Ty Watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 15

Last night my wife and I were finally able to watch the season 15 finale of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". We are getting all caught up on the shows we missed while we were away celebrating the holidays.

This season may have been short, only eight episodes, but it was pretty damn excellent. I was fully in the whole time. They tackled the pandemic. They talked about owning a business during unprecedented times. They traveled to Ireland. They used CGI for the first time. We met Charlie's real father. They even got the waitress involved. And they did it as hilariously uncomfortable as they always do.

"IASIP" is a near perfect show. There are no real problems with it. Even if they have some past controversy, they owned up to it, and even talked about it and made an entire episode confronting it this season. That ep was phenomenal by the way. I also really enjoyed the CGI monkey they used this season. That was another great ep, and it was the nudge they needed to go to Ireland. When they got to Ireland, that was when this season went from good to great. It was some of the best stuff this show has ever done. I like that, the older they get, the more they touch on real life situations. Dennis got COVID, minor spoiler alert. And that brought out the horribleness in other characters, mainly Frank. Dee finally got an acting job, but things kept getting in the way for her. When she got the big bump on her head, and how they redistributed the blood, that was great. This was also how they got the waitress involved, and she becomes pretty important in the penultimate episode of the season. Mac was even looking to get involved with the church after he learned some stuff about his past. That was a great runner this season.

Charlie, at least for me, was the absolute star of the season. He meets his real dad. He finds his place. He knows the people of Ireland. They write and speak and act like him. He finally has a person he can relate to that seems to know him. He finally has someone that really loves him. But all the stuff that this brings up in Frank made it all the better. Frank and Charlie are definitely the best "love story" on the show. They are the only two that seem to genuinely enjoy one another's company. So when Charlie meets his new dad, and wants to spend all his time with him, Frank is noticeably upset. He acts out. But in the end, they come together. And that is not a spoiler for anyone that watches this show regularly. I was blown away by Charlie Day's performance, especially in the season finale. He went to some dramatic places and really shined. He is a good actor, but this performance truly shined through. I was super impressed.

I also love the way they closed out the season, being the usual obnoxious Americans that we have all come to know and love. It was a very fitting ending for this season. The finale reminded me a bit of the one where Mac came out to his dad. While not as moving and poetic, it was still pretty damn awesome and profound.

"IASIP" is a pantheon show. It is iconic. And season 15 is a feather in their cap. I cannot wait for season 16.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 15 Premier

Last night my wife and I watched the season 15 premiere of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". There were two new episodes in fact. And it was as great as I hoped. The show hasn't been on in awhile, but it felt like they never left with the first two eps of this season. Let’s discuss.

The first one was all about their characters 2020 in review. They posed it as a government official coming in to ask about personal PPP loans, but it was really just a platform for them to do what they do best, make super tasteless, super funny jokes. The fact that they all claimed to have something to do with the 2020 election was pretty great, and kind of scary because of how truthful some of the stuff they did. I could have easily seen people as vile and brutal as their characters doing the same. And to end it with "their guy" being Kanye West, it was simply genius.

The second episode was all about them making "Lethal Weapon 7". For fans of the show, we all know the gang's love for the "Lethal Weapon" series. But this time they wanted to be more sensitive. Again, it was so funny. The pimp Pepperjack, that actor was amazing. All the stuff with Frank was hilarious. Dee's arc, oh man that was some "Always Sunny" at the top of its game. And Dennis explaining how he has changed, it was too perfect.

The premiere was great. Seriously, go watch. But what I want to talk about today is how great "Always Sunny" really is. It has staying power, it is still great, it is one of the funniest shows on tv, it has a "Curb" like appeal of never having a bad episode. The show works so well. It was also nice to have it back. I have found during this pandemic, seeing older shows, returning shows, classic shows coming back for record breaking seasons or in reruns, it makes me forget about how tough the past two years have been. The shows let me escape. Even with the gang talking about the pandemic, hearing them say COVID, seeing extras wearing masks, it did not take me back to how hard the past two years have been. The creators and actors are so good at their jobs that they let me escape into their world. They let me forget what is going on outside for 30 minutes. I really appreciate that. And to have a show like "Always Sunny", that is so great, back on TV, that rules. These people know what they are doing. They know what works. They know how to craft perfect jokes for their characters. It is truly a great thing to see genius people doing genius work. I know a lot of people say that "Always Sunny" is my generation's "Seinfeld". I used to balk at that because I always felt like both shows are so different and so great. But when you sit down and think of it, they are right. "Always Sunny" is a millennials version of "Seinfeld". Both shows have no redeemable characters, but they know that and they roll with it. "Always Sunny" just goes a bit further with their jokes. The shows are also so brilliantly written that it is easy to see the comparison. Very funny, very smart comedic minds coming together to create something classic, that is a thing of beauty.

