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Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager
| Chad Vader | |
|---|---|
| Director(s) |
Aaron Yonda |
| Producer(s) |
Courtney Collins |
| Writer(s) |
Aaron Yonda |
| Starring |
Aaron Yonda |
| Music by |
Andrew Yonda |
| Distributor |
Blame Society Productions |
| Runtime |
4 to 6 minutes (each episode) |
| Language |
English |
Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager is a fan film series by Blame Society Productions that has gained popularity on the Internet, particularly through viewings on YouTube. The first episode has been viewed over ten million times. Each of the first season episodes have been viewed over one million times. A portion of the episode IV video was aired on Good Morning America on October 12, 2006. As of 2010, the series is on the third season with episodes between five and six minutes long, written and directed by Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda.
Chad Vader has been translated into at least 5 languages, including Portuguese, Spanish, French, Hebrew and Lingua Franca Nova. The series also has a DVD, which contains all 8 of the first season episodes, it has also spawned a line of other merchandise.
Each episode was filmed on location at Willy Street Co-Op, a grocery store in Madison, Wisconsin. This series received the George Lucas Selects Award at the 2007 Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards. George Lucas personally selected the short movie as the best fan movie of the year. The annual competition is hosted by AtomFilms.
Concept
Edit
The series presents Chad's clashes with customers and other employees, especially Clint, the night-shift manager and later Margaret McCall, the Red Leader liaison. Chad's infatuation with Clarissa, one of the grocery store's check-out girls, and Libby, McCall's assistant, is a plot point as well. Chad makes frequent references to dialogue and concepts from the Star Wars films in the context of a modern-day grocery store as well as talking overly ominously or just formally even in simple everyday dialogue. For example, he refers to buildings or shops as "facilities" and machines as "units"; he also had plans for a more powerful laser checkout system for the cashiers.
Chad possesses a red lightsaber, a holoprojector in his hand, and of course Force powers. During Season Two, Vader employs mouse droids as cleaners and intends to "construct a fleet" of them.
Season One SynopsisEdit
Episode One: "A Galaxy Not So Far Away"Edit
This episode establishes the character of Chad Vader, the day shift manager at a grocery store called Empire Market, as well as his co-workers, including his boss, Randy, and night shift manager Clint Shermer, with whom Chad has an intensely adversarial relationship. Chad manages to convince attractive cashier Clarissa to have a date with him, under the guise of discussing "some plans I have for a more powerful laser checkout system". Later on, Chad gets into a fight with Clint, threatening him with his lightsaber. However, Chad trips on a banana peel Clint throws under him, and is left in pain on the floor by Clint. [1]
Episode Two: "The Date"Edit
Chad Vader continues his training of two Empire Market employees, Tony Edwards and Jeremy Wickstrom. Edwards, annoyed with Chad's behavior, leaves him with the more enthusiastic Jeremy, whom Chad takes under his wing as his "apprentice". During his date with Clarissa, Chad confides to her that the reason he wears his suit is for life support after he accidentally rode his bicycle into a volcano and that the suit was given to him by his "famous brother". Clarissa expresses sympathy for Chad. Later at work, Chad is caught using his hologram to spy on Clint while he is complaining to Randy about Chad's behavior. Randy, furious, gives the day manager position to Clint while giving Chad the night shift. [2]
Episode Three: "The Night Shift"Edit
It's Chad's first shift as night manager, and he finds that Empire Market is inhabited by strange employees and customers when the sun goes down. "Commander" Jeremy Wickstrom, Chad's new "apprentice", has transferred to the night shift to assist him. After dealing with some of the store's unusual customers, Chad calls Clarissa on the phone. It is revealed that Clarissa stood up Chad on their second date the previous night. After Clarissa abruptly ends his call, Chad gets into a physical confrontation with a gloating Clint, who, to Chad's horror, reveals that he has begun to date Clarissa. [3]
Episode Four: "Dog in the Store"Edit
