by Colin Palmer
Created by Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, and Mitch Rouse
Starring Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, and Greg Hollimon
Three Seasons on Comedy Central: 1999-2000
Where to watch: iTunes, Amazon, Hulu Plus, and ComedyCentral.com.
Plot: Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris), a self described “boozer, user, and loser,” dropped out of high school her freshman year. She’s been spending the past 30+ years of her life as a “junkie whore,” but has decided that she needs a fresh start. In her mind the only way she can do this is by starting her life exactly where she left it all those years ago and re-enrolling at Flatpoint High School as a freshman.
Now, if the idea of a “junkie whore” sounds like it would be in poor taste for a television comedy, then this is not the show for you. But, if it sounds like it is right up your comedic alley, keep reading.
Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Mitch Rouse, and Stephen Colbert were writers and cast members on the short lived, yet critically successful, Comedy Central sketch series Exit 57, which aired for one season in 1995. When it was cancelled, Colbert started working on The Dana Carvey Show and then The Daily Show as a correspondent, but the four still wanted to work together. They started to develop a series as a vehicle for Sedaris based off of an impression she would do of motivational speaker and former drug addict Florrie Fisher. This would become Strangers With Candy, with the four writing it and Sedaris, Dinello, and Colbert acting (although Rouse does appear in the first and last episodes of the first season as an undercover cop.)
The show is a parody of the after school specials of the 70’s and 80’s, but Strangers With Candy is not a usual parody that just heightens details for comedic effect. It acts as a perverted version of the after school special, taking traditional morality and skewing it to create life lessons that go against decency and common sense. Jerry never has to truly own up to any of her transgressions, as luck or others’ ignorances allowing her to escape from any wrongs she may have committed, like in the first and third episodes listed in this review: “Who Wants Cake?” and “Hit and Run.” The morals of the second of those episodes are “you should always take responsibility for your own actions. Unless you don’t have to.” and “never let your conscience trick you into owning up to the truth, when there’s still some chance somebody might believe the lie.”
Noblet (Colbert) teaches Jellienck (Dinello) how to bowl.
Most of Jerri’s interactions occur right at Flatpoint High, a school run by the egomaniacal Principal Onyx Blackman (Greg Hollimon). Her relationships with teachers range from antagonistic with her history teacher Chuck Noblet (Stephen Colbert) to mentorship with her art teacher Geoffrey (pronounced “Joff-rey”) Jellineck (Paul Dinello). Jerry has trouble finding friends, spending most of her time with Filipino student Orlando Pinatubo (Orlando Pabotoy) and also later Tammi Littlenut (Maria Thayer.) Most of Jerri’s problems come from the fact that she can’t shake her old ways, trying to solve her high school problems through criminal solutions. Her sexual life is her main focus and she is indiscriminate in who she tries to seduce. As she states in one episode, “I like the pole AND the hole.” Also of importance is the secret “friendship” (i.e. homosexual affair) of Noblet and Jellineck that they fear will come out. Although it is quite obvious, no one at the school seems to notice, although the students and faculty do find the relationship between the teachers oddly close.
As the episode count (30) might tell you, this is not a show that is that difficult to binge, and Strangers With Candy is not a complex overarching story where the characters grow. It’s more like a sketch comedy show, where each episode is a sketch featuring the same characters. Continuity between episodes is not that important and events that would seem like game-changers on most sitcoms (Jerri finding a child she gave up for adoption and then discovering she is a natural born Native American) are never mentioned again after the episodes where they are discovered. The thrill of this show is being able to just go with the flow of a biting satire of the morals of contemporary America and have fun while doing it. I mean, what other show ends each episode with the entire casting having a thirty second dance party?
Strangers is also a show that reflects the time in comedy, since it premiered around the same time as other Comedy Central shows Upright Citizens Brigade and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Guests include Paul Rudd, Mark McKinney, Janeane Garofalo, Will Ferrel, Tim Meadows, and Andy Richter, with two episodes written with other comedians, like Thomas Lennon and David Wain.
The episodes below were chosen not because they are the best (in which case I’d also include “Let Freedom Ring” and “The Blank Page”) but because they reflect some of the more prevalent themes that appear in the show (Jerri’s desire to do the right thing during her second chance at life, Noblet and Jellineck’s secret love affair, Blackman’s autocratic rule over the school, and Jerri’s unbridled libido), show the sides of all of the main characters, and reveal the comedic dynamic of the world of Flatpoint High, a world where students buy meat from vending machines, the teacher’s lounge has a full bar and sauna, and every wall has a photograph of the principal on it, looking down on the students like an educational Big Brother.
