The Second Season Of “Chowder”

[The Huntsman]

There appears to be somewhat of a consensus on this forum that the second season of “Chowder” has been largely hit-or-miss. That is to say, even though there have been segments of high quality, others have fallen flat and didn’t seem to resemble the series that we had come to know and love. I thought I would create this thread so that we could discuss the issue in greater detail in order to figure out what, if anything, the problem is. However, before we begin, I’d appreciate it if people could share their thoughts on the second season in general.

Do you believe that the second season has entertained you more than the first season or less than the first season?
Do you feel that any of the characters have changed for better or for worse?
I believe these two questions, if answered by the members of our community, could help us move this discussion forward in order to figure out what has gotten better and what has gotten worse. Of course, you’re more than welcome to express additional thoughts beyond those two questions; they’re not mandatory to participate in this thread, but I figured it could help get the ball rolling.

[Daxdiv]

The first season entertains me more than the second. The major complaint I see is that the second season likes to reinforce the idea that the characters are aware that their everyday life is a cartoon, even if it isn't relevant to the plot. Like the episode "Schnitzel Quits" I actually liked the 4th wall joke with Carl in it. Most recent episodes however feel kind of tacked on and forced.

[AJ1]

So far the second season of Chowder has entertained me a lot, maybe even more so than the first when it comes to giggles and laughs. The first season is classic to me because it's what got me into Chowder and it came out at a good time, but the second season's "Kid Shnitzel" and "Won Ton Bombs" have really been of high quality, however my favorite episode of Chowder was "Shnitzel makes a deposit" from the first season. Overall I can't really pick a better season of Chowder, but instead i'm going to just say that I enjoy the series and I hope things pick up for it so it sticks around.

[Silverstar]

Chowder's over-reliance on breaking the 4th wall has definitely hindered the series of late. It's as if the writers noticed a 4th wall-breaking joke in an earlier episode getting a big laugh and said "OK, from now on we'll break the 4th wall every chance we get, whether a scene or a story calls for it or not". Having the characters remind us over and over again how they know they're in a cartoon has gotten stale faster than day-old donuts, and it's certainly been a weakness in these later episodes.

Also, the plots and stories are becoming less about cooking and more about random events and circumstances. Which is not to imply that every single Chowder storyline has to be about cooking, but that is the central theme of the show, so it should be kind of the focus of several, if not most, of the episodes. Perhaps C.H. Greenblatt should've stuck with magic as the central theme of his show, if the cooking idea well is truly running dry.

Finally, it seems like in some of these later eps, the pacing is a little off. Characters seem to jump back and forth from calmly speaking to fits of nonstop shouting and spasms. That's OK if such behavior is typical of a character or if a gag calls for it, but every character shouldn't be doing it all the time.

I still enjoy the show and hope this slight slackening is just a temporary lull. I'd hate to see Chowder go out with a whimper, but if the series were to continue in the vein that it's been in lately, then I wouldn't be that sad about its' cancellation.

[chdr]

It's a shame, really.

The first season was golden. The second season showed promise. The first batch of episodes were great (I still say that "The Hot Date / The Shopping Spree" is the series' finest moment). Then Chowder became an incredibly stupid one-note character. And then they started overusing fourth-wall jokes. And then the episodes stopped being as consistently funny. And then there was "The Dinner Theatre", which had almost no laughs from me.

If Season 2 is going to continue like this, then I'd rather CN cancel it than make a good show with potential circle the drain any further.

[Light Lucario]

I like both seasons, but I think that I prefer season one over most of season two right now. As others have pointed out, I think that the writers have overused the fourth wall jokes. I think that breaking the fourth wall gags can work well if used in moderation and only if it would actually work for the situation. I felt like that was the case for season one, but they've been making so many fourth wall gags that it isn't that funny anymore.

Some of the characters' personalities have been kind of stale for me too. Mostly Mung and Chowder in certain segments. The combination of both the stale personalities and the overused fourth wall jokes has made season two not as funny as season one for me, but I still get a laugh from some of the earlier season two episodes.

[AJ1]

What does the tern "fourth wall" mean? Is it like a major punchline to a joke or something?

[chdr]

What does the tern "fourth wall" mean? Is it like a major punchline to a joke or something?A fourth-wall joke is when the characters reference the fact that they are in a television show.