"Always Sunny" is a classic, and it is a classic for a reason. And again, it is comforting to have it back on TV. I love this show and I cannot be more excited to see where they go from here.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing Classic: Advent Calendar of Awesome Television Programs: Day 17 - "A Very Sunny Christmas"

ed note: This article was originally published on December 17th, 2016

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we are looking back at the great holiday music, movies, television episodes, and food of this great season. Enjoy

Day 17: "A Very Sunny Christmas"

Original air date - December 16th, 2010, released on DVD and Blu-ray November 17th, 2009 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen

The memories of our childhood Christmases tend to be filled with joy and excitement. Of course we do have a few friends who hated Christmas because their parents were not into the holiday spirit, but most of us have great memories. We got awesome toys, people came over to visit, and the day ended with some fun activities. As we get older, we start to learn all the things our parents did to make these great, or unpleasant, holiday memories. Sometimes these truths from our Christmas past will ruin our Christmas present, and make Christmas yet to come look even worse. Sometimes we are only left with a simple activity to take our minds off of the ugly lie that is Christmas.

In November of 2009, the long-running FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia released an extra long episode on DVD and Blu-ray titled A Very Sunny Christmas. The episode had some harsher than normal language, and some animated nudity. FX was not ready to air the very special episode of the Always Sunny gang. With a few edits for television, A Very Sunny Christmas made it's television debut on December 16th, 2010 as the sixth season finale.

The supersized holiday special has Mac and Charlie excited for Christmas, but Dee and Dennis are not feeling the joy. Mac and Charlie love Christmas because as kids their parents made the holidays awesome. Dee and Dennis hate Christmas because their dad Frank used the joyous day to promise his kids great gifts and just end up faking them out with empty packages. 

This year Frank goes too far. He buys Dennis dream car, a Lamborghini Countach, and Franks intends to keep it for himself. He also carries around a designer bag, Dee's dream gift, and fills the bag with cheese snacks and chocolate. The Reynold's kids have been pushed to the breaking point and decide to pull a Christmas Carol scheme on Frank to make him change. 

Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie are getting more excited for Christmas. On a visit to Mac's home, the two lifelong friends find a videotape of a young Mac at Christmas. Here we learn that Mac's criminal father used to take his family from house to house on Christmas morning to steal other families presents. It was presented to Mac as a South Philly tradition where you would go to other people's houses and take their presents while they went to your house and got presents for themselves. Once Charlie helps Mac see the truth, their Christmas spirit starts to dim. They decide to head over to see Charlie's mom, she is always filled with holiday joy.

At Charlie's house, Mac learns about the Christmases of the past in the Kelly household. Every year a Santa. or elf, would come to the door. The gentleman would give little Charlie a present, then head upstairs with mom Kelly. Many Santas, and elves, would come to the Kelly house on Christmas day. Being confronted with the fact that his beloved mother is an actual prostitue starts to completely break Charlie's fragile mind.

The Christmas Carol scheme of Dennis and Dee does not go well. Frank's old business partner Eugene, a man that Frank swindled millions of dollars from, is a born again Christian who just wants to talk about Jesus. Their attempt to show Frank how much people hate him just ends with the nude elder Reynolds bursting from a couch he demanded to be sown into. Their attempt to show him a future gravesite also fails spectacularly. The lesson of Christmas was not appearing before the Scrooge-like Frank.

With their terrible realizations, Mac and Charlie are still trying to make Christmas merry. On a trip to a mall to buy an old friend a new shirt, and a cool toy, poor Charlie spots the mall Santa and starts to approach the jolly fellow. Once on Santa's lap Charlie has one question, did Santa visit his mom (the real dialogue was too hot for FX, hence the early DVD release). With Santa quite confused, Charlie lunges at the man and red and starts to bite old St Nick's ear off. The scene ends with a little girl in hysterics.

