Clone High

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Clone High was 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 . It can currently be seen in Canada on the digital cable station, Razer. A Clone High DVD was released in Canada on September 20, 2005. Clone High was created and produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also wrote and did voices for the show. In the United States, the show was titled Clone High USA. Storyboards, and a large part of the production design, were supplied by the Canadian studio Nelvana.

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 (he is something of a mad scientist figure), 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, since he calls everyone "Wesley").

The main protagonists of Clone High are 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 narcissistic 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 (always "JFK" in the show), a macho 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). There are also 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 disease), 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.

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 protestors (including members of parliament) gathered in New Delhi and vowed to fast in response to Clone High. 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." .

Characters

• Abe Lincoln -- Naive yet nice guy, forever wrestling with the legacy of his clonefather, Abraham Lincoln
• Joan of Arc-- Cynical, regretful and angst-ridden goth clone of Joan of Arc with a crush on her best friend, Abe
• Gandhi (also known as G-Man; G-Spot; G-Force; GFK) -- 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
• Cleopatra (also known as "Cleopatra Smith") -- sharp, sultry, seductive, cruel and manipulative clone of Cleopatra
• JFK -- Pretty boy, sex-obsessed captain-of-the-football-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. -- 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 -- 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 -- 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.
• Secret Board of Shadowy Figures

Trivia

• The series had run in its entirety in Canada on Teletoon before premiering in the United States on MTV.
• 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."
• *The flag at The Grassy Knoll is permanently at half mast - another assassination reference.
• 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 writer’s called a wacky stack, a joke so bloated and over-written it was no longer funny.(see Episode 2, Election Blu-Galoo Trivia)
• As a far more obvious allusion to Mr. Belvedere, Mr. Butlertron was initially named "Mr. Belvetron", and lines were recorded with him being called by this name, but it was eventually changed due to legal reasons. However, the premiere Canadian broadcast occurred far before the American premiere and before legal issues arose (or at least before anything could be done about them), and so this original intended name did see airtime. Dialogue calling him by this name was re-edited around episode 3, although by that time his name was mostly shortened to Mr. B, so the change did not seem so out of place. In fact, because the premiere was a relatively quiet event and the popularity of the show didn't hit in full until later, even some Canadian viewers were unaware of the change.
• *One of the bonus features on the DVD release shows Phil Lord performing lines as Principal Scudworth from episode 7, "Plane Crazy: Gate Expectations", and he indeed refers to Mr. B as "Mr. Belvetron". As production on episodes of television shows, especially animated series, normally occurs weeks if not months before their original broadcast, it is not strange that the name was still in use by the production team as late as the 7th episode., although it was never broadcast with the line in this form.
• 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, , and the winter prom in Episode 13, .
• *Another reference to the gag was deleted from Episode 8, .

Episodes

Season 1: 2002-2003

#	Screen Shot	Title	Original Airdate	Description	Notable Guest Stars
1			November 2, 2002	Abe, Gandhi, and Joan go back to school.	Michael J. Fox as Gandhi's remaining kidney.
2		Election Blu-Galoo (also known as "Episode Two: Election Blu-Galoo")	November 3, 2002	Abe runs for student body president against JFK.	Marilyn Manson as himself.
3			November 10, 2002	Gandhi becomes a social outcast when he is diagnosed with A.D.D.	Tom Green as himself.
4			November 17, 2002	The clones each make their own student films.	None
5			November 24, 2002	Abe is addicted to sleep deprivation.	John C. McGinley as Doug Prepcourse.
6			December 1, 2002	Joan dons a clever disguise so that she can play on the basketball team.	Chris Berman as himself; Dan Patrick as himself.
7			December 8, 2002	Abe chases after Cleo in the airport terminal.	Ashley Angel as himself.
8			December 15 , 2002	When her house burns down, Joan is forced to move in with Cleo.	None
9			January 12 , 2003	The clones are all getting high on raisins!	Jack Black as the Pusher/Larry Hardcore.
10			January 19 , 2003	Tragedy strikes when one of the clones is horribly killed!	Luke Perry as Ponce.
11			January 26 , 2003	Joan loses her snowflake day spirit.	Mandy Moore as Herself?
12			February 3 , 2003	It is prom season and Abe must choose between Cleo and Joan.	None
13			February 10 , 2003	Prom night is here, but the evil Board of Shadowy Figures draws nigh!	John Stamos as himself; Tommy Walter as himself.

Themes

Dolphins

The Clone High website claims that there is a dolphin in every episode. There are dolphins in at least 11 of the 13 episodes counting two auditory but not visual appearances: Image:dolphin-blue.jpg|A dolphin as part of Abe's death defying skate board ramp in Election Blu-Galoo Image:dolphin-film.jpg|Two dolphins in Joan's film, The truth wears sideburns, in Image:dolphin-sleep.jpg|A dolphin from Joan's tattoo appears to Abe in Image:dolphin-homecoming.jpg|A dolphin impersonates Henry VIII to play on the basketball team in Image:dolphin-plane.jpg|A dolphin in G Spot's pool in Image:dolphin-storm.jpg|A dolphin noise is heard as Scudworth throws Mr. B onto an off-screen dolphin in In Litter Kills: Litterally the inmate called Sunshine has a dolphin tattoo that can be see on his upper arm when he is talking. It can be seen again when he is talking again but only a part of it. Image:dolphin-raisin.jpg|A dolphin being eaten by worms in Image:dolphin-litter.jpg|A dolphin is summoned by JFK to help pick up litter in Image:dolphin-snowflake.jpg|A dolphin noise is heard as Abe throws the knork into a dumpster in Image:dolphin-makeover.jpg|A dolphin in Abe's prom proposal in Image:dolphin-changes.jpg|A dolphin plays in Abandoned Pools in

Allusions

Allusions to other television series, films, and historical events are common. Image:teenwolf-homecoming.jpg|Teen Wolf playing for Clone High's basketball team Image:clonehigh-reservoir dogs.jpg|A poster for Reserved Dogs, an allusion to Reservoir Dogs

Theme song

The theme song is sung by Abandoned Pools, who appear in the series finale, Episode 13, .

DVD

Image:Clone High DVD.jpg|Season 1 on DVD
August 30, 2005

The DVD was released in Canada on August 30, 2005 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.

References

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