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Clone High
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Clone High is an animated series that aired for one season (November 2002 - April 2003) on MTV and Teletoon. It has officially been on hiatus since March 17, 2003 [1]. It can currently be seen in Canada on the digital cable station, Razer.
Contents
- 1 Synopsis
- 2 Production
- 3 Characters
- 4 Episodes
- 5 Theme song
- 6 Themes
- 6.1 Dolphins
- 6.2 Allusions
- 7 Controversy
- 8 Trivia
- 9 DVD release
- 10 References
- 11 External links
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Synopsis
Clone High is set in a
high school that is secretly being run as an elaborate
military experiment orchestrated by a
government office called the
Secret Board of Shadowy Figures. The school is entirely populated by
clones of famous historical figures, with the idea that they would later be used by the
United States military who would harness their greatness in battle. The
principal of the high school,
Cinnamon J. Scudworth, has his own plans for the clones, however, and secretly undermines the wishes of the Board. Instead of using them as soldiers, Scudworth wants the clones to staff a clone-themed
amusement park (dubbed "Cloney Island"). He is assisted by his
robot/
vice principal/
dehumidifier Mr. Butlertron (an obvious parody of
Mr. Belvedere) who calls everyone "Wesley".
The main protagonists of Clone High are the clones of Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc, and Mahatma Gandhi. Much of the plot of the show revolves around the attempts of Abe to woo the vain and promiscuous clone of Cleopatra. He is entirely ignorant of the fact that Joan of Arc is attracted to him. Meanwhile, John F. Kennedy's clone (referred to as "JFK"), a macho, narcissistic womanizer, is also attempting to win over Cleopatra and has a long-standing rivalry with Abe.
Many celebrities, including Tom Green, Mandy Moore, John Stamos, Marilyn Manson, Michael J. Fox and Jack Black, make guest appearances on the show (sometimes as themselves). In addition, there are many amusing portrayals of famous historical figures, such as Julius Caesar, Catherine the Great, Genghis Khan, Vincent van Gogh, George Washington Carver, Walt Disney, Helen of Troy, Marie Curie (who is deformed, due to radiation damage to her DNA), and even Jesus Christ (who is portrayed as a latino named Jesús Cristo).
Much of the humor in the show comes from the large contrast between the personality of the clones and the actual values and legacy of the historical figures they are descended from. For instance, Gandhi is portrayed as a hyperactive jerk-with-a-heart-of-gold whose biggest dream is to be accepted by those around him, in contrast to his historical legacy of calm nonviolence. Abe Lincoln is similarly portrayed as weak and indecisive, completely lacking the resolve of the President whose DNA he shares. All of the clones are also given mis-matched foster parents who have little in common with them. Gandhi's parents are a stereotypical Jewish-American couple, while JFK is raised by a homosexual interracial couple; Joan's "foster grandpa" is an elderly blind musician similar to Ray Charles named Toots, who fills the stereotypical 'old wise man' role found in most teen shows, and who begins many of his declarative sentences with the words, "Now, I may be blind, but I can see..." followed by a wise-sounding observation that has little-to-nothing to do with anything.
The show is also a
parody of "issue" episodes of high-school themed comedies; in fact, every episode opens with a voiceover parodying the "
very special episodes" of TV shows. Episodes center on various social issues, including Gandhi being shunned by his school for having
ADD (because of misinformation about the disorder), parodying shows which tackle
AIDS awareness (it even included a special guest celebrity who tries to educate the students). Other episodes tackle
drugs (smoking raisins), the environment, and drinking in a similarly ridiculous fashion. In a clear sign that it is parodying the high school genre, it even ends at
prom—a stereotypical "high school show" ending. Even the prom is a joke however, as we learn it is only the Winter Prom.
The season finale is a cliffhanger episode, ending with the entire cast, aside from Scudworth, deep-frozen, and Joan in bed with JFK.
Production
Clone High was created and produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also wrote and did voices for the show.
Storyboards, and a large part of the production design, were supplied by the Canadian studio Nelvana.
Characters
- See also: List of Clone High minor characters
- Joan of Arc: A cynical, regretful, and angst-ridden goth clone of Joan of Arc with a crush on her best friend, Abe.
- Gandhi: Buckling under the pressure of being a clone of Mahatma Gandhi, he has become a non-stop party machine instead, probably in an attempt not to think about it so much.
- JFK: A pretty boy, sex-obsessed captain of the football and soccer team who believes he is doing a pretty good job of living up to John F. Kennedy, whom he calls, "A macho, womanizing stud who conquered the MOON!!"
- Principal Cinnamon J. Scudworth, Ph.D.: A deluded, self-aggrandizing megalomaniac who always wears rubber dish-gloves and has an annual psychological breakdown after which he attempts to kill John Stamos.
