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YMMV / Wonder Showzen

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  • Crosses the Line Twice: Given that this is a TV-MA parody of educational shows, this is a given. The episode "Justice" runs on this the most, with Chauncey portraying a plantation owner, Sthugar being Chauncey's child bride, Wordsworth and Him being Chauncey's slaves, Sthugar flirting with Him before framing him of rape and the trial concluding with God convincing the characters to lynch a monkey. It would be horrible if it wasn't so over the top.
  • Funny Moments:
    • A random WWII veteran (possibly staged) challenging the Hitler kid to a fistfight.
    • The Beat Kids segment interviewing tourists around the 9/11 memorial.
    • Wordsworth blackmailing Chauncey into letting him give a lecture on honesty.
      Wordsworth: Chauncey, if you won't let me deliver my speech, I will be forced to publicize these embarrassing photos of you!
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: Clarence hasn't appeared nearly as often as the other puppet characters, but remains popular with audiences.
    • He-Bro is popular for looking like Xavier.
  • Memetic Mutation:
  • Shallow Parody: "Horse Apples" has next to nothing to do with any actual Southern-based TV show, instead being extremely tired Southern stereotypes (some of which make absolutely no sense, such as George W. Bush only being able to say "Texas").
  • Spiritual Successor: Don't Hug Me I'm Scared is essentially British Wonder Showzen for the next generation.
  • Tear Jerker:
    • The "H.O.B.O. Ops" sketch. What seems to be an animated riff on 80's works like The A-Team turns very depressing, very quickly. The hijinks of the titular "hobos" sneaking into a convenience store to steal alcohol gives way to the reveal at the end that the leader's companions were never there to begin with, followed by a metaphor for how America treats its veterans, as a mother walking past the sole surviving soldier tells her child to ignore the man.
    • The final episode is rather bleak, particularly one person Clarence talks to giving a sobering speech on how hard life is and the episode ending with Clarence leaping into the sea from a helicopter after his failure to get anyone to make compelling television.
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: Said explicitly in the disclaimer. The show was originally going to be called "Kids' Show" until the producers realized that someone might take the name seriously. Considering that it's rated TV-MA, aired on MTV2, at 10 at night should give you the hint. Despite this, a number of Moral Guardians overlooked the disclaimers and believed that the show was intended for kids, leading to such things as a church pastor showing it at a sermon and angrily claiming that it teaches children to adopt violent and debauched lifestyles.

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