What was the "Jay and Silent Bob Secret Stash" special that aired on MTV about?
It was an hour-long program that aired on MTV and introduced some Jay and Silent Bob oriented shorts that were used as commercials for said network. Kevin wrote and directed the shorts, and the special included Kevin, Jason and some other Askewers introducing the shorts, discussing some older MTV videos, and plugging the Secret Stash.

Is there anywhere that I can see the clips?
Sure. The good folks who run the summaries have collected them and you can watch them HERE.

Am I imagining things, or did I see an MTV premiere special for Mallrats way back when?
You aren’t imagining things. There was indeed a premiere special that aired around the time that Mallrats premiered.

What was "Hating Hal" about? Is it true that it was about a comic book guy who was to be played by Jason Lee? Has Kevin ever thought about trying to get it going again?
Kevin says: "I have, actually. Lately, I've been thinking of pitching it to another network. This was something Jason Lee and I developed, so I'd have to get his okay on it as well, but it's not something he'd want to act in anymore. There was a tiny window post 'Rats' and pre-'Amy' when Lee was okay with the idea of doing a tv show. That window has long-since closed, and with good reason: Carsey/Werner, the folks who asked us to do a show, didn't react very favorably to the show we wanted to do, and Lee reacted even less favorably to the shows they presented him with."

Incidentally, 'Hating Hal' wasn't what we worked on. We presented 'Hiatus', about a small-town guy who went to Hollywood to become and actor, wound up doing a lot or porn, then opted to leave the life behind and go back home to open a comic book store. The notion behind 'Hating Hal' (which was all mine) was something that was going to be incorporated into 'Clerks 2'.

Is it true that they made a pilot for a Clerks live-action sitcom?
Yes it is. The pilot was made without the input of the Askew crew and did not have any of the original cast, as well as not including Jay and Silent Bob. It actually starred Jim "Goat-boy" Breuer, but word is that it was absolutely terrible.

What are the chances we will ever see it?
Unless you have some serious connections somewhere, about 0%. The only person who has supposedly seen it around these parts is Kevin (and maybe some of the other askew crew), who said it was terrible.

What’s the deal with this Clerks: the Cartoon I keep hearing about?
The Clerks animated series is scheduled to begin appearing May 31st in ABC and will have a six-episode run to start off. If the show does well it may get renewed for a full season, which Chris Bailey confirmed would be a 22 episode commitment. If you’ve heard anything about it, then you probably know that none of the Clerks: The Cartoon team was happy with the fact that the show got pushed back from its original premiere time of March. Unfortunately, a summer airing schedule most likely negates any possibility of the show being renewed.

The story seems to be that everyone really dug the show except Mike Eisner, who "didn’t get it." So the decision was made to hold off on airing it until after the regular TV season. Kevin and several others sounded off against this on the web board, which got picked up by the regular media.

For a little while it looked as if Kevin and crew might buy the show back from ABC and possibly release it as a feature length movie. They eventually decided against it. So, the show will air on ABC on May 31st.

Why would Kevin have gone back to Disney (who owns ABC) after the whole Dogma fiasco?
As Kevin has said before, he understands why Disney felt they needed to drop Dogma and was able to see that it was purely a business decision. The animated series and the flick have nothing to do with each other, so when Kevin and Scott were shopping it around they treated it as such.

It’s probably safe to assume he would not work with them again however.

Why did Kevin and Scott choose to go to a network when having the show air on cable would have allowed them to be much more like the original movie?
Basically Kevin and Scott chose the deal that they thought was best for them. The fact that they will have to censor themselves a bit has made some fans upset, but Kevin has stated several times that he feels as though the challenge now is to make it funnier without falling back on the more adult stuff he’s used in the past. Kevin has stated that he would like to eventually release the shows on video in an uncut format.

Are the original actors going to be doing the voices for the roles, or will it be new people?
All the main original actors will be back for the series (Brian O’Halloran as Dante, Jeff Anderson as Randal and Jason Mewes as Jay). The early word seems to indicate that they are all in top form. Even Walt and Bryan are worked into the show.