Chad is still on his first night shift. Jeremy urgently reports to Chad that a dog is loose in the store. After giving Jeremy the job of finding the dog, Chad spends some time to himself on the loading dock out back, spying on Clarissa sleeping with his hologram. He is later joined by "Weird Jimmy", Empire Market's eccentric janitor. Weird Jimmy reveals to Chad that he was once a day shift manager himself, but had some "minor problems" after being given the night manager position. Chad and Jeremy later chase down the dog loose in the store, which turns out to belong to the store's slightly deranged night-time cashier, Lionel. The following morning, Chad sees Clint complaining to Randy about their fight earlier that night. When Randy confronts Chad, and refuses to give him back the day manager position, Chad quits his job. [4]
Episode Five: "Drunk"Edit
It's almost Christmas, and Chad Vader, now unemployed, gets drunk at a bar while spying on Clint and Clarissa nearby. Clint and Chad almost have a fistfight, but Clint relents to go to the bathroom. When Chad confronts Clarissa, she asks Chad to "do something useful with your life and stop being so lame". A drunk, spurned Chad leaves the bar. Later on, Chad stands on a bridge at a park, contemplating suicide. Just as he is about to jump, Chad is met by a Force ghost named Ben, the spirit of a drunk driver who died after he ran over a gas pump that exploded. Ben manages to help Chad take Clarissa's advice to do something with his life, and Chad resolves to find another job. Chad is later seen at his new job, wearing what would pass for a business suit. [5]
Episode Six: "New Job"Edit
Over the course of two days, Chad is hired as a telemarketer and a printer, but is quickly fired due to his erratic, aggressive behavior. Ben appears to Chad again to persuade him to return to Empire Market, but Chad balks at the idea and runs away. Meanwhile at Empire Market, Chad's old co-workers, including Jeremy and Clarissa, begin reminiscing about Chad's career there. It is revealed that Clint, as day manager, has begun to bully his subordinates, including Clarissa. Chad, meanwhile, is hired and quickly fired both as a janitor and a cleaner for the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, Dave Cieslewicz. Chad has begun working as a taxicab driver when he is again visited by Ben and is finally persuaded to go back to Empire Market to get his old job back. Chad Vader returns to the store, confronts Randy, and demands that he be re-hired. [6]
Episode Seven: "Trapped In The Trash"Edit
Chad threatens to not leave the store until he gets his job back. He vows to buy an item once every hour to avoid a loitering charge. However, Chad admits he's broke to Jeremy, but the latter hatches an irrational plan to shut down the store's power. After another visitation from Ben, Chad realizes he must settle his score with Clint once and for all. Dubiously assuming Clint's identity, Chad begins to sully Clint's reputation by verbally assaulting customers and behaving erratically. He is helped by Clarissa -- whom he reconciles with -- when she gives him Clint's name tag, which Chad prominently displays on his suit. This leads to customers unloading a ton of complaints against Clint. However, Clint deduces the ruse and angrily confronts Chad. As he does so, Jeremy, with Weird Jimmy's help, cuts off the store's power supply. In the dark, Clint and Chad begin their final battle. [7]
Episode Eight: "Chad Fights Back"Edit
Clint manages to gain the upper hand once the store's emergency power kicks in, and knocks Chad to the floor. Chad feels like giving up, but finds upliftment when Clarissa, Weird Jimmy, Chad's co-workers, customers, former employers, and Mayor Cieslewicz profess their belief in him. Chad is further provoked when he sees Clint bullying Jeremy. Using the Force, Chad manages to attack Clint with a barrage of lemons, and pushes him into a display of lettuce. Later on, Chad tells Randy that Clint damaged the lemons and cabbage display by himself and quit, claiming his former enemy "has mental problems". Randy reluctantly gives Chad the day manager position back, on the condition that Chad change his attitude. Randy further tells Chad that there's talk of a conglomerate buying out Empire Market. Later on, Clarissa and Chad arrange another date, and Chad discovers that Jeremy has begun using the Force. The first season ends with Chad telling his apprentice Jeremy about his new plans for Empire Market. [8]
Due to the success of the first season on YouTube, BlameSociety, or SPLU, is in talks to make a full length T.V Series.
Empire Market Training VideosEdit
Chad was asked to make a series of training videos to teach the potential employee of Empire Market. Using his brand of aggressive solutions to problems, he will "complete your training".
