Clone High (occasionally referred to in the U.S. as Clone High U.S.A.) is an animated television series that aired for one season (November 2002 – April 2003) on MTV and Teletoon. It has officially been on hiatus since March 17, 2003.
The series had run in its entirety in Canada on Teletoon before premiering in the United States on MTV. The last five episodes were never broadcast in the United States. The Clone High theme song is written by Liam Lynch and performed by alternative rock band Abandoned Pools, who also provided much of the series' background music.
Though unpopular during its 2002-2003 run, it has garnered a large fanbase in recent years through the internet and reruns. It has has been critically acclaimed for its comical, nonsensical approach to teenage life, its parodies of historical figures with well-developed and unique personalities, and also for its witty and fast-paced dialogue. It currently has an 8.7 rating on TV.com, a 8.9 rating on IMDb and is listed as #5 on IGN's Reader Choice: Top Animated Series.
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 that have been created and raised with the intent of having their various strengths and abilities harnessed by the
United States military. The
principal of the high school, Cinnamon J. Scudworth, has his own plans for the clones, and secretly tries to undermine the wishes of the Board (Scudworth wants to use the clones to create a clone-themed amusement park, dubbed "Cloney Island", a decidedly less evil intention than that of the Board). He is assisted by his
robot butler/
vice principal/
dehumidifier Mr. Butlertron (a parody of Mr. Belvedere), who is programmed to call everyone "Wesley" (a reference to one of the main characters in the television show
Mr. Belvedere).
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, while being oblivious to the fact that his friend 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, Andy Dick, 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 portrayals of clones of famous historical figures, such as Julius Caesar, Nostradamus, Catherine the Great, Genghis Khan, Vincent van Gogh, George Washington Carver, Helen of Troy, Gautama Buddha, Juan Ponce de León (who appears as a cross between himself and Arthur Fonzarelli and is known as "Poncey"), 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 always shown in shop class doing carpentry).
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, a parody of the stereotypical wise old man role (and the magical negro role) found in many 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.
, a reference to the JFK assassination conspiracy theory about a second shooter, dubbed "The Man on the Grassy Knoll". Notice the flag at half mast and JFK leaning over the car.]]
The show also includes humor based on the historical figures themselves. For example, the diner the clones frequent is called The Grassy Knoll, a reference 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. There are pictures of assassinations hanging on the walls of the restaurant, such as the famous Currier and Ives print of the Lincoln assassination (though this version is in color and considerably more graphic than the original print). The genetic ancestors of all of the five main clones died of similarly irregular causes: three assassinations, one execution, and one suicide. Other historical figure-based humor includes offhand coincidental remarks to other students, such as Abe mentioning that the clone of Napoleon is so annoying because of "some kind of complex", or Gandhi telling a rude Catherine the Great to "get off her high horse".
The show is also a parody of "issue" episodes of high-school themed comedies; in fact, almost every episode opens with a voice-over 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 underage 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.
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". Another reference to the gag was deleted from episode 8, "A Room of One's Clone: Pie of the Storm". Voice by actor Michael McDonald who is known for his role as Stuart on MADtv.
Cleopatra Smith: The clone of Cleopatra VII of Egypt the seductive queen of Ancient Egypt who killed herself with an asp. Cleopatra or "Cleo" is a beautiful, smart, charismatic and popular student who is more commonly known as Abe's initial love interest. She is very selfish, snobby, cynical, vain, manipulative and materialistic and cares only about her social image and her appearance. She shows very little consideration for other people's feelings and believes herself to be treated like a queen among her peers. She is also an overachiever who frequently covets success in order to fit into her "queen bee" status. She is currently Abe's girlfriend despite the numerous times she implied that she cheated on him and constantly using him. Cleo is portrayed as seductive, hedonistic and libidinous, as result she is sexually promiscuous and hates it when people make of fun of it, especially when Joan does it to spite her. Cleo has always been aware that Joan harbors strong feelings for Abe, and will often warn Joan to stay away from him after she and Abe began dating. Despite her arrogance and mean-spirited nature she shows a limited ability of compassion as she willingly gave Joan a makeover to help boost her confidence, and consoled JFK when he was sad about Poncey's death. Cleo is hinted to still have residual feelings for JFK. She is 16 years old. Her physical appearance is derived from the wall paintings of Ancient Egyptian women. She is portrayed as being a tan Egyptian girl which contradicts with the fact the real Cleopatra was of Macedonian descent. She is captain of the cheerleading team. She is only clone besides Van Gogh that is indentical to her clonemother personality-wise. Voice by actress Christa Miller, the wife of Clone High producer Bill Lawrence.
