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Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager

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Chad Vader
Director(s)

Aaron Yonda
Matt Sloan

Producer(s)

Courtney Collins

Writer(s)

Aaron Yonda
Matt Sloan

Starring

Aaron Yonda
Matt Sloan
Brad Knight
Christina LaVicka

Music by

Andrew Yonda
John Lee

Distributor

Blame Society Productions

Runtime

4 to 6 minutes (each episode)

Language

English

[Source]

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 nine 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 2009, the series is on the second 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. They received the George Lucas Selects Award at the 2007 Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards as well as George Lucas personally selected the short movie as the best fan movie of the year. Annual competition is hosted by AtomFilms.

Contents

[edit] Concept

Chad Vader in Empire Market store
The storyline centers around Chad Vader, the less-famous brother of Darth Vader, who works (at first) as a day-shift manager at a supermarket named Empire Market. According to spinoff RiffTrax videos, he mentions to himself that his mother and brother abandoned him when they left for Tatooine; before that, his brother used to bully him. Once he had a bike (bicycle) accident and fell off in a volcano which injured him severely, and in order to live properly his brother sent him his suit.

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 assisstant, 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

[edit] Season One Synopsis

[edit] Episode One: "A Galaxy Not So Far Away"

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]

[edit] Episode Two: "The Date"

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 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]

[edit] Episode Three: "The Night Shift"

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]

[edit] Episode Four: "Dog in the Store"

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]

[edit] Episode Five: "Drunk"

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]

[edit] Episode Six: "New Job"

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]

[edit] Episode Seven: "Trapped In The Trash"

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]

[edit] Episode Eight: "Chad Fights Back"

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.

[edit] Empire Market Training Videos

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".

[edit] Video 1: "A Spy in Produce"

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]

[edit] Video 2: "Custodial Empowerment"

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]

[edit] Video 3: "Decoding the Dress Code"

Chad discusses the importance of the dress code, using Commader 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]

[edit] Video 4: "Are You Fit for Command?"

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 rudenesss 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]

[edit] Video 5: "Shoplifting: Never Lower Your Guard"

Here, Chad discusses the perils of shoplifting. He produced this episode by himself, and attempted to use various emplyees 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]

[edit] Video 6: "Patrolling the Parking Lot"

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]

[edit] Season Two Synopsis

Season Two was delayed for 1 February 2009.

[edit] Episode 1: "The Takeover"

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 the laser checkout system is malfunctioning. [15]

[edit] Episode 2: "The Trouble with Lasers"

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.

[edit] Episode 3: "Into The Basement"

Chad and Jeremy go down to "The basement. A mysterious place for storing spare parts, ancient dairy products, and secrets." for the yearly boiler recalibration. Chad hears a voice calling his name and is drawn towards it, leaving Jeremy alone. He finds a (imaginary?) spirit resembling Libby calling, "kiss me!" He gives in and goes to kiss the spirit which vanishes righty before coming into contact. Jeremy, still wandering comes across a droid vaguely resembling C-3P0 with lightsabers for hands who chases him calling "play with me." Soon after he loses it, the two, still seperate 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.

[edit] Episode 4: "The Basement Strikes"

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 smartphone. 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.

[edit] "Training Video Disaster (Meet Robby Johnson)"

[edit] Episode 5: "The New Employee"

[edit] Episode 6: "First Kis"

[edit] Episode 7: "Goodbye, Chad"

[edit] Episode 8: "Bandito Beatdown"

[edit] Episode 9: "Showdown"

[edit] Main characters

  • 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 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.
  • 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!

[edit] Minor characters

  • 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. He can be seen in the first two episodes. 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 eventully ends up missing Chad being the day manager due to Clints more mean-spirited attituide.
  • 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.

[edit] Awards and recognition

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #1
  2. ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #2
  3. ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #3
  4. ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #4
  5. ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #5
  6. ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #6
  7. ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #7
  8. ↑ Chad Vader -- Day Shift Manager #8
  9. ↑ "A Spy in Produce"
  10. ↑ "Custodial Empowerment and You"
  11. ↑ "Decoding the Dress Code"
  12. ↑ "Are You Fit for Command"
  13. ↑ "Shoplifting: Never Lower Your Guard"
  14. ↑ "Patrolling the Parking Lot"
  15. ↑ "Chad Vader Season 2 Episode 1"
  16. ↑ Blame Society Productions Bios - Aaron Yonda and Matt Sloan - Creators of Chad Vader
  17. ↑ Template:Imdb name
  18. ↑ [http://www.rifftrax.com/smf/index.php?topic=2919.msg75329#msg75329 RiffTrax RoundTable - Index
  19. ↑ [http://www.rifftrax.com/smf/index.php?topic=2919.msg75376#msg75376 RiffTrax RoundTable - Index

[edit] External links

Non-canon Star Wars
Fan films:
The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards - Star Wars Mini Movie Awards - The Colbert Report
Attack of the Phantom - Broken Allegiance - Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager - Contract of Evil - Crazy Watto - The Dark Redemption - Dark Resurrection - Darth Vader's Psychic Hotline - Essence of the Force - For the Love of the Film - The Formula - George Lucas in Love - Hardware Wars - Incident at Toshi Station - The Jedi Hunter - Knightquest - The Phantom Edit - Pink Five - Pink Five Strikes Back - Pitching Lucas - Return of Pink Five - Star Wars: Revelations - Run Leia Run - Ryan vs. Dorkman - Saving Star Wars - Sith Apprentice - Speeder - Star Wars Gangsta Rap - Star Wars: Renaissance - Starwoids - TROOPS - Thumb Wars
Official mockumentaries:
Return of the Ewok - R2-D2: Beneath the Dome
[edit]
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