The Presenters (Season 2)

The critically acclaimed animated program makes its unwelcome return to HBO for another season of inexplicable eccentricities. Join your most hated characters Harold, The Editor, Tom, and many others as they learn about themselves, and why that is usually too much information to know. Fridays at 9 only on HBO.

Season 2 was trickier to create episodes for than Season 1, I'll admit. In Season 1, you can take as many liberties as you can with the characters in order to develop them, but in Season 2, you make choices that determine whether or not the characters are behaving like they should be. Also, certain plot points, such as Harold's job as an animator, can go so far as to what kind of problems they bring for him, and with this, you have to think creatively which can be very easy when your life plagues with you with unusual thoughts and situations. Season 2 definitely takes more risks than Season 1, but usually, such risks determine whether or not the show can establish its own identity rather than fall back on past influences. I hope you enjoy Season 2, the most daring season yet.

P201-The Director The worst director in recent history begins filming his sci-fi epic of a city on the verge of being swallowed up by a black hole(a small one, however). After catching one glimpse of Harold and his co-workers in a childish argument about exit signs, he immediately hires them for the movie.

P202-The Dead Best Friend Harold, working on a long shift at Flowers United, suddenly sees his dead friend(buried in Season 1's The Funeral) right in front of him. Harold becomes horrified and tries to curse away the evil spirit, while the best friend tries to convince Harold that seeing him is worthwhile.

P203-Animatorcide Harold's failure leads to a spiraling depression that leads to him making minimalist remarks of perfection. Since every animator at Flowers United knows about the mythic "animatorcide" that killed a famed animator, they keep a close eye on Harold to make sure he doesn't try to use it. 
 
P204-The Writer When the studio realizes that their television program is on the verge of cancellation, they group together all of the writers for a show-changing brainstorm session. One writer isn't amused by the idea, curses everything in existence, and then quits. Harold goes on an impossible journey to replace him.

P205-A Weird One For Sure Hal finally gets his driving permit and drives around Los Angeles for two hours, celebrating. After a while, he drives in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and in a panic, drives in reverse into a homeowner's garage while the homeowner is still at home. The homeowner takes Hal in as a hostage until Hal is able to pay for a new garage door.

P206-The Cameo Spot Harold gets the opportunity to work on another channel to increase his notoriety. Unfortunately, it requires a cameo on a television program he hates with a star he despises. When Harold tries to switch places with Tom and fails, he gets into a childish argument with the star and accidentally exposes the star's homosexuality.

P207-Wellesian Connection Harold meets an ambitious voice actor who notices Harold's stress and suggests he tries some weed. Harold refuses and sees the actor's vocal performance, only to realize he's become attracted to the actor's voice.

P208-A Nightmare Someone Else Had After a long and frustrating day, Harold daydreams about meeting up with famous figures from horror movies(Chucky, Jason Voorhees, Alien(as a joke)) that ruined his childhood. It leads to an therapy session that the figures remorsefully give him.

P209-Wait, Say That Again? Harold, who decides to walk in on the animators working, meets Arlill Rodriguez, a 25-yr old animator brimming with possiblity. When Harold recalls their first meeting, he begins to realize that it might be a reincarnation of him, a theory everyone dismisses. Harold's suspicions are heightened when Arlill refuses to open the door for him.

P210-Flowers United Inc. Harold is woken up by a sudden phone call from The Editor. The Editor blames Harold of not being a team player, so Harold is forced to leave his house early to go to work. Arriving, he's surprised to see that no one is there except the Editor who sits in his disorganized office. Harold works on the filing while the Editor regales him on a tale of just how Flowers United was established.

P211-The Bartender Harold slips out of the office one day, and sneaks into a bar where he meets a bartender who hates people but wants to become a barber. The bartender's existence fascinates Harold and Harold gives him his contact information. After a week of no replies, the bartender begins stalking Harold.

P212-The Awkward Conversation Between Two Boys Harold notices his son Hal is finished with his homework and is now watching TV. Harold uncharacteristically walks up to Hal and begins asking him about every aspect of school, including awkwardly enough, Hal's past romantic experiences which Harold can recite from memory and in consecutive order.

P213-The Sandwich Harold meets up with Sarah, an old friend from high school who wants to break out as a voice actress. As they're having lunch, Sarah suddenly leaves in a hurry. She leaves her sandwich behind, completely untouched, and Harold becomes tempted to eat it. He slowly slides the plate towards his side.  Looking left and right, he takes a bite and has an orgasm. Harold wonders if it was the fact that she made the specific order or the sandwich itself that made his body react so strongly.

