It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Season 3, Episodes 1-4
FX Network
Premieres Sept. 13, 2007

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia owes much of its existence to Seinfeld. The show has even carried the tagline “It’s Seinfeld on crack.” But while this show takes the basic formula and cardinal rule from its mentor (No Lessons, No Hugs), it found a way to push the boundaries of bad taste and political correctness and in the process, positioned itself to be one of the funnier shows on TV.

Charlie (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob McElhenney), and Dennis (Glenn Howerton) are all co-owners of Paddy’s, a local Irish Pub that never seems to see the light of regular business. The guys, along with Dennis’ twin sister Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson), is the head bartender and Frank (Danny DeVito), Dennis, and Dee’s father make up what is referred to as “The Gang.”

Season 3 continues to follow our group of misfits as they position themselves to become involved in even more ridiculous situations. Not much has changed for the gang since we last saw them. They are still running a bar with no discernible customer base, save for a few cockeyed schemes to bring in more business that usually blows up in their face. They all seem to be more consumed with serving their own self interests than customers. More times than not they are oblivious to people in their bar and annoyed by them when they finally do take notice.

Dennis continues his string of vanity while attempting to sleep with any girl he chooses, although rarely for his own enjoyment, but rather to get back at someone or teach them a lesson. Charlie is still the butt of most of the gang’s jokes and is still bound and determined to find out who his father is (he does). Sweet Dee is still without a love interest, but not for lack of trying. Frank is still inspired by the gang’s lifestyle and pushes his way into everyone’s lives whenever possible (this goes a long way in explaining why Dee and Dennis are the way they are), and Mac is still, well”¦ Mac.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia continues to push the boundaries of taste, to mixed results. In Season 3’s first four episodes alone the gang finds a baby in a dumpster and tries to use it to break into the entertainment industry; Dennis, Mac, and Dee try out for the Philadelphia Eagles a la “that New Kids on the Block movie” Invincible; while Charlie and Frank drop acid tailgating. They make fun of the deaf. They are held hostage in the bar. We meet more of the McPoyle clan as they continue their creepy ways (trust me when I say, the two brothers end up being the most normal). Frank will once again use his children as a tool for his own good and in turn is almost forced to have sex with Dee while her birth father watches. Right. No one said it wasn’t offensive, but when it works it makes for hilarious viewing.

Since the show takes place in a bar it is a forgone conclusion that the majority of the plotlines will involve alcohol. This plays into the hands of the characters as it almost gives them a leg up in trying to justify their behavior and all of their ill-conceived plans. The writers spend a lot of time attempting to tackle a multitude of political topics, but make it clear they have no real political agenda as the characters are grossly and terribly uninformed about politics; or almost anything else for that matter. There are times though, when the show comes close to crossing a line of another kind. There is a certain smugness about them. They seem all to ready to pat themselves on the back for being as brash as they are. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. But say what you will, they swing for the fence every time.

There are no major continuing plotlines that need be reviewed, so if you haven’t seen the show before, you can start watching now and not miss a beat. The whole show is basically following this lying, cheating, scheming, and argumentative group of misanthropes as they attempt to ruin as many lives as they can; even if it ends up being their own. In any event, they always stay true to the show’s central theme: In the end they always get a taste of their own medicine, everyone pays a price, and nobody learns a goddamn thing.

Season 3 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres Thursday, September 13 at 10pm EST on FX. The show is a bit inconsistent, and hasn’t quite returned to Season 1 form yet, but for every few things that don’t work, there are at least a half a dozen that do work, and work brilliantly. I’ll keep watching just to see what they’ll try next.

And there’s the rub.