Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns

{{Infobox television

| image = As the Wrench Turns.png

| genre = Animated sitcom

| creator = Howard K Grossman
Doug Berman

| writer = Doug Berman
Tom Magliozzi
Ray Magliozzi
Doug Mayer
Tom Minton

| director = Tom Sito

| voices = Tom Magliozzi
Ray Magliozzi
Kelli O'Hara
Juan Carlos Hernández
Cornell Womack
Barbara Rosenblat

| theme_music_composer = Carl Finch

| opentheme = "The William Tell Overture"

| endtheme =

| composer = Carl Finch
Brave Combo

| country = United States

| language = English

| num_seasons = 1

| num_episodes = 10

| executive_producer = Howard Grossman
Robert Harris
Bill Kroyer

| runtime = 26 minutes

| company = Atomic Cartoons{{cite web|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/top-stories/the-tooning-up-of-car-talk/|title=The Tooning Up of 'Car Talk'|last=Mallory|first=Michael|work=Animation Magazine|date=2012-06-14|accessdate=2015-03-13}}
Howard K. Grossman Productions

| network = PBS

| first_aired = {{start date|2008|7|9}}

| last_aired = {{end date|2008|8|13}}

}}

Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns is an American adult animated sitcom animated by Atomic Cartoons that aired on PBS. The series follows the adventures of the brothers Click and Clack from their auto repair shop, Car Talk Plaza. It stars Tom (Click) and Ray Magliozzi (Clack), also known as the Tappet Brothers, from National Public Radio's Car Talk.{{cite news | first=Kevin | last=McDonough | title=TV Guy: Cartoon series stars Click and Click | work=Times Herald-Record | url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/LIFE/807090318 | date=2008-07-09 | accessdate=2008-07-24 | archive-date=2008-10-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020153901/http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/LIFE/807090318 | url-status=dead }} The show was the first primetime animated series for a general audience to be produced and aired by PBS.{{cite web |title=PBS GREENLIGHTS "CAR TALK" TELEVISION SERIES |url=https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/pbs-greenlights-car-talk-television-series-july-11-2007/ |website=PBS |access-date=15 February 2022 |language=en}}

The series debuted on July 9, 2008, and additionally in various time slots depending on local station scheduling.{{cite news |url=http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/lunch-with-paul.html |work=Kansas City Star |first=Aaron |last=Barnhart |date=2008-07-11 |title=Lunch with Paula Kerger |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208125335/http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/07/lunch-with-paul.html |archivedate=2008-12-08| accessdate=2012-11-26}} The series aired its ten-episode season in two-episode blocks for five weeks.{{cite web | first=Jason | last=Hughes | title=NPR's Car Talk becomes PBS's As the Wrench Turns | work=TV Squad | url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/07/01/nprs-car-talk-becomes-pbss-as-the-wrench-turns/ |date=2008-07-01| accessdate=2012-11-26}} It ended on August 13, 2008 with 10 episodes.

Cast

Tom Magliozzi - Clack Tappet
Ray Magliozzi - Click Tappet
Kelli O'Hara - Beth Totenbag
Juan Carlos Hernández - Fidel
Cornell Womack - Reggie "Crusty" Crustwood
Barbara Rosenblat - Sal

Production

Executive producer Howard K. Grossman began pitching a television series based on Car Talk in 2001. On July 11, 2007, PBS announced that it had greenlit the series for debut in the summer of 2008.{{cite press release |title=PBS Greenlights 'Car Talk' Television Series |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-11-2007/0004623954 |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |date=2007-07-11 |accessdate=2008-07-24}} This is the first prime-time animated series in the history of PBS. While at first a direct adaptation of the radio show had been proposed, the final product is an animated sitcom featuring a new cast of fictional characters alongside the radio-show hosting Click and Clack.