Video 1: "A Spy in Produce"Edit
This begins the series of training videos, where Chad deals with "customer satisfaction". This episode deals with a multiple choice question that Chad presents on how to deal with a shady individual spying on the beets to try to gain insight on Empire Market's "new pricing system". Typical of Chad's aggressive solutions to problems, the choices include "draw lightsaber, slice spy's hand off" and "advance menacingly, demand that they leave".[9]
Video 2: "Custodial Empowerment"Edit
In this video, Chad lets Weird Jimmy teach the potential employee about "custodial duties", or "mopping". Weird Jimmy digresses from talking about the grip, to talking to "Mop"; Chad concludes, "Avoid Weird Jimmy whenever possible". [10]
Video 3: "Decoding the Dress Code"Edit
Chad discusses the importance of the dress code, using Commander Wickstrom as a model. Chad show that the dress code requires an apron and nametag, "free of detritus", and that "disfiguring injuries" should be covered "tastefully", with choices such as "a pair of mechanical hands", "full-length body robe and cloak", and "a full upper torso exoskeleton with breathing apparatus". [11]
Video 4: "Are You Fit for Command?"Edit
In this video, Chad planted a hidden camera in Randy's office, since Randy was "too busy and important" to participate in the video. Chad regards Randy in very high regard, saying that he was not worthy to "look at or be friends with", despite Randy's disapproval of his aggressive solutions to problems and occasional rudeness to customers. We find out that Randy spends his time yelling at food suppliers, describing to doctors his foot fungus, sleeping, and yelling at Chad. [12]
Video 5: "Shoplifting: Never Lower Your Guard"Edit
Here, Chad discusses the perils of shoplifting. He produced this episode by himself, and attempted to use various employees of Empire Market to act like a shoplifter, but they all fail to meet Chad's expectations, so he was forced to use a video of himself acting like he was losing a fight, and a video that showed him acting like he was winning a fight, then splicing the videos together. [13]
Video 6: "Patrolling the Parking Lot"Edit
Chad discusses the importance of maintaining a safe parking lot. He parked his bicycle in a handicapped parking spot, to attract a policeman's attention, so Chad could show the rules of the parking lot. Unfortunately, the Retarded Policeman showed up as a special guest, and Chad was forced to deal with the Retarded Policeman's titular trait before getting the point across of "don't park in a handicapped spot". [14]
Season Two SynopsisEdit
Season Two was delayed for 1 February 2009.
Episode 1: "The Takeover"Edit
The day has come when the conglomerate Red Leader Foods finally takes over Empire Market. After arriving late for the occasion on his bicycle, Chad, along with his co-workers, meets the owner of Empire Market, Champion J. Pepper, as well as Red Leader liaison Margaret McCall, and her assistant, Libby. Randy and Champion move off to discuss some business, leaving Chad to give the two visitors a tour of the market, including his project, the "more powerful laser checkout system" mentioned during the first season. They meet Lloyd in the deli, who Chad disciplines with the Force choke for making inappropriate comments towards the two women. Clarissa tells Jeremy to let Chad know the laser checkout system is malfunctioning. [15]
Episode 2: "The Trouble with Lasers"Edit
Jeremy attempts to warn Chad that the Laser Checkout system is malfunctioning, but Chad is too absorbed in showing Maggie and her assistant around and pays Jeremy no mind. The new boss is about to "witness the product scanning power of this fully armed and operational laser checkout system" when the can of beans explodes on her face. She fires Randy and threatens that a lot is going to change in the Grocery store. Jeremy tells Chad that he tried to warn him but he wouldn't listen, and begins to have his doubts about Chad's character.
Episode 3: "Into The Basement"Edit
Maggie holds a meeting at Empire Market and explains all the changes and new rules that will be implemented. First, Randy has been permanently demoted from General Manager to Night Manager, which is the worst position at Empire Market, and Maggie will continue to fill in as the General Manager until "a suitable replacement can be found." Second, Weird Jimmy is now both the day and night custodian. As Maggie continues to explain the new rules Chad attempts to ask Libby out but is cut of when Maggie announces the new and strict "no dating policy" amongst the staff. At the conclusion of the meeting Maggie orders Chad to recalibrate the boiler. However, in order for Chad to accomplish this he must go to "The basement. A mysterious place for storing spare parts, ancient dairy products, and secrets." While looking for the boiler Chad hears a voice calling his name and is drawn towards it, leaving Jeremy alone. He finds an imaginary spirit resembling Libby calling, "kiss me!" He gives in and goes to kiss the spirit which vanishes right before coming into contact. Jeremy, still wandering comes across a droid vaguely resembling C-3PO with light sabers for hands who chases him calling "play with me." Soon after he loses it, the two, still separate and lost, begin to hear creepy creaking and squeaking noises. Jeremy is shown about to be attacked by a figure and the screen goes blank.
Episode 4: "The Basement Strikes Back"Edit
Jeremy is lying down, asleep, on a pile of boxes where we last saw him. He is woken by Weird Jimmy with Mop, who offers to take him to the boiler room. When asked where chad is, Weird Jimmy says he's probably dead because "the basement isn't a safe place -- for upstairsers." On their way, Jeremy finds a mirror in which he sees three images. First, himself in a business suit and tie with his hair combed back, helmetless, talking on a smart phone. Second, Margaret McCall smiling and waving at him. Third, Margaret is growling at him with vampire fangs. They recalibrate the boiler and find a door opening to the pit Chad was trapped in.
