When it comes to novelty, Clone High remains somewhat unrivaled in its implementation. The idea that someone made clones of popular and significant historical figures like Cleopatra or Gandhi and placed them all in a high school is a prime setting for a cartoon sitcom. The idea alone would have been enough to make it last generations.
Sadly, that wasn't the case. Clone High was canceled after one season due to some controversies regarding its portrayal of a certain character. Still, it lives on in fans' memories as one of the chaotic, entertaining, and most unique adult cartoon shows in existence.
As is customary for good shows that only last one season, rewatching the episodes and determining the best ones is a good way to commemorate it. And so, these episodes gave Clone High the highs it deserved.
7 Episode 4 - Film Fest: Tears Of A Clone
After setting up its character dynamics for a few episodes, Clone High was free to do as it liked. That's why Episode 4 went wild with "Film Fest: Tears of a Clone." It started off with an excuse for all the students to create their own films which highlighted their stereotypical personality traits based on historical texts.
Sure enough, Cleopatra's clone was a narcissist, and Abraham Lincoln's clone was into unconventional heroics. Apart from showing some dream historical figure interactions that are usually only possible in games like Civilization, this episode also served as a way to expand on Joan of Arc and Abe's relationship.
6 Episode 5 - Sleep Of Faith: La Rue D'Awakening
Episode 5, or "La Rue D'Awakening" plays out like a pretty standard teen drama where JFK's clone finally broke up with his girlfriend, Cleopatra. Abe, being the hopeless romantic that he is (in the show), finally found this as an opportunity to fly closer into Cleopatra's orbit, and hopefully, get together with her.
The whole episode was a clever satire of Cleopatra's most popular highlight in history, where JFK and Abe substituted for the roles of Marc Antony and Julius Caesar. The two were vying for Cleopatra's affection and loyalty while the latter was merely toying with the two men for her own advantage. Meanwhile, Gandhi got by in his test effortlessly, without much resistance at all.
5 Episode 6 - Homecoming: A Shot In D'Arc
Episode 6 was a very special one indeed, at least according to the show's writer. It was the basketball or sports episode for the high school dramedy and it was also a chance for Joan of Arc's clone to fulfill her role in the show as per her historical records. Abe was made Captain of the Basketball Team, and Joan wanted in as a player, not as a mere cheerleader.
So, she dressed up like a man and joined the basketball team. It's also partly a semi-serious commentary on society's rigid and traditional gender roles, which Joan's clone defied. But Joan turned out to be the best player on the team, proving her point well enough, despite her flimsy and lazy fake persona as John D'Arc.
4 Episode 8 - Raisin The Stakes: A Rock Opera In Three Acts
"A Rock Opera in Three Acts" will forever be known in Clone High history as that Jack Black episode. In this one, Jack Black guest stars as a rocker named Pusher. It likely didn't take more than five seconds for viewers to find out that he was Jack Black based on the voice alone. In any case, this episode was all about drugs, and how raisins could get someone intoxicated, according to Jack Black's character.
That's the kind of signature Clone High chaos that everyone lived for. Again, Joan of Arc served as the only voice of reason in this episode. But overall, the episode was mostly just a jab at how drugs were only cool for kids because they were illegal. As soon as they became more accepted with responsible moderation, they became a lot less valuable.
3 Episode 12 - Makeover, Makeover, Makeover: The Makeover Episode
It's a high school teen drama show, so there was bound to be a prom episode, and Episode 12 made sure that it was indeed, special and memorable. As always, Joan's clone is the rebel here and goes against conventions and the norms, even deriding the sacred teenage tradition of prom. Too bad her soft spot for Abe got the better of her and she agreed to a makeover.
This time around, the show was satirizing teenage norms and expectations where peer and societal pressure to fit in turns them into homogenous rascals with no soul or personality of their own. Even someone as enlightened as Joan fell into the pressure due to her undying devotion to Abe's clone. In any case, the episode served as an ideal prelude to the season finale.
2 Episode 10 - Litter Kills: Literally
Clone High never fails to make fun of the usual and illogical intricacies of teenage norms and "Litter Kills: Literally" still follows up on the satire. This time around, the pressure was on Abe to look cool after being ridiculed by Cleopatra's ex, JFK, since he was too much of a nice guy and a morally upright character (as expected).
The same thing happened to Gandhi after trying to fit in prison. In the end, all their rebellion for coolness' sake ended in sorrow though dying from litter (literally) was a lot less dignified death for someone like Ponce De Leon. The episode also humanized some of the previously typecast characters like JFK.
1 Episode 13 - Changes: The Big Prom: The Sex Romp: The Season Finale
As a season finale, too many loose ends were finally tied up in Episode 13. The finale was a continuation of the buildup from Episode 12 where Joan changed her image to pry Abe away from Cleo. But it didn't work and in a fit of jealousy, Joan went to prom with JFK. One would think that the show would finally give Joan and Abe a chance, but it ended in tragedy.
This time around, the jokes were all spent. The show still had its signature chaos, but it ended on a rather sad and somber note for both Abe and Joan. And like any unsalvageable high school mess, the first season ended with the major characters getting cryogenically frozen before they could properly react to Abe and Joan's rather disastrous outcome, followed by a lack of Season 2.