Odd Job Jack (partially lost Comedy Channel animated sitcom; 2003-2007)
Promotional picture of the series.
Status: Partially Lost
Odd Job Jack is a Canadian animated sitcom that premiered on The Comedy Network (now CTV Comedy Channel) for 4 seasons from March 5, 2003 to October 14, 2007.[1] The show centers on 25-year-old Jack Ryder (voiced by Don McKellar), recently graduating with a degree in sociology, signing up for an agency called Odd Jobs, who assists the titular character with a temporary employee position every episode. These odd jobs range from being a corpse-in-a-terrorist-drill to a royal time-keeper, to a king crab fisherman. Despite the show's presence on the network, it is known for having a number of episodes that are hard to find.
The only form of official physical release was the Complete Season 2 DVD set, released in 2006 and published by Morningstar Entertainment.[2] Duopoly, the show's Canadian production company, licensed the show to the United States streaming service Hulu on January 11, 2011, amongst other various Canadian series for the service.[3] However, the show has been taken off the platform circa 2015. The show had also been available through iTunes circa 2009.[4]
A majority of the episodes online are sourced from recordings of a dub on the Russian channel 2x2, broadcast as Джек на все руки мастер (roughly translates to Jack is a Jack of All Trades). 38 out of 52 episodes of the original English language series were considered lost, while 11 of the 52 episodes remained partially found through 30-second to 1-minute recap videos directly from the show's website.[5]
On June 6, 2024 screencasts of the last two seasons from back when it was on Hulu were uploaded to the Internet Archive, although these feature multiple flaws, such as seeking, buffering, and the Hulu GUI showing at times, as well as the original ads.[6] Season one was never present on the service, leaving the Russian and clips still the only available options.
On July 7, 2024, some episodes from season 1 in Spanish were uploaded from when the show aired on Adult Swim in Latin America. Those episodes are Broke & Broker, Almost Wormless, and Fantasy Atoll. The next day, Easy Ryder was uploaded. The only episode that currently remains lost in its full form is Go West Young Ryder. Every episode from season 1 in Spanish besides Go West Young Ryder has now been uploaded to YouTube.[7]
On July 15, 2024, the opening scene from Go West Young Ryder was uploaded to YouTube. The full episode has still yet to surface. Some other clips of season 1 in English have been uploaded as well.[8]
Episode Guide
Season 1
| # | Air Date | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3/5/2003 | Death and Life | Found (Russian) |
| 2 | 6/28/2003 | I Watch the Watchmen | Found (Russian) |
| 3 | 7/5/2003 | The Wheel Is Not Enough | Found (Russian) |
| 4 | 7/12/2003 | Easy Ryder | Found (Spanish) |
| 5 | 7/19/2003 | Waiting for Gordo | Found (Russian) |
| 6 | 7/26/2003 | Go West Young Ryder | Partially Found (clip) |
| 7 | 7/1/2004 | Fatal Extraction | Found (Russian) |
| 8 | 7/12/2004 | Holyland | Found (Russian) |
| 9 | 7/22/2004 | Broke & Broker | Found (Spanish) |
| 10 | 7/28/2004 | Skateballs of Steel | Found (Russian) |
| 11 | 8/2/2004 | Almost Wormless | Found (Spanish) |
| 12 | 8/8/2004 | Fantasy Atoll | Found (Spanish) |
| 13 | 8/14/2004 | American Wiener | Found (online) |
Season 2
| # | Air Date | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7/23/2005 | The 2 Marketeers | Found (DVD) |
| 2 | 7/30/2005 | Lord of the 3-Ring Binder | Found (DVD) |
| 3 | 8/6/2005 | Iron Temp | Found (DVD) |
| 4 | 8/13/2005 | Orgy: the Musical | Found (DVD) |
| 5 | 8/20/2005 | You Suck! | Found (DVD) |
| 6 | 8/27/2005 | Jack Ryder Goes to War! | Found (DVD) |
| 7 | 9/3/2005 | Odd Job John | Found (DVD) |
| 8 | 9/10/2005 | The Ten Labours of Jack Ryder | Found (DVD) |
| 9 | 9/17/2005 | Night of the Flesh-Eating Zombie Meter Maids | Found (DVD) |
| 10 | 9/24/2005 | A Christmas Coma | Found (DVD) |
| 11 | 10/1/2005 | The Biggest Bang | Found (DVD) |
| 12 | 10/8/2005 | Close Encounters of the Uncomfortable Kind | Found (DVD) |
| 13 | 10/15/2005 | Law & Lawlessness | Found (DVD) |
Season 3
| # | Air Date | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7/22/2006 | Twenty-One, You're Dead | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 2 | 7/29/2006 | Jack Ryder and the Fountain of Life | Partially Found (clip), Found (English) |
| 3 | 8/5/2006 | The Temp, the Slut, the Queen, and Her Corgis | Partially Found (clip), Found (English) |
| 4 | 8/12/2006 | Kindergarten Temp | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 5 | 8/19/2006 | Dragon Dueller | Partially Found (clip), Found (English) |
| 6 | 8/26/2006 | The Big Dump | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 7 | 9/2/2006 | 29.5 | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 8 | 9/9/2006 | A Candidacy of Dunces | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 9 | 9/16/2006 | The Great White Joke | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 10 | 9/23/2006 | The Man Who Smelled Too Much | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 11 | 9/30/2006 | Claws | Partially Found (clip), Found (English) |
| 12 | 10/7/2006 | Jack Ryder Gets Hitched | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 13 | 10/14/2006 | My Big Miserable African Honeymoon | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
Season 4
| # | Air Date | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7/22/2007 | No One Likes a Gorilla! | Partially Found (clip), Found (English) |
| 2 | 7/29/2007 | Jack Ryder: Mindhumper | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 3 | 8/5/2007 | The Good Locksmith | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 4 | 8/12/2007 | Insecticidal Tendencies | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 5 | 8/19/2007 | The Flight of the Bumbling Idiot | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 6 | 8/26/2007 | The Beauty Beast | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 7 | 9/2/2007 | Jack Ryder's Unofficial High School Reunion | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 8 | 9/9/2007 | 12 Chickens | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 9 | 9/16/2007 | Master of Temps | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 10 | 9/23/2007 | Revolving Jobs | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 11 | 9/30/2007 | You Almost Got Served | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
| 12 | 10/7/2007 | King Whore | Partially Found (clip), Found (English) |
| 13 | 10/14/2007 | Jack and the Magic Pencil | Found (Russian), Found (English) |
References
- ↑ https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/odd-job-jack/1000232664/
- ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Odd-Job-Jack-Season-Two/dp/B000HDR85A
- ↑ https://www.awn.com/news/duopoly-launches-odd-job-jack-hulucom
- ↑ https://www.tv-eh.com/2009/08/22/updated-canadian-tv-on-itunes/
- ↑ https://www.oddjobjack.com/SupportingSwifs/episode06-recap.mp4
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/odd-job-jack-season-3-and-4-hulu-screencast
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu_MbBRmFC9PdomvIvj6TTfb1ANnvgNYP
- ↑ https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pwhNCSKbNqlVHJ1S9RYcTAW4cvMcua60?usp=sharing