- Mr. Lynn Butlertron: A robot who is programmed with a highly sensitive compassion protocol (a parody of Mr. Belvedere). Also known as Mr. B. He inexplicably refers to everyone as "Wesley".
- Mr. Sheepman: A kindly history teacher at Clone High, and the first mostly human clone with a little sheep DNA mixed into his genetic composition (a parody of Dolly the Sheep). His mannerisms are a parody of Don Knotts.
Episodes
-
Theme song
The theme song was written by Liam Lynch and performed by Abandoned Pools. The group Abandoned Pools appears in the series finale, Episode 13, "Changes: The Big Prom: The Sex Romp: The Season Finale".
Way way back in the 1980s'
Secret government employees
Dug up famous guys and ladies
And made amusing genetic copies
Now the clones are sexy teens, now
They're gonna make it if they try
Loving learning challenge judging
Time to laugh and shiver and Cry
Clone High
Themes
Dolphins
Every episode features a dolphin in some way, whether seen or heard.
The Clone High website claims that there is a dolphin in every episode.[2] There are dolphins in at least 12 of the 13 episodes counting two auditory but not visual appearances:
Allusions
Allusions to other television series, films, and historical events are fairly common throughout the show.
- The double love triangle that drives much of the series (Joan-Abe-Cleo, Abe-Cleo-JFK) is reminiscent of the one present in the Archie Comics. There, Betty (Joan) is in love with her best friend Archie (Abe), who is competing with the rich jock Reggie (JFK) for the affections of snobbish Veronica (Cleo).
Controversy
The show's portrayal of Gandhi sparked outrage in India, where he is still very much revered. Clone High did not air there, but a news report on the show upset a great number of people. On January 30, 2003, the 55th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, approximately 150 protesters (including members of parliament) gathered in New Delhi and vowed to fast in response to Clone High.[3] MTV offered a quick apology, stating that "Clone High was created and intended for an American audience," and, "We recognize and respect that various cultures may view this programming differently, and we regret any offense taken by the content in the show."[4]
Trivia
- The series had run in its entirety in Canada on Teletoon before premiering in the United States on MTV.
- In the show opening, under the eye, it says "Fig 8-12: It is of some importance to note when cloning historical figures, idiosyncrasies may prevent direct replication." This is a nod at how many of the main characters seem to differ from their historical clone-parent.
- The diner the clones frequent is called The Grassy Knoll, a nod to the JFK assassination conspiracy theory about a second shooter, dubbed "The Man on the Grassy Knoll." Other references seen are the flag at The Grassy Knoll being permanently at half mast and the car on the roof of the diner containing the original JFK's body leaning over the edge.
- During the process of writing an episode, the writers would all get together to pitch jokes. Often, a writer would pitch an extension onto a joke, then another writer would pitch another extension, and so on, until it became what the writers called a wacky stack, a joke so bloated and over-written it was no longer funny.[5](see Episode 2, Election Blu-Galoo)
- There was a running gag that creators Phil Lord and Christopher Miller wanted to include in the show “where Clone High – being an exaggeration of typical high schools in teen dramas – would have many proms throughout the year.” Planned proms included “an Early Winter Prom, a Late Winter/Early Spring Prom, a Mid-Semester Prom, a Post-Prom Clean Up Prom, etc.” The only surviving references to this joke are the Homecoming Prom in Episode 6, Homecoming: A Shot in D'Arc, and the winter prom in Episode 13, Changes: The Big Prom: The Sex Romp: The Season Finale.[2] Another reference to the gag was deleted from Episode 8, A Room of One's Clone: Pie of the Storm.[2]
DVD release
| Screenshot
| Title
| Release date
| Episodes
|
|
|
| Image:Clone High DVD.jpg
| "Season 1"
| September 20, 2005
| 13
|
|
The DVD was released in Canada by Nelvana with the help of Teletoon. The DVD contains the complete first season, including 5 episodes which did not originally air in the United States.
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References
- ^ "Clone High on hiatus! No school for Scudworth!", CloneHighUSA.com, March 17, 2003.
- ^ a b c Pava, Adam. Episode Six: 'Homecoming: A Shot in the D'Arc' Notes (HTML). CloneHighUSA.com.
- ^ Sharma, Ashok. "MTV's Gandhi 'insult' outrages Indian MPs", BBC, January 31, 2003.
- ^ Grossberg, Josh. "MTV Apologizes for Gandhi Goofing", E! Online, January 31, 2003.
- ^ Pava, Adam. Episode Two: 'Episode Two: Election Blu-Galoo’ Notes (HTML). CloneHighUSA.com.
