# It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366 "2013-03-19T16:40:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/1 "2013-03-19T16:40:46Z")
I’m coming late to this game. I tried to watch a couple of episodes when they aired but never got hooked. So finally I got the episodes on Netflix, seven seasons I think. This has turned out to be one of the most enjoyable wastes of time I’ve experienced. It’s sort of like Cheers with even dumber characters. There’s a lot of quality satire and parody buried in the show, but it has the hallmark of a top quality comedy in having the laughs always come first. There’s not much continuity, or any sense at all to the plots, it’s just comedy for comedy’s sake. Charlie Day, who plays Charlie, is the real star of the show. He’s funny just standing around doing nothing, but the rest of the cast does a decent job. I love the way they just tag other characters instead of naming them, like ‘the waitress’, ‘the lawyer’, and ‘the tranny’. I think they lost the spark in the last season, they’re having a hard time pushing the envelope any further, nothing they do is surprising anymore. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/2 "2013-03-19T16:50:29Z")
I love this show. The early few seasons are the best, as usual with most things, but I actually thought the most recent season (or whichever one had Fat Mac) was pretty decent too. “Now I’m going to want the milksteak, boiled over hard, and a side of your \*finest \*jelly beans… raw…” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/3 "2013-03-19T17:56:51Z")
Yeah, I would definitely say seasons 2 through about 5 are the sweet spot for me. I still watch it whenever there’s an episode, but it hasn’t had that constantly funny spark it did in the beginning. The last “great” episode for me was the Jersey Shore one, Season 7, Ep 2. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/4 "2013-03-19T18:09:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The last “great” episode for me was the Jersey Shore one, Season 7, Ep 2. Never was the payoff to the “This program contains nudity” warning so horrible. “The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre” in season 8 was IMHO as good as anything they’ve ever done. The rest of that season was weak though. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/5 "2013-03-19T18:10:06Z")
I agree with you that Charlie is the standout on this show. And I hadn’t noticed the tags on other characters other than “The Waitress”. I loved it when she would actually complain to the other main characters that she had a “real” name. That and her complete revulsion of Charlie was even more enjoyable to watch when I found out that they were married IRL. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/6 "2013-03-19T18:18:13Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I agree with you that Charlie is the standout on this show. > And I hadn’t noticed the tags on other characters other than “The Waitress”. I loved it when she would actually complain to the other main characters that she had a “real” name. That and her complete revulsion of Charlie was even more enjoyable to watch when I found out that they were married IRL. And Dee (Kaitlin Olson) is married to Mac (Rob McElhenney) IRL. And Dennis is married to the woman who played the pharmacy tech that Dennis banged in “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System.” ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/7 "2013-03-19T18:20:09Z")
Yeah, I got to it late and blasted through the seasons on Netflix streaming. I agree with the reviewer who praised it as “Seinfeld on crack.” ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/8 "2013-03-19T18:25:44Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > And Dee (Kaitlin Olson) is married to Mac (Rob McElhenney) IRL. > > And Dennis is married to the woman who played the pharmacy tech that Dennis banged in “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System.” Charlie is married to the waitress as well. The character of Dennis is partly based on a friend of mine who grew up with Rob McElhenney, the creator of the show. They still get together pretty frequently. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/9 "2013-03-19T18:27:16Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > And I hadn’t noticed the tags on other characters other than “The Waitress”. We also don’t know Mac’s full name, do we? He’s just “Mac”. “Sweet Dee’s Dating a Retarded Person” is my all-time favorite episode, and included [The Nightman](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091205074737/itsalwayssunny/images/5/52/Nightman_Dyslexia.jpg). That and “The Waitress is Getting Married” which spawned the milk steak quote I posted above. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/10 "2013-03-19T18:30:44Z")
Another Sunny-lover here. In particular, I laugh waaaay more than I probably should at their musical efforts, where Charlie’s hilarious brilliance shines through. I dunno how they would come across to people unfamiliar with the show, but I’d be curious to hear any such reactions to: [Nightman Cometh (setup)](http://www.hulu.com/watch/46574) [Nightman Cometh (payoff)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=OR4zefzP7d0#t=77s) Keep watching all the way through to also see “Day Man” and it’s origins… the chronology is a bit off in this order, but whatever. [Nightman Cometh (behind the scenes)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE6GC47NxgI) Sunny fans should watch this for a song they’ve probably never heard. ETA: Semi-ninja’ed while I gathered all the Nightman links… ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/11 "2013-03-19T18:40:21Z")