The whole gang gets back together on Christmas Eve night and decide that the whole Christmas thing is garbage. They vow to forget their troubles by getting drunk and forgetting about all the awfulness. While they poor the first few drinks, Charlie receives a phone call and tells everyone that Frank died in a car accident.

Once the gang reaches the hospital, they see Frank very alive. He was in an accident, but just hurt his leg. He tells the crew that he had a vision, one that looks a lot like the Rudolph animated special. Through the vision he wants to be a better man. The gang doesn't buy it and heads back to the bar. The truth is that Frank does want to be better and has decorated the whole bar, with his old partner Eugene, for the holidays. Frank is giving Dennis the Lamborghini, Dee gets the designer bag, Mac and Charlie get the new hot toy, everyone is about to have a great Christmas.

Then Eugene enacts his own fake out and pulls a gun on the crew. He demands all the gifts and blows everyone down with an industrial snow machine. Christmas sucks once again. The only thing that everyone can do to make this Christmas worthwhile is to throw rocks at trains. Why wouldn't you throw rocks at trains?

The idea of a perfect Christmas is a myth. The truth of how people pull off a Christmas miracle is filled with some dark actions. Most people do not have criminal fathers, or prostitutes for mothers, but we all have parents who have gone to extremes to make the holidays memorable. When confronted with the truth, we have a choice to make. We can try to make the holidays joyous in our own way, or we can bite Santa's ear off. No matter what we choose, the day should definately end with anice group activity.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time had an Omni Bot. That thing was the stuff.

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Ty Watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 13 Finale

So, I have had about 3 days to digest the season 13 finale of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and I am finally ready to talk about it.

It was, hands down, one of the best episodes of television that I have ever watched. It was incredible.

It started like any other "IASIP" episode, but it only grew from there. The episode is called, "Mac Finds his Pride". I have been excited to watch this since I saw the name of it about 3 episodes into this season. I have been a fan of this show from the start, and to see that as a title, I figured it would be filled with their odd, sometimes vulgar humor, and it is, for the first 15 minutes. The episode centers around Frank trying to get Mac to come on their Gay Pride Parade float. They need their, as they say on the show, "token gay guy to dance around". And Frank is as crass and mean and vulgar and homophobic as you'd expect, at first. He takes him to an underground S&M club. That scene is hilarious for the buffet alone. He takes him to a drag show, and that is funny. But, at both these places, Mac keeps telling him that the way they live their lives is fine, it is not for him. He is really struggling to find his identity as a gay man. Frank decides he needs to tell his dad that he is gay, to get it out to the scariest person they know.

Boy oh boy is Mac's dad terrifying in this episode. When they try to tell him the first time, Mac's dad, and Frank has told him this earlier, that he "doesn't get him". But, Mac's dad takes the news they have to tell him that he is going to be a grandpa, that his son got a girl pregnant. And what he tells him to do if it isn't a boy was horrifying. Mac then decides that he cannot tell his dad that he is gay, so he tells him that the news is he is going to be a grandpa. He then retreats to his home and he seems even more despondent.

Oh, by the way, at the very beginning of this episode, Frank smashes his nose on Mac's door, and he is constantly trying to plug up the cut to no avail. It just keeps bleeding, and his face continues to balloon.

After Frank informs the rest of the gang that Mac won't be on the float, they get Cricket to do it in bondage. It was scary and hilarious. Mac keeps telling Frank about this dream he is having where he dances with a female God, and this God lets him tell the world how he feels, personally, as a gay man.

Frank, finally coming to his senses tells Mac he needs to let it out. He needs to tell his dad in his way. He gets the prison to put on a show so Mac can show his dad, and Frank, how he feels. Franks has also let his nose bleed go, telling Mac, "you cannot keep that shit plugged up forever or you are going to live in agony. Don't live in agony anymore" he tells him.