Should you watch the pilot?
Which one? The pilot made for Comedy Central to let the channel decide if they would pick it up for series has never aired. The first episode that aired (“Old Habits, New Beginnings”) sets up the series, but the way the show works, the first episode of the show is just like any other episode and it doesn’t have any more or less introduction to the characters than the others (In fact, most episodes start with Jerri explaining her situation as middle aged high schoolers in a monologue or in the opening credits.) The original pilot is a lot like the show’s fourth episode, with elements from others thrown in. The only major differences are Jerri’s wig and makeup (which look more like a Halloween costume) and Dinello and Colbert in more roles. The pilot is not readily available, except for on the DVDs and in one clip on YouTube that is word for word the same as a scene from the show’s fourth episode. Speaking of which…
The Essential Episodes:
Season 1, Episode 4 “Who Wants Cake?” (original airdate: April 28, 1999)
Plot: Noblet tells Jerri to snitch on another classmate and give evidence to Principal Blackman that she may be retarded, or else Jerri can’t go on the school trip to Good Time Island. She struggles with her conscience when she learns from a book that the retarded are “just like you and me.”
The use of the word “retarded” in the episode description above is not because I’m politically incorrect, but because the show is. One of the greatest things about Strangers is how it uses politically incorrect nomenclature and ideas to show the absurdities of that kind of thinking. (One of the best examples is Jerri’s near-constant comparison of her Filipino friend Orlando with a monkey.) Jerry learns about the retarded from a book called Retardation: A Celebration which features tips like “Never lock eyes with ’em. Puts ’em on edge.”
Also in the background of the episode is the show’s commentary of sex. Good Time Island is not a commentary on the shortcomings of sex, but one on hedonism and the foibles of unfettered pleasure.
BLACKMAN: Well, what are you going to do once you get to Good Time Island?
JERRI: I’m gonna get laid! (Cheers from the entire bus)
This is also probably a great time to mention Jerri’s family life. When she returns home, she discovers that her mother had died of grief when Jerri ran away and her father, Guy, has remarried the ice cold Sara (Deborah Rush) and had another child, Derrick (Larc Spies). Mr. Blank (played by 1930’s child star Roberto Gari) is probably the strangest part of the show. He never moves and is only seen in wild, frozen poses. All of his movements occur off screen and no one makes any mention of the strange occurrences. The family remains the same for the entire series until Gari’s departure halfway through the second season, but I don’t want to spoil the reason for the character’s end.
Guy Blank tells a joke.
When the plot is resolved towards the end of each episode, it usually involves Jerri making an impassioned plea for sanity to her classmates and teachers, beginning with her shrieking “I’ve got something to say!” This episode’s monologue is probably Jerri’s best:
JERRI: I’m not the same Jerri Blank who informed on those blind orphans. I’m not the same Jerri Blank who revealed the hiding place of those Guatemalans, such as yourself. And I’m not the same Jerri Blank who took a crap in the Fleischmann’s holly bushes…last night.
Some other observations:
- The episode features Colbert’s fantastic impression of Wilford Brimley (which he would later feature on The Colbert Report),
- Jerry’s report on Brazil for Nobelt’s class features a chilling piece of poetry entitled “Packing a Musket.”
Season 1, Episode 8 “To Be Young, Gifted, and Blank” (original airdate: July 5, 1999)
“Your little history fingers must be all gooey from sticking them in my musical pie.”
Plot: Noblett discovers that Jerri is a violin prodigy. He forces her to leave her family so she can practice for the Tri-County Music Championship. This puts a strain on Jerri’s relationship with her friends and family and Noblett’s relationship with Jellineck.
JELLINECK: Watch the baton, it’s like a sheep. It jumps the fence and goes to sleep.
Mainly a parody of stories of the student musician, “To Be Young…” sees Jerri forced to practice night and day away from those she cares about in order to fuel Noblet’s musical aspirations.
