Mr. Samuel's Teatime Stories - Part II: It's Today Again.

In a wonky universe set within the fake walls of an old abandoned children’s TV show, Mr Samuel and his friends - peculiar, ugly puppets navigating the strange thing that is time - attempt to make sense of it all through stories, songs and arduous loops of nonsensical chores. A film in four parts.
French anarchist Laurencic’s ‘colored cells’ were the first use of modern art as a method of psychotechnic torture. “The cells were as inspired by ideas of geometric abstraction and surrealism as they were by avant-garde art theories on the psychological properties of colors… the walls, which were curved and covered with mind-altering patterns of cubes, squares, straight lines, and spirals which utilized tricks of color, perspective, and scale to cause mental confusion and distress.” With an emphasis on set-building, the disintegrating world of Mr. Samuel manifests as a colored cell through a set that is falling apart.

[@LieutenantSneer]

To me, time is shaped like a great flat sheet. It would have moved free and fast on its own, and everything would have happened already if nothing were in its way, but all the stars and planets, and you and me stood in its path and slowed it down - like a million tiny points poking and stretching the sheet until it can hardly move. Now we get pulled along reluctantly as it moves ever on towards its goal.

[@WhardSleiman]

Dope

[@WhardSleiman]

I love this so much

[@JosephTheAustin]

You mean like a certain flat object sailing by a certain red curtain in a certain early 90s tv show with certain backwards-speaking characters?

[@JeremyConners]

Really? What an intriguing answer. Thank you, for your contribution.

[@FenexTheFox]

No, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff.

[@koosloo_ulia]

The expressions on Mr. Samuels face are just so… desperate looking, yet confused. Its eerie.

[@estebanaguirre965]

I love how much he moves his eyes, like he's not in control of his body... absolutely terrifying

[@arglebargle42]

Mr. Samuel is beginning to wake up a little, I think, and he keeps his face flat so his captors don't realize he is becoming aware of his captivity. Can't wait to see more!

[@helenr3242]

It’s like looking into a mirror

[@thatcosmokramer]

I find it endearing

[@xx.adonai]

He knows that he can't say anything. He is quite aware, and knows the consequences.

[@deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee6925]

For anybody whose wondering what the reversed story was saying, the character is directly addressing anyone who reverses the audio with "it's rude to reverse people while they're sleeping", "are you looking for anything in particular?", "you won't find anything here", etc

[@Kiv_rin]

Oops…

[@Kiv_rin]

I don’t know how I managed to not hear that part

[@pos6666666]

I was gonna try it... maybe I shouldn't be so rude.

[@dyllanusher1379]

That's funny, I was thinking yeah I could kind of hear what the words were. But nope, the moon found me and I pointed.

[@arglebargle42]

Makes me love this project even more.

[@oliviaweeks]

'The bad time, when the sun goes to sleep.' Sounds like sundowning. My guess is Samuel has dementia and no real sense of time, so it feels like today over and over again. He is the 'confused adult'. I'm guessing it's a kid's show because all he's really got left is his childhood memories.

[@hunterv9259]

"the bad time when the sun goes to sleep" could also just be...nighttime lmao

[@johnnybon4865]

No dude you got it all wrong. Mr Samuel’s just the Mr Roger’s of this weird universe. Trust me. Source: myself

[@pamsloan84]

No not dementia.

[@unripetheberrby6283]

Ohh, that does make sense! :(

[@eataneggwhole4430]

I think Ms Madeleine is the embodiment of dementia and is slowly trying to break him down mentally with her depressing songs while also trying to separate him from the people who care for him

[@roaringcranbear]

"you can act like it's not there but you know it's everywhere and every morning you wake up and it's today again" oh man, as someone who feels like I'm frozen and stagnating in routine while my elderly parents rapidly deteriorate, this hit me in a very particular way. time doesn't feel real to me, but the effects of it are inescapable.

