ALL COMEDY IS CONSERVATIVE (part 7,946):

Hilarious history: The world of "Clone High," in which teenaged clones of famous historical figures attend high school together, is a fascinating cross-pollination of the History Channel and "Saved By the Bell" (Dakota Loomis, Flak Magazine)

The speedy cancellation of fresh and intellectually challenging, or at least non-lobotomizing, television fare and its replacement with safe retreads of past winners has occurred since television's inception. Season after season, risk-averse network executives fall back on old and proven themes: sex, celebrities, teen sex — and lately, public humiliation — while viewers mutely follow along. The current television season has been particularly, soul-crushingly uncreative, but MTV's new animated series "Clone High USA" is proof that all hope is not lost.

The world of "Clone High," in which teenaged clones of famous historical figures attend high school together, is a fascinating cross-pollination of the History Channel and "Saved By The Bell." Abe Lincoln roams the hallways pining for Cleopatra, a horny JFK can't keep his hands off all the hotties, Genghis Khan sports a "Screw Tibet" T-shirt and Gandhi and George Washington Carver partner up to make a student film called "Black and Tan." (Carver's animate peanut sidekick assists.) Watching teen versions of historical figures grapple with love, lust, alcohol, disease and other "after school special" issues is a comforting and surprisingly hilarious approach to teen angst. If Abe Lincoln was a hopeless sack in high school and Joan of Arc was a clueless romantic, you can't feel too badly about never getting past second base until your senior year. And by "you," I mean me.

The angst factor is boosted by each character's knowledge of their former selves. Every high school student suffers from feelings of inadequacy; knowing you are an exact genetic replica of JFK or Abe Lincoln as you wage an unsuccessful campaign for student council president significantly ups the ante. Expectations weigh heavily on most teens, but when your DNA is presidential, the weight can be crushing.

Sounds funny enough, but we particularly like that the metatheme is necessarily anti-cloning. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 12, 2003 12:26 PM