Catch Up With Season Two Favorites of "Kiff" Before Series Returns from Mid-Season Haitus
The second season of Kiff arrived earlier this year, and we’re just a little over halfway through it, getting ready for the upcoming Halloween episode. The show is currently on a brief hiatus, set to reappear for the highly-anticipated (by fans of the series anyway) Halloween tale, but the rest of Season Two of the series is currently available on Disney+. If you’ve missed out on the rest of season two thus far, I’ve put together a list of what I feel are great highlights of the season thus far.
Kiff is a great show to jump in to as each is mostly a standalone episode, but there are great rewards and hidden details (some might even call them Easter Eggs) that reference or pay homage to prior episodes and characters so I recommend watching them in order. That said, each episode is a treat and will appeal to everyone, this list is just a few standout episodes of the season so far, in my own opinion.
Never Meet Your Mailboxes
Right from the outset, the second half of the first episode sees Kiff and Barry afforded the opportunity to meet their favorite movie star, Chubbles Wubbington. However, a bit of a communication mishap with Flam Bingo (whom you may remember from the first season) leads to some method acting with Chubbles when he meets the kids, being a total jerk to them as he is rehearsing a new role. Because of said miscommunication, the kids think they are just upsetting their movie idol - and go on a quest to discover what they did wrong.
The episode has great one liners, static reaction shots that have become a signature of the show, and quite possibly the greatest and funniest intro the series has had yet when Chubbles’ mother appears. The humor of the show is on a pedestal as it gets ahead of the audience, wondering why Kiff and Barry would keep going back to meet Chubbles when he treats them so poorly, and retains that one step ahead in a meta fashion perfect for the show.
The Other Movie / Roy-Alty Check
The only episode on this list with both halves in it, we first revisit Nick Name at the local cineplex as Kiff, Barry and Trevor try to sneak into a different movie. This is because they bought tickets to a much worse movie - “Melons for Sale." As they try and sit through it, they can’t and inevitably leave their theater and sneak into the adjacent room showing “The Many Saints of Chugga Roo." In doing so, they discover that the movie is sold out, as the seats are dwindling down leading to them getting kicked out of the theater. The cartoony hijinks - like Trevor getting caught in the service hallway - combined with more sophisticated jokes like the whole of what we see in “Melons for Sale," is a great reminder of what Kiff is about so early in the season.
The next half reminds us of the greatness of Kiff’s family dynamic (more on that a little later) with her parents and brings us right back into the music of the series as Martin and Beryl try to each earn their daughter’s favor in the argument over which part of the house to repair.
Devotees may recall that back in the first season, Kiff had a major motion picture sweep the awards when all she wanted was a good reel of bloops. As such, this year she gets a royalty check and while it is her money, her parents not-so-subtly suggest what she could do with it, fixing the roof or the basement. While the debate continues with egregious examples and bribes, including fancy brunches and circus trips, it's the song that steals the show (and gets stuck in your head for days) as Kiff’s parents try and convince her which is the better investment - the roof or the basement. The roof. The basement.
Cocina Island
Proving that this show is for more than just the target audience of tweens, Cocina Island is a fun tale about Kiff and Barry’s friendship on a recent family vacation, where they take a boat to a tropical island hotel. While the story is great on its own, showing the trust and bond (and sometimes lack thereof) between Kiff and Barry as the ice sculpture in the lobby of this exotic island resort goes missing, viewers of a more advanced age may notice that this is a spot-on send-up of the acclaimed series, The White Lotus. Don’t worry, the ending isn’t quite as dark.
Kiff has proven it knows how to do parody with perfect accuracy, as was done in the earlier special Kiff: Lore of the Ring Light. Cocina Island is another exemplary entry showing Kiff’s artists know how to take the source material and put a unique spin on it, tying it into their own world.
Trash Clumpers
Various circumstances lead Kiff and Barry to taking care of the Table Town Park, making sure it is able to open for the day. As part of that effort, they begin cleaning up the trash before they quickly realize that not everything is necessarily trash. After all, that broken ruler can still measure smaller objects. As they continue, they start making different piles of trash, not trash, and everything in between.