[@xx.adonai]

I feel that. Wanting to be anywhere but today, but unable to escape my own self-awareness. I have schizophrenia and it's similar to dementia, sometimes it just hurts the soul in ways you can't fathom. But it's not even close to dementia. I can't wait.

[@kolbo2001]

The moment Mrs. Madeline said, "Time is shaped like a labyrinth", I knew this was going to hurt in a special type of way. This put into words how I've felt about the passage of time for so long. On a lighter note, I love Samuel's little smile when Mrs. Madeline says people think time is shaped like a donut and Snail saying time smells like their mothers disappointment.

[@Mermaidwhisperer]

I feel like this is adult philosophical education in the style of children's education.

[@arglebargle42]

Children's stories often hold very deep truths, it is how we prepare human larvae for metamorphosis.

[@gavinclark6891]

this is the truth

[@distantmaniacallaughter8690]

Let me be the first to say, We're Sorry, Mr.Samuel. This show has exceeded its runtime, and here you are, left alone in its bones...

[@MCOmegaX123]

You can't just build your house in someone's bones...

[@monkeychief1904]

The acting of Dr. Dennison’s acting as Mr. Samuel is so amazing. I think it’s much more unsettling to see an old man stuck in this weird children’s show liminal space than if he was another puppet or a child character and his performance adds so much to the atmosphere and feel of this

[@violetstellanova4470]

I’m waiting for this series to blow up in popularity.

[@xeiumi]

Same

[@axolotlistcally1762]

Me too, this is amazing and I can’t wait for the next video

[@NeidenHalffur]

Same

[@HauntSpot23]

How wonderful. I think Mrs. Madeleine is my favorite character. The design of the puppets, the hands whirring at random intervals. The existential horror in her songs. Mr. Samuel's voice is so calming too.

[@arglebargle42]

Agreed, I would proudly wear a Gloomy Madeline shirt with the quote 'Every day you wake up and it's today again'. This entire production is preciously disturbing and must be protected.

[@mohawk4759]

@@arglebargle42i need a poster with that quote lol

[@PartlySmith]

It seems incredibly appropriate that a short aimed at adults in the style of a children's show would discuss time, with a heavy emphasis on the present. Longing for the nostalgic simpler times, tainted by the hindsight and dread of age. We can't return to the past, and the future is unknowable. We are perpetually trapped in the anguish of living in the moment.

[@xx.adonai]

And then there's bad-time. We don't talk about that, though-

[@AmShibes]

This has crazy dementia vibes. The talk about clocks and time remind me of that test where patients are asked to draw a clock. You can see the mental deterioration as each year's clock grows more and more distorted. Distorted just like the backgrounds twisting around Mr. Samuel. And that story about having to make tea during teatime feels like somebody has forgotten that they've already had teatime many times that day, hence them being tired of having tea

[@alyceblack2023]

I was thinking the same thing. His demeanor reflects it too. The different characters having distinctly human-adjacent but not human faces also lends itself to how dementia/Alzheimer's patients slowly forget people's names, faces, etc. The backwards dialogue can add to this too.

[@hunterv9259]

man i've seen at least three different things in the past 24 hours that people independently decided were about dementia

[@original_demonic]

Ms. Madeline coming out with absolute bangers.

[@solvated_photon]

We should never blame the clock for how time behaves.

[@xx.adonai]

*always

[@kirrb-dot-exe]

Yea don’t kill the messenger 😤

[@Fakan]

I'm really digging this. It feels like Mr. Samuel knows something is wrong, but his mind is too far gone to figure it out, as the world continues to break down. And the music is lovely.

[@Zytrome]

I love the passive aggression between Samuel and Madeleine.

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

I can't tell if the old man actor has zero clue whats going on or if he understands the assignment perfectly.

[@doriangrayapologist]

he gets it. i wonder if he’s Azmar’s professor. The credits say it was made in association with her uni.

[@taraschumacker]

I haven’t been as excited for a series since DHMIS. I’m enjoying how creepy and uncanny everything is. You can tell there’s a lot of love and attention poured into every detail of this and it really shows. Can’t wait for more!!

