View Askewniverse
From Kevin Smith Wiki
The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by writer/director Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent Bob appear in almost all the View Askewniverse media, and characters from one story often reappear or are made reference to in others. Smith often casts the same actors for multiple characters in the universe, sometimes even in the same film.
Smith's recurring characters, settings, and motifs first appeared in his debut film, Clerks. Since then, the main canon has consisted of six feature films, in addition to several short films, comic books, and a short-lived animated TV series. The View Askewniverse is centered on the towns of Leonardo and Red Bank, New Jersey, both located in Monmouth County, New Jersey, central New Jersey. Chasing Amy also takes place partly in New York City, and both Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back involve road trips.
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[edit] Media
The following is a complete list of media in which the View Askewniverse has been portrayed.
[edit] Feature films
- Clerks (1994)—The first in the series of the View Askewniverse, follows a day in the lives of two clerks, Dante Hicks and Randal Graves.
- Mallrats (1995)—Takes place one day before the events in Clerks., the film is about two young men, Brodie Bruce and T.S. Quint, who hang out at a mall after being dumped by their girlfriends.
- Chasing Amy (1997)—A heterosexual man, Holden McNeil, falls in love with a lesbian, Alyssa Jones, against his best friend's (Banky Edwards') advice.
- Dogma (1999)—The world ends if two angels enter a church in New Jersey and it is up to Jesus' last scion, Jay, Silent Bob and the thirteenth apostle to stop them.
- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)—Jay and Silent Bob try to stop a "Bluntman and Chronic" movie from being made.
- Clerks II (2006)—Roughly ten years after Clerks., Dante and Randal are now employed in the fast food industry.
[edit] Short films
- The Flying Car—a short film produced for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
- Clerks: The Lost Scene—an animated short produced for the Clerks. X 10th anniversary DVD, based on a scene previously offscreen in the original film and only seen in the comics.
[edit] Television
- Clerks: The Animated Series—six-episodes featuring characters from the movie Clerks. that originally aired on ABC in 2000 (only for two episodes) and were later released on DVD in 2001.
- My Name is Earl—has made several View Askewniverse references.
[edit] Comics
- Clerks. (comic)—a three-part comic book series published in the late '90s, continuing the adventures of the film's main characters.
- Chasing Dogma—a four-part series about Jay and Silent Bob's adventures between the events of Chasing Amy and Dogma. Many elements of the comic would end up in the film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
- Bluntman and Chronic—the comic "created" by Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards in Chasing Amy, published to coincide with the release of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
- Jay and Silent Bob in Walt Flanagan's Dog—a story in Oni Double Feature #1.
- "Bluntman and Chronic in The Derris Affair, Part 1,"—published in Oni Double Feature #12.
- "On the Perils of Cinema"—a one-page Clerks. comic in the November 1999 issue of Talk magazine.
- Where's the Beef?—20-page comic bridging the gap between the events depicted in the opening scenes of Clerks II.
[edit] Non-canon
[edit] Film
- Much of the cast of Mallrats featured in a simultaneous production, Drawing Flies, which features two actors credited as one of their characters in the View Askew films; Kevin Smith credited as Silent Bob & Ethan Suplee credited as Willam Black. Both are referred to as different characters within the film, but "Silent Bob" is credited as himself. Smith also wore the same Bob coat from Mallrats in the film.
- Scream 3—Although not officially a part of the View Askewniverse, the third and final film of the Scream trilogy, Jay and Silent Bob make a quick cameo appearance, appearing as tourists visiting Sunrise Studios. In the original Scream, a VHS copy of their first film Clerks. can be spotted in Stu Macher's house. Kevin Smith would later go on to include Wes Craven in a cameo as the director of a fictitious Scream 4 in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; in addition, a copy of Scream 3 can be seen in the background of a scene taking place within a video store in Smith's Jersey Girl.
- Lucy You Love It (2000)
- Superman Lives, an unused draft of Kevin Smith's script, featured a character named "Derris". It also mentions a "Governor Caitlin Bree" and her son "Brodie".
[edit] Television
- Clerks—a live-action pilot for a TV show, based on the film Clerks. (This production did not involve Kevin Smith).
- MTV's Jay and Silent Bob Shorts
- VH1's I Love the 90s (2005) ("Jay and Silent Bob Re-name Your Favorite TV Show" & "Guys We'd Go Gay For")
- VH1's I Love the '90s: Part Deux (2005)
- Degrassi: The Next Generation (fictional filming of "Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh?" over 3 episodes)
- "The Lexicon of Love: Part 1"
- "The Lexicon of Love: Part 2"
- "Goin' Down the Road: Part 1"
- "Goin' Down the Road: Part 2"
- "West End Girls"
- Yes, Dear 2004 episode, "The Premiere"
- Video on Trial Episode #1.31 (2006)
- Degrassi: The Next Generation—In three episodes, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes appear as themselves as part of a story arc involving the production of a fictitious View Askewniverse film entitled Jay and Silent Bob go Canadian, Eh?.
[edit] Music videos
- "Can't Even Tell" by Soul Asylum
- "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Goops
- "Because I Got High" by Afroman
- "Kick Some Ass" by Stroke 9
[edit] References in pop culture
- In an episode of The Simpsons where the family builds a puzzle together, Homer says (after the task is completed) " This is the only thing worth-while I've ever made that wasn't Lisa." Maggie then gets angry and gives him a dirty look, to which he replies "Prove me wrong Silent Bob!"
- In the video game Tony Hawk's Underground, one of the drug dealers in the New Jersey level bears a similarity to Jay and sports a trenchcoat and black "skully" cap.
- Daniel Dumile (as Viktor Vaughn) references Silent Bob in his song "Saliva" on the album Vaudeville Villain.
- The events of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back are referenced in fellow stoner movie Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, when Vanessa recounts a story of Kumar breaking into an animal lab and stealing a chimpanzee.
- Chasing Amy—In Japan, the screenplay of Chasing Amy was adapted into a novel by Kenichi Eguchi and published by Aoyama Publishing. The unique concept of the book is that it is roughly half-novel, half-manga, with Moyoco Anno providing the art for the comic book pages. Joey Lauren Adams reportedly saw the book and hated it, as she felt that her character's past sexual experiences were depicted in too graphic a fashion.Vizmedia.com
[edit] Notable characters
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[edit] External links
- The View Askewniverse - Company’s Homepage
- News Askew
- History Askew, archived copy of a fan-assembled timeline, up to the aired episodes of Clerks: The Animated Series.
- Radio Interview with Kevin Smith about the Askewniverse from FBi 94.5 Sydney Australia