Mac then takes the stage, tells his dad that he needs to let him know that he is gay, and this is how he feels. He then proceeds to put on a modern dance show for 5 minutes. It was masterful. It was a thing of beauty. I don't know much about modern dance, or interpretive dance, but this made sense to me. Mac is tortured. Mac is struggling to find his place. He needs people to accept him for who he is. He needs his friends to stop antagonizing him. The lady that danced with him was delightful and sad all at once. When Mac's dad leaves, I was so sad I almost cried, at an episode of "Always Sunny". It was unlike anything that I have seen before. It was beautiful, sad, modern and cool. I could not take my eyes off the screen. I could have watched this for another 20 minutes. And what made it even better was, Frank says, after watching the dance, "I get it now". I feel like we do to as the audience. And, it just ended there. There was no funny button at the end like with their other musical episodes. It just ended with Mac crumpled into the woman's arms and Frank saying his beautifully eloquent words.

This was tremendous.

"Always Sunny" took a big swing, and they knocked it out of the park. I cannot wait to see how they use this in the upcoming season. This was a masterpiece and I am so glad that I watched it multiple times. I cannot recommend this episode enough. It is perfect on so many levels. I am still in awe almost a week later.

Again, this was tremendous. I loved it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 13 Premiere

Last night the 13th season of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" premiered. Now, I am going to go about this as spoiler free as possible, but I apologize if one or two things get in here that seem like a spoiler.

I was very much looking forward/skeptical of the premiere last night. I was excited because I love "IASIP". It is one of the best shows that has ever been on TV. It is my generation's "Seinfeld", except "The Gang" is filled with people that are much more monstrous than anyone on "Seinfeld". It is a classic. But, I was skeptical because of how the 12th season ended. This may be a minor spoiler, but Dennis left the gang at the end of last season. He found out he was a dad and he moved to one of the Dakota's to help take care of the kid. So, it was up in the air if Dennis would be back for the 13th season. No one really knew, and the writers and actors tried their best to misdirect fans and viewers, which I appreciate. Also, Glenn Howerton has another show that he is starring on right now, the very underrated "A.P. Bio", and he didn't really let anyone know if he was coming back.

Another thing that didn't get near the attention that is should have, the waitress and Charlie became a couple at the end of the last season as well. I wasn't thrilled about this either because I loved the back and forth between the 2 actors, especially since they are married in real life. Their interactions were some of the funniest parts of the show. The whole musical episode, "The Nightman Cometh", was such a great representation of their character's relationship on the show. So, I didn't know if I would like how they handled that news.

In typical "IASIP" fashion, they handled everything with ease, and it was hilarious. The whole Charlie and the waitress new relationship totally turned. The waitress was now nagging Charlie. She constantly called him. He felt bothered by her. He took it upon himself to find a "companion" for her so she had someone to talk to while he was at work. This, of course, backfired on Charlie, and it all worked to perfection. The break up scene between them was wonderful. I was howling.

As far as the Dennis departure, once again, they handled it great. When the episode opened, we hear a woman's voice, and she is giving a speech. The voice is revealed to be Mindy Kaling's. She is basically Dennis' replacement. She seems nice on the surface, but she does some shady stuff in the episode. She is a smarter, more updated version of Dennis. She knows how to manipulate people, but she tries to get the gang involved, instead of demeaning and degrading them. While having a meeting, it is revealed, and this is not a spoiler, it was all over the commercials, Mac gets a package, and it turns out to be a sex doll that look EXACTLY like Dennis. He got it, he tells the gang, because Mindy Kaling's character, Cindy, tells him, in his words, "he needs to fill the Dennis shaped hole in his life". She didn't say that exactly, but with Mac finally coming out of the closet last season, it was a perfect response from him. The stuff with the Dennis sex doll that happens throughout the episode is all gold. The stuff with Mac is great. The fact that they start to hear it talk to them all, except Cindy, is even better. Seeing a Dennis sex doll at a strip club with everyone else, hilarious. It was amazing.

When the gang finally fully buys into the fact that Dennis is gone, and they need to accept Cindy, a big twist comes at the end. I'm not going to say what happens, but it is a very obvious twist. After watching the premiere, I am very excited to see where they go from here.

This premiere more than exceeded my expectations. I don't know why I doubted it. These people that work on this show are awesome. I should have expected greatness. I'm so glad "IASIP" is back, and I hope the rest of this season is just as good as the premiere. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" rules.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is with Mac and Charlie in not understanding why conservatives would want to drink something that liberals tear. That makes no damn sense.