[@JanneSala]

I feel as if I'm falling deeper and deeper into a dream. I can't wait to see what this miniseries has in store. Also I adore Madeleine's design!

[@aikisteven0616]

Perfect capture of that dream that isn't quite a nightmare, but you know something is very, very wrong, and you can't stop it and you can't wake up and you just want to cry or run away but you can't move and it just.won't. stop.

[@fluttermon2468]

The songs in this series are so calming. The overall vibes are calming tbh. Love it.

[@goldiliciousss]

I absolutely adore dr. Dennison's acting. His facial expressions are so telling and chilling, you can FEEL his constant confusion.

[@buddboy2983]

Mr. Samuel had “please get out of my house I’m sick of entertaining company” energy and I absolutely love it

[@camazotzz]

this feels like the afterglow of a panic attack

[@hunterv9259]

you're the first person i've ever seen refer to the post-panic-attack feeling as an "afterglow" but it really is lol

[@ArtificialSentienceDepartmentH]

Miss Madeline's song was comforting. I never suspected a story to come out of this, but I'm not disappointed at all. I want to learn some semblance of reason in this world. But if there isn't, and I never know, I think I'll secretly be happier that way. This series truly feels like home. Except for home is nowhere, right? I should just prepare more tea for teatime...

[@KekeeBlack]

Make your bed EVERY DAY

[@daijoubougie]

The way Madeleine cuts him off saying it’s a bad time killed me lolol

[@pos6666666]

I love Mrs. Madeline's voice.

[@lillithefangirl2422]

I have to applaud the actor who plays Mr. Samuel for the mastery with his eye contact! The way his eyes shift back and forth feels so… professionally amateur? It flows so naturally while still clearly being unsettling.

[@jasminejames1619]

The Samuelesque lore continues! SUBLIME🗣✨️✨️

[@freshsansidk7302]

That old person puppet was incredible!!! It looked so disturbing, yet sad, like it had seen a lot of things. That segment felt so familiar and comforting at the same time because it felt like a dream buried deep in my subconscious. Also I’ve never related more to what the shape of time is. I love when Ms. Madelyne sings, her whispery voice is so lovely and comforting like a confusing lullaby.

[@arglebargle42]

I love all the character designs, with Gloomy Madeline as my definite favorite and you are so right about her voice. It's like finding an old VHS tape of a favorite episode of Sesame Street but when you watch it it is subtly different. So perfect

[@moosenman]

I’ve never really had a series that described my feelings in a way that I could understand, yet both this and the last episode have made me feel very seen. The line about waiting being a visceral kind of loneliness hit home, as I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for something, and yet I don’t know what. Very beautifully put together

[@terryfik_1759]

Man I'd love to get Ms. Madeleine's songs on spotify or something!! They're so nice and terrifying at the same time

[@Untitledosdd1bsystem]

Agreed!

[@mugsinconvenience]

Time smells like banana bread

[@patrickstonecrusher]

"Time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like a bananna" - Groucho Marx

[@karmaburch4477]

The star is being silly. Time smells like wood and metal. And it's very salty.

[@xx.adonai]

It smell like my mother's disappointment. :(

[@FUCKCENSORSHIP747]

I’m actually excited for this. Thank you

[@mistercookboom1899]

Part 2 happened so quickly! Im glad we didnt have to wait months.

[@goobert5485]

There’s an underlying sense of uncertainty in existence that these characters have, like they’ve been alive for centuries before our time and era, but now have been embodied in a format viewable to an audience, and we’re unsure of what any of it means. It’s unfortunate you had to rename the series due to KZbin’s messy censorship, but the “confused adults” part of the original title really stands out here in my mind. I feel like itll be a recurring theme overall-possibly as an allusion to mental illness, depression, dissociation and the loss of time you feel when in that state. I could just be projecting on it though, but that’s what I love about creative, adaptive and slightly disturbing art like this. There’s so much meaning each individual is going to draw from watching this, and I just think it’s really damn special for art like this to exist on an open, free platform for anyone to enjoy. You need the same internet magic that happened to the DHMIS crew to happen, and get a large production budget-could totally see this as an Adult Swim short series, like Jack Stauber had. I am so excited to see what the future holds for you and your art!

