Clerks/Episode Three

Leonardo Is Caught in the Grip of an Outbreak of Randal's Imagination and Patrick Swayze Either Does or Doesn't Work in the New Pet Store
Season 1, Episode 4
Airdate	Unaired
Production Number	CLK-103
Written by	David Mandel & Kevin Smith
Directed by	Chris Bailey
← 1x03 Episode One	1x05 → Episode Five
Clerks — Season One

Leonardo Is Caught in the Grip of an Outbreak of Randal's Imagination and Patrick Swayze Either Does or Doesn't Work in the New Pet Store is the third produced episode of the first season of Clerks, it was never aired. When Patrick Swayze opens up a pet store next to RST Video, Randal becomes convinced that he will contract the deadly Honta virus.

Starring the Voice Talents of: Jeff Anderson (Randal Graves), Jason Mewes (Jay), Brian O'Halloran (Dante Hicks), Kevin Smith (Silent Bob)

Special Guest: Alec Baldwin (Leonardo Leonardo), James Woods (Major Baklava), Charles Barkley (Himself)

and Gilbert Gottfried (Patrick Swayze)

Also Starring: Tara Charendoff (Giggling Girl), Bryan Johnson (Steve-Dave), Bryan Cranston (The Pilot), Mario Joyner (Lando), Dan Etheridge (Mr. Plug), Michael McShane (Constable Big Mac), Walt Flanagan (Walt the Fanboy), Kevin M. Richardson (Announcer), Al Franken (The Mayor), April Winchell (Tovah Hernandez-Carlson), Dana Gould (Drive-Thru Guy), Jim Wise

Notes

Charles Barkley Appearance

• Science Says: Charles Barkley appears to lend a science tip to some kids, but it beaten within an inch of his life by Jay and Silent Bob.

Trivia

The Show

• Full Title: Leonardo is Caught in the Grip of an Outbreak of Randal's Imagination and Patrick Swayze Either Does or Doesn't Work in the New Pet Store.
• Disclaimer End: However this show is endorsed by Celebrity Impersonators Union Local #725038.
• Running Joke: This episode marks the first appearance of the giggling girls, who would go on to appear again in Episode 4 and Episode 6.
• Movies Callback: "Gerbils Gerbils Gerbils" was also the name of the pet store that Jay and Silent Bob danced outside of in Mallrats.
• First Appearance: This episode marks the first appearance of Lando, although he's only used in random appearances throughout the episode.

Behind the Scenes

• Cameo: The name of the woman who wrote into the show at the beginning of the episode is named Jennifer Schwalbach. Jennifer Schwalbach is the name of Kevin Smith's wife.
• Original Airdate: This episode was originally supposed to be aired third, but the show was cancelled after the second episode. It would have aired on June 14, 2000. It eventually did air on December 22, 2002 when Comedy Central aired a marathon of the show.
• Korean Animators: The scene at the beginning of the episode where Dante was sleeping under the counter confounded the Korean animators so much that they kept drawing it like it was an entire room, so the counter was 12 feet tall.
• Legal Casting Woes: Producers actually attempted to cast Patrick Swayze as himself in this episode, but his lawyers refused because he apparently "has no sense of humor about this sort of thing." They also had a problem with Swayze working in a pet store because his film career is dead. This also brought on fears from the network, who were afraid that by having him say at the end of the episode that he wasn't really in a movie, they would get sued by Swayze.
• Writer Cameo: The tall man in the pictures with Leonardo Leonardo and Elton John is a caricature of Ian Maxtone-Graham, a writer for The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live. The reason why he was added in was because Dave Mandel saw Ian in the background of a picture at Studio 54 with Andy Warhol.
• Planned Running Joke: Although they never had the chance to write more appearances for the mayor, the concept for the mayor and the police chief was that they were always either going to or coming from a costume party and the zipper on the costume always got stuck. So, they would always do press conferences in crazy costumes, like the Mayor McCheese and Big Mac costumes in this episode.
• Censorship: The "nothing can kill the Grimace" line was nearly nixed by McDonalds, but they were swayed when the writers made the argument that "the Grimace is so powerful that nothing can kill him."
• Music: Producers originally attempted to get Dirty Dancing songs for the show, but because Swayze said no, they also declined to let them use the songs.

