Marty Grabstein Movies
Just in case anyone should mistake the devastatingly satirical MTV2 series Wonder Showzen for a genuine kiddie show, the season one opener does a good job dispelling this misapprehension. The episode is "sponsored" by the letter N, who, unlike its Sesame Street counterpart, is a neurotic and guilt-ridden basket case, ending up in a bad romantic relationship before the final fade-out. In subsequent episodes, the Wonder Showzen puppets (Jeez, they're ugly!) take a trip into outer space, only to get into a fight with God. A journey to the bottom of the ocean is a wondrous thing until it isn't. A program sponsored by "Numbers" degenerates into a violent turf battle with "Letters" -- and this on an episode titled "Diversity." Puppet Chauncey can't cope with the realization that Mother Nature has had a sex-change operation. "Number One" and "Number Two" duke it out until the loser is diminished into "Number Zero." Puppet Wordsworth parlays a bad case of head lice into a financial windfall. And an episode shouting the praises of "Patience" gets on everyone's nerves until "Speed" shows up (and yes, "Speed" has a double meaning if you want to dig for it). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marty Grabstein, Mike MacRae, (more)
- 1997
A man is shot down and killed while apparently trying to change a tire. In the course of the detectives' investigation, a young man named Mike Bodak (Frank John Hughes) indicates that he'd come to the victim's assistance just before the shooting. Thanks to several holes in Mike's story, the "Good Samaritan" is arrested on suspicion of murder -- leading to yet another startling revelation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
