I’m sure that at one point or another we’ve all been watching one of our favourite TV shows, enjoying the content and eager to see the next episode when we come across an episode that is merely a compilation of clips from previous installments. Whenever my family comes across one of these shows, they pretty much give a collective groan and even make the unusual request sometimes to skip this particular entry. Taking this into account, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at what clip shows are in general and why they are made.
A clip show fundamentally refers to a TV episode of a series where various clips from previous episodes are strung together to fill up the time. Usually there is a frame story that tries to explain why we are seeing all these clips again with characters reminiscing being a typical example. These clip shows are often critically derided and their only purpose seems to be to create an episode with as low a budget as possible.
While seemingly worthless, it’s worth noting that clip shows did serve a particular purpose at one point. Just as with compilation films, a clip show served as a way for people to catch up on important or interesting moments when streaming a series or collecting a DVD/Blu-Ray was not an option. Of course, in the modern world, we are usually able to watch every episode of a series quickly and with ease and, as such, this justification for clip shows is no longer relevant.
While typically relegated to sitcoms, anime itself has seen its fair share of clip shows over the years. The first clip shows I can remember seeing in an anime were episodes 14 and 26 of Gundam Seed, the first Gundam series I ever watched. The episodes themselves contained very little new content and it’s interesting to note that they were excised when the HD remaster was developed, reducing the overall episodes from 50 to 48.
Other notable anime series still resort to clip shows every so often such as Black Clover, Gurren Lagann and, very infamously, Wolf’s Rain which saw four clip show episodes back to back. Considering the way anime is marketed these days, these episodes serve little to no purpose other than to save the studio’s some money although it’s worth noting that the first Gurren Lagann clip show was cobbled together to help replace an episode inappropriate for the time slot they were given.
Still, it’s worth noting that not all clip shows are necessarily bad. While I don’t particularly care for the first two Simpsons clip show episodes, even if the first one produced quite the interesting fan theory, I confess that I greatly enjoy “The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular” which sees fan favourite Troy McClure host the episode itself. Not only does it use footage from previous episodes but it also introduces bloopers, deleted scenes and even the Tracy Ullman shorts that saw the first incarnation of the characters and ends with a hilarious supercut of nudity throughout The Simpsons’ run up to that point. Other clip show episodes I distinctly remember enjoying were “The Chronicle” from Seinfeld and “Daphne Returns” in Frasier.
In addition, the concept of the clip show has also led to some incredible parodies of the format. My favourite Rick and Morty episode, “Total Rickall” features a parasite that breeds itself by forcing the Smith family to remember events that never happened with characters who never existed. The insanity of the episode which sees the cast of characters grow increasingly paranoid about who’s real and who isn’t instantly made it a favourite of mine. The show Community also parodied this format with two episodes that were structured like clip shows but featured almost entirely new footage.
While clip shows are, for the most part, annoying by today’s standards, they’re nonetheless a fascinating part of television programming that has seen many modern series produce incredible stories and episodes by both parodying and paying homage to the format. Let me know your thoughts on clip shows, whether you think there’s still value in them today, if any in particular have stood out to you and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!