On their way out, they encounter three killer robots. One is the same that chased Jeremy before again says. Another is in red and black with boxing gloves and a Vader helmet says. The third is in all white wearing a backwards stormtrooper helmet with a roll of duct tape and a printer for hands. Jimmy and Chad are defeated, leaving Jeremy to fight off the robots. He uses the force to grab Chad's lightsaber and kill his opponents. Vader awakens, and Jeremy lies saying he (Chad) defeated the robots and then accidentally knocked himself out. Mop was killed in the fight, and Jimmy provides a funeral service for her. On the way out, Chad explains the robots were failed experiments of his to replace annoying employees.
"Training Video Disaster (Meet Robby Johnson)"Edit
In this video, we meet Robby Johnson, an employee at Empire Market who foolishly did what the training videos told him. He was fired after working for only one day.
Episode 5: "The New Employee"Edit
In this episode, Margaret tells Chad to stop "wasting time with Jeremy" and gives him a new apprentice, Robby Johnson. When asked if he remembers Robby, Chad says yes, and then we see a series of flashbacks of Robby attempting to cut an old lady's hand off with a Swiss army knife, jumping off the top of aisles with a broom, gasmask, and wearing his store apron as a cape, dancing with his broom, and other insane things. Jeremy feels let down by Chad when he starts spending more time with his new apprentice and when Jeremy says, "But Lord Vader, what about me!?!" Chad replies, "Jeremy, go... sweep something."
Episode 6: "First Kiss"Edit
Margaret institutes a new employee of the month program, and chooses Robby as the winner. She sends Chad with him, and as an afterthought, sends Libby to make sure they don't spend too much. At the restaurant, Robby is intrigued by all the strange foods and decides to go with the " pasta." Chad proposes they start the meal with a drink, to which Libby at first rejects, saying that Margaret said they couldn't order any alcohol, but later gives in reasoning that, "one round won't hurt." In the next scene they are all singing drunkly. Robby says he wants to stay drunk forever and heads over to a bar across the street. Chad and Libby then share a kiss in an alley, although, unknown to them, Jeremy is watching. We then see Jeremy tell Margaret that he needs to tell her something about Chad. The episode ends with Margaret saying, " Tell me all about it."
Episode 7: "Goodbye, Chad"Edit
This episode starts out with Chad walking happily in the store complementing everyone saying he is in love when he meets Jeremy who shows no interest and anger at Chad. He then is told by Jeremy that Margaret is waiting for him in his office. He is then talked to by her to never again "date fellow employees". Where upon before he leaves he asks where Libby is where Margaret says that Libby has been deported and is handed a letter from her. After he reads the letter he screams in anger and sadness when he is hit by a marshmallow. Where upon he meets the Marshmallow Bandito
Episode 8: "Bandito Beatdown"Edit
The episode starts out with the Marshmallow bandito revealing his origin to Chad. He spits numerous marshmallows at him which Chad vaporizes with his lightsaber. He runs, Chad, using telekinesis, throws numerous groceries at him. Chad forces him to the ground, stuffs marshmallows in his mouth, and cries out for Libby. Jeremy witnesses the fight and feels guilty about getting Libby deported, do he confesses what he did to weird Jimmy and why he did it. We then see Randy at the night shift with "Baby Cookie" who is asking him if he would do anything for her, to which he replies that he would. Baby Cookie then says " Hey, Randy, would you kill for me???"
Episode 9: "Showdown"Edit
At the start of the episode he confesses to Maggie his guilty conscious and almost quits his job. Maggie complains that he whines like a woman and that she was going to send him on a 2 week training camp and make him the new general manager. He accepts, and is sent to training camp. Passing by Chad he acts strangely. Then Lloyd introduces Chad to his new employee, the Marshmallow Bandito.
