It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

[Reply #120 on:]

Yes, it was picked up for a 9th and 10th season at the same time.

I could've sworn that seasons 7-9 were all announced in the same press release? As in, they had confirmed at the time that the network had ordered X number of episodes, and when divided it basically signified 3 seasons? Though I may be misinformed as to the exact number, especially since season 8 only had 10 episodes. 

[Reply #121 on:]

We might both be a little wrong. According to this, seasons 8 & 9 were announced in 2011 and season 10 was announced in March 2013. Then again, my brain's been a bit broken this past week, so I could still be misunderstanding it.

[Reply #122 on:]

Ahh, fair enough. I definitely remember 9 being announced a while ago but for some reason, I have some recollection of 3 seasons being announced in one hit at some point. Maybe I'm thinking of 5-7 or something?

[Reply #123 on:]

Another great episode this week I thought. I love whenever they do episodes that are about the bar itself. Laughed a lot, both of Charlie's songs were great.

If they maintain the quality of these three episodes so far, then this is shaping up to be a great season.

[Reply #124 on:]

My Review "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award":

7.5/10

I didn't love this episode, but it had some funny moments. My favorite part was when Charlie got high and sang while playing the piano. I also enjoyed the scene in which that older woman was trying to buy a drink, only for Dennis and Dee to make dirty jokes about Mac, and when the gang caught Frank doing...yeah.

However, outside of the final scene, I wasn't too fond of this episode. Except for Charlie's initial performance of "Paddy's Pub".

[Reply #125 on:]

That was fantastic. Definitely makes up for the awful attempts at meta humour last season.

So, obviously the bar awards are a metaphor for the Emmys, the cherry, happy bright bar is perhaps a reference to Modern Family or The Office (most likely the latter due to the "will they/won't they" thing), the little martini bar that doesn't get many customers but wins a lot of awards is Mad Men, and, I dunno, I guess "the bar that only just opened and has already won a heap of awards" would be Homeland?

[Reply #126 on:]

Pretty sure they were using an E-meter in the promo for the next episode. Scientology jokes?

[Reply #127 on:]

Great episode, but I don't think they were taking jabs at The Office. Has The Office even won that many Emmys? It felt like they were attacking cookie-cutter shitcoms that continue to do well, along the lines of The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, to me - but nothing specific.

[Reply #128 on:]

The Office won quite a few in the first half of its run. I don't watch TBBT or HIMYM so I wasn't sure on that one, it was just the most recent Emmy winning show to really play up the whole "will they/won't they thing. You're probably right.

[Reply #129 on:]

I mean, I don't feel like they were specifically going after How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory, either - it just felt like a clever take on the general TV landscape and that bar felt far more about attacking those sorts of cookie-cutter sitcoms than something a bit more interesting like The Office.

The "will they? won't they?" thing is a cliche found in countless sitcoms, including Futurama, and I just took it as them playing up how the awards didn't like them because they were too unconventional.

Of course, I might be wrong. But if I was going after The Office, I'd have cast Oscar Martinez as one of the bartenders in that bar, instead.

[Reply #130 on:]

I lost all respect for the emmys last year when 4 out of the 6 nominees for supporting actor in a comedy were on Modern Family

[Reply #131 on:]

I don't understand the Emmys' obsession with Modern Family.

I binged the first 2 seasons on Netflix and it's a good show. Perfectly enjoyable with some good comedy dropped in there, but it's also incredibly derivative of current trends and offers absolutely nothing new to the table.

[Reply #132 on:]

Modern Family is okay, but in my opinion it's one of the most overrated shows on TV. I thought it was very good in Season 1, but I just don't understand all the hype about it.

One show that I really do like though is The Middle, which comes on an hour before Modern Family. That's probably underrated.

[Reply #133 on:]

I haven't seen The Middle, but yeah, Modern Family had a great first season and has been consistently mediocre ever since. It's not a bad show by any means, but I don't understand the huge level of acclaim it gets when there are so many better comedies on tv right now. I understand Always Sunny not getting recognised since, as they stated in the most recent episode, it's a niche thing they're doing (regardless of how well they do it). But Modern Family winning over shows like Parks & Rec and Veep? It's a travesty, I tells ya!