The piles, which they call clumps, sets the stage for one of the best songs in the series yet, inspired by and would fit perfectly in the late 90s/early 00’s nu metal genre.
The animation during the sequence is just as good, paying homage to that style of video, even animating with a fish eye lens style of look as Kiff and Barry look into the camera. Shoutout to whoever got the perfect wave motion in Barry’s ears as he rocks his head.
Spoiled Again
Kiff and Barry are engrossed in a book series that is soon to be adapted into a television series, but Kiff wants to stay ahead of the show, as books are more immersive and far more detailed and filled with a lore than a streaming series ever could be. Little do they know (until shortly after) that there are 15 books in the series.
As Kiff locks herself away at the library to enjoy the whole book series and avoid spoilers as the streaming show debuts, she becomes sort of a folk hero inspiring the kids to read the books instead of watching the show. This proves to be a catastrophe for the new series, as nobody is watching it. The lead actor sets out to find Kiff, and spoils the show for everyone in his path. While Barry takes the spoilers for Kiff, the actor inevitably learns more from the books, helping enhance his performance.
While Kiff in itself is a TV series full of world building and their own mythology (wuddup Great Rubber Boom), this episode not only speaks to the plethora of series that adapt their source material (arguably) poorly, but will hopefully get younger viewers out and reading more. The message is clear, and was one fourth-wall break away from being anything less subtle.
Kiff and Barry Save Halfway There Day
The world of Kiff has been growing this season, with Trollie taking us back to his magical town of origin, new locations, new characters and more. However, that doesn’t mean Table Town’s favorite holiday has to be left in the dust! We get a full holiday special for the occasion - which also has other televised specials in it, including a fun moment of stop-motion animation.
As Kiff and Barry live out their own Halfway There Day special, the holiday itself gets expanded upon. While last time we stayed largely in Table Town and heard the legend of Beverly, this time around we’re meeting Centaur Claus himself, discovering a bit more about his mysterious relationship with Helen, and his rivalry with Baby New Year, who may or may not have stolen Centaur Claus’ Magical Trash Can for dumping New Year’s Resolutions halfway through the year (hence the rivalry).
This episode marks the first full 22 minute episode devoted to Table Town’s holiday, as the first season installment was only one 11 minute half, but we hope for more Halfway There Day fun, particularly in the upcoming third season.
Big Coat
Kiff and her parents are getting ready for winter by going out to get new coats, thanks to the moth’s devouring their last ones. Kiff suggests instead of going to the Table Town Mall, that they go to the OK Will. Their destination set, we get another tale featuring just the Chatterley family dynamic, with Kiff and Beryl picking out coats where they debate over stylish versus practical, and with Martin trying out a new persona.
It’s that Martin storyline that gathers the attention here, as he is trying out a new look that brings with it a whole new personality, and ultimately proves why Kiff should get the stylish jacket she wants, as she is young and discovering who she is - unlike Martin who is old enough to know better, at the cost of Table Town City Hall and a runaway tractor.
Barry makes an appearance as well, and it might just be his most random yet (why was he diffusing a bomb!?).
Over the series, Kiff and Barry and their friendship are obviously the biggest relationship and focal point, but it’s the rarer episode with Kiff and her family that always seem to outshine some of the other episodes. In the first season, we see them all go on the weekly grocery shop, each with their own madcap story to hilarious results, and the same happens later at the beach. Earlier this season, we saw them again with the (also on this list) royalty check debate. When done sparingly, these episodes stand above the rest.
Kiff is set to return early next month, bringing us the highly sought Halloween Special, the third in the series after Trevor’s Rockin’ Halloween Bash and The Haunting of Miss McGravy’s House. It also appears that the remainder of season two will follow, with production on the third season underway - though we have no premiere date or additional information about season three (outside of that it’s coming) at this time. In the meantime, you can stream all of the episodes of Kiff thus far on Disney+.