[Mickialla]

Chowder's over-reliance on breaking the 4th wall has definitely hindered the series of late. It's as if the writers noticed a 4th wall-breaking joke in an earlier episode getting a big laugh and said "OK, from now on we'll break the 4th wall every chance we get, whether a scene or a story calls for it or not". Having the characters remind us over and over again how they know they're in a cartoon has gotten stale faster than day-old donuts, and it's certainly been a weakness in these later episodes.

Also, the plots and stories are becoming less about cooking and more about random events and circumstances. Which is not to imply that every single Chowder storyline has to be about cooking, but that is the central theme of the show, so it should be kind of the focus of several, if not most, of the episodes. Perhaps C.H. Greenblatt should've stuck with magic as the central theme of his show, if the cooking idea well is truly running dry.

Finally, it seems like in some of these later eps, the pacing is a little off. Characters seem to jump back and forth from calmly speaking to fits of nonstop shouting and spasms. That's OK if such behavior is typical of a character or if a gag calls for it, but every character shouldn't be doing it all the time.

I still enjoy the show and hope this slight slackening is just a temporary lull. I'd hate to see Chowder go out with a whimper, but if the series were to continue in the vein that it's been in lately, then I wouldn't be that sad about its' cancellation.

It's a shame, really.

The first season was golden. The second season showed promise. The first batch of episodes were golden (I still say that "The Hot Date / The Shopping Spree" is the series' finest moment). Then Chowder became an incredibly stupid one-note character. And then they started overusing fourth-wall jokes. And then the episodes stopped being as consistently funny. And then there was "The Dinner Theatre", which had almost no laughs from me.

If Season 2 is going to continue like this, then I'd rather CN cancel it than make a good show with potential circle the drain any further.

I agree with absolutely everything you guys said. The first season was so good that I'm still a Chowder fan and hope that the next few episodes will be better.

When Chowder began using 4th Wall jokes, they weren't in every single episode, and so we didn't expect it when it happened. I think the first time Chowder broke the 4th wall that I can remember is in "The Sleep Eater" when Truffles comes onto the scene asking "what about me?" and Chowder says "No, you're not in this episode". I couldn't stop laughing then. The best time Chowder broke the 4th Wall was in "Brain Grub", where Chowder transformed the whole show. Now, it's so expected and so annoying that it's pointless and bland. I think Chowder has said "I thought this was a kid show" in at least 3 episodes of Season 2.
And the characters seem so much different than what they were in Season 1. It seems like the writers took one aspect of each character and got rid of all of the other aspects of their personality. Take Chowder. In Season 1, he was still obsessed with food and was still eccentric, but he was a lot calmer and at times somewhat timid. Now there's nothing remotely calm or timid about Chowder. He's practically always screaming and saying something stupid at every moment. His eccentricity has greatly overshadowed his softer side in the newer episodes. And with Mung, in Season 1 he was still quirky and did and said some stupid stuff, and still fancied himself a lady's man, but his personality was characterized mostly by someone who was experienced and wise. They've completely gotten rid of that part of his personality in favor of making him into some sort of stupid meat head who thinks every woman wants him. And then there's the relationship between Mung and Truffles. While they always seemed to have a troubled relationship, they never seemed like they outright hated each other. Aside from "The Big Hat Biddies" they pretty much hate each other completely. The only character who seems virtually unchanged is Schnitzel. Because all of the characters are now one dimensional and have only one side to their personality, what they're going to say and do is more predictable, and that makes everything less funny.

The first half of Season 2 was decent and lived up to what we got in Season 1, but starting with "The Party Cruise", everything has been getting gradually blander. Here's the Season 2 episodes that have aired so far in order from best to worst. The episodes in red are the ones that I think live up to the hilarity of Season 1, the episodes in green are episodes that I think were ok, but not Season 1 funny, and the episodes in blue were the ones that really disappointed me. The only episode I haven't seen in its entirety is "The Hot Date".

Panini for President
The Arborians
The Flying Flinger Lingons
The Fire Breather
The Catch Phrase
Hey Hey, It's Knishmas
The B.L.T's
Chowder's Catering Company
Gazpacho Fights Back
The Shopping Spree
The Garage Sale
The Party Cruise
Kid Schnitzel
Chowder's Babysitter
The Trouble With Truffles
Won-Ton Bombs
The Deadly Maze
The Big Hat Biddies
The Dinner Theater

[J!!!]