Will any of the other regular View Askew actors be lending their voice talents to the series?
Although only a few have been announced officially, Chris Rock and Alan Rickman were both names that were thrown around at one point. Rickman was originally slated to play the character "Leonardo Leonardo," but since then that role has been filled by Alec Baldwin (Kevin’s a big fan). So Rickman may or may not be involved now. James Woods has also recorded an as-yet-unknown part, and Ben Affleck has long been rumored to be voicing a Canadian character (in the animated series Canada has just in the last few years become a "developed" country). USA Today reported that Jerry Seinfeld, Charles Barkeley and Gwyneth Paltrow would all be contributing their voices as well. Each would be playing themselves getting kicked out of the video store.

Is anything known about the plotlines for the six episodes that have been made?
Actually, quite a bit is known. What follows is a brief rundown of each episode, but beware because much of it may be spoilers.

Episode One: The pilot episode. A new store opens up near the Quick Stop, called the 'Quicker Stop', threatening to run the imfamous shop out of business. The store is owned by the town's founder, Leonardo Leonardo (the town where the REAL Quick Stop is located is ALSO called Leonardo, for you trivia buffs out there).

Episode Two: This episode is sort of like a clip special. Dante and Randal get locked in a freezer, and begin reminiscing about past episodes. They try to figure out how they got out the last time, and how they're NOT going to let themselves get locked in again. SAMPLE GAG: The running gag here is that there has only been one previous episode, so all the memories are from the Pilot episode of the series). A very creative and funny way to do a second show.

Episode Three: A new pet store opens near the Quick Stop. Randal becomes convinced that a monkey that's for sale at the store is carrying a very lethal virus (sort of like 'Outbreak'). He goes over to complain to the pet store clerk, who is none other that down-on-his-luck actor, Patrick Swayze. Hilarity ensues.

THEY FOUGHT THE LAW, AND THE LAW WON: Patrick Swayze had threatened to sue over this episode as the original ending had him telling our heroes that he decided the pet business was not cut out for him. They suggest to him that he was actually fired and he agreed. He then tells them not to worry as he got a gig on the new Adam Sandler movie as the pissed off neighbor. When they get excited and ask for an Adam Sandler autograph he says he can't get one because he's not actually in the movie. They had to cut the fired part out because Swayzes people said it would be damagintg to his career and threatened to sue and the studio backed off.

Episode Four: Jay falls down at the Quick Stop and decides to sue for millions. Randal becomes Dante's lawyer. He calls George Lucas to the stand and asks him why Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace was so bad. He also calls Steven Spielberg to the stand. The judge in the case is Judge Reinhold.

Episode Five: Dante becomes the coach for a little league baseball team. One of the players on the team is Jay. He's allowed on the team since, technically, he's in the fourth grade. Also, Randal starts playing a pyramid stacking game, in which he scores more than a million points, more than anyone else in history. Kevin calls this "a cross between Bad News Bears and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." We can't wait.

Episode Six: Dante and Randal go to a comic book convention, attending a panel discussion where hardly anyone shows up. At the panel, someone asks why the Clerks cartoon is nothing like the Clerks movie, and why it is in color when it should be black and white. So the rest of the animated episode is in black and white. Also, they will have screens just like the movie did which will separate the scenes. POSSIBLE SAMPLE GAG: Rumor has it that one of those screens says "Fraiser Ripped Us Off".

THIS DESCRIPTION IS FROM KEVIN SMITH HIMSELF : "The episode starts with Dante and Randal at a comic-con, appearing for as signing as 'the stars of 'Clerks:TAS'. There, they're given shit for making a show that bears no resemblance to the movie it's based on. They then decide to do the show more like the movie, no matter what. And that's the cold opening. The whole show is about their efforts to keep the episode flat, conversational, and counter-grounded - though they don't have much luck."