Artificial Intelligence tools are both a boon and a bane for humanity. In the deeply self-referential postmodern experimental comedy webseries PN and Friends, we follow PN (Todd Montessi) and his three friends Nagin (Matt Nagin), David Voice (David The Voice Stein), and Dixon (Joseph Lewis Dixon). PN and Friends follows the following structure: the AI version of PN narrates the insidious plot to depose humanity and become the ultimate species on Earth. PN and his colleagues are all stuck in an algorithmic universe. The nemesis is known as Algore. At times, he even resembles the former Senator/Vice President Albert Gore.
Gentle reader, I must admit I found this web series gutbustingly hilarious. At times intentionally funny, the wackadoo comedy stylings of the foursome at the center of this strongly improvisational, dislocating narrative are quite non-sequitur in their presentation. In many ways, PN and Friends is attempting to portray a scenario unfolding in quantum chaos; that is to say, this show’s non-linear, non-sequential storytelling which flips back and forth in time and widely across the metaverse’s version of the multiverse.
PN, AI PN, and Anatoly are all framed in wild digressions of AI animated madness. While it’s still the case that the AI animated portions of PN and Friends present a fractured, distressed, and confusing version of what we would perceive reality, the strength of PN and Friends is that it deeply revels in the uncanny valley of AI animation.
“PN and his colleagues are all stuck in an algorithmic universe…”
One of the most endearing aspects of PN and Friends is the way it references an Artificial Intelligence’s mode of answering the queries of humans by re-framing and repeating the question asked. In a flattering manner, it will regurgitate the information provided by the individual seeking answers. It will not do so in a coherent fashion. In reviewing PN and Friends, I find this review is entering a postmodern and self-referential format. Simply wild how this stuff impacts one’s ability to contemplate it, gentle reader.
The production value of PN and Friends clearly displays a do-it-yourself aesthetic. The homespun quality of this experimental web series is most endearing. I especially enjoyed the animated digression wherein a rap discussing the plan to murder PN unfolds. The notion of an AI tool attempting to construct a rap refers to the tendency of contemporary rappers to utilize monosyllables. Indeed, when the powers that be decided that Medgar Evers College should hold a talent show (2014 – 2018) during the holiday season, many students auditioned with their rap stylings; oftentimes, the rhymes over-relied on single-syllable words. This is the exact level of idiocy that an AI tool will employ when you, say, ask ChatGPT to prepare a rap for you.
PN and Friends is a delightful and deranged web series. It is readily available through a Google search. Meandering through sludgy yet delightfully chaotic AI animations, non-sequitur skits, and a wild universe-ending plot that may – or may not – involve magic, including magic markers that open doors through various realities. Seek it out if you’re looking for something weird and wild to watch.PN and Friends may well be the one AI-powered web series that works.
"…gutbustingly hilarious..."
