Parker Lewis Can't Lose

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This article is about a television show; for the song "Parker Lewis Can't Lose (But I'm Gonna Give It My Best Shot)", see Fall Out Boy.

Parker Lewis Can't Lose is an early 1990s comedy television series that was strongly influenced by the film, Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

It originally aired on the Fox network from September 1990 to June 1993 (three seasons, 73 episodes), the last season sporting the simpler title Parker Lewis. The show depicts the tribulations of the title character Parker Lewis, a Santo Domingo High School student, and his friends Jerry and Mikey.

The TV spinoff Ferris Bueller, which was directly based on Ferris Bueller's Day Off, debuted on NBC during the same month, but it only lasted 13 episodes. Parker Lewis Can't Lose actually had lower ratings, but the Fox Network was still in its early years and had lower expectations.

PLCL is notable for employing humor and visual and auditory reactions that can be very surreal and bizarre, almost like a live-action cartoon. (Episodes of the Clueless TV series are comparable, with sound effects and character reactions.) For instance, when the nerd character temporarily becomes a "cool" character, one of the other characters observing him notes "We have to do something; the way he's playing the harmonica, he's setting rock further back than Ozzy Osbourne!" At that statement, there is a sudden cut to a close up of the rock star objecting, "Hey, don't bite my head off!" (relating to his most famous shtick) followed by an equally sudden cut back to the story. The surrealism was toned down in the series' final season, which for that reason is regarded as being somewhat inferior to the first two.

The show aird on Toonami (UK) during the month March 2006, this decision was argued as the point of no return in Toonami UK's change from a pure action cartoon channel to the channel that it is (and mocked) today.

The show, in view of how Toonami UK favours such shows over the shows that are shown on the US stands and it's brother production, Adult Swim, has been nicknamed "PLCL" due to a conicidential link between FLCL's opening act and an episode of Parker Lewis Can't Lose.

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Catch phrases

PLCL established at least three memorable catch phrases:

"Coolness."
"...Gentlemen, we have achieved coolness!..."
"Synchronize Swatches!"
"Not a problem."
"Eat now?"
"huh?"

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Main characters

Parker Lewis (Corin Nemec)

Smart guy with a penchant for garish shirts. He usually has a plan up his sleeve.

Jerry Steiner (Troy Slaten)

Archetypal nerd. In the first two seasons, he always wears a trench coat from which he produces almost any object imaginable, supposedly fixed inside with velcro.

Mikey Randall (Billy Jayne)

Rock'n'Roll rebel without a cause. By far the most emotionally driven of the trio.

Grace Musso (Melanie Chartoff)

Principal of Flamingo High; Parker's arch-nemesis.

Frank Lemmer (Taj Johnson)

Principal Musso's sidekick and "lapdog" with vampiric tendencies. Likes to wear black and seems to have a telepathic connection to the principal.

Francis Lawrence 'Larry' Kubiac (Abraham Benrubi)

a.k.a. "Kube", he is built like a dinosaur with a brain to match. Initially not a member of Parker's gang, he later develops some ties to them. But still, he is more of a force of nature than a real player.

Shelly Lewis (Maia Brewton)

Parker's other arch-nemesis, his little sister. She likes to manipulate their parents to her benefit, which usually annoys Parker to no end.

Dr. Norman Pankow (Gerrit Graham)

The principal of El Corrado High School and Musso's primary adult rival. His doctorate is in penology. As tough as Musso is, Pankow is regarded as far, far worse.

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