Two weeks later, the Marshmallow Bandito is set on making Chad's life miserable at the grocery store and Jeremy returns from the two-week manager training camp. At first Chad is delighted because he now has his apprentice back to do various tasks, such as cleaning the toilets. His delight quickly turns into anger when he soon finds out that Jeremy "isn't his apprentice any more". Maggie further informs Chad that Jeremy has been promoted to general manager- the position Chad greatly aspires towards. Jeremy's first task is to fire Randy from the Night Shift Manager position. Chad, who is furious at this turn of events, decides to intervene and talk some sense into Jeremy by meeting him at the store when he arrives during the night shift. When Chad intercepts Jeremy, Jeremy tells him to call him " Mr. Wickstrum" instead of "Commander Wickstrum." As the start to argue Weird Jimmy interrupts them warns Chad about Jeremy's traitorous ways. Jeremy then demands Weird Jimmy to stay out it. Jimmy's response to this is, "Or what? You're gonna get me deported too?" Chad then realizes Jeremy's part in getting rid of Libby, and pulls out his lightsaber.
Jeremy then takes out his own homemade lightsaber. Chad responds to this by saying, "I see you have constructed a new lightsaber. It looks like a piece of crap. It probably doesn't even wor-( Jeremy activates his lightsaber) oh" Jeremy thinks about all the times Chad didn't listen to him and rejected him, but still pleads, "We don't have to do this!" But Chad simply replies, "Oh, yes we do." The episode ends with them crossing sabers in a flash.
Episode 10: "Somebody Dies"Edit
The episode starts out continuing Chad's and Jeremy's duel when Weird Jimmy tries to talk them out of dueling when a customer shows up and Chad and Jeremy stop their duel to help the customer. Then after the customer goes away Chad pushes Jeremy and he runs after him into the hallway when Randy emerges out of the closet with baby cookie telling him to "kill Chad". Then Chad pushes Jeremy onto a box aggressively attacking him for "taking his job, taking Libby and taking his life" when Randy sneaks behind Chad ready to kill him where Jeremy warns him but he replies "that he will not fall for it". When Jeremy pushes Chad away to save him Weird Jimmy knocks Randy out of the way to save him when Jeremy stabbed him. The last thing he saw before his death was a force ghost of mop. When he dies and all that is left of him are his clothes. Chad searches the garments and after which he says he never knew. Where Randy runs away and a meeting is held and Margaret asks where Jimmy is. Then Chad talks about Jimmy. Margaret also announces that everybody will be general manager for a day and whoever does best will get the job. Then Chad gives back Jeremy's helmet to him and he takes it and leaves. The last thing seen by Jeremy was Jimmy's ghost with mop calling him a murderer. Chad then expresses his anger at Maggie when he discovers his ability of force lightning.
Season Three SynopsisEdit
Episode 1: "Surveillance Assailant" Edit
The episode opens with Chad and Jeremy mock-dueling with their lightsabers. Jeremy is proud of his improved skills, and Chad compliments him on this accomplishment. Suddenly, Chad slaps him on the cheek, telling him "that is today's lesson; always expect the unexpected, especially in battle" before slapping his apprentice again telling him how he was "not expecting the unexpected enough." This incident leaves him paranoid of the unexpected. To make matters worse, he runs into Weird Jimmy's force ghost who yells "You killed me!" sending Jeremy fleeing in terror.
While walking through the store, Chad spots Maggy, who had just finished threatening to fire an employee and go after his family if he was ever late again, and quickly starts walking back from where he came. Maggy, however spots him before he manages to disappear and asks him who will be the first Manager-for-a-day. He recommends Jeremy as his first choice, but she rejects him since he already messed up his first chance. Chad is at a loss for another option, describing all of the other employees as "barely qualified to scrub out the toilets." Maggy tells Chad she wants them to be friends, producing an evil smile as she says it. Before leaving him, she demands that a manager be chosen by 3:00 pm. As she walks away, Chad pictures himself and Maggy doing several friendly things, such as frolicking through the store, hugging, and playing Settlers of Catan. He looks disgusted and pictures himself beating Maggy with a shovel, to which he says to himself "that's more like it."
Chad finishes installing a new surveillance camera (it resembles small Death Star with a video camera on top) on top of a shelf in the store. As he climbs down from the ladder, Randy approaches Chad to which he responds by pointing a drill at Randy and telling him to get away and not to stab him. Randy apologizes for the previous incident and tells Chad that he is feeling a lot better with his new position as the custodian. Randy tells Chad he threw out Baby Cookie, only to hear the doll in his head call his name.
Chad declares his new surveillance camera is fully operational, dubbing it the Surveillance Assailant. It is able to transmit video feed to his helmet, enabling him to see everything happening in the store at all times. He scans the store for employees who would make a good manager. He first spots Tony who is seen scribbling on a cereal box. Next he spots Lloyd, currently jamming a metal knife into a toaster. His third visible option is Sean, a.k.a. the Marshmallow Bandito; he is stapling a piece of ham to the bottom of a boot. Chad views them all as incompetent, but realizes he must chose one of them as it is almost 3:00. As Chad is about to make his decision, the episode ends and viewers are given a choice to vote for one of the employees.
