It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Ten Years of Drunken Debauchery

Danny DeVito, ever the looks of the organization.
"Here we are on the precipice. We either hang on or fall off. It's our choice." - Augustus Hill, Oz, S03E08




Woah. Fucking Woah. Can anyone else believe that FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been on for ten years? I feel like it was just yesterday that Mac was accused of being a serial killer. Just recently that Charlie wrote "The Nightman Cometh." Just the other day that Dennis introduced us to his D.E.N.N.I.S. system. Where has all the time gone? For me, it was probably wasted away in a festering pool of potato chips and re-watching Arrested Development. Nevertheless, this last Wednesday, Sunny triumphantly returned in all its drunken, obnoxious, disgusting glory.

Season 9
Before analyzing the premiere of season ten, we must look back across the history of FX's hit comedy. As one of the funniest, most long running, comedies of all time, the show has a history worth recounting. In the beginning, Sunny was a bit of a Seinfeld rip. It was funny, but nothing incredibly original. Dennis was vain, Mac was dumb, Charlie was weird, and Dee was a bit self-absorbed, but the classic moral "cool girl" character. The first season was quite short and although certainly worth watching, was nothing memorable. Then, Danny DeVito became interested in the show. He wanted to join the cast. Thus, season two introduced the disgusting, millionaire father of Dennis and Dee: Frank Reynolds. He immediately began to room with Charlie and joined the "gang." It was a weird twist, but having a fifth, older, more unique character started to drive the show toward greatness. The writing in season two also developed everyone more. Charlie was made dumber and more quirky, Dee was made way more self-absorbed, Dennis more creepy, and Mac more obsessive and strange.
When season three began, so did the Sunny golden age. The characters grew into themselves fully, reaching their awful, deceiving zeniths, and the writing followed suit, truly becoming a work of genius. No longer was Sunny just another Seinfeld rip. It was darker, it was more raunchy, and it had truly unique characters. Season four was even better, ending with the classic "Nightman Cometh" episode wherein the characters put on a musical. Season five was similar, bringing in classic after classic, not letting a minute go to waste. When season six began, it was a little shakier. The first couple episodes were rough to get into, but in almost no time, the show found its footing again. Despite Kaitlyn Olson being pregnant in real life and the character of Dee being pregnant in the show, she remained her hilarious, bitchy self. Charlie and Frank, the self proclaimed "Gruesome Twosome" and Mac and Dennis, the "Dynamic Duo" remained as wonderful as ever.
Then, there was season seven. The beginning of the Sunny dark ages. When the season began, something felt wrong. The characters were more like hyperbole of themselves, the writing felt more shocking and less clever, and the episodes became more high concept, taking a bit away from the show's roots. Season eight felt largely the same. While there were a couple gems such as "Thundergun Express," "CharDee MacDennis: The Game of Games," and "The Serial Defense," the seasons were quite lackluster. Heading into season nine, I was fearful.
The many faces of Sunny
However, my fears were dashed! The 2014 season of Always Sunny ended the dark ages. While not quite as amazing as seasons three, four, five, and six, season nine was highly respectable. In fact, their episode, "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award" was right up there with the good ol' days. Now, we begin the tenth edition of Sunny.

To call "The Gang Beats Boggs," the pilot of season ten, a fantastic classic is an overstatement. However, to call it lame is equally critical. What the tenth season has brought is a very fun, pretty-damn-funny, premiere. It had a bit of each character, lit up some old tropes of our characters (Dennis trying to have sex in odd areas, Dee being able to put down more alcohol than any skinny female should be able to, Mac being a control freak, etc), and was generally enjoyable. What is fascinating about Sunny is its ability to hook in audiences without having redeeming qualities in characters. The plot of episode involved all of our character drinking on a flight, betting on who can drink the most, beating a famous baseball player's record of 70 beers in one flight. Obviously, cheating, lying, and dirty deeds come into play as the characters battle for the rather useless title.
What makes Sunny a show still worth watching is the comedy it generates. While that may seem like a lame, blanket statement. The show consistently comes up with funny, albeit ridiculous ideas and takes itself not-seriously enough to make it work. While many shows will venture outside and try to make a statement, Sunny cares about comedy and comedy only. It is for this reason that although it may never be a critics darling, it deserves more acclaim that it gets. We'll have to wait and see on how great, good, or ehh season ten is, but one thing is for sure: we will be right there watching along with it.

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