What's more surprising than the show getting picked up for a second season is the fact that there is still only one main writer who's come up with 13 more episodes to entertain the lessers with, those who can afford an HBO subscription. In this second season, with most of the characters well-established, the show takes on an unusual turn in order to dissociate itself from its source material(Curb Your Enthusiasm, South Park), and becomes its own program. The situations range from normal experiences heightened to ridiculous levels, to moments of intimacy and consciousness between the characters. The problem with an animated series is that it's expected to be very comical and hilarious all of the time, and a series won't have any space to develop if it's reduced to making rapid-fire jokes. In the spirit of Louie on FX, the show will go in whatever direction it has to for telling a story, whether it requires breaking the laws of physics or the demands of an audience. Understandably, there's very little episodes about Harold's wife since I still don't know who she is or supposed to be, and it would be insulting to her character to include in every episode as a background device. With that, I also admit that the series is becoming much more personal with certain episodes that deal with issues that I constantly think about, such as the possibility of meeting your equal(not in a romantic sense) and having horror film characters apologize for a damaged childhood, as well as reuniting with your ex-love interest. This series is meant to defy expectations, but also take viewers daring enough to watch on an unforgettable journey. If the second or first season of the Presenters has done that for you all, I'm satisfied. Third season? We'll see. 

You're Not Gonna Open With That, Are You?

You are never supposed to go beyond your bedtime, especially when you're a mischievous 10 year old. Mine was at 10pm, but I was just too invested in professional wrestling to respect the 10pm curfew. I'll admit that I never paid any attention to the intersecting storylines, I just loved watching The Rock kick ass. He was my favorite wrestler, and I remember I bought one shirt that could be more suitable as bed covers or a duffel bag; I knew my parents were waiting outside, watching the seconds cross into the forbidden zone of 10pm, waiting to whip out the belt. PHEWCHA! At 10, I always turned off the TV, dove into my covers, and hid under my pillow, watching from a small opening to see if my parents were coming. One night, I forgot to turn off the TV. I heard their footsteps coming closer and closer to my room. With the most stealthy silence a 10-yr old can make, I  jumped towards the television and silenced it. The steps shrunk in silence. Wait a minute, what is this? It's a man, holding a microphone, red suit, very clean, and quite the hairdo. I rose the volume up just a bit out of curiosity of wanting to hear what this strange, and well-dressed man was talking about. No longer was I interested in the exploits of half-naked men and women putting themselves in unusual positions. This was my first exposure to a show that became my obsession for countless months, a little program called Seinfeld. The night Seinfeld was introduced into my life was the night I saw "The Parking Garage", one of the show's most famous episodes. I didn't understand most of the jokes, and I didn't know why the characters were in the parking garage to begin with, but for some reason, they were compelling characters to look at. I know, I know, what the hell could I be talking about? Well, all I understood was that the four guys were looking for their car, with no luck. When they found the car and started shouting and dancing, I applauded them for their efforts, the four guys with no name. When they got into the car and it wouldn't start, I knew I came upon something special. Every night at 10, right after my parents would come and go, I'd watch Seinfeld back-to-back, and though I sacrificed a good night's sleep, it was all worth it to see Kramer sliding in and out of Jerry's apartment. With more episodes came more characters: the eccentric billionaire J. Peterman, the diabolically nnnyehehh postman Newman, the incorrigible Frank Costanza, as well as the almost impressive catalogue of failed relationships. Despite the praise, I found other experiences, curiosities, and Seinfeld became a dormant interest for nearly 6 years. High school, life became ever more complicated, I fell in and out of love, and schoolwork began to grow exponentially. YouTube became yet another escape from reality as I preferred to deal with being Rick Rolled than with another goddamn English paper. Seinfeld bloopers, what could this be? From season 1 to 9, I saw this seemingly perfect group of actors break apart in unprofessional giggles and yelps as their scenes hilariously collapsed into something incomprehensible. One of my favorite bloopers was Kramer's unused take of ...check it out yourselves and bloopers from The Tape. After having nearly fatal giggle fits, I decided to watch two documentaries on the conception of Seinfeld, and it was truly fascinating to learn about how drastically different Seinfeld was compared to other shows airing in the 90's and it made me appreciate the series in a more profound way than I had when I was 10. Recently, I wrote a paper on George Costanza's effect on pop culture, and later on, I hope to demonstrate my appreciation towards this wonderful and groundbreaking series in many other ways. I've recently had difficult experiences to deal with, and revisiting Seinfeld has rekindled my appreciation for life, even if life treated the New York Four unfairly most of the time.

Thanks for reading, if you did. Below are episodes I would recommend above all others, or as an introduction to the series.

"In No Particular Order"
-The Limo
-The Tape
-The Chicken Roaster
-The Parking Garage
-The Contest
-The Marine Biologist
-The Mango
-The Pitch
-The Hamptons
-The Deal
-The Opera
-The Outing
-The Heart Attack
-The Cafe
-The Sniffing Accountant
-The Opposite
-The Yada Yada Yada
-The Library
-The Trip(Pts. 1 and 2)
-The Boyfriend(Pts.1 and 2)