The Wicked Jester[]
The Wicked Jester is possibly the Storage Wars buyer most shrouded in mystery. Only seen in background shots, The Wicked Jester, often referred to as his shorthand name, The Jester, first appeared in the lost pilot to Storage Wars, in which he was the sole buyer.[1] Ultimately, A&E executive staff decided this format would not work for an entire show, as there is little war to be found in a show featuring only a single buyer, so the rest of the cast was introduced in the show's official debut episode, High Noon in the High Desert.
Ultimately, the response to The Wicked Jester was extremely negative in his pilot episode appearance. Unfortunately for A&E, The Jester had signed a multiyear, multiseason contract with the network that included obligatory appearances in most episodes, and there was no realistic way to liquidate this contract without inviting controversy and legal troubles.[2] Thanks to this, the first thirteen seasons of Storage Wars all feature The Wicked Jester, but are carefully edited around him in an attempt to make his appearances as negligible as possible.
The Wicked Jester's final appearance was in Season 13 finale, A Plane Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In reruns, his appearance is fairly typical for The Jester, limited to the occasional stray jingle of a hat bell heard in the background of a bidding scene or a glance at his whimsical, pointy shoes. This was not the case in the episode's original broadcast. In its first airing, this finale marked the on-screen end of Jarrod Schulz, as The Wicked Jester is seen in a post-credits scene locking him in a storage locker, never to be seen again.[3] The Wicked Jester then looks at the camera and gives a "Shush" motion. It is unknown where The Jester went after this episode, as in numerous interviews, A&E clarified his contract was not, in fact, at its expiry date.
Storage Wars fans around the world avidly await the return of The Wicked Jester.
References[]
- ↑ I saw it.
- ↑ https://www.957therock.com/2022/01/17/the-monday-morning-throwback-our-interview-with-dave-hester-of-storage-wars/
- ↑ You can still hear Jarrod's screams opening the Season 14 debut episode - presumably a scrapped concept that would be pursued further if not for The Wicked Jester's disappearance.