Wonder Showzen
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Wonder Showzen is a sketch comedy television series that began airing in 2005 on MTV2. It was created by John Lee and Vernon Chatman of PFFR.
The show's format is that of children's shows such as Sesame Street or The Electric Company (e.g. use of stock footage, puppetry, and clips of children being interviewed). However, Wonder Showzen parodies the format in a very adult-oriented manner. In addition to general controversial comedy, it satirizes politics, religion, war, and culture with black comedy.
Recurring skits include interviews with kids (who give irreverent, controversial answers), kid reporters interviewing adults in a segment titled 'Beat Kids', and man-on-the-street interviews by the puppet Clarence (voiced by co-creator/writer Vernon Chatman, who also voiced the character Towelie in South Park). Clarence has a knack for harassing New Yorkers with innocent questions. Every episode also features short animated cartoon segments, many of which are produced at Augenblick Studios.
One episode, titled "Patience," has been described by its creators as an attempt at creating a "visual palindrome." Midway through the show, the episode stops and runs in reverse.
Wonder Showzen was originally developed and pitched to the USA Network. After about five minutes of viewing, executives at the USA Network said that there was no way they could air the program.#redirect However, Viacom was re-branding MTV2 and made Wonder Showzen part of its new programming lineup. It aired as part of Sic 'Em Fridays, along with Team Sanchez and Jackass spinoff Wildboyz. The pilot was named simply Kids Show. The Wonder Showzen theme song is still 'Kids Show'.
MTV released the first season of Wonder Showzen on DVD on March 28, 2006. The second season of Wonder Showzen premiered on March 31, 2006 and had its season two finale on May 19, 2006 on MTV2. Reruns of the show also air on MTV and Comedy Central. It is shown in the UK on MTV2, MTV and TMF. The program currently airs every Friday at 9:30PM EST after The Andy Milonakis Show. Information pertaining to whether or not and when a third season will air is yet to be released.
Cast
Children and Adults
- Vernon Chatman (Chauncey/Clarence/A.P. Gibralter)
- John Lee (Wordsworth/Him)
- Alyson Levy (Sthugar)
- Taylor Bedlivy (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- P.J. Connaire (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- Trevor Heins (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- Miles Kath (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- Jasmina Lee (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- Alexandra Rose (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- Frankie Scapoli (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- Brian Senior (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- Ryan Simpkins (Wonder Showzen Kid)
- Miles Williams (Wonder Showzen Kid)
Puppets
- Chauncey - full name: Chauncey Darlington Butler
- Clarence
- Wordsworth
- Sthugar
- Him
- A.P. Gibralter
- Middle America (not a regular character)
- Mother Nature
- Letter P
- Letter N
- Letter S
- Number 2
- letter I(only appeared on the first aired episode as letter s's and n's baby, spelling the word "sin")
Animated Characters
- Mr. Body
- D.O.G. O.B.G.Y.N.
- Aunt Flo
- Winobot
- He-Bro (A parody of He-Man as a black jew)
- Baby Mank
- Hobo Ops
- Yuck Yuck Goose
- Wonder Showzen Premies (A parody of Muppet Babies)
- The Boogie Noogie Bunch (Happy Boogie, Grumpy Boogie, Baby Boogie, Poopie Boogie, & Urban Boogie)
Cameos
- David Cross - As T-Totaled Timbo in episode 203, Hostage in episode 206, and Junkyard Jessip in episode 207.
- Jon Glaser - As Mr. Story in episode 101 Dr. Rawstein in episode 203 and as a Horse Apples cast member in episode 207.
- Amy Sedaris - As Miss Amy in episode 106.
- Amy Poehler - As Miss Mary in episode 206 and Don't Talk with Your Mouth Full Spokeswoman in episode 203.
- Christopher Meloni - As the Cooties Spokesman in episode 107.
- Flavor Flav - As himself in episode 101.
- John Oates - As himself, singing in the song, "War doesn't solve anything" in episode 206.
- Devendra Banhart - As himself, singing in the song, "War doesn't solve anything" in episode 206.