JFK: The clone of John Fitzgerald Kennedy the 35th US Irish-American Democrat President who was also assassinated in 1963 in Dallas, Texas. JFK is a good-looking, charismatic, athletic, popular and a very egotistical, arrogant, vain, lecherous and dimwitted school jock with a short temper. He initially antagonized Abe and Gandhi but he does softens up on them by the end of the first season. He speaks with a thick, non-rhotic New England dialect with a Boston accent (a parody of the Kennedy accent) that is exaggerated and monotone for comical effect. Despite his macho exterior he is very sensitive and easily offended. He was initially involved with Cleopatra but it would end after Cleo chose to be with Abe much to his own embarrassment. JFK is known for his lechery and constant usage of dirty jokes and innuendo. Despite being accident-prone, a target of physical harm and losing his best friend Poncey to a freak accident: he does not believe in the Kennedy curse. His plan of living up to John F. is simply by being a womanizer and he is shown to be just as popular with the women, he seems not to much about his clonefather besides that he conquered the moon. He is 16 years old. He mainly drives a van and in one episode he drove a 1950s-esque corvette. He also seems to have a fear of sudden movements and friendly "hand gun" gestures as he constantly ducks, probably as a cruel joke about the John F. Kennedy assassination. He questioned his sexuality when he became attracted to "John Dark" (Joan in drag). He is also captain of the football team and soccer team. He is also one of the show's most popular characters. He has three nicknames: "Jack", "Fitzy-Baby" and "Jackie-Boy". Voice by Christopher Miller.
Principal Cinnamon J. Scudworth, Ph.D.: A deluded, self-aggrandizing megalomaniac of a scientist who always wears rubber dish-gloves and if absolutely horrible at being a principal, he is always trying to betray the Secret Board of Shadowy Figures and use the clones for his own schemes, his favorite being a clone themed amusement park. It's possible he is an atheist because he once said "so, religion is for fools?...fools and liberals". He is the series fourth main protagonist. As seen in the opening theme, he was the one along with Mr. Butlertron who had dug the corpses of the famous people in the mid-1980s who would later be used in cloning. Voice by Phil Lord.
Mr. Butlertron: A robot servant and best friend/roommate to Scudworth who is programmed with a highly sensitive compassion protocol (a parody of Mr. Belvedere). Also known as Mr. B. He calls everyone "Wesley", a reference to the youngest son on Mr. Belvedere, Wesley Owens. Strangely, even though he is a robot, Mr. Butlertron is shown without his mustache in a photograph taken in the 80s in the opening to the show and he also has chest hair as shown when he took off his cardigan sweater vest. He has a very short temper and can be prone to physical violence as shown when he fought Scangrade and when he showed special animosity towards Ecybo Pooch. Voice by Christopher Miller.
Secret Board of Shadowy Figures: A ruthless and secretive government organization who employs Principal Scudworth and is sponsored by Puma. Their ultimate aim is to use the clones for a super army. The organization consists primarily of 5 aged white male agents; its chief director is referred to as The Shadowy Figure (voiced by Bill Lawrence). He is aware of Scudworth's craziness and incompetence in running Clone High. He finally decides to kill Scudworth and takes the clones away for experimentation after discovering his video tape of his plot to betray the Secret Board of Shadowy Figures and create Cloney Island. He also secretly hired many to "celebrities" to spy on the clones and Scudworth. They appear as a parody of the CIA or Area 51.
Supporting characters
Clone High students
Julius Caesar: a friend and classmate of the main characters. He speaks in a very aristocratic and theatrical manner. From one of the quotes on the 2003 MTV website he implies that he is in a relationship with Catherine: "By my troth, Catherine the Great, thou hast playéd with mine heart of stone, and yay, I hath returned but not my pyre" and the two are often seen together. He is also a fan of Laurence Olivier. He always wears a laurel wreath on his head. He appears to have an indifferent personality as shown in Litter Kills Literally as he nonchalantly ate popcorn at Poncey's funeral and didn't appear to mourn about his death like the other characters nor did he get shocked after JFK had a mental breakdown at the funeral. He is voiced by Neil Flynn.