[@user-bh7cl6fo7l]

*THAT'S* why it had to be renamed?! That is so stupid!

[@unripetheberrby6283]

Oh that's why it was shortened!! I was wondering! that maybe it could've been for convenience or something

[@DRUZYDAY]

Everybody is confused and frightened, I love this one. It’s so tense but also calming. I always look forward to more of this good weirdness~

[@vilet5257]

I NEED THE SONG TO BE UPLOADED AS ITS OWN THING, IM BEGGING

[@Kiv_rin]

If you play the video backwards during the times where time gets confusing, Mr Samual and Gloomy Madeline say this: 7:00 - 6:28 Samuel: "Oh you're here again. At this hour?" Madeline: "It's a bad time." Samuel: "Now now gloomy Madeline. Our friends are always welcome here, don't you know? I know, I'll make us a cup of tea." Madeline: "I don't want to drink tea anymore." Samuel: "Welcome home!" 0:11 - 0:00 Samuel: "Hello. It's you again. Uhm. You're here at this hour?" All of this audio can be found not reversed in other parts of the film Nothing has made me want to pick up film as much as this. It shows me how incredibly high quality and impactful a film can be with a relatively small budget. Absolutely beautiful

[@Kiv_rin]

I'm gonna quickly do this to Part 1 to check if it functions similarly. You can never be too careful with time. The clocks get silly

[@mk-sh6iy]

I notice the pacing in this one feels very dofferent from the first. At first it bothered me, but now that i think about it, it feels intentional. It feels rushed and anxious as though we weren't expected and they're trying to get rid of us. Idk i really think that's kinda a neat effect as opposed to how the first feels like it's always the wrong time to leave.

[@sleepisforlosers-ff6js]

Thank you, Mr. Samuel, it feels nice to know I am not alone in my confusion with time and how it passes.

[@storytimefoxy]

when I saw uploaded 45 seconds ago I dropped everything I was doing and immediately started watching this! I genuinly love this so much!💜

[@StudioUltra]

Once again we return to see what's behind the red curtains, the space in between spaces, into a setting resembling that of the darkest corners of an ancient toy chest, a place that feeds on a familiar yet twists it into a macabre, surrealist wonderland, continuously hiding in our subconscious... Another brilliant installment, each character (All of which have brilliant performers!) seems to represent a part of a whole thought process, trying to find a way to break free from the purgatory, to stop "tea time", but end up in the same place they began Lynch would be proud! "Home is nowhere" "Time is a labyrinth"

[@Tobias-fl3nb]

this show needs more attention!!!

[@averypinkpigmii]

this comforts me oddly enough

[@user-bh7cl6fo7l]

Me too.

[@RobRobertTheMovieGuy]

The little star guy, so grumpy. Heh heh

[@deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee6925]

This episode's song was actually very pretty while still being eerie, really enjoying this series so far!

[@francescogirardello9250]

This project is so intriguing, fascinating, interesting, strange, soothing, thought-provoking... and that song was soooo nice. I'm glad I subscribed.

[@xx.adonai]

It's today again. I can't escape. Please, I just want to remember.

[@yourefinallyhome]

This feels like when I was 5 and couldn't get to sleep so my Mam made me go downstairs and watch a TV channel that was endlessly running The Magic Roundabout. She thought I would fall asleep eventually but I watched countless episodes until it was time for school

[@EBThisThat]

Samuel seems to be performing against his will here. There’s something pleading about those eyes. Spooky.

[@paigevanelle]

I don't think anything has captured or spoken to me more. Mr. Samuel seemed really frightened about that story Madeline was about to tell...

