Q (Brian Quinn), Sal (Sal Vulcano), Joe (Joe Gatto) and Murr (James Murray) are four guys from New York who have been friends since they were kids. The premise of the show is that the guys love to embarrass one another and have been doing so since childhood, so each episode contains setups where they split off and make things as uncomfortable as possible for the other members of the group. Sometimes a Joker will be alone in the embarrassment and other times, they will pair off, but the key is improv. They'll know what the basic setup is, but will be fed their info to work with by the other players via earpieces.
For instance, they may be in a park and have to convince someone (picked on-the-fly by the other Jokers, of course) to listen to a very personal (and naturally humiliating) secret, then get that person to reveal a secret of their own. They might have to get a random passerby in a mall to settle a really ridiculous argument, such as which one of the pair is the uglier of the two. Will a stranger unzip a Joker's fly simply because a piece of paper left on a bench tells them to? Will they agree to sign a petition so a Joker can run for City Council based on asinine reasons like limiting the number of backpacks someone can wear? Can a Joker get someone to maintain eye contact with them while they make their way down a grocery store aisle? It sounds random and stupid, and it is, but it is also hilarious. Think Candid Camera, but with New Yorkers who have almost no shame.
So what is the driving force behind these guys doing these ridiculous tasks and not simply bailing? Well, here's the kicker. When a Joker doesn't do what the others tell him to do or say, or fails to get the bystander to participate in their insane nonsense, they lose. Whoever gets to three losses in the show has to take the ultimate punishment, devised by the other remaining Jokers. This could be anything from digging through elephant poop to find one's phone, to being a human pinata, to taking a lie detector test in front of the entire staff and student body of your former high school, with the embarrassing questions provided by your lifelong friends. It's great stuff to watch. Pure schadenfreude - look it up. It's a thing.
Special features include a number of deleted scenes, some behind the scenes clips, uncensored commentary on specific episodes, and inside info on specific jokes. I recommend that you not watch the special features as you go through each disc, but rather wait until after you've seen the entire show. The order is a little wonky and you'll end up seeing some stuff that is better seen later on in the show, as well as learn some cool inside info that could spoil an epic surprise and trick the guys played on Q.
Overall, I never expected to get as much enjoyment out of (Impractical) Jokers: The Complete Second Season, but I really had fun watching it. It was so bad that while I was watching it, other people in the house would come into the room, just to see why I was laughing so hard. Then they found it hard to leave as they, too, were drawn in by the hilarity. If you enjoy hidden camera type shows with embarrassing implications for the stars, you will enjoy (Impractical) Jokers: The Complete Second Season. While there is lots of foul language, it's all bleeped out, but you still know exactly what they are saying. This is not a show for children, but for adults who enjoy the guilty pleasure of juvenile comedy, it's just perfect.
