It's not so Sunny, after all
Let me just preface this post by saying I am a die-hard fan of FX's It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
I've seen all the seasons. I was there when Charlie faked cancer in order to get some attention from his friends. I was there when Mac banged Dennis' mom (and then Dennis attempted to bang Mac's). I was there when Charlie and Mac's ill-fated rock band Chemical Toilet faced its first and only obstacle with the controversial lyrics surrounding "Nightman." But I don't know how much further I can be there.
With season four coming to a close this Thursday on FX, I took a quick inventory of the episodes from this past season. After flipping through a rolodex of debauchery and cannibalism, I realized that there were a hand full that I just didn't care for, and they all seemed to air after the "Who Pooped the Bed?" episode. Ironically, I thought I would hate the "Poop" episode, but in fact, it was so lewd and crude, tackling an off-limits topic that no one should really tackle (other than Oprah, I suppose), that it won me over with its ability to assemble Sunny's minor characters (Rickety Cricket, Artemis) into a focused, thought-out, and hilarious episode.
But after "Who Pooped the Bed?" came "Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar In Philadelphia," which was a decent episode, but didn't break any new ground (what "ground" I am talking about -- I don't know). Then came "Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life," which featured hilarious cameos by Sinbad and Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 (Or Twenty? Are they spelling it out now?), but was a jumbled episode that didn't really seem to come together cohesively with the five leads at the end. Sweet Dee had a heart attack in episode 10, but Dennis and Dee's desire to work out at the gym felt a little used, like I had seen it before in the "Hundred Dollar Baby" episode (although I enjoyed Mac and Charlie's life at the mailroom).
Finally, the Gang cracked the Liberty Bell. I really had nothing to say after this episode aired. I felt like cousin Oliver had come to visit Philadelphia. While I admired the writers' efforts to try a different kind of storytelling by going back in time, in the end, this was just what Sunny fans didn't want to see. An eighteenth century version of the gang just doesn't work when so many of their jokes are built around pop culture from the 1980's and 90's. Plus, the episode felt like a bad Saturday Night Live skit that went on for 30 minutes.
While the Extreme Home Maker over episode was an improvement from the unfunny history lesson from a week before, the Ty Pennington references seemed kind of stale. No one watches Extreme Home Makeover other than old women who collect beanie babies (although, maybe that was the attempted joke). I thought Extreme Home Makeover went out with the Trading Spaces craze of the early millenium.
With "Nightman Cometh" airing this Thursday at 10 pm on FX, I truly hope for a return-to-form episode. However, one of my fears is that this episode will ruin one of the series' funniest jokes. When thinking of any kind of way to save this show, another series comes to mind: Seinfeld, the very series that Sunny described itself as at the onset of season one ("Seinfeld on Crack"). Seinfeld went out at the top of its game. Maybe it's time for Sunny to follow suit.