This particular episode is a great example of Noblet’s neuroses. The flashbacks of a young Noblet with his mother (played by Colbert’s wife, Evelyn) running away from the pressures put upon him to be a violinist are almost tragic, until the the end when the audience finds out why Noblet doesn’t play: he doesn’t know how. “To Be Young” is the best example of Jerri and Noblet’s horrible relationship, one in which he constantly reminds her that he hates her, but still tries to be the heroic educator that is supposed to appear in after school specials. In the end, Noblet, like all of the other faculty members at Flatpoint, is in the teaching game for entirely selfish reasons.
NOBLET: Jerri has a very precious gift and, without your permission, I’d like to take her under my wing and make it mine.
At this point, viewers will start to see a trend in the first seasons where Jerri will confide in various pets that she keeps in her locker, ranging from a turtle to a lobster to a woodpecker. (Each of these pets will die by the end of the episode.)
The episode also starts to explore Noblet’s relationship with Jellineck (described by Jerri as “oddly close”), a relationship that will be explored even further in our next episode.
Some other observations:
- One of the creepiest moments in the entire series (which is saying something) is the montage of the months of training, where Jerri and Noblet sleep in the same bed and Jerri unwraps a Christmas gift, only to discover Noblet inside the box.
Season 2, Episode 6 “Hit and Run” (original airdate: February 28, 2000)
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I was just so concerned that I ran home and hid for a while and then took my wife to dinner.”
Plot: During a rendezvous picnic with Noblet, Jellineck is run over by Jerri. He loses his face (yes, loses his face) and is hospitalized, resulting in Jerri having to decide whether or not to confess to the hit and run and Noblet having have to decide whether or not to confess to his relationship.
This episode goes hand in hand with the previous one, since it goes into more detail with Jellineck and Noblet’s relationship. Noblet seems to be incredibly uncomfortable with being seen in public with Jellineck outside of school, wishing they could just meet at “the place.” What makes their situation so funny is that their relationship is only ever implied, with the word “friendly” being the ultimate word to describe everything that connects them.
JELLINECK: Tell the world, Chuck. Tell the world that we’re…FRIENDLY!
“I remember an older man, with an oddly smallish head. About the size of a coconut.”
Blackman’s need for control and bluntness are in full force in this episode, with his car wash that doubles as a sting operation (“What kind of car wash would it be without bikini clad teens?” and “Ladies, block the door with your budding femininity!”)
What sets Jerri apart in this episode is that there is no false desire to learn from her mistake and the only desire is to escape punishment. Jerry is the most true to herself here than in any other episode. There’s no Arrested Development-style thanks for lenience. After she gets rid of the face and after someone else is blamed for the hit and run, Jerri just continues her life bent on caring only about herself.
Some other observations:
- Jerri pulling Jellineck’s face out from under her pillow: “Sure is getting leathery…”
Season 2, Episodes 8 and 9 “The Blank Stare, Part 1,” and “The Blank Stare, Part 2” (original airdates: June 19 and 26, 2000)
Plot: Jerri is swept into a cult led by Father (Alan Tudyk) which brainwashes her and prevents her from escaping. Her teachers and principal attempt to save her, mostly so they can control her themselves.
FATHER: You’re not a prisoner here. There are no bars on our electrified fences. We don’t have attack dogs lurking in the alligator infested swamp surrounding this compound. Here, call your parents and have them pick you up.
JERRI: But that’s a sandal.
FATHER: More distrust, Jerri?!
Using a cult on this show was a great way of showing what Jerri’s main driving force is in every episode: her need to fit in. It’s the whole reason that her life spiraled out of control and why she would pick going to high school as the best way to get her life back on track. This also coincides with her sexual desires (trying to seduce the cult member Rebecca).
This two part episode showcases Principal Blackman and his egomania better than any other, since his ruling of the school is not different from the cult he is trying to destroy. Blackman is funny when he speaks on the P.A. over slow drumming or picks a homecoming queen at will (a queen who will act more like a concubine for him), but in this episode the darker side that exists in him is more apparent and adds to a hilarious character.
BLACKMAN: I just dropped by because I was hoping, as your principal, I can find out what’s on your mind. Have an informal rap session, as it were.
STUDENT: Well, I was just thinking…
BLACKMAN: SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
Noblet, Blackman, Orlando, and Jellineck try to save Jerri.
