Synopsis

Nerf Herder's "Sorry" turns the band's escalating breakup-apology into a comic police procedural. Parry Gripp is questioned by detectives as the lyrics reveal a steadily worsening string of offenses against his former girlfriend, from drunken misbehavior to deeply inappropriate acts. The band performs amid the investigation, while Mark Hamill and Miguel Ferrer add deadpan star power as members of the police force. The result is a deliberately overblown, mock-serious treatment of a song whose narrator keeps apologizing long after forgiveness is clearly impossible.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video features Mark Hamill, Miguel Ferrer, and veteran actor Joseph Campanella. Hamill and Ferrer play police detectives, while Campanella appears as their stern chief.

• It was reportedly Mark Hamill's first appearance in a rock music video. His involvement also connected directly to Nerf Herder's name, which comes from Princess Leia's insult toward Han Solo in "The Empire Strikes Back."

• Hamill was already familiar with the band because his young son was a fan. He was also close friends with Ferrer, who helped bring him into the project.

• The shoot created an unexpected reunion for Hamill and Campanella. They had previously appeared together in an episode of "Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law" more than two decades earlier.

• Contemporary reports placed the video's budget at about $100,000, an unusually large investment for a band whose humor and geek-rock identity were built around low-key absurdity.

• "Sorry" followed the radio success of "Van Halen" as Nerf Herder's next major-label single, but it did not gain comparable traction. The disappointing campaign contributed to Arista dropping the band.

• The song was produced by Lagwagon's Joey Cape, who had helped Nerf Herder gain attention by including an earlier version of "Sorry" on a compilation.