Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns is an animated television series that follows the adventures of the brothers Click and Clack from their auto repair shop Car Talk Plaza. The program stars Tom and Ray Magliozzi, also known as the Tappet Brothers, from National Public Radio's Car Talk. The Wednesday night prime-time series debuted on July 9, 2008, and additionally in various time slots depending on local station scheduling. The series aired its ten-episode season in two-episode blocks for five weeks.
Episodes
Realizing that their lackluster fundraising efforts may bankrupt their radio network, Click and Clack use ex-Harvard professor Crusty's connections to save the day. The solution? Run for president! A visit from a local politician illuminates a loophole in campaign fundraising law that allows all excess monies raised, even in an unsuccessful campaign, to be legally kept. Soon, Click and Clack, with Beth and Crusty's assistance, engage the help of a well-heeled political campaign manager, declaring themselves United States presidential candidates. It looks hopeless until the night of the final debate, when Click and Clack display their mettle in the face of hypocrisy. But will they save the network?
Taking note of the growing trend of outsourced American labor, and bored with doing their radio show themselves, Click and Clack decide to outsource themselves. A subsequent trip to India brings them in contact with a world that actually allows them to do what they've long dreamed of - absolutely nothing. But trouble ensues when their on-air Indian counterparts, Rajiv and Sanjiv, the Gupta Brothers, display such accurate automotive problem-solving genius that their radio show becomes more popular than ever. As a result, new business in their shop is more than they can handle, and their industrious producer Beth feels personally preempted by the flawlessly running outsourced radio show. To restore sanity and preserve their idle pursuits, Click and Clack realize they must somehow sabotage their outsourced operation.
Things begin to look promising for Click and Clack when their most resourceful mechanic, Stash, comes up with the Wallet Vac - a robotic car-repair device intended to ease the staggering garage workload. However, in order to keep running, the Wallet Vac needs an excessive amount of electricity. After commandeering all the power that the garage and the neighboring Antique Roadkill Show's junction boxes have to offer, Wallet Vac's thirst for juice triggers a massive power outage across the northeastern United States. To save the day, the guys come up with an unorthodox solution to jump-start the power grid. The main component in this plan is their unsuspecting producer, Beth Totenbag. Can high-energy Beth handle this much voltage?
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When Click and Clack unwittingly lose their main sponsor, they are forced to knuckle under and sign with Gigantic Motors, the only moneyed underwriter willing to take them on. Bowing to pressure to keep their crew employed, the guys find themselves saying good things about their new benefactor's line of gas-guzzling products until they find themselves seduced by the most fuel-inefficient SUV of them all, the Compensator - a gift from Gigantic Motors. As a result, the brainwashing the brothers receive is so thorough, it takes an intervention by Beth, Crusty, Fidel and Stash to bring Click and Clack back to their senses. But the question remains - did they have any sense in the first place?
A local tabloid news personality stirs things up when she showcases garage dog Zuzu's amazing ability to diagnose car problems with her sense of smell. Because diagnosing car problems by smell is Fidel's talent as well, he feels slighted and quits the garage after being insulted on live television. Now it's up to Click and Clack to somehow get Fidel to return to work and expose the mysterious 'Dog Tickler' impostor, the translator of Zuzu's thoughts, as the source of the real trouble. Can Fidel's car clairvoyance help unmask this pooch's perspicacious provider?
Click and Clack's business takes a hit when a high-tech repair shop featuring hunky mechanics and an upscale cappuccino bar opens down the block. With help from Fidel, their style-conscious mechanic, Fidel, Click and Clack combat the situation by fighting fire with flab - offering something not even their high-end competition ever thought of. Sooner or later, substance always wins over style.
Click and Clack discover that Crusty, their quirkiest employee, once invented a radical, zero-emission engine that burns no fuel. When the guys find a recent letter from Crusty's niece that announces her upcoming visit to her famed Harvard professor uncle, Crusty enlists the guys' help to create the illusion that he is still that person so his niece won't be disappointed. Crusty has secretly been putting her through college. How do the Tappet brothers support Crusty? And what about the engine?
Click and Clack, both lifelong practical jokesters, always try to top each other's pranks. Tired of the continuous horseplay, Beth points out all the negative effects of practical joking, especially after the guys pull a choice one on her. But the heralded arrival of Ms. Sheila Goldigger, potential network philanthropist, sets the stage for Click and Clack's biggest, most sensational practical joke ever, risking it all for the most elaborate hoax they've ever produced. Will the brothers Tappet pull it off or will they finally learn their lesson?
Click and Clack turn the garage into a casino! The Tappet brothers immediately put gambling hobbyist Sal in charge of running things. Beth, their steadfast producer, is appalled by the idea, until she tries her hand at one of the games - and suddenly, she's hooked. Things spiral out of control, and the guys have a lot of explaining to do as the police pull up at their ramblin' gambling garage.