Sunny is one of my favorite shows. I missed the first three seasons because I thought it was a lame sitcom just based on the title. Then a friend showed me an episode and I immediatley went out and bought the dvds that were out. If there’s nothing on tv and I don’t feel like doing anything else I’ll pull up random episodes on Netflix to watch. One of my favorite bits. Is you’re cat an in-between? [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fP4emqw7O4) Nightman is awesome. I almost got to see them when they did a tour of it. You gotta pay the trolls toll to get into this boys hole. ---
**Author:** ![gus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6de8d8/32.png) [@gus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gus28)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/12 "2013-03-19T18:44:01Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > We also don’t know Mac’s full name, do we? He’s just “Mac”. > “Sweet Dee’s Dating a Retarded Person” is my all-time favorite episode, and included [The Nightman](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091205074737/itsalwayssunny/images/5/52/Nightman_Dyslexia.jpg). That and “The Waitress is Getting Married” which spawned the milk steak quote I posted above. I believe that Mac’s full name is Ronald Mcdonald, it was on his name tag at their high school reunion. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/13 "2013-03-19T18:46:27Z")
> [@gus28](#): > > I believe that Mac’s full name is Ronald Mcdonald, it was on his name tag at their high school reunion. YES! That’s right. That was one of my favorite episodes from the later couple of seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/14 "2013-03-19T18:57:39Z")
Finally found it. A defaced sign with a Nightman joke. [http://cupofzup.com/tag/night-nurse/](http://cupofzup.com/tag/night-nurse/) ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/15 "2013-03-19T19:02:44Z")
Oh yeah, I just remembered I would be remiss if I didn’t [give](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_JUlXh7sP8) a [few](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNkzh4h-yBw) [links](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBZi5Uhp58A)to the plethora of Nightman/Dayman dubstep/remixes. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/16 "2013-03-19T19:20:57Z")
Of course, there’s also the now ubiquitous at sporting events [“Green Man.”](http://itp.nyu.edu/~gh726/ITProcess/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Green-Man.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/17 "2013-03-19T19:41:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I think they lost the spark in the last season, they’re having a hard time pushing the envelope any further, nothing they do is surprising anymore. Yeah, I kind of fell away from it the last season or two. I’ll watch it if I catch it but I don’t make any effort to catch it. A year or two ago I was reading a story about FX’s comedy line-ups (which centered around Always Sunny) and the approach FX took with them. Which boiled down to “We’re not going to give you a lot of money but you’re free to do whatever you want. If people tune in to see it, next season we’ll pay you more.” The slant being that this was a lot different from the heavy oversight shows received on network TV and how this approach seemed to be working out well for FX with some very eccentric, and funny, comedies to show for it. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/18 "2013-03-19T19:44:26Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Yeah, I kind of fell away from it the last season or two. I’ll watch it if I catch it but I don’t make any effort to catch it. > > A year or two ago I was reading a story about FX’s comedy line-ups (which centered around Always Sunny) and the approach FX took with them. Which boiled down to “We’re not going to give you a lot of money but you’re free to do whatever you want. If people tune in to see it, next season we’ll pay you more.” The slant being that this was a lot different from the heavy oversight shows received on network TV and how this approach seemed to be working out well for FX with some very eccentric, and funny, comedies to show for it. I know that this is specifically the deal they gave Louie CK. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/19 "2013-03-19T19:55:41Z")
Yeah, in addition to _Always Sunny_, \*Louie \*and \*Legit \*are both good examples of that strategy working pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366/20 "2013-03-19T19:57:52Z")
There are a ton of things on this show that made me laugh hysterically. When Dennis shot Charlie in the head and in the hospital room Dennis and Mac tell Dee they got rid of the gun, then Charlie sends Dee out on some phony errand and says “You didn’t really get rid of that sweet gun did you?!”. Every encounter between Charlie and the waitress, the McPoyles, the way they’ll all run off and leave each other when the shit hits the fan, it’s all great stuff. I rewatched the one where they think Mac is a serial killer last night and Charlie was using all his TV lawyer skills, simply brilliant. I have to give Dee credit, she takes it on the chin in this series, not many actresses would be willing to get torn apart like she does. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-always-sunny-in-philadelphia/653366.md?page=2)