After finishing the revival season of Clone High – quite good as I noted on this very website – I decided to return to the first season of the show, the one that aired on MTV two decades ago. When I first watched it I enjoyed it, but I hadn’t seen the first season of Clone High in over a decade. The new season was strong, even as a revival, but what about the season it was building on?

At first, it seemed like the new season was going to win, perhaps comfortably. I was parsing reasons why to myself. The pilot was kind of lackluster, but then I remembered myself that comedy pilots are rarely strong. Oftentimes, when a sitcom’s run is over, the pilot will be in the bottom five or 10 episodes. Even a belated revival doesn’t have to do a true pilot. That became a point I mulled over. Hey, the revival got to build off all this. Also, MTV wasn’t known for giving out the most-robust budgets. You can see the difference in animation budget, and technology, between the two seasons. So yeah, maybe season two of Clone High would be better in my book, but the first season had its charms, and 20 years can make a lot of difference.

Then, I got to the Smoking Raisins Episode. I had forgotten about the smoking raisins episode. This was when the first season of Clone High got back in the running in terms of which season is better. “Raisin the Stakes” delivers a level of absurdity, and higher highs, than anything from season two. It’s goofy delight.

Naturally, Jack Black plays a key guest role in this musical episode. Now this is a proper musical episode, riffing on everything from Jesus Christ Superstar to Gandhi. The songs are funny, and well-crafted pastiches. Also, animated Gandhi is eaten by footage of a real-life cat, and it’s probably my favorite things in the entire run of the show. Oh, and sorry for mentioning Gandhi. The second season tried to do the musical thing too, but honestly I feel like they half-assed it. “Raisin the Stakes” definitely blows that one out of the water.

I’m sure both seasons of Clone High have their partisans, and I am also sure a portion of both season’s partisans are making bad-faith arguments in favor of the season they support. Me? I like them both. Season two is more consistent, but season one has “Raisin the Stakes,” and that’s worth a lot.