Episode 2: "Rockets and Chaos" Edit
Chad ultimately chooses Sean to be the first "manager-for-a-day". An enthused Sean promises to do a good job and use his new position as "a force for good rather than evil". After Sean leaves, Chad reveals that he anticipates the failure of his would-be nemesis and the rest of the manager-for-a-day candidates, and plans to make McCall promote him to general manager afterwards. Sean, however, comes to find managing "boring" and hangs out with Chad in the storage room, where he discovers Chad's "rocket-powered shopping cart". McCall later tells Chad that she is considering making Sean the new manager permanently, calling him a "born leader" despite his eccentricities. However, Sean regresses to his "Marshmallow Bandito" alter ego when a customer asks for marshmallows and mocks them. The Bandito mounts Chad's unsafe shopping cart and wreaks havoc throughout the store, chasing Chad and shooting lasers. He is only stopped when Chad uses the laser on the Surveillance Assailant to destroy the cart. Chad then attacks the Bandito with Sith lightning, causing his pants to fall down.
Episode 3: "Lloyd Town" Edit
Lloyd is chosen by Chad as the next manager-for-a-day, even though both Chad and McCall openly loathe Lloyd as an imbecile. They make fun of Lloyd for his staggering stupidity—even when he is in the room. Meanwhile, Randy finds Baby Cookie in the cabbage stand, but resists the doll's urging to be friends with him again. Jeremy also continues to have trouble with Weird Jimmy's Force ghost, but Chad tries to solve the problem by urging Jeremy to listen to the spirit. Jeremy does so, only to wind up knocking a cucumber over his head at Weird Jimmy's request, as a way of avenging the dead janitor "against himself". Lloyd's tenure as manager-for-a-day does not last long; when Clarissa tries to clock out early, Lloyd makes outrageously suggestive remarks towards her. Clarissa threatens to turn Lloyd in for sexual harassment, causing him to panic and set off the fire alarm. When he admits what he has done to Chad, the latter covers Lloyd head-to-toe with duct tape, causing him to slowly leave the store in shame.
Episode 4: "Nothing Happens" Edit
Chad picks his last choice, the sullen Tony, to be the manager-for-a-day. As the episode's title suggests, Tony's tenure is marked by nothing happening in the store. The characters are uninterested when interacting with each other: Chad and McCall are too bored to fight each other; Chad does nothing when Lloyd tries to steal coffee beans; and Jeremy and Weird Jimmy's Force ghost find no excitement in the latter's frightening appearances. The only time this tone changes is when Tony clocks out from work, belatedly leaving the store. Chad remarks that Tony is "the greatest manager ever".
Episode Five: "Return of Clint" Edit
Because of the failure of all of Chad's manager-for-a-day employees, McCall calls in some "outside talent": Chad's old nemesis, Clint Shermer. McCall announces that Clint will have his employment restored with Empire Market if his stint as manager-for-a-day is successful, and that he will become Chad's boss if this is so. Clint had also pulled out a three-foot restraining order against Chad, and wears a device that sounds an alarm if Chad or any Force-thrown object comes too close to him. Clint uses the device to harass Chad, by jumping within three feet of him. However, Chad briefly remedies the situation by using a mind trick on Lloyd, forcing him to shock Clint with a taser. When left in pain on the floor, Clint vows that this is "beginning of the end...for you". Chad orders Lloyd to clean the toilets Meanwhile, a newly insane Randy reluctantly returns to Baby Cookie on Clint's order. Randy appears to have a beard again and is more disheveled. When Clint made him answer:"In or Out?", Randy chose in. Later, Lloyd enters the toilet where there's the Customer of Season 3, he hits him with a taser, torturing the Customer.
