At first I didn't know if I should write about this show here because as entertaining as it is, it is really dark. Dark as in sick. Sick as in twisted. And twisted as in funny! And funny as in "is it ok to be laughing at Wonder Showzen because it seems really sick?" I am here to say, that yes, it is ok! Laugh! Laugh! Out loud and free! And if you don't like it, don't judge me too hard. I had a helluva week.
We like the TV here. Not that we have all that much time to watch the tube but when we do we want it be something that we really enjoy. Wonder Showzen is program that looks like it is for kids, but it is not. Read that again, IT IS NOT. Do not let your ks watch this. It will harm them. In fact it might harm you.
The show parodies children's shows in a way that is ill, ill, ill. Some spots are hilarious, but beware some are truly offensive. My favorite spots are when real kids (9 or 10 years old) do those man-on-the-street interviews. The episode I saw had a young girl, maybe interviewing people on Wall St., asking "Who did you exploit today?" Most people laugh, some people don't and others walk away when the child offers them a tissue "to wash the blood off your hands." I do not know how this kid did not crack up. There's also a puppet named Clarence who looks like the love child of Grover and the most annoying guy you could ever, ever meet in a bar at 4AM. His main job is to harass people, and he does it really, really well. I saw him attempting to interview runners in Central Park -- while they were running -- until someone physically beat him down.
Unlike Sesame Street, the numbers and letters here do not get along with each other (they are sponge-like in appearance and have eyes and limbs and penises and vaginas. Some have alcohol problems.) At times they get to know each other GRAPHICALLY (the letter N is now pregnant). There are also cartoons. "D.O.G.O.B.G.Y.N." is a pup who delivers babies in gruesome detail, and my favorite is a spot called "Finger Force" which is about anorexic girls who want to raise money for clothes shopping. I know this sounds awful and some of it truly is (the visit to the hot dog factory sticks out in my mind and some cartoons are incredibly violent), but it is also hilarious. You will find yourself laughing at something, I betcha.
Maybe I found it so hysterical because my mind is numb with regular children's programming. Yes, Sesame Street is fantastic and I pray down to God every night that it is on when I need it, but at the end of the day, sometimes I just need to laugh. The show is on MTV2 Fridays at 9:30 P.M. ET. Some episode bits are downloadable from your friends, the internets. Watch it and see for yourselves.
Just please, keep the kids away.