[Reply #134 on:]

Yeah, Parks and Rec is quite good. It kind of reminds me of The Office, which is one of the many reasons I like it. I enjoy it much more than Modern Family.

[Reply #135 on:]

Parks and Recreations was originally developed as a spin-off from The Office, but they ended up making it its own thing.

[Reply #136 on:]

Parks and Recreations was originally developed as a spin-off from The Office, but they ended up making it its own thing.

Yeah, I can see that happening, since they were both created by Greg Daniels. But I'm glad they decided to make it its own show.

[Reply #137 on:]

The Office was created by Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant.

The US version was developed by Greg Daniels.

[Reply #138 on:]

Yes, I know. I was referring to the US version.

[Reply #139 on:]

The US version of The Office was created by Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant.

It was developed by Greg Daniels.

[Reply #140 on:]

I think you know what I meant. But before this turns into a pointless argument, let's just say this:

The UK version of The Office was produced by Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant.

The US version of The Office was produced by Greg Daniels.

There. Case closed.

[Reply #141 on:]

Not quite.

The US version was produced by Greg Daniels AND Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant and some other people.

Gervais and Merchant were two of the executive producers of the first three seasons.


And whilst we're at it, Gervais and Merchant weren't producers on the original show.

[Reply #142 on:]

Okay then. It looks like I was wrong. It's been a while since I last read anything about The Office.

But to get back to what I was saying earlier: I agree that Parks and Recreation is better than Modern Family.

[Reply #143 on:]

Semantics are everything, aren't they?

I haven't seen a whole lot of these shows, but I have a confession: I've consistently enjoyed Modern Family and I've consistently not gotten the humor in The Office and Parks & Rec.

[Reply #144 on:]

The US version of The Office had an asbolutely perfect second season (and a stellar third) but went downhill pretty quickly after that. Parks & Rec is amazing for creating an entirely fictional small town with its own history, traits, etc. and sticking to it perfectly. Even just the smallest thing they choose to throw in then becomes part of the show's world; much like classic-era Simpsons. But it's a very character-heavy comedy, so you need to watch a few episodes to really get into it (and the characters are constantly developing and relationships are constantly changing, so the best bet is to watch it right from the start, even though the first season is mediocre compared to the rest). As for who's creating/developing, none of that is as important as the show runner in the grand scheme of things. Parks & Rec's head writer is Michael Schur, a former writer on The Office (US). And yes, it was originally conceived as a very, very different show that would be a direct spin-off of The Office, centred around Tony, hence why he was written out at the end of season 4, before they finally realised what a terrible idea that was.

My problem with Modern Family is that it's not treading any new ground. I see most of the jokes coming, every character is just "doing their bit" now and it rarely ever makes me laugh out loud anymore (which is a shame, because its first season was excellent, so I know the show's capable of it). For me, it boils down to the fact that something so blatantly generic is winning awards, while shows that are actually trying something innovative are completely overlooked.

[Reply #145 on:]

To be honest, I don't find Parks and Rec to be hugely better than Modern Family. For the most part, I'd say that they're roughly on par, but the characters in Parks and Rec are much more interesting and likable - though that may be purely down to Ron Swanson who is brilliant.

The Office, on the other hand, is an absolutely excellent show and one of the all time greats.

[Reply #146 on:]

The Office, on the other hand, is an absolutely excellent show and one of the all time greats.

I disagree. The Office ran far too long past its prime, wheras Parks and Rec has been consistent in quality the whole way through so far (minus its shaky first season, which is still far from bad and only 6 episodes long). Seasons 2 and 3 of The Office are on par with Arrested Development and classic-era Simpsons as being some of the best television comedy to come out of the US, but I honestly think it should've ended with season 3. The dip in quality is noticeable right from the start of the fourth season - the writing is more convoluted, the characters are far too exaggerated, and the laughs are few-and-far between. At first I thought it was just attributed to the four hour-long episodes in a row, but nope, it continued at that rate for the rest of its fourth season (with the exception of "Dinner Party," which was brilliant). The closest thing to a resurgence that the show had was the Michael Scott Paper Company story arc in season 5, and then it pretty much turned to complete shit after that, with the exception of the infrequent great episode, though even they would never reach the standards set by seasons 2 and 3. Not to mention, the ending of season 3 is just about a perfect way to close the show:

Show spoiler

Jim finally asks Pam out on a date after 3 seasons of will they/won't they, Jan is fired after slowly coming off the rails for 3 seasons, and Ryan - who started as a temp in the first episode - gets her job, ranking him above Michael (who had considered him his protege up until this point. It provides a resolution to the main relationship of the show that the audience was invested in, and gives a sense of everything coming full circle.