- Rick Springfield - As himself, singing in the song, "War doesn't solve anything" in episode 206.
- Corin Tucker - As herself, singing in the song, "War doesn't solve anything" in episode 206.
- Todd Barry - As a Horse Apples cast member in episode 207.
- Zach Galifianakis - As a Horse Apples cast member in episode 207.
- Will Oldham - As a Horse Apples cast member in episode 207.
Recurring Segments
- Beat Kids
- What's Jim Drawing? (began in season 2)
- Horse Apples (A segment in 203, which expanded into an entire episode in 207. It parodies Hee Haw and redneck comedy)
- Funny/Not Funny
- So Now You Know
- Q&A
- Breaking News
- We Went To...
- Clarence's Movies
- Wonder Showzen Premies
- Story Time
- Dear Jesus
- Mr. Body
- D.O.G O.B.G.Y.N
Episode Guide
Season 1
| Episode | Title | Screenshot | Overview | Air Date
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Kids Show | 
| Unaired pilot episode produced in 2000. The Letter N becomes depressed and self-loathing and goes on a quest to find herself. | Never Aired |
| 101 | Birth | 
| Extended version of the pilot episode. The gang tries to help out the depressed Letter N. | March 11, 2005 |
| 102 | Space | 
| Chauncey and his friend Kaitlin go into outer space. They confront God after the Earth is destroyed during their trip. | March 18, 2005 |
| 103 | Ocean | 
| The gang go on a quest to find a bottle of pure liquid Imagination. | March 25, 2005 |
| 104 | Diversity | 
| Letters and Numbers have a war over who is better, while two members of the schism fall in love. | April 1, 2005 |
| 105 | Nature | 
| Chauncey must save the day when Mother Nature gets a sex change operation. | April 8, 2005 |
| 106 | History | 
| Number 2 comes to visit the gang in Number 1's place and becomes suicidal when no one likes her. | April 15, 2005 |
| 107 | Health | 
| When Wordsworth comes down with a case of the cooties, Him uses it to his advantage and sells Wordsworth's encrusted sores as snack treats. | April 22, 2005 |
| 108 | Patience | 
| An episode which tries the viewer's patience. The first act occurs at a slow pace, the second act is the first act in reverse, and the third act is extremely fast. | April 29, 2005 |
Season 2
| Episode | Title | Screenshot | Overview | Air Date
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | Body | 
| The gang convinces the overweight Letter P to get liposuction. | March 31, 2006 |
| 202 | Time | 
| Chauncey's future self from two minutes into the future causes havoc for Chauncey in the present time. | April 7, 2006 |
| 203 | Knowledge | 
| Middle America visits the show and the gang falls in love with his Stupid. They let him take over Wonder Showzen, turning it into "Horse Apples." (First episode that has two "Beat Kids" segments). | April 14, 2006 |
| 204 | Justice | 
| The gang revisits the old days of America with slavery. | April 21, 2006 |
| 205 | Science | 
| Chauncey and Him climb into Wordsworth's brain to help him face his fears and become a man. | April 28, 2006 |
| 206 | Cooperation | 
| The gang goes to war with a bootleg version of Wonder Showzen. | May 5, 2006 |
| 207 | Horse Apples | 
| An entire episode of "Horse Apples" instead of the "Mathematics" episode originally shown in previews for this week. | May 12, 2006 |
| 208 | Clarence Special Report | 
| Season 2 Finale. Clarence challenges New Yorkers to produce compelling television. | May 19, 2006 |
DVD Releases
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wonder Showzen Season 1 | March 28 2006 | N/A |
| Wonder Showzen Season 2 | October 17 2006 | N/A |
See also
External links
- [Wonder Showzen's page on MTV2.com]
- [Wonder Showzen Video Clips on MTV.TV]
- [NYTimes review of Wonder Showzen]
- [Audio interview with creators Vernon Chatman and John Lee] on the public radio show The Sound of Young America
- [Interview with the Onion AV CLub]
- [Wonder Showzen's Animators]
- [Wonder Showzen Fansite]
- [Video of the pilot episode ("Kids Show")]
- [PFFR.net]
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