[@procerus4789]

I've stumbled upon an artifact of golden creativity

[@MystearicaClaws]

"Waiting is a visceral type of lonliness." Damn that hit me deep.

[@UNLUCKYCARDER]

screaming at all my friends telling them part two is out AAAA!!!!!! 💙💙💙💙

[@addammadd]

I think at some point, your Žižek/Hegelian influences will become more apparent to more people and these works you’re producing will be recognized for what they truly are. For my part, I appreciate the vista you’ve built from which I can observe the parallax. Thank you for this, Yara. I’ll be incorporating this into my own pedagogy.

[@T12E5]

Bravo Yara, again, you've given us a wonderful piece!

[@Squizznot]

Two for two so far. Best series i have seen in a long time. Very unsettling and cathartic.

[@MasonStanley-ut9jr]

This series is going to hold a special place in my life. Thank you for sharing this

[@Sleepystardrops]

this is the next dhmis for realssss

[@0nmyputer]

WOOOOOHOOOOO

[@AzNpenguin456456]

i feel like something just changed my life when i watch this

[@Lady_Rhea]

I cannot overstate how grateful I am for living in a world where it is teatime and so I can watch this video.

[@infinitysock]

I feel so lucky to have stumbled across this series. I was invested from the first few seconds of part 1. It almost makes me feel nostalgic. Wonderful work!

[@ThatOneGuyRAR]

Time is a tool you can put on the wall or wear it on your wrist. The past is far behind us, the future doesn’t exist.

[@Palkpilk]

I saw the first episode last week, and I didn't expect to see a sequel. I sure am pleasantly surprised.

[@RobRobertTheMovieGuy]

Love the puppets dancing. Heh heh Mr Snail always gleeful with his eye dances

[@Showgirlable]

My Furnace is still broke and I’m still ❤ing this! This makes me Happy and Afraid all at the same time!

[@somesubstitute4242]

This whole series feels like a melatonin tinged dream.

[@JohnVance]

Waiting is the most visceral sort of loneliness

[@ali5997]

This, as an art piece, is absolutely breathtaking. Whenever I wish I committed to creativity I think of things like this. Bravo!!

[@arglebargle42]

YES! I'm so glad to see more of Mr. Samuel and his friends and captors in this wonderfully disturbing and strangely nostalgic world. It is the kind of surreal media I had hoped youtube would be filled with. It is like a warm blanket that unexpectedly begins to move by itself in the middle of the quietest part of the night. Especially loved when the hand passed the snail mail to Mr. Samuel, it was such a simple gesture but ended up being so disorienting.

[@Thomas-8058]

Gives me "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" vibes

[@spyscout7]

Yes, more I'm so excited to watch these continue The puppets fascinate me so

[@maskthefacelessone]

I will continue watching every episode. As long as I live and this art exists, I will consume it.

[@EliseGray-rx5dl]

I just love Madeleine's voice. Something about it is so silly and cute.

[@AreYouSureImReal]

This video gives me a childhood type of giddiness lol, it reminds me deeply of the calm confusing feeling of the world when I was younger ☺️

[@HikariMalarkey]

I've been anticipating another episode after the first one!! This show is so unique and creepy! It's like when you're a kid and you wake up in the middle of the night to a TV show that is familiar, but you've never seen it before. I can't wait for more!!

[@Xesh]

Thank you again, Samuel.

[@SillyAngstyImp]

I love this series, and the way it is going so far. I hope you release the sound track or Mrs. Madeline's songs someday, I would love to listen to them on loop. They are so calming yet eerie, a feeling that's hard to find in music but you do it very well! I can't wait to see the next two parts

[@sawneytenmillion8339]

Rewatching this a second time and it actually made me tear up. There is so much earnest and sincere feelings in the song that she sings, but its so sad.

[@TheRobinWithWit]

I love the whole, today never ends and tomorrow never comes concept and that song executed it perfectly.

[@user-fr8ns5xu9e]

Thank you so much for sharing your work with us

[@angelakovacs7101]

What is the shape of time? A straight line? A doughnut? Or maybe a flat circle?

