Clip show
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A clip show is an episode of a
Origin
Clip shows have their origin in theatrical
Movie studios often resorted to old footage to save money. The most famous example is the short comedies of The Three Stooges which, from 1949 until 1957, borrowed lengthy sequences and often entire storylines from old shorts. Only a few new scenes would be filmed as a framework for the old footage. This practice was adopted because the studios could charge more money for "new" films than for old ones; this also allowed the series to continue producing shorts after Shemp Howard died, using carefully obscured body doubles to blend the old footage.
Animation studios were also known to periodically make cartoon shorts—often referred to as "cheaters"—made up primarily of clips for earlier cartoons in order to save money. Examples of this include
Variations
One variant of the modern clip show is the compilation episode, using clips from the most popular episodes, assembled together in one episode, sometimes without a frame story as such.
Another format is to have a host who describes various characters and characteristics of the show to introduce various clips from past episodes. For example, a special one-hour clip show episode of All in the Family featured actor Henry Fonda discussing the main characters on the show followed by relevant clips from previous episodes; a similar two-part clip show appeared on Three's Company, hosted by Lucille Ball. This format was parodied in a clip show for The Simpsons ("The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular"), in which fictional actor Troy McClure—a recurring Simpsons character—introduced the clips.
A third variation, used in a two-part clip show episode of
In anime and tokusatsu series, a common type of episode is the recap episode, which presents clips from previous episodes in a manner to remind viewers of the story so far and help newer viewers catch up on the plot and details. In tokusatsu, the episode is often used to give the actors and crew a week off or a lighter load around the time of a holiday (typically in the summer or during Golden Week). The last episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender before its four-part series finale, "The Ember Island Players", used a variation of this practice, in which the plot of the series was recapped in the form of a play performed by a Fire Nation-run theater company,[1] with exaggerated portrayals of the main characters.
Rationale
While clip shows do reduce production costs, they were originally employed in an era when there were far fewer program outlets and it was less likely that episodes from previous seasons would be aired again. Clip shows typically received strong
Daytime
Another common rationale for a clip show is the lack of a new show to air, due to failure to meet production schedules. For example, the computer-animated series Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles used clip shows four times for this purpose, interrupting in-progress story arcs. Similarly, the Moonlighting season 3 episode "The Straight Poop" helped to fill out a production schedule that was rife with delays: in 15 weeks since that season began, only 8 episodes of the "weekly" series had been broadcast. In typical fashion for the show, it used a framing story that broke the fourth wall to determine if the characters themselves were the source of the show's notorious production delays, and ended with the characters promising a "new episode next week!". Chappelle's Show resorted to producing five clip shows (using material from only 25 episodes) over the course of its first two seasons.
Other times budgetary considerations force clip shows. At the end of its second season,
Clip shows today tend to offset such criticism by trying to make the frame tale surrounding the clips compelling, or by presenting clip shows without any framing device. A show might also defuse the awkwardness by indulging in self-parody, such as intentionally acknowledging or over-playing the device (including flashbacks with deliberate changes to the footage for comedic purposes), or using the device to present newly-created scenes with unseen events from past episodes instead (such as the Community episodes "Paradigms of Human Memory" and "Curriculum Unavailable", and the Rick and Morty episode "Total Rickall", both being series created by Dan Harmon).[4][5][6][7] Clerks: The Animated Series similarly parodied the format by running a clip show as its second episode, even though there was only one prior episode from which to pull material.[4][5]
The clip show has been employed more seriously as a means to bring viewers up to date on highly serialized dramas, such as on Lost, Once Upon a Time and the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. Many anime dramas used similar techniques, particularly when a series ran for more episodes in one season than could be reasonably rerun (such as Mobile Suit Gundam Wing running for 49 episodes, which were originally aired weekly).
Sometimes clip shows air before or during a series finale as a way for audiences to reminisce about their favorite moments. Some examples of shows that have used clip shows in this sense are: Animaniacs, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Frasier, The Golden Girls, Joe 90, Seinfeld, Friends, Thunderbirds, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Cheers.
Clip shows are also a way to compile the best episodes or sketches from a series to air in a single, concise package when rerunning a whole episode or series is implausible. The annual Scottish New Year special Scotch and Wry was condensed into four feature film-length episodes for home video release. Carson's Comedy Classics compiled memorable sketches from the first 20 seasons of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for airing in syndication. Surviving content from Bozo the Clown and other Chicago children's television programs was incorporated into Bozo, Gar and Ray: WGN TV Classics, an annual holiday special.
Clip shows can allow a series to continue for a short period after a prominent figure departs or dies, with remaining cast members or guest hosts substituting in the absent cast member's stead. Shows that were extended in this manner include Chappelle's Show[8] and The Rush Limbaugh Show.[9]
See also
- Bottle episode
- Compilation movie
- Filler (media)
- Fix-up
References
- ^ Millman, Zosha (2022-02-21). "Euphoria's wild high school play episode immediately deepens the show". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ISBN 9781613124000. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ISBN 9780743476577. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- ^ a b Handlen, Zack (August 17, 2015). "Rick And Morty: "Total Rickall"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ a b "98, Clerks: The Animated Series". IGN. 2009-01-23. Archived from the original on 2009-01-19. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (April 21, 2011). "Review: 'Community' - 'Paradigms of Human Memory': Remember the time?". HitFix. Archived from the original on April 26, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
- Vulture. Archivedfrom the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Dana Leahy (July 11, 2006). "Chappelle's Show: The Lost Episodes". G4tv.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
- ^ "Premiere sets short-term plans for Rush Limbaugh timeslot". Radio Insight (February 17, 2021). Retrieved February 20, 2021.