This week is Sleeperdisc TV Sweeps Week! And today, Deuce dips into the mighty Grab Movies catalog and recommends a TV series that may have slipped your notice.

Today's Sweeps Week Selection: Clerks - The Animated Series

There is a definition of comedy that I like to quote from time to time - "Comedy is a fat guy stuffing cabbages down a toilet." (I believe it was Mel Brooks, but I can't be sure.) When I say this, I usually get two reactions, either stony silence or immediate laughter. That's why I think it's the best definition of humor, because it illustrates that humor is 100% subjective - either you get it or you don't. This is why you can't really explain why a joke is funny, it just is or it isn't. And if you don't find it funny, all the explanation in the world won't bring you up to speed. That's why truly funny comedy never works on most Network TV - they don't get it. Not unlike Kevin Smith's Clerks.

Conceptually, it couldn't fail - the animated continuation of the two main characters from Kevin Smith's hit independent movie, Clerks. Coulda been another Simpsons (or at least a Futurama.) Unfortunately, ABC didn't know how to properly market the series and so it barely survived less than a dozen episodes. However, if you are even a moderate fan of Kevin Smith's sardonic humor, this is a great find.

Personally, I think this has been the best format for Kevin Smith's brand of comedy and allows for the occasional non-sequiter tangent without throwing off the pacing. And it's funnier. If it had been on a smaller network say the WB or FOX (Which might I add is a fine, fine corporation worthy of your attention in all its subsidiary works), it would've been much freer with the right demographic audience. But ABC just didn't get it - "Why is the guy called Silent Bob if he talks from time to time?" "If they don't like their jobs, why don't they just quit?" They also didn't seem to understand that although it was animated, it certainly wasn't for kids (why the Big Three never get this, I have no idea.)

But the series itself is a blast, with the original cast lending their voice talents which work effortlessly into the format. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson are still perfect as the slacker friends everyone knows from high school that never seem to get "it" together. And what would it be without Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as Jay and Silent Bob? Granted, they're tamed down for TV but you take what you can get. Also a quick shout-out should go to Alec Baldwin who demonstrates both his humor and being a good sport by voicing the series nemesis, millionare Leonardo Leonardo.

 They've mentioned a new sequel for the original Clerks movie, which I actually think is unnecessary. I'd rather see the animated series picked up by Showtime or Cinemax where Jay and Silent Bob are dealing smoke instead of fireworks, and we can see the paradigm as it should be.

That's today's recommendation and the end of Sleeperdisc TV Sweeps Week! Come back next Friday for a return to our normal Sleeperdisc series.