Allusions and References

• Chia Pet: Randal spends part of the episode watering a Chia Pet. Chia Pets are a brand of collectible figurines which grow chia herb to resemble animal fur or hair. Chia Pets come in a wide variety, including puppies, kittens, hippos and even Mr. T.

Randal: Hey, wanna take a swing at this chia pet? I named it Fifi.

• Outbreak: The plot for this episode is inspired heavily from the movie Outbreak. In the 1995 movie, a deadly airborne virus from Africa is let loose in the northeastern United States due to a monkey transferring the disease. In order to prevent a major loss of life, Dustin Hoffman must contain the virus and find an antidote to administer to the infected population before they die.

Randal: Man, didn't you see Outbreak?

• Patient Zero: Patient Zero is the term used for the first patient to contract a disease during an epidemic. This term also can be substituted with "index case," which refers to a group of initial patients. This term originated in the early 1980s when the press misinterpreted "Patient O" as "Patient 0" when reporting on a scenario posed by the CDC about the AIDS epidemic.

Randal: Hey, check it out. Patient Zero!

• Dustin Hoffman: In January 1999, Dustin Hoffman won a lawsuit against Los Angeles Magazine, who he accused of showing his career in false light by using a retouched and manipulated photograph of him from the movie Tootsie without his permission. Hoffman was awarded 1.5 million in punitive damages. However, because this lawsuit was based off of privacy laws, ABC had no reason to fear lawsuits.

Announcer: Due to the recent lawsuit by Dustin Hoffman over the alleged unauthorized use of his likeness, the face of Dustin Hoffman in Randal's cartoon brain calculation will be played by Al Pacino.

• McDonaldland: There are several references to McDonaldland characters in this episode, most notably Mayor McCheese and Big Mac. McDonaldland is a marketing tool used by McDonalds to entice younger customers into buying their products. Each character represents something from the menu (except for Ronald McDonald and the Hamburgler). The Grimace is also briefly mentioned, who is a purple gumdrop looking creature who is supposed to represent milkshakes.

Big Mac: Nothing can kill the Grimace.

• Swayze's Horse: Patrick Swayze gives his horse several different names including Point Break, Ghost, and Road House. These are all films starring Swayze.

• Dirty Dancing: The line that Jay says at the end of the episode while dancing with the monkey is a direct quote from Dirty Dancing starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

Jay: She's a hottie Silent Bob! I think we're in!

• The Godfather: The fight between Jay, Silent Bob and Charles Barkley in the Science Says segment is a near frame for frame remake of the scene with Santino beating up Carlo from The Godfather. This even includes Santo throwing the punch at Carlo and missing.

Memorable Moments

• Jay and Silent Bob teaching the monkey from the pet store how to smoke.
• Dante and Randal spending the last day of their lives going to a fast food place, getting the wrong order, complaining and then writing an angry letter to the corporate headquarters.

Quotes

• Randall: As god as my witness, monkey, you are not going to infect this town with your filthy virus. (to Dante) Look how scared he is, he's shaking.

Dante: No, he's masturbating.

Randall: Yeah, but it's out of fear.

• Randall: Have you started burning bodies? I want a front row seat for the pyre! Tell me you haven't burned Dante yet. (sees Dante) ...Oh. Dante. You're alive. Thank God.

• Reporter: Who are you supposed to be?

Chief of Police: I'm Big Mac, the beloved constable and best friend of Ronald McDonald.

Steve Dave: Will this administration ever bring the Hamburgler to justice?

Chief of Police: No... Yes! Look, does anyone have a question about the deadly virus that could kill us all?

Reporter #2: Could the virus kill the Grimace?

Chief of Police: Nothing can kill the Grimace.