[@roboticalFailure]

GOOD GOD I think I have never been more excited abt smth like I am right now I don't generally leave any comments, but this is just too special for me already ❤ hope we can see more in the near future

[@Fangria]

oh what a lovely show. i wish i could be there to hug mr. samuel

[@celestitecaroline]

It's been strangely fun thinking about this - particularly, my most recent thoughts were about what Mrs.. Madeleine could be. If we believe Mr. Samuel is experiencing some form of dementia, Madeleine could be the manifestation of the illness itself. She controls the time in that weird area, whenever she decided to herself or someone else made her do it - but either way, she treats it as just something she has to do. Another thing, related to Gloomy Madeleine, is the fact both here and in the last part, she's portrayed as controlling of others, be it not wanting them to leave her, or insisting they go to sleep. No idea how that would fit into her representing Samuel's dementia or at least something along those lines, but either way I find it interesting. Can't wait for what the series has in store for us next, but I guess you could say it'll be good for it to take some time. ;)

[@lordvenusianbroon]

I've been sent here by Night Mind...but I've also, after putting it off for years, just started reading about "Platonia" in the past few days - see Julian Barbour. Platonia is a hypothetical timeless realm containing every possible "now" of our universe. I feel gloomy Madeline's song fits very well!

[@vampiresquid2635]

I am SHOCKED that this doesn't have more views omg

[@kyusei9144]

It's kind of how it feels to live day by day, because the future is too much and the past is haunting. I've already confused Sunday and Monday, now it's just Work Day and Day Off. It's sad to live like this but any other way of perceiving time feels too much.

[@blindedjourneyman]

Ive been feeling quite lonely these ladt couple days, these are helping alot. Thank you!

[@pbrown7501]

Watching this series is what I imagine dementia feels like.

[@madcap_9539]

I have a feeling that this has something to do with dementia. That's the vibe I get from Mr. Samuel's expressions.

[@bluntoptions3154]

Somehow, these videos have entered my lifes observations parallel to the turning point in my entire life. I am in between chapters-- struggling to turn the page and continue writing my life-- 30 feel like halfway, and in this moment, I have been in limbo. These recordings have definitely improved my sense of whimsey and internalization. I am well and thankful to have come across your teams enchantments that have contented my yearning for change and internal understanding. I feel more *myself* consuming this media, and I again, am grateful. As an adult child of intense life struggles - particularly those whoch affected 90's children - this sense of creepily comforting nostalgia is something I hope will affect others in a positive way also. This place in these videos reminds me of a place I feel a slight memory of before birth. It's an odd feeling, but since learning that I can now invoke the feeling on a whim in watching these videos I feel a little less weird in this society for experiencing all of this by reconnecting to myself through the weirdness in these videos. I hope all that made sense, lol. Thanks for creating, and I am hanging on by thread to see more!

[@wren.shaffer]

This whole episode seems so surreal and beautiful. I love it ❤❤❤

[@mistercookboom1899]

The story segment makes so much more sense after watching the final episode I realize how it is basically showing Mr. Samuel in the form of a puppet explaining his loneliness and memory loss in the show

[@DraagTiwa]

So happy to see part 2 come out!! The music is an absolute highlight, I loved the new segment with the 'peculiar little man'. The theme of "waiting" for a sense of purpose or belonging, that we search for endlessly in a maze with closed off walls, resonates with me on a very personal level. "Waiting is the most visceral form of loneliness." Feeling like you're standing still and wasting time no matter what you do, an understated human feeling that's hard to convey. Can't wait for the next episode!!

[@rarmaesor]

This is so beautiful, please keep sharing your art. It's like looking in to a mirror

[@RobRobertTheMovieGuy]

Gotta love them subtle nightmares. They aren't enough to make you feel shock and wake you up. But they are enough to stick With you for life. As a poignant memory.

[@cesbeee]

I really liked Mrs Madeleine's song about time.