Season Two of our TV show ran in Spring 2008 and won two Emmys - for Outstanding Nonfiction Series and for Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming - and scored nominations in three other categories: for writing, cinematography and editing. As proud as we all were of Season One, the stories were definitely funnier and more confident in Season Two. The series starts with one of the best episodes we've put on TV, and ends with an epic, hour-long show that tries to tell the story of a entire human life, from cradle to grave, by documenting the lives of seven people with the same name. You can purchase our second season in stores or on iTunes (in HD!)

Here's our original trailer for the season:



Web extra: download Chris Ware's animation in iPod-friendly .M4V file!

EPISODE ONE | Debuted May 4, 2008

Escape People escaping home without going very far away. In Philadelphia, teenaged boys find ways to impress girls and break out of the confines of their families, using technology that's been obsolete in their neighborhood since the 19th Century. And a mother and son get caught up in a fight that lots of kids have with their parents. Except in their case, due to some very specialized circumstances, they go through the fight in slow motion, over the course of years. Read the current blog of Mike Philips here, with older entries here and here.

EPISODE TWO | Debuted May 11, 2008

Two Wars Two foreigners try to make sense of life in the U.S. in the aftermath of two very different wars. A young Iraqi ends up in America after fleeing Iraq and goes on a road trip full of questions for Americans about the War. And a Bulgarian man in Rhode Island realizes that an ongoing argument with his American wife has to do with the life he left behind 20 years ago, on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

EPISODE THREE | Debuted May 18, 2008

Going Down in History Stories of people trying to make — and remake — history, while others go down in history in ways they never intended. Two Wisconsin convicts gain local fame for almost escaping prison using dental floss. High school students pose for smiley yearbook snapshots, which capture nothing of the dramas in their lives. And a man with a 30-year obsession with one particular bird unveils the grainy, Big Foot-style video evidence that he saw it.

EPISODE FOUR | Debuted May 25, 2008

Underdogs There's a whole world of boxing way down the food chain from championship fights, and the stakes are high even without media hype and massive cash prizes. Two boxers in Tennessee who've known each other all their lives face off in a match that neither can afford to lose.

EPISODE FIVE | Debuted June 1, 2008

Every Marriage Is a Courthouse Cartoonist Chris Ware animates a true story that demonstrates that every marriage—even the happiest—is a courthouse. But most of the episode is devoted to the slow-motion disintegration of one couple's marriage. The husband's obsession with a legal battle forces the most basic marital questions into the open: what do I need? And what can I put up with?

EPISODE SIX | Debuted June 8, 2008

John Smith The story of one life, told through the lives of people from all over the country, all named John Smith. Baby John Smith is 11 weeks old, in South Carolina, and his parents are still reeling from the sonograms that all predicted he would be a girl. By the time he's 23, John Smith in Laramie, Wyoming, has made some mistakes and is appearing in front of a judge. At 46, he's in Texas, welcoming his oldest son back from Iraq. In-depth portraits of people growing up, growing old, and figuring out how to be fathers, husbands, and men in America today. Inspired by the article "The Life of John Smith" by Laura Blumenfeld.