Hello, friends.

It’s your ol’ pal Rufus Leaking from Pancake Mountain with a special — and decidedly sad — announcement.

I have recently attended the annual Pancake Mountain Board of Directors meeting and Ice Cream Jamboree, and apparently my lavish celebrity lifestyle has put quite a dent in the PM bottom line. My fondness for exotic animals and my desire to maintain the record for the “World’s Largest Pleasure Cruiser” has finally caught up to me. Additionally, the purchase of my private G5 jet, I’ve learned, was never officially “sanctioned” by the corporation, and has all but depleted the last of the company’s cash stockpile…including the offshore accounts…I checked.

So, it is with a heavy heart that I must announce that yours truly, and all your friends here at The Mountain, will be taking down our shingle for good. (There’s a slight disagreement as to who will maintain possession of the actual shingle, as it represents the only remaining asset of any kind from Pancake Mountain. But that’s another story…) Though we’ve garnered some incredible press, and a legion of even more incredible fans, the hoity-toity TV network big wigs just couldn’t bring themselves to let us make our show the way it was intended. And, if our punk ethos has taught us anything, it’s never sell out to The Man. I’m still not sure who this man is, (or even his name), but Scott tells me he’s important.

 

 

For eight fantastic years, we have had the unbelievable fortune to work with the most talented, creative and fun people in the industry. From our very first guest, the late Vic Chesnutt, to the young superstar-to-be Katy Perry, we have enjoyed creating fantastic experiences with the best of the best. Who could forget Arcade Fire, Jenny Lewis, Eddie Vedder, The White Stripes, Kings of Leon and 72 other musical acts!! Each and every one of them has our undying gratitude for their involvement in our little show that wasn’t. And their playful, creative spirits will be a part of us forever. There are far too many to list by name, but hopefully they know how much they all meant to us. We can’t thank them enough for their dedication, imagination and time.

 

 

But the greatest thing that’s happened to us over this eight-year adventure has been you, our dedicated fans. Merely saying “thanks” for your support doesn’t begin to express how we feel. From your fantastic fan letters, unsolicited art and creative input, to your word-of-mouth advocacy of the show, we simply could not have existed in ANY form without you. We set out on a mission to reintroduce imagination, and perhaps a little hidden education, into the lives of children. And based on your feedback, we succeeded in spades. Your endless, sometimes obsessive dedication to the cause is what has kept us driving forward through all the years. (I defy you to find someone with a “SEINFELD”tattoo…take THAT Jerry!) So thank you a kajillion times over. We hope we did you proud.

 

To all our friends and fans in the press, thank you for the support you’ve shown us as well. Your belief in what we were trying to accomplish always pushed us to live up to, and blast beyond, your expectations. To have been showered with such praise from respected media outlets around the world was beyond strange—appearing on top 10 lists with mainstream shows like 30 Rock and Madmen still mystifies us—but very much appreciated. Thanks for getting the word out, people. We are touched and honored by your kind words.

 

And lastly, the biggest thank you we can muster to a very special, very mighty band of creative brains that have made it all possible. Working in a small basement in D.C. with no budget and one broken camera, we reached goals we never imagined. Kid ‘Dan-o-mite’, Amy, Tracy, Jonah, G-man, Jeorge, Zen Master Liu, Garnett, Mr. Canty and Kathi Wilcox (such a great theme song), Maggie and Kristina for putting up with it all, Everyone at Bad Robot: especially the amazing Athena!! J.J. and B.B., as well as  ‘Jetsetter’ Gelvan, Ryan, Danny, the fantastic Jake Austen and of course, last but not least, Ian MacKaye (our secret script doctor, and YES, we had scripts) who with Amy Farina helped us fire the first salvos in the rebellion by penning “Vowel Movement" for us.

 

You all define the word creativity, and are living examples of what the television business should be. I can’t imagine any show having the exhilaration and fun we had working on Pancake Mountain, it should be illegal, and in the case of George Clinton it might have been.

 

So that’s it, peeps, the end of an era…the closing chapter of a new genre. We had an amazing journey and we sincerely hope you did too. It’s been said that you can’t depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus. So keep the dream alive, keep fighting against The Man, and be silly whenever possible.

 

Remember: If it ain’t broke…break it.

Yours in Mayhem,

Rufus R. Leaking
Chancellor of Entertainment
Pancake Mountain, Inc.

 

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