Catherine the Great: a blonde friend of Cleopatra who speaks with a Valley girl dialect. She is implied to be in a relationship with Julius Caesar as they are often together. She has had sex with JFK in which he insults her as "Catherine the so-so". She is shown as being vain, promiscuous and somewhat stupid. She had pursued Gandhi when he was "GFK" (Gandhi with a JFK makeover) but lost interest after he returned to his normal self and went to Winter Prom with JFK alongside The Bronte Sisters and Joan of Arc. She is voiced by Murray Miller.
Genghis Khan: a friend of Abe and Gandhi. He appears as a friendly but mentally-challenged as he is unable to carry out simple tasks that have been instructed upon him. He is also overweight, gluttonous and has a lazy eye. He is a skilled opera singer as shown when he sang at Poncey's funeral. He also wears an orange shirt with the line "Screw Tibet!" and a newspaper hat on his head. He is voiced by Phil Lord.
Marie Antoinette: a physically-attractive young woman who is an employee at the Grassy Knoll. She has large breasts which is the source of JFK and Gandhi's boob jokes which she appears to be annoyed by in A Room for One's Clone. She speaks with a French accent. Her head got chopped off by Winston Churchill's helicopter in Makeover and she is seen carrying her head in her arms at the end of the episode Changes. She is voiced by Sarah Chalke.
George Washington Carver: a nerdy token black guy who is obsessed with experimenting with peanuts. He created Peanie an anthropomorphic peanut. He is voiced by Donald Faison.
Jesús Cristo: a Latino version of Jesus Christ. He is often seen in woodshop class which refers to the real Jesus who was a carpenter. He was used as a confidant to Joan in A.D.D.: The Last 'D' is for Disorder. He wears a halo on his head.
Vincent Van Gogh: a mentally-disturbed young man. He is missing his ear and covers the exposed area with a bandage. He may represent the emo kid. His room resembles the impressionist paintings of Van Gogh especially At Eternity's Gate and Bedroom in Arles. Like his clone-father he is a very talented artist as shown when he painted a giant mural to get back at Gandhi. He is voiced by Andy Dick.
Marie Curie: a clone who was morbidly deformed due to the exposure to radiation that was in her clone-mother's DNA. She has a very sweet, innocent and nice personality. She is the president of the Solid Gandhi Dancers. She has a major crush on Gandhi which he returns her feelings in the series finale. She is voiced by Nicole Sullivan.
Paul Revere: the nosy school gossip who he is seen riding a horse while he spreads rumors. He is voiced by Zach Braff.
Ponce De Leon: referred to as "Poncey" is a combined parody of Fonzie, Dylan McKay and James Dean. He only appears in the episode Litter Kills Literally alive but makes a cameo in the season finale as a ghost. He was JFK's best friend until they got into an argument. He was violently killed by a freak accident involving litter. He was very popular and well-liked by the other students and he also appeared as optimistic and philosophical which JFK mocked about him. He makes another appearance in that episode as ghost but was likely that was only a hallucination conceived by the grief-stricken JFK. He was voiced by actor Luke Perry.
Clone High staff
Eleanor Roosevelt: The school's gym teacher. She appears as a grotesque and aggressive. She also implies she is a lesbian as she propositions her female students.
Mr. Sheepman: A kindly history teacher at Clone High, home room teacher for the clones, 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. Voice by Andy Dick.
Family
Abe's Parents: They represent a typical conservative suburban couple. They are seen in Raisin the Stakes where they reprimand Abe for smoking raisins and Abe's father is seen in the episode Changes which he encourages Abe to have sex with Cleopatra. Abe's father resembles Harold Weir from the TV series Freaks and Geeks. The father is voiced by Joe Flaherty.
Toots: Joan's adoptive grandfather. He is a blind, elderly, likely senile African-American jazz musician who resembles Ray Charles. He is seen with a clarinet most of the time. He has a very down-to-earth and casual personality. He is loving and patient towards his foster granddaughter and gives her advice all the time but he fails to understand why she is so upset. He is in a relationship with Cleo's alcoholic mother. He is voiced by Donald Faison.
Wally and Carl: JFK's adoptive fathers who he refers to as "Gay Foster Dads". They are a flamboyant, gay, interracial couple who are loving and understanding towards their adopted son despite his mild homophobia. JFK shows low tolerance for them and stresses himself to act as masculine and promiscuous as possible to compensate for their homosexuality. Wally is the African-American effeminate partner and Carl is the Caucasian butch partner. They are voiced by Donald Faison and Neil Flynn respectively.