Episode Six: "Vampire Market" Edit
Lloyd and Randy are up to no good. While Lloyd posts outrageously high prices for a can of beans and pretends they are radioactive, Randy puts up signs that say "sale over - forever." Chad finds out Clint is trying to turn Empire Market into a "crazy store", believing it will bring more customers. Also, Clint hires new stock boy Damien Nightshayde, who may or may not be a vampire. He attracts all women in the store. Later, Damien saves Chad's life from a runaway cart, and claims to be Chad's new bodyguard. Chad concludes that with Jeremy and Damien as allies, Clint will be stopped. Chad then looks for Jeremy, who has been stuck in a freezer for three hours. Weird Jimmy appears claiming that the dying Jeremy is the "key" to stopping "his plan". He refuses to elaborate, intending to be more dramatic. Weird Jimmy prepares to leave to go back mopping in the afterlife, but is forced to sing Ben's Song before disappearing, helping Chad find Jeremy. However, Jeremy falls unconscious when Chad finally enters the freezer. Overall, the episode is a parody of "viral videos" and internet marketing.
Main charactersEdit
- Chad Vader (Aaron Yonda/voiced by Matt Sloan) - The main character and day shift manager of Empire Market. Sometimes using lines lifted from the Star Wars films, Chad's main goal is to crush Empire Market's competition and help make the store dominate the food retailing industry. While he has antagonistic or rocky relationships with some of his co-workers, most notably Clint, he has better ones with others, such as Jeremy, whom he adopts as his "young apprentice". Chad implies in the second episode that his brother is Darth Vader, and that Darth gave Chad a life support suit and helmet similar to his own after Chad accidentally rode his bicycle into a volcano. This fact is mentioned explicitly on the Blame Society website (www.blamesociety.net). Though he uses a red Sith lightsaber as a weapon to threaten opponents (and shoplifters), he does not hold the title of "Darth", meaning that Chad, despite his fantasies of attaining power, is not really a Sith.[source?] Despite Sloan being a local comedian and voice actor, LucasArts were impressed by his Darth Vader impression. This led to him becoming the new voice actor for Darth Vader. His voice appears in the games Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption,[16][17] Soulcalibur IV, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
- Clint Shermer (Matt Sloan) - Chad's nemesis, the former night shift manager. Clint is a bully who is constantly finding ways to abuse Chad, and does the same with his co-workers after Chad quits his job. It becomes apparent in the second episode that he has wanted Chad's day manager position for some time. Chad forces Clint to quit his job after he is defeated in their final battle. It is revealed in the eighth episode that Clint's father owns Empire Market, explaining Clint's spoiled demeanor. Matt Sloan also performs as the voice of Chad.
- Randy Morgan (Brad Knight) - Chad's boss as the general manager of Empire Market. Chad, who takes his day manager job very seriously, practically worships Randy. When Chad meets with Randy, the former always kneels and calls Randy "Emperor", which causes Randy some considerable discomfort. In one of the Empire Market training videos, Chad describes Randy as, "a man I am not worthy to look at or be friends with", and a "true managerial genius", despite the fact that Randy disapproves of Chad's aggressive solutions to problems and his surveillance on Randy via hologram.
- Clarissa (Christina LaVicka) - A cashier at Empire Market who went on a date with Chad, but later dated Clint. She ultimately asked Chad if he wanted to go on another date after Clint had quit his job. Chad said he had to check his schedule.
- Jeremy Wickstrom (Paul Guse) - An Empire Market employee who idolizes Chad and wears the headpiece of an Imperial ground officer (which is the back piece of the Hasbro Darth Vader Voice Changer mask); Vader usually refers to him as Commander Wickstrom and treats him as his "young apprentice". Jeremy eventually transfers to the Night Shift with Chad, until Chad went back to being a Day Shift Manager. In the last episode he is shown to have the power of the Force when he pulls a broom to his hand. Wickstrom sees Chad more as his leader than his boss.
- Weird Jimmy (Craig Johnson) - An insane janitor. He used to be the day shift manager, but has become unstable since moving to the night shift and losing his position as manager. This was revealed during a conversation with Chad outside the store in Episode 4. He consults his mop (named "Mop") before he does anything, "believes in elves" and has, shown in Episode 7 and Vader's fifth video in the Empire Market Training series, a gun with a silencer. He dies in the Season 2 finale, however, he reappears as a Force Ghost to taunt Jeremy and give cryptic advice. He seems to enjoy death more than life, although he still has to mop floors in the afterlife. He also enjoys being ambigous instead of giving clear and practical advice.
- Champion J. Pepper-The original owner of Empire Market. He sold the market to Red Leader Foods, a corporate conglomerate. He is Clint's father. He wears a cowboy hat and speaks with a Texas twang, and is fond of introducing himself every time he enters a room, a "new thing he is trying out".
- Margaret McCall- The new owner of Empire Market. She is the liaison for Red Leader Foods that Mr. Pepper sold Empire Market to. On the surface, she seems nice, but may have unpleasant qualities under the surface as evidenced by dialogue between Randy and Pepper:
- Randy: Well, she seems nice.
