The guest experience for Seasons #2 was somewhat similar to season #1. We had a few personnel changes, added some skits, and refined some of the existing skits and processes.
Because we reused some skits and ideas from the previous season we decided to not allow repeat guests. I’ll write here as if you had not been to the dinner before but I’ll also not rehash the details of skits we used in Season #1. (I recommend you read that post first).
The Invite
The invite you receive is similar to the first.
The Night of The Dinner
When you arrive at the house, the robot is still there, but there is a sign saying that guests are now required to enter one at a time.
When it’s your turn, you knock, the door opens and you walk in. Instead of being asked to put your phone in a basket like the first season, someone throws shredded paper at you and another person puts a crown on your head while triumphant music is played and you are led to your seat. Meanwhile the “confetti” is swept up by the person that threw it at you.
You feel special until about five seconds later when the next guest knocks at the door. That’s when the crown is quickly taken from your head, the next person is let in, the confetti is thrown at them, the crown is placed on their head, triumphant music is played and they are led to their seat.
You see this process repeated for each guest in very quick succession.
The piano player is there as before but now there is now a TV beside the piano. The TV is not on.
Drink orders are taken and guests begin to talk.
Then you hear a doorbell ring from the direction of the TV. You look up to see this cornball video:
Someone comes out and hands out satisfaction cards. Everyone is instructed to fill them out. When the guests finish, the cards are put into the “customer satisfaction” box, which is revealed to be a shredder.
The cards are destroyed.
The customer satisfaction person comes out to lament this and requires you to do the small talk skit. This time instead of a single piece of paper, there are a pile of cards handed out to each person. Your instructions are to listen for the line you see, then flip the card over and say the line on the back. Then wait for the line on the top of the next card to be said. It’s a little clunky but fun and weird.
After the small talk, guests are left to mingle. In a few minutes, the TV dings:
The waitress brings out a silver bell and puts it on the table. The bell has a label that reads “ring for service”. You attempt to ring it but it doesn’t work. Looking at its underside, you see a label that says “Sorry. Out of service”.
A few minutes later, food orders are taken with the typewriter as in Season #1. Once the orders are in, the soup comes out.
While you are eating soup the TV dings again:
Now the soup is finished, the table is cleared and there is more mingling.
Two people come out riding the sock horses from the previous season. A sign is held up that says “West Turn”. The letters are made out of spaghetti. A letter “C” hangs on both of the horses necks but you don’t get that that means they are “C horses”. All of the audio and voices from the skit come through the speakers and the actors mime their parts.
The “drop the beets” skit has been replaced. Instead the room goes dark and an eerie red light comes on. You see a man in a black cape enter the dining room with a slow and serious strut. He announces that it is time to say grace. He seems a little sinister for someone that would be interested in saying grace.
He begins, “Let us pray.” Then begins a long vegetable-pun filled prayer. You realize he had said “Lettuce pray” not “Let us pray”.
When it is over he summons his assistant who comes out with a tray consisting of a plate of stacked lettuce and a small dish of olive oil. She has lettuce taped to her head. The man in the cape instructs people to get in line if they want lettuce communion. You and everyone else awkwardly get in line in this dining room that doesn’t really facilitate a line of you and everyone else. If you wish, you are fed a leaf of lettuce dripping in olive oil.
After communion, the two actors leave and the lights come back on. A real salad is served to everyone.
The TV dings again and you see this:
The “Under The Sea” skit happens as in the previous season, but this time in addition to the lobster claws the “sea” pulls out a shark hat and places it akwardly on a guest’s head. It doesn’t fit so well and takes a while to get it on. Also, the actor under the blanket clearly can’t see the person’s head. Once the shark is affixed, a man in a captain’s hat comes out riding one of the “C horses” and throws a net on the shark, capturing it.
He turns to the guest and asks everyone, “Who is ready for seafood?” as the “sea” struggles. Everyone is asked to chant “seafood” over and over. Then a silverware person walks in with a sign that says “There’s no seafood. It’s all vegan”. People are confused. Then the entree comes out.
As you eat, the TV dings again:
Kate’s Chuckle Hut is set up and performed again. The “look under your seat” skit happens again right after and desert is served.
The lights go off. A spotlight comes on. Two performers in shiny costumes come out and address the guests directly. They begin to sing a parody of “(I’ve had) the time of my life” but instead it is “We hoped you had the dinner you liked”.
The disco lights come on when the song picks up and disappear in the serious parts. When the song reaches the climactic saxophone solo, a silverware person opens the front door and a long blond-haired man in a 70’s suit comes in playing a saxophone. He runs around the room playing to each guests and then runs out the front door as the solo ends.
Guests are led to sing the chorus as it repeats a few times before it ends. Some guests have gotten up to dance. The singers leave the room before the music ends.
The TV dings again with one last cornball video:
When the music ends, the lights come on. The checks are given, signed, and taken back like before.
Then the house lights get bright. The song Tuesday’s Gone comes on, and a silverware person opens the front door widely and looks at the guests. A vacuum cleaner starts up somewhere and enters the room being pushed by a silverware person.
Guests leave and see the robot now faces the door and has a paper teardrop on his cheek with a sign that says “Sorry to see you go”. When everyone is outside the door closes, the lights go out and everything in the house falls silent. You and the other guests applaud and shoot but nothing else happens. It’s over.
Coda
On your way home you receive a text with a blurry photo. Like this:
