/2624634/new-clerks-animated-series-2013/ a revival that is scheduled to debut in 2013]]. However, [[http://www.smodcast.com/news/is-clerks-the-animated-series-ready-for-a-reboot that went down the drain REAL quick.]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Episodes they would have made:

** The DVD commentary briefly mentioned an episode idea where Creator/BenAffleck would play the King of Canada. The episode premise was also described as "the Disney/{{Aladdin}} parody."

*** However, Rickman didn't want to "reprise" the role, nor does he want him to look like Gruber. So they tried different designs for Leonardo until they went back to the original design when Baldwin was hired.

* AnachronismStew: A very notable example comes from the german dub of the show. As the show was made in 2000 and only got dubbed over ten years later solely for use on Netflix the dub substituted some of the impossible to translate or lazy jokes with referential humor to things that happened inbetween the production of the show and the dub, including a reference to Facebook and candidates of the German version of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''.

** The DVD commentary said that had the series continued, a RunningGag would have the mayor always appearing in his Mayor [=McCheese=] costume, claiming he was about to go to or coming back from a costume party, and have some reason not to remove it. The reason for this was to have a mayor character as unique as [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mayor Quimby]] and [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Mayor McDaniels]].

** Jay joins a boy band. Silent Bob is sad that Jay is gone, so Randal and Dante bring Bob in to work at the Quick Stop. He turns the store around and it becomes a great success. Silent Bob is given a piece of gum and says, "Mmm, Juicy Fruit." which shocks Dante and Randal asking him "You can talk!?" (a reference to the Chief in ''Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest''.)

** Combine this with the fact that when they were pitching the show ''another'' network (often thought to be Creator/{{UPN}}) wanted to basically let them do what they wanted and make them their flagship show (similar to Creator/{{Fox}} and ''Franchise/TheSimpsons''). Smith compares it to someone outright asking you to be the big fish in a little pond, but since ABC was a bigger network they signed with them. Smith and Mosier admit in the commentary that this wasn't their finest hour.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: The scene in episode 4 where Dante and Randal are bad-mouthed by the basketball players in the elevator ("Were they talking about us?") is based on when the writers for the show were in an elevator behind two executives, who were going on about how stupid the show looked.

* There was also going to be a [[SaturdayMorningCartoon Saturday Morning]] spin-off called ''Li'l Clerks'', which would feature [[SpinoffBabies child versions of the characters]]. Each episode would have a [[RhymesOnADime rhyming theme]], like "Date Fate" and "Clerk Jerk".
* Another spin-off, titled ''Old Jay'', would feature Jay as a grandfather. This evolved from the last segment of Episode 2, which was a parody of ''Film/StandByMe''.

** Jay joins a boy band. Silent Bob is sad that Jay is gone, so Randal and Dante bring Bob in to work at the Quick Stop. He turns the store around and it becomes a great success. Silent Bob is given a piece of gum and says, "Mmm, Juicy Fruit." which shocks Dante and Randal (a reference to the Chief in ''Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest''.)

** Over the years, there has been talk of a DTV movie ''Sell Out'', which basically would've had the cartoon characters making a movie based on the actual movie. Assorted behind-the-scene developments (such as the Weinsteins leaving the studio and Disney buying Mirimax) haven't helped move it forward.

* AnachronismStew: A very notable example comes from the german dub of the show. As the show was made in 2000 and only got dubbed over ten years later solely for use on Netflix the dub substituted some of the impossible to translate or lazy jokes with referential humor to things that happened inbetween the production of the show and the dub, including a reference to Facebook and candidates of the german version of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''.

* ActorAllusion: Judge Reinhold appears as a version of himself in episode 4 which leads to a dream sequence referencing his role in Film/BeverlyHillsCop and a scene referencing Film/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh.
* AnachronismStew: A very notable example comes from the german dub of the show. As the show was made in 2000 and only got dubbed over ten years later solely for use on Netflix the dub substituted some of the impossible to translate or lazy jokes with referential humor to things that happened inbetween the production of the show and the dub, including a reference to Facebook and candidates of the german version of I´m a Celebrity...Get me out of here!.

** The DVD commentary said that had the series continued a RunningGag would have the mayor always appearing in his Mayor [=McCheese=] costume, claiming he was about to go to or coming back from a costume party, and have some reason not to remove it.

** Over the years, there has been talk of a DTV movie ''Sell Out'', which basically would've had the cartoon characters making a movie based on the actual movie. Assorted behind-the-scene developments (such as the Weinsteins leaving the studio) haven't helped move it forward.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: The scene in episode 4 where Dante and Randal are bad-mouthed by the basketball players in the elevator ("Were they talking about us?") is based on a real life event that occurred to the writers while working on this show.

** The DVD commentary said that had the series continued a RunningGag would have the mayor always appearing in his Mayor [=McCheese=] costume, claiming he was about to go to a costume party or coming back from one, and have some reason not to remove it.

* HeyItsThatVoice: The show features the voices of Creator/AlecBaldwin, Creator/CharlesBarkley, Sen. Creator/AlFranken, Creator/JamesWoods, and Creator/GilbertGottfried playing the parts of both Creator/JerrySeinfeld and Creator/PatrickSwayze (though, for legal reasons, the character could neither look nor sound like Swayze himself.) Frequent Creator/{{Disney}} VO Creator/AprilWinchell shows up a few times, as either one-offs or the recurring TV news reporter, Tovah Hernandez-Carlson.