- Pepper: Huh! That's what you think!
She is later shown to hate Chad, although she says she wants to be his friend. She attempts to trick Jeremy into turning on Chad, and obviously has evil plans for Empire Market.
Minor charactersEdit
- Ben (Mike McCafferty) - A Jedi ghost who stopped Chad from committing suicide and helps him get his life back on track. He claims his death was caused by driving drunk over a gas station pump (which then exploded). He appears suddenly, but disappearing requires additional effort, such as performing a song and dance. He finally finds another way to disappear — by screaming 3 times.
- Hal (Aaron Yonda) - An odd man who searches for strange things such as a live chicken, goat's milk, a goat's hoof, and a goat for his "voodoo ritual." He is one of the main characters in one of Blame Society Productions other series, Fun Rangers. Aaron Yonda also plays Chad (but does not provide the voice).
- Tony Edwards (Asa Derks) - An employee in Empire Market who doesn't like Chad very much. Many people think that Tony only appears in 2 episodes, but actually Tony also makes an appearance in the training videos and he appears quite differently in Season 2, which many haven't noticed. In season 2 he is bearded making it hard to understand that he's Tony. Chad refers to him as "Commander Edwards," much to Tony's annoyance. He also hates being told to search his feelings to find an aisle.
- Lloyd (Rob Matsushita) - An employee in Empire Market who often makes fun of Chad about his relationship with Clarissa. Chad uses the Force to choke him for saying too much about him and Clarissa. Despite this he eventually ends up missing Chad being the day manager due to Clint's more mean-spirited attitude.
- Tammy (Kealynn Kees) - An employee in Empire Market who refuses Chad's proposal for her to work an extra shift in Episode 1. She also shows up here and there.
- Lionel (William Bolz) - A weird employee in Empire Market who always says that customers "save a lot". In one of the episodes he asks Chad if anything is faster than the speed of light (referencing Star Wars spaceships). He also asks Chad if he likes light bulbs. He brings his dog into the store in episode 4.
- Star Wars Nerd (Steve Agee) - A Star Wars fan whom Chad sees when he's about to commit suicide. Some believe he was in fact a hallucination[source?]
- Mayor (Mayor Dave Cieslewicz) - The mayor of Madison. Chad tries working for him but it didn't work out.
- Bartender (Drew Foerster) - The bartender who serves Chad in Episode 5.
Awards and recognitionEdit
- Matt Sloan and Aaron Yonda were awarded the George Lucas Selects award for The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards 2007, presented at Star Wars Celebration IV, for their work on Chad Vader. George Lucas personally selected the short movie as the best fan movie of the year. The annual competition is hosted by AtomFilms.[source?]
- Chad Vader appeared on the cover of Isthmus Magazine, January 25, 2007.[source?]
- Clips from episodes 1 and 4 appeared on the October 11, 2006 episode of ABC's Good Morning America.[source?]
- In an obvious homage to Chad Vader, one of the trophies on the Playstation 3 and achievements on the Xbox 360 version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is entitled "Worst Day-Shift Manager Ever".
- The character appeared as a guest riffer on Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones for Michael J. Nelson's RiffTrax service.[18] Nelson and fellow riffer Kevin Murphy also appeared in a special episode of the series.[19] Chad Vader returned as a guest riffer for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #1
- ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #2
- ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #3
- ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #4
- ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #5
- ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #6
- ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #7
- ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #8
- ↑ "A Spy in Produce"
- ↑ "Custodial Empowerment and You"
- ↑ "Decoding the Dress Code"
- ↑ "Are You Fit for Command"
- ↑ "Shoplifting: Never Lower Your Guard"
- ↑ "Patrolling the Parking Lot"
- ↑ "Chad Vader Season 2 Episode 1"
- ↑ Blame Society Productions Bios - Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan - Creators of Chad Vader
- ↑
Matt Sloan at the Internet Movie Database - ↑ [http://www.rifftrax.com/smf/index.php?topic=2919.msg75329#msg75329 RiffTrax RoundTable - Index
- ↑ [http://www.rifftrax.com/smf/index.php?topic=2919.msg75376#msg75376 RiffTrax RoundTable - Index
External linksEdit
- Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager Official Page
- Fanfilms.net listing
Chad Vader on Wikipedia
- He's Not the Heavy; He's His Brother – Associated Press article about Chad Vader