The opening theme and other music for the series are produced by Carl Finch and composed, arranged, and performed by Finch and his Grammy-award-winning band, Brave Combo.{{cite news |work=Denton Record-Chronicle |title=Click & Clack add oompah; Brave Combo provides musical nuts and bolts for animated TV series |first=Lucinda |last=Breeding |url=http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Brave_Combo_0706.2984932a.html |date=2008-07-07 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828133801/http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Brave_Combo_0706.2984932a.html |archivedate=2008-08-28 |accessdate=2012-11-26}}{{cite news |first=Roger |last=Catlin |url=http://www.courant.com/entertainment/tv/hc-clickclack.artjul09,0,3836013.story |work=Hartford Courant |title=Click And Clack Get Their Own Public Television Show |date=2008-07-09 |accessdate=2008-07-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021000240/http://www.courant.com/entertainment/tv/hc-clickclack.artjul09%2C0%2C3836013.story |archivedate=October 21, 2008 }}

Episodes

{{Episode table |total_width= |background=#8888FF |overall= |title= |airdate= |prodcode= |episodes=

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=1

|ProdCode=CT105

|Title=Campaign

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|7|9}}

|ShortSummary=Click and Clack try to save the network by running for President so they can qualify for Federal matching funds.{{cite news |work=Minneapolis Star-Tribune |title=Click and Clack go clunk |url=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/tv/22873869.html |date=2008-07-05 |first=Neal |last=Justin| accessdate=2008-07-24}} James Carville plays a political consultant named Jimmy.{{cite news |publisher=DVD Talk |title=Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns |url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/34736/click-and-clacks-as-the-wrench-turns/ |first=Jeffrey |last=Kauffman |date=September 30, 2008}}

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=2

|ProdCode=CT104

|Title=Outsourcing

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|7|9}}

|ShortSummary=Click and Clack are overwhelmed with work so they outsource the radio show to India with unpredictable results. Garrison Keillor has a brief cameo as himself.

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=3

|ProdCode=CT103

|Title=Boston Blackout

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|7|16}}

|ShortSummary=Mechanic Stash invents an auto repair robot called the Wallet Vac to help out in the garage, but its need for electricity cause a massive power outage in the northeastern U.S.{{cite news |work=Lynchburg News & Advance |title='Car Talk' cartoon's a clunker |url=http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/entertainment/local/article/car_talk_cartoons_a_clunker/6504/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080713120629/http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/entertainment/local/article/car_talk_cartoons_a_clunker/6504/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-07-13 |first=Walt |last=Belcher |date=2008-07-10 }} Carl Kasell cameo as radio news anchor "Carl Carousel".

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=4

|ProdCode=CT102

|Title=Pasta Wars

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|7|16}}

|ShortSummary=Click and Clack invent a pasta-fueled vehicle, the Fusilli 500.{{cite web | work=KQED |url=http://www.kqed.org/programs/tv/program-landing.jsp?progID=17528 |title=Programs A-Z: Click & Clack's As The Wrench Turns | accessdate=2008-07-24}} Jim Lehrer has a cameo as news anchor "Jim Lahair".

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=5

|ProdCode=CT107

|Title=Gigantic Motors

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|7|23}}

|ShortSummary=Click and Clack lose their main sponsor and are forced to sign with Gigantic Motors who have nefarious plans for the radio duo.

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=6

|ProdCode=CT106

|Title=Fidel vs. Zuzu

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|7|23}}

|ShortSummary=When the Dog Tickler claims garage dog Zuzu can diagnose car problems with her sense of smell, Fidel feels slighted and quits the garage.

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=7

|ProdCode=CT101

|Title=Abercrombie & Wrench

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|7|30}}

|ShortSummary=When a high-tech repair shop featuring hunky mechanics opens nearby, Click and Clack fight back with a nod to the disco era.{{cite news |work=The Jackson Sun |title=Must see TV tonight |url=http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080730/NEWS01/80730007 |first=Mike |last=Hughes |date=2008-07-30 }}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Jim Lehrer has a cameo as news anchor "Jim Lahair".