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Ty Watches the Best Television (So Far) of 2017

With season three of "Fargo" premiering tonight, I want to talk about how incredibly good television has been in the first few months of the year.

2017 has been pretty dreadful so far, except in pop culture. Pop culture such as music, sports and television has been very, very good, with television standing out most. I watch a lot of TV obviously. I seem to write about 4-6 new or old shows a month. 2016 was great too. I mean, we got "Atlanta", and that is the best show I have seen in quite some time. But, for the most part, every show I've sat down and watched in 2017 has been very good, both new and old. I am very stoked for "Fargo" tonight. The first 2 seasons were incredible, and every trailer I have seen for season 3 has looked great.

The greatest television right now is on FX and FXX. FX has the best original programming on all of television. "Taboo" was incredibly weird, historic and very violent. And I loved every single minute of it. Tom Hardy was great. Go back and read my review of the show. It was awesome. Season 12 of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" was great as well. The show is as funny as ever, and, spoiler alert, I do not think Dennis is leaving the show. The second season of "Baskets" just added on to the greatness of the first season. That show is sad and dark but it has its funny moments too. Louie Anderson is phenomenal on the show as well. He is well deserving of all the accolades. Shows I do not even watch like "Archer" and "Feud" seem to get glowing reviews across the board. Also, FXX gives us every "Simpsons" ever, and I will be forever grateful for that.

But, the crème de la crème of all the FX shows is "Legion". "Legion" is one of the most original, yes I know it uses X-Men stories, but very loosely, and innovative shows I have seen. It ranks right up there with "Atlanta" for me. They are different shows, but they are equally great. "Legion" has the pedigree to be a classic. The show is shot beautifully, acted tremendously, directed phenomenally and written perfectly. The cast is absolutely incredible. If you are not watching "Legion", start watching it immediately. It is the best show of 2017 so far, and to be honest, since "Atlanta" and "Louie" aren't coming back for awhile, or ever, "Legion" will most likely be my show of this whole year.

Moving away from FX and FXX, HBO has had some very good TV so far, and some of their classics are back. RD has been the biggest advocate of "The Young Pope". He has said nothing but glowing words about it. I've heard other people say how great it is too. I haven't watched it yet, but I will. My wife watched "Little Big Lies", and she loved it, as did most critics. "The Leftovers" just started its last season, and the reviews have been excellent. My mom and dad both love that show.

For the shows I actually watch on HBO. Pete Holmes' new show "Crashing" was funny and heartbreaking. This was the perfect vehicle for his comedy. The show is a comedy, but there is a lot of drama as well. It toes that line very well. "Veep" is back and it is nasty and funny and sharp as ever. "Veep" is the perfect type of show for the madness that is our current abomination of a "government". I'm very excited to see the rest of where this season takes us. "Silicon Valley" starts this Sunday and I know that it will be great because it has been great since its been on TV. I'm very pumped for that show to come back. HBO definitely has had some great TV in 2017.

I do not watch many other shows on premium cable. I did watch, and loved, "The Knick", but not much else. That is going to change in May when "Twin Peaks" comes back to TV, on Showtime. I have been catching up on the first couple of seasons to get ready for when it comes back on.

Going away from cable and getting to national TV, there are some real gems out there right now. I'm a big fan of "Trial and Error" on NBC. That show had its season finale last night. I hope it is not its series finale because that show is very funny and a perfect "Parks and Rec" or "The Office" replacement. I wrote about the show when it premiered, and I hope the brass at NBC give it a second chance. Remember, both "The Office" and "Parks and Rec" looked dead after their first season. Now, they are looked at as classics. "Brooklyn 99" is back and just as funny as it has always been. "Making History" is another new Fox show that I'm a fan of. It's about a guy with a time machine and he uses it to his advantage. Adam Pally is very funny and the supporting cast is good. I do not think it will get a second season, but if this is its only season, it will be remembered. "Last Man on Earth" is still wonderfully bizarre. "Bob's Burgers" is still doing its thing. And "The Simpsons" just continues to stay steady and be great. I do not watch CBS, but I'm sure they have some good new shows. In fact, I have heard some great things about a show called "Superior Donuts". To be honest, CBS seems like an "old person" channel. Too many procedurals and laugh track infused comedies. ABC doesn't really have any highlights either. "Modern Family" is still on, but that show has become very blah for me.