Cleo's drunk foster mom: Cleo's (and formerly Gandhi's) unnamed adoptive mother. She is a lazy, slurring alcoholic being unemployed and lives off disability checks. She tends to be abusive towards her daughter physically and verbally. She once threw make-up at Cleo when she ran out of liquor. Her hostility towards Cleo is stemmed from her own jealously as Cleo is everything she is not being young, attractive nor popular. She is in a relationship with Toots. It is likely her last name is Smith as that is Cleo's surname and it is said by Gandhi that she was married at one point because he said Cleo convinced her parents to disown him. She will proposition Abe at one point whenever he tries to visit or contact Cleo. She is voiced by Sarah Chalke.
Gandhi's parents: Gandhi's adopted mother and father are a stereotypical Jewish couple. They want Gandhi to excel in school.
Other
Narrator: the very sarcastic narrator of the show, he tells the audience a preview of what will happen during the opening and a preview of the suceeding episode at the end of the show. He is voiced by Will Forte who also voices Abe.
Scangrade ("The Magnificent"): an egotistical and boastful robot who is Mr. Butlertron's hated nemesis. He is a giant dated computer grading machine but with arms and legs and a face. Unlike Mr. Butlertron, Scangrade is very primitive as he was manufactured in the 1980s (he has to be plugged into the wall just to operate). He is powered by the PXJTs. He refers to everyone as "infidels". He is voiced by Judah Miller.
President Dog: A cute, little stray puppy who is the student body president of Clone High. He randomly appears at the end of the second episode in the heat of the class election between Abe Lincoln and JFK, all the students immediately but unintentionally voted him as their class president because of his cuteness and Cleopatra even tried to seduce him. Cleo somewhat takes ownership of him and she constantly dotes on him. He was one of the reasons why JFK and Cleo broke up as JFK was annoyed by Cleo putting herself and the dog before him.
Cop: a police officer who makes random appearances in the series notably in episodes Escape from Beer Mountain, Plane Crazy, Film Fest and Litter Kills Literally. He is voiced by Andy Dick.
Peanie: an anthropomorphic peanut with eyes, arms and legs. He was created by George Washington Carver. He is kept in a jar and has a fear of being turned into peanut butter. He has appeared in episodes: Escape from Beer Mountain and FIlm Fest.
Geshy: a strange, colorful and carnivorous creature that was introduced in the episode Shot in the D'arc. He is the mascot for GESH (Genetically Engineered Superhuman High) and is kidnapped by Gandhi and Genghis to gain revenge on GESH. It is revealed that he is a real creature and he and Gandhi form a friendship similar to . After Gandhi gives him up it is shown he has an insatiable appetite for flesh and begins eating wild animals and bit off the referee's arm. He makes a cameo appearance in Litter Kills Literally hidden among a group of animals that JFK calls to clean up litter.
Episodes
Controversy
An ad for Clone High in
Maxim Magazine depicting
Mahatma Gandhi in a negative manner initially sparked controversy, which led to a greater awareness of the show in India and sparking an outrage in that country. 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. 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, but we don't regret any offense taken by the content in the show."
Production
The show uses
Limited animation. The characters and settings are
traditionally drawn but the frames and cels are frequently reused and overlayed thus giving the show a very stylized and slightly inconsistant appearance.
The series was produced by Bill Lawrence who also produced 'Scrubs', Spin City and currently Cougar Town. Many of Scrubs alumni provide voices of several characters in Clone High such as Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke and Christa Miller.
Notably, the style of animation is resembles the later animated series Total Drama which also aired on Teletoon, which also uses limited animation but combined with flash animation. Some of the people who worked on Clone High had designed several storyboards for Total Drama Island.
DVD release
References
External links
DVD press release
UWO Gazette article about Clone High
Flak Magazine: Clone High
Category:2002 Canadian television series debuts
Category:2003 Canadian television series endings
Category:2000s Canadian television series
Category:2002 American television series debuts
Category:2003 American television series endings
Category:2000s American animated television series
Category:Bangsian fantasy
Category:Biopunk
Category:Canadian animated television series
Category:High school television series
Category:Fictional clones
Category:Cloning in fiction
Category:MTV cartoons
Category:Parodies
Category:Fictional versions of real people
Category:Abraham Lincoln in fiction
Category:Television series by Buena Vista Television