Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee is the hack writer/creator of the series Abruptly Amy. He is first mentioned in "Abruptly Amy: A New Beginning," written by Kara Wild in April 2000.

History
Attracted to Aunt Amy on Daria, Smithee decides to build an entire show around her. However, Smithee's vision of Amy is dramatically different from that of Glenn Eichler, and Smithee winds up forcing Eichler to hand over control of the character. Smithee chooses to "sex" and "young" Amy up, as well as develop her show to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, which means filling it with explosives and action/adventure as well as warm family moments. His results are such a train wreck that he draws the ire of ardent Amy fans, such as Amy Terwilliger and the Amy H.E.A.D.s. CBS cancels the show immediately after the pilot and Smithee later goes to work in the fast food industry. Later, the Lifetime Network runs the unaired episodes of the series. Each screen capture contains angry notes that the art director, Milo Mindbender has written to Smithee about the series's quality and direction.

Quote
"I was visiting my neighbor 'cause I was all out of beer, and see him watching this cartoon, and I'm like: 'Dude, why the hell are you watching that pissed-off little androgynous girl, anyway?' I'm about to leave, when suddenly, up on the screen appears a real woman."

Trivia
"Alan Smithee" is the name screenwriters have often used when they did not want to be associated with the final results of the film.