Yikes! We’re in the middle of an all-out media ASSAULT that came out of NOWHERE with the Clerks cartoon here! We didn’t expect things to be this crazy at all, but those View Askew guys really do know how to get the word out there. It’s quite admirable how they’re doing all they can to get word out about the series, especially considering all the trouble it’s given them over the past months. Even though ABC only has 2 episodes on the schedule so far, it certainly seems like Kevin and company are doing all they can to make sure that all 6 of the shows air. Today, we’ve got just a TON of press on the show. If we knew there’d be this much going on, we’d probably had created a subpage for it all! Seems that most of the stuff is pretty much a rehash of stuff we already know, mixed in with some reviews, both positive and negative. There’s also some Clerks related NewsBites and some standard stuff, too. Alright, we’d better get going, since we have a feeling that there’s going to be 10 more articles written on the show before this update’s complete! Here we go:

After all the years, today really is a monumentual moment in View Askew history. Tonight, for the first time, View Askew Productions is debuting their first television series on a major network. Sure, while even the most ardent fans have accepted the fact that ABC will likely be burying the show after (hopefully) airing all 6 episodes, everyone’s quite excited about the premiere. General press has been mixed, but fans of the flicks shouldn’t be disappointed. Tonight’s episode is an instant classic that we’re sure will have fans talking.

As always, we urge you, let’s show ABC that they’ve got a gem of a show on their hands! Call your friends, neighbors, and family, and get them to tune in tonight. And if you know someone with a Neilson box, DEFINITELY get them to check out the show at 9:30 tonight…And do the good folks who sponsored the show a favor and buy their products. Show them how much you appreciate it. Enjoy the episode, folks.

• We’re happy to present the complete transcript from Kevin’s 1 hour chat last night on CNN Online. Seems they run a pretty tight ship there, the transcript is quite short and mostly full of questions you regulars have probably seen asked and fielded before. Still, it’s a good quick read. Click HERE to check out a text version of the transcript.

• There’s a TON of press on the show hitting the web this week, and we’ve got links to it all. Keep in mind, these aren’t our reviews, just stuff lifted from other sites. Some are negative, some are positive, some are neutral. Some of them, we’ve noticed, aren’t even completely correct in all their statements. But if you’re into reading press on the show, look no further, cuz here’s a ton of it:

• Here’s some details on the AOL chat happening tonight, the hour prior to the show’s premiere:

You’ll need to go to keyword “LIVE” to participate in the chat. For those of you who can’t make it, fear not, we’ll have a full transcript for you right here at News Askew.

• ABC may not seem to be supporting the Clerks show TOO much, but they’re trying at least a bit here. Their official website’s got Jay & Bob at the top of the page, though, at presstime, the link doesn’t seem to want to work…
• Kevin appeared on Howard Stern this morning, alas it was too early and we missed the chance to grab audio but luckily Ming was up. You can download the clip right HERE! Anyway, Kev called in around 6:35 and chatted for about 15 minutes. Here’s our scooper’s summary of what went down:

• And finally, a scan of TV Cable Guide from Syracuse, New York.

• Big thanks to John Martin for not only sending us this kickin’ new Mallrats desktop theme, but also letting us know of a new piece of free theme-customizing software out there. Both are now over in our ever-growing Files Askew area.
• Good news for our fans overseas: DOGMA may arrive on video on the 12th of June in the U.K (according to ‘Blockbuster Video’), and not the 27th as previously mentioned.
• We mentioned this before, but didn’t have it in Countdowns yet so we kinda forgot about it by accident – Jason Mewes will be appearing at Dragon Con 2000, a science-fiction convention in Atlanta, GA, from June 29th through July 2nd. No news yet as to what exactly he’s going to be doing there (i.e. panels, signings, whatever). The official site is http://www.dragoncon.org. Check out the “Guests” page or “What’s New” for more information.

• Finally today, a couple vintage shots of Jason Lee. The black and white one was taken by Spike Jonze. By the way, “Kissing A Fool” was on one of the premium channels last night, still a great flick.

Phew! Gotta be in the running for one of the longest, or at least the most complex, updates in News Askew history. Time for a beer! Catch ya later.