During the scene where everyone tries to deprogram Jerri, Jellineck approaches her and delivers this plea to her:
JELLINECK: Hey, Jerri. I know you’re in there. Listen, I have no idea what you went through. I don’t have any answers. I’m not acting in your best interests. Why won’t you trust me?
Jellineck is always there for Jerri in pretty much every episode as someone she can come to with advice. He acts as the semi-hip teacher that will give some quotable piece of advice that will move the plot forward, but as stated above about Noblet, he is ultimately a selfish character uses his position to make himself feel better.
The last shot of the show (usually reserved for the cast dancing) is Colbert as Noblet singing and dancing to a Christian hymn about the coming messiah, reflecting both his character’s conversion to the cult and Colbert’s own catholic upbringing (He once sang the same song with a priest after The Colbert Report ended).
Some other observations:
- This list hasn’t really spent any time going into her family life, but this episode has one scene with Mrs. Blank and Derrick that perfectly reflects that family’s dynamic: civilized and hateful towards Jerri at the same time.
- Jerri is first seen here playing an arcade about assassinating each US President and the level she has just beaten is the James Garfield one (one of four Presidents to actually be assassinated.)
Season 3, Episode 3 “Trail of Tears,” (original airdate: July 24, 2000)
Jerry’s birth mother.
Plot: When Jerri discovers that she was abandoned as a baby by her birth mother, she must come to terms with her Native American identity at an immersion camp run by Bob Whitely (Will Ferrel).
This is the episode that perfectly represents the show’s method of irony. With a serious subject like the treatment of American Indians and their representation in contemporary America, the fact that young Indians learn about their heritage from a man who learned everything he knows from John Wayne movies is not only absurd, but also believable. I mean, that’s where most people of a certain age learned about them. That’s what Strangers does so perfectly is create this insane world that so closely matches our own.
The show is not afraid to make Whitely more of a clown, especially when he uses the idea of “smoking the peace pipe” as a way to use a bong with his campers (Jerri is, of course, the only camper who partakes.)
The school play about the first Thanksgiving may be hitting the nail a little too hard on the head, but if you haven’t been able to tell, that’s what the show does. The play is the story of Jerri, as the only student who is willing to play an Indian, terrorizing peaceful pilgrims.
NOBLET: Now, no one’s really sure what the Indians were doing to the buffalo, but it must have been pretty damn sick, because millions of these noble animals committed suicide by jumping in front of the white man’s guns.
“You frighten me not with your fire-stick. Come, let me find a fleshy home for my shiny, stone knife!”
Finally, I realized that none of the episodes (with the possible exception of “Hit and Run”) focus on Mr. Jellineck that much, and even that one lumps him together with Noblet. There are others where the plot is mainly about something he does (namely “Yes You Can’t!” and “Is Freedom Free?”) but the scenes towards the beginning and end of this episode where he is putting together the school play perfectly encapsulate him. Firstly, there’s the campy layer that governs all of his artistic decisions. But then there’s a larger controlling layer just underneath, that has him tell a student to throw away his beautiful sketch of a turkey because it’s so much easier to just trace your hand with crayon. This line in his art class room shows both:
JELLINECK: Way to go, Jerri. You just insulted my best chance for an Indian. Look people, I understand why you all want to be Pilgrims (Hey, I love buckles, too), but I need savages. Hey, any of you know any of the black kids?
Jellineck is no different from Blackman or Noblet in their need for control over the lives of others. Jellineck just does it with a smile.
Some other observations:
- One of the best visual gags of these series is in this episode, where Jellineck mouths Jerri’s laughter from offstage during the school play.
- This episode has one of a few appearances by Andy Richter, who always plays minimum wage workers at stores or amusements. His wife, Sarah Thyre, portrays the gym coach/health teacher, Coach Wolf.
Further Viewing:
Florrie Fisher
The Trip Back, from 1970, is the after school special that inspired the show. It features Florrie Fisher, a drug addict and ex-con who tries to warn students about the dangers of drugs. Many of Jerri’s lines (especially specific ways of referring to drugs) are taken straight from Fisher, especially in the episode “Jerri is Only Skin Deep.”
Where to Watch:
iTunes, Amazon, Hulu Plus, and ComedyCentral.com.
(The Comedy Central site has the series and clips from most episodes free to stream, but the series itself is taken on and off randomly)
“Lead on, you stupid junkie whore!”
Come back next week when our article will be about Adventure Time…
Essential Episodes 
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