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=8

|ProdCode=CT108

|Title=Pocket Full of Motor Oil

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|8|6}}

|ShortSummary=Crusty's niece is coming for a visit and she thinks he's still a professor at Harvard University.{{cite news |work=Fort Wayne Journal Gazette |title=TV Highlights |url=http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080806/ENT03/808060334 |date=2008-08-06}}

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=9

|ProdCode=CT110

|Title=Gotcha!

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|8|13}}

|ShortSummary=Click and Clack play practical jokes when a potential network benefactor visits the garage.

}}

{{Episode list

|LineColor=8888FF

|EpisodeNumber=10

|ProdCode=CT109

|Title=Casino

|OriginalAirDate={{Start date|2008|8|13}}

|ShortSummary=Click and Clack, believing they are of Native American descent, turn the garage into a casino.

}}

DVD releases

Image:As the Wrench Turns S1 DVD cover.png

PBS Home Video and Paramount Home Entertainment released the entire run of As the Wrench Turns on DVD. The two-disc set was released in the United States and Canada on September 30, 2008.{{cite news |date=June 10, 2008 |work=TV Shows on DVD |title=Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns - The 'Car Talk with Tom & Ray' Guys get a PBS Series: Debuts On-Air in July, to DVD in Sept. |first=David |last=Lambert |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Click-Clacks-Wrench-Turns-DVDs-Announced/9807 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080812102339/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Click-Clacks-Wrench-Turns-DVDs-Announced/9807 |archivedate=August 12, 2008 }}

Reception

Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns received a largely negative response, with The New York Times commenting that "television seems to flatten and confine" Tom and Ray's spontaneity and that while the series is "indisputably adorable" it "lacks the magic of the Magliozzis unplugged."{{cite news | first=Ginia | last=Bellafante | title=Motor Heads Take a Detour, With Cartoon Carburetors | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/arts/television/16clic.html | work=The New York Times | date=2008-07-16 | accessdate=2008-07-24}} The Boston Herald opined that fans of Car Talk will be "excited to hear that Tom and Ray Magliozzi have expanded to PBS and television. Until they see the show." The show is described as "silly like a bad Saturday morning cartoon" and that the Magliozzi brothers are portrayed as "low-grade scam artists instead of the cheery, charming guys we know they are."{{cite news | first=Rick | last=Kushman | title=This week looks like a strange one in TV land | url=http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view.bg?articleid=1105510 | work=The Boston Herald | date=2008-07-07 | accessdate=2008-07-24}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}

Christopher Kulik of DVD Verdict wrote in his review of the 2008 Paramount DVD release: "As a long-time devotee of Car Talk, I found this series to be a mixed bag. The humor is certainly there, and the Magliozzis' comic punch is still hitting hard, except their famous improvisation and spontaneity is practically thrown out the window. The result is Click & Clack 2.0, as the friendly voices are there but not the belly laughs or jolly merriment the boys' audibly display every Saturday morning. The out-there stories themselves set up some big laughs, like when the boys' discover pasta as an alternative energy source for automobiles, [pissed] off the local Mafioso in the process. Others lack any ingenuity whatsoever. The animation itself harks back to the 60s and 70s: very dim and dry, lacks real color and pizzazz, occasionally rough around the edges. Nothing special, unless you want to return to that old-fashioned, old-school look which was prevalent in George of the Jungle. Since the humor will whisk over children's heads, it's clear this show was created specifically for the older crowd, ones who are too slow to catch every gag in Family Guy. The show does earn points for its rich character design, courtesy of Stephen Silver, who also did the Clerks series with Kevin Smith.{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330105752/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/asthewrenchturns.php|archivedate=2012-03-30|date=2008-10-16|first=Christopher|last=Kulik|url=http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/asthewrenchturns.php|title=Review - Click And Clack's As The Wrench Turns|website=DVD Verdict}}