The "sophomore slump" is something which is often discussed in entertainment, especially music. This occurs when the first effort by an artist receives a positive audience or critical reception, but their second attempt fails to live up to the hype. Why does this happen? Were they spoiled by success? Did they lose their drive? Were they one-hit wonders? Whatever the case, it does happen, and it's often a disappointment to fans. Given this, it's not all that often that we see a television show improve in its second season, although it does happen. But how often do we see a show truly up its game and become something different? That's what happens with The Life & Times of Tim: The Complete Second Season.

The Life & Times of Tim continues to follow the misadventures of Tim (voiced by Steve Dildarian), a consummate loser who allows seems to get in his own way. As the season begins, Tim has been dumped with his long-time girlfriend Amy (voiced by M.J. Otto) and he's looking for a place to live. This leads to Tim attempting to live with his friend/co-worker Stu (voiced by Nick Kroll) and then neighborhood prostitute Debbie (voiced by Bob Morrow). This is just the beginning of a number of bad situations for Tim. Attempting to help a Priest (voiced by Rick Gomez) (whom he met in Season One) backfires on Tim, as does aiding a Scout troop. Things don't go well at work, and even upswings in his personal life are often accompanied by a dark cloud. Even something as simple as observing a circus parade erupts into chaos. Can someone like Tim ever catch a break?

Because of this, I must admit that I didn't have high hopes for Season Two. However, someone at the Tim camp, possibly star and creator Steve Dildarian himself, realized that the tone of the show needed to change. This is evident from the first episode where Tim is revealed to be homeless. Placing him at an automatic disadvantage humbles him and he then spends some of the season trying to better himself. Just as in Season One, Tim is often drawn into very strange positions by either being bullied, feeling that he's helping, or being unable to say no. The difference is that once this happens, Tim takes on a humorous sad-sack, "why me" stance, as opposed to going on the defensive. This makes his character much easier to like and makes the show more inviting.

The writing of the show has improved as well. Now, there's no doubt that the show still leans towards sophomoric humor and it never runs away from a bawdy joke. However, the weird situations in which Tim finds himself have gotten more creative (did I mention the circus parade?) and his reactions are funnier. Sometimes Tim's views are easy to understand, such as the Girl Scout incident or his insistence that a hustler make good on a bet. But, the show still veers towards odd things, such as the comeback sermon or the wild-ride with a pharmaceutical rep. Tim's "Hey, what's going on here?" demeanor leads to some great one-liners and Dildarian shows a real talent for creating a character who totally loses control of a situation in record time. Even Tim's conversations with Amy feel more like a real couple in this season, as opposed to a portrayal of a hopelessly disastrous relationship.

The Life & Times of Tim still isn't a great show, but it certainly shows signs of greatness in its second season, as I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions. The show still offers some true "groaners" as Tim fumbles through life, and there are also some episodes which don't go anywhere and lead to some periods with no laughs. If you were like me and weren't overly impressed with Season One of the show, try giving the second one a chance -- you may be surprised.

The Life & Times of Tim: The Complete Second Season throws out some terms that we don't often hear on TV on DVD courtesy of HBO Home Entertainment. The two-disc set contains all ten episodes of the show's second season. The show has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and clear, showing no grain or defects from the source materials. As the animation lacks in detail, it's a bit hard to truly judge the look of the show. The colors look good and the animation doesn't show any jagged lines or stuttering...other than what is intentional. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. As the animation lacks in detail, as does this track. Of course, one doesn't expect Transformers like sound from something like this. We get some mild stereo and surround effects in crowd and street scenes, but otherwise the bulk of the audio comes from the center channel.

The lone extra on the The Life & Times of Tim: The Complete Second Season DVD is "The Making of The Life & Times of Tim" (9 minutes). While this doesn't give us any background on the creation of the show (which would be a nice treat), it does take us inside the recording studio to see the voice actors in action. We get comments from regulars Dildarian and Kroll, as well as guest stars like Bob Einstein and Melanie Lynskey.