Bad Education

1
Is for the First Episode
Which was produced, oddly enough, for USA in 2000. The network commissioned six episodes after viewing an eight-minute sample reel, but axed it after seeing just one. (The pilot can still be found online.) Chatman and Lee claim that then USA owner Barry Diller personally killed it after watching just five minutes, calling it ''immoral and antisocial.'' Former USA chief Stephen Chao disputes this. ''I can understand why it's a nice thing [for them to say],'' he laughs. ''But it was just disappointing compared to the short that they made.'' The creators assumed it was a goner until then MTV VP Tom Calderone decided to take on the role of executive producer; MTV2 resurrected it with a new name, thinking its original title, Kids Show, was too evil. ''They wanted to call it Happy Town Time,'' says Lee. ''That is supremely evil.''

2
Is for MTV2
Which Chatman and Lee like to number-two all over. (''MTV is a Maoist state of retarded skaters'' is one of Lee's choicer quotes.) Though grateful for the creative freedom, the duo complains about last season's lack of promotion, which they attribute to MTV2's nervousness about their edgy show. (Indeed, season 1 averaged just 156,000 viewers; the show's cult fan base was attained thanks to word of mouth and recent iTunes and YouTube.com postings.) The partners say when they threw a premiere party for themselves, MTV2 asked them not to invite press; only after a positive New York Times review did the network reach out. ''I have no idea what they're talking about,'' says Cohn, who maintains the show was marketed and appreciated. ''They didn't invite me [to their party]. Maybe if they had, I'd have brought some press with me.''

3
Is for the Third Season
Which Chatman and Lee worry may never happen. (The show's many elements — and the fact that the two guys write and direct every episode — make for a slow process, and they don't want to lose creative momentum by stopping now.) They maintain that MTV2 told them a decision would be made in January. ''That is not our understanding,'' argues Cohn. ''We'll see how the second season does before we decide.... But at this point we certainly hope and expect there'll be a third.'' For now, the Wonder twins are finishing up this season's final episodes and delighting at what they're getting away with. Last year, says Lee, their baffled network seemed to be thinking, '''Either they're going to destroy us, or they're actually doing comedy.' They don't realize we're doing both.''