The second season has been rather hit or miss for me. I the first season was funnier because the crew seemed to know what they were doing and every episode was classic. Now that the second season started the crew seems to have a "like it matters" look at the series and the drop in quality shows.

[AJ1]

A fourth-wall joke is when the characters reference the fact that they are in a television show.

Ah okay, I get it now. I do know what you guys mean, I noticed more than a couple of times that they have made reference to the fact that its "a kid's show" and it can get a little over the top if done too much, but I still am enjoying the second season and I hope it sticks around. :chowder::radda:

[nakak]

No argument from me on the overuse of the 4th wall jokes. Rather than naming episodes that uses it, I think the list would be shorter if we were to list season 2 episodes that DOESN'T have those jokes.

And yeah, it seems to be that Chowder's getting dumber and dumber in each passing episodes. I know he was never the brightest bulb in the show, but he was never this bad in season 1.

There are still some good episodes in season 2, though. I consider "The Hot Date" to be the best episode in the entire series (despite the fact that Chowder's barely in it).

Among my other faves from this season (so far).

Panini for President
The Garage Sale
Hey Hey It's Knishmas!
Chowder's Catering Company
Won-Ton Bombs
The Deadly Maze
Kid Shnitzel
The B.L.T.'s

[Rolling Cloud]

<episode list>

If I could borrow that set-up for a moment, this is how I'd rank them (haven't seen Dinner theater yet, so can't include it):

The Shopping Spree
Won-Ton Bombs
Panini for President
The Fire Breather
Hey Hey, It's Knishmas
The B.L.T's
The Flying Flinger Lingons
Chowder's Catering Company
The Garage Sale
Chowder's Babysitter
Gazpacho Fights Back
The Trouble With Truffles
The Arborians
The Deadly Maze
The Big Hat Biddies
The Catch Phrase
The Party Cruise
Kid Schnitzel

[CartoonOverlord]

Really? Personally, I find no difference, it's still pretty funny to me. And I'm kind of confused with the response to the fourth-wall jokes, Freakazoid did it all the time and no one complained about that. Chowder's proven to be extremely absurd so the fourth wall breaking makes sense. And I mean come on, having the show run out of animation budget, forcing the characters to hold a car wash to raise money is just brilliant. I don't care what anyone says.:p

[~Shoяe]

In addition to what's already been said, the first season set up a lot of great potential for recurring characters, which is a good sign in a show because it shows that it has established a textured universe for itself. However, these characters have become overused. Take chestnut. His first appearance was amazing, however, it seems that when the writers need some jokes, they just have chestnut do his shtick instead of writing new material. The humor is getting to be very repetitive.

[Mickialla]

In addition to what's already been said, the first season set up a lot of great potential for recurring characters, which is a good sign in a show because it shows that it has established a textured universe for itself. However, these characters have become overused. Take chestnut. His first appearance was amazing, however, it seems that when the writers need some jokes, they just have chestnut do his shtick instead of writing new material. The humor is getting to be very repetitive.

Chestnut's only appeared in 3 episodes. I don't think he's lost his charm at all.

[~Shoяe]

No, he's been in 4. Heavy Sleeper, Chowder Loses His Hat, Knishmas and BLTs. I find that while he's still amusing, the fact that most of his jokes are repeats makes him less effective.

[Mickialla]

No, he's been in 4. Heavy Sleeper, Chowder Loses His Hat, Knishmas and BLTs. I find that while he's still amusing, the fact that most of his jokes are repeats makes him less effective.

When did Chestnut appear in the Knishmas episode?

[~Shoяe]

I think its at the beginning for the visit Knish Kringle thing he's there as kind of an usher.

[EJLD4Ever]

A fourth-wall joke is when the characters reference the fact that they are in a television show.

Correct. It's a way to add surrealism to the programme. Other examples include:


Characters or signs commenting on a situation in the show ("Funny situation, aint it?")
Frame lines (such as in split-screen phone coversations) being broken (pointing to someone on the other side of the frame line to emphasise a point)
Characters becoming aware of/looking at/reading credits, corner logos or advertising bugs (I think Chowder did something like this in one episode)
Members of the "real" audience getting up and interacting with the onscreen characters (my favourite type fo fourth-wall joke, though it really only works in theatrical cartoons)