Friend Of DT Matt Haber interviewed the creators of Wonder Showzen for an article on Salon.com. Co-creator John Lee explains how, when it's in the context of shooting, the fragile-little-mind-warping things the show's child actors say are totally harmless. The stage parents are totally in on the game, too, though:
"We just did a shoot where we basically sprayed fake blood on 10 kids and the parents loved it," Lee says. "If you're a parent, you're like, 'That’Äôs great! I wanna see my kid covered in fake blood.'"I was just saying that to my wife the other day. "What might help the kid release her latent psychic powers?" She asked, and I was all, "Well, we could cover her in fake blood. Worked for Carrie." [In the end, we opted for the TV. She sits in front of it 12/24 saying, "They're heeeeere." Thank you, Sesame Beginnings!]
And yet somehow, it's Showzen that comes with a warning before the opening credits: "If you allow a child to watch this show, you are a bad parent or guardian."
"Showzen" people [salon]
Wonder Showzen's first season comes out on DVD, and the second season starts on MTV2 next week.
[update: DT reader Jay sent in the URL for the new official WS site: wonder.mtv2.com, which he happens to have designed. Jay is also the creator of the photo of Clement "Goodnight Moon" Hurd as a bong-smoking Dr. Seuss. Am I the only one seeing a trend here?]
wonder showzen is both hilarious and disturbing. i somehow feel as if i've done something wrong by laughing while watching.
hey kids, it's mother nature's lady parts!
Interesting footnote - John Lee is featured in the song "John Lee Supertaster" by They Might Be Giants, which is included on their kid album - "No!". I highly recommend getting this album, and using it to try to convince your kid that music by the Wiggles is the crap that it really is. Also noteworthy is "Bed Bed Bed", which comes with a really swanky book with truly odd images throughout.
-gerald
There's something refreshingly honest about that disclaimer. I mean honestly, if your 7 year old is intimately familiar with South Park, the cast of Friends, or knows who's who on Sex and the Shi--I mean, City -- then you could probably make a reasonable extrapolation that the parent is either absent, disinterested, or just plain lousy.