[Reply #147 on:]

I agree that The Office ran past its prime, but that doesn't undo the early great seasons. You, yourself, just listed The Simpsons as one of the all time greats and no show has undone its own legacy more than they have.

And for the record, I love seasons 5 and 7 of The Office. Season 5 might actually be my favourite season. I loved the Michael Scott Paper Company arc and "Stress Relief" might well be my favourite episode of the entire show. Season 7 was full of "we're making this to be the last season" gimmicks and what can I say? They worked for me. I loved "Threat Level Midnight", I loved the variety of new branch managers we got and I loved the send-off for Michael Scott.

Season 4 was noticeably weaker than 2 and 3, though.

And even then, I'd say that seasons 2-7 of The Office are pretty brilliant, even if some are noticeably weaker than others.

Seasons 8 and 9 were when things got hairy, but even most of that was pretty decent TV; it just sort of shat all over the show's legacy. But season 9 pulled itself together with a really strong last few episodes that almost made up for everything.


Parks and Rec, on the other hand, has been very consistent, but it's never been nearly as funny or engaging. It's been consistently good, whereas The Office has been amazing with some low points along the way.

I'd give Parks and Recreation a 7/10 (which is the same score I'd give Modern Family) and The Office a 9/10 (the UK version gets 10/10).

[Reply #148 on:]

Bit of a lesser episode this week, but that's forgivable after two very, very strong episodes.

It wasn't a bad episode by any stretch, either.

I've always felt like It's Always Sunny operates at this sort of base level and, occasionally, they do a particularly great episode that stands out from the rest. The last two weeks have been particularly great, but this is back to their usual standard. Can't complain.

[Reply #149 on:]

"Mac and Dennis Buy a Timeshare" - 6/10

I felt that this episode was a bit weak after watching "Gun Fever Too" and "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award". But hey, they can't all be winners.

[Reply #150 on:]

Yeah, the timeshare one was a bit weak indeed, especially after the last episode. Dated satire, predictable storyline, and they didn't make very good use of Ben and The Maniac, who are two of my absolute favourite minor characters. Also, it was followed by The League delivering what was possibly the most sublimely hilarious (and completely fucking batshit insane) 20 minutes of television I've ever seen, which would've quite possibly overshadowed Always Sunny even at its best.

[Reply #151 on:]

Sorry for the double post, but BUMP!

This week's episode is probably tied for the awards one as my favourite of the season. Country Mac was fantastic.

[Reply #152 on:]

I didn't think it was anything special, myself. Not bad, but roughly on par with last week's.

[Reply #153 on:]

I liked it a lot. I thought it was definitely better than last week's, and possibly the premiere as well.

[Reply #154 on:]

I'd probably agree that it was better than both those episodes, but only by a little bit.

[Reply #155 on:]

I enjoyed the gang's outspoken reaction to Mac's behaviour - it felt like progress to me, along with the contrast of the ever-lovable Country Mac.

That, and the only thing funnier than a smash-cut to a memorial is a smash-cut to Frank flushing the ashes.

[Reply #156 on:]

8/10

I definitely enjoyed this episode more than the previous one. It was funny and had a pretty good storyline. One thing I think could have made this episode better is if they had explained the concept of each character getting their own day at the beginning of the episode rather than automatically jumping to Mac Day. Other than that, I really don't have any complaints.

[Reply #157 on:]

I thought the opening speech explained the concept of everyone getting their own day, perfectly. It was handled in a great way because we got to go straight into the action and they still dropped more than enough exposition in for it to make sense.

[Reply #158 on:]

True. I just would like to have seen a different opening that explained the concept before cutting to Mac Day. Perhaps the scene in the bar would have worked. But that's just my opinion.

[Reply #159 on:]

They'd already explained it well enough with the references to what happened on Charlie Day (haha, I just got that). We've seen enough of the gang's crazy rituals/traditions by this point to be able to just go with it, without the need to eat up any more precious screen time.