Finally, we have Netflix, and other streaming devices. This is the place to be for new TV shows. Shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, whatever, can do whatever they want. I personally do not have Hulu or Amazon, we only have Netflix, but I have heard some great things about the other streaming networks. "The Mindy Project" seems to have found a second life on Hulu. "Difficult People" gets phenomenal reviews from everyone. But, I do watch many Netflix shows. My favorite Netflix show is "Love", and season 2 was just on. I watched it all, and reviewed it, so you can go see my thoughts there. "Master of None" season 2 is coming in less than a month. The rebooted "Mystery Science Theater 3000" just released all their episodes last Friday. Marvel and DC has plenty of hit shows on Netflix, a lot of which will have their next season's premiere before 2017 is done. Streaming is the wave of the future, and right now the future looks bright.

Outside of the shows and Networks I have already mentioned, Comedy Central has a great new show, "Gorburger" on. "Detroiters" just wrapped up its first season, and that show is hilarious. "Jeff and Some Aliens" is bizarre, but very funny. Comedy Central has some good stuff that came out this year. I know the show is corny, but my wife loves "Pretty Little Liars", and their final season premiered on FreeForm last night. MTV is still plugging along with their endless run of "Teen Mom" or "16 and Pregnant".

I'm sure that I have forgot some other stuff, but the majority of what I just mentioned has been an absolute homerun and proves that 2017 may be the year for TV. If you take away anything from my piece today, please let it be that you start watching "Legion". It is a dynamite show. Keep it coming TV in 2017, you have been great to us so far.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He also forgot to include the greatest reality show of all time on his list, the incomparable "Bar Rescue".

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SeedSing's Advent Calendar of Awesome Television Programs: Day 17 - "A Very Sunny Christmas"

The pre-Christmas Day season of Advent is upon us. Here at SeedSing we love the chocolaty goodness of getting a piece of candy once a day until we get to open our presents. As our gift to you we will present a new awesome holiday television program for every day of Advent. This is the greatest tv of the season. Enjoy.

Day 17: "A Very Sunny Christmas"

Original air date - December 16th, 2010, released on DVD and Blu-ray November 17th, 2009 

Opened Doors: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen,  Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen

The memories of our childhood Christmases tend to be filled with joy and excitement. Of course we do have a few friends who hated Christmas because their parents were not into the holiday spirit, but most of us have great memories. We got awesome toys, people came over to visit, and the day ended with some fun activities. As we get older, we start to learn all the things our parents did to make these great, or unpleasant, holiday memories. Sometimes these truths from our Christmas past will ruin our Christmas present, and make Christmas yet to come look even worse. Sometimes we are only left with a simple activity to take our minds off of the ugly lie that is Christmas.

In November of 2009, the long-running FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia released an extra long episode on DVD and Blu-ray titled A Very Sunny Christmas. The episode had some harsher than normal language, and some animated nudity. FX was not ready to air the very special episode of the Always Sunny gang. With a few edits for television, A Very Sunny Christmas made it's television debut on December 16th, 2010 as the sixth season finale.

The supersized holiday special has Mac and Charlie excited for Christmas, but Dee and Dennis are not feeling the joy. Mac and Charlie love Christmas because as kids their parents made the holidays awesome. Dee and Dennis hate Christmas because their dad Frank used the joyous day to promise his kids great gifts and just end up faking them out with empty packages. 

This year Frank goes too far. He buys Dennis dream car, a Lamborghini Countach, and Franks intends to keep it for himself. He also carries around a designer bag, Dee's dream gift, and fills the bag with cheese snacks and chocolate. The Reynold's kids have been pushed to the breaking point and decide to pull a Christmas Carol scheme on Frank to make him change. 

Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie are getting more excited for Christmas. On a visit to Mac's home, the two lifelong friends find a videotape of a young Mac at Christmas. Here we learn that Mac's criminal father used to take his family from house to house on Christmas morning to steal other families presents. It was presented to Mac as a South Philly tradition where you would go to other people's houses and take their presents while they went to your house and got presents for themselves. Once Charlie helps Mac see the truth, their Christmas spirit starts to dim. They decide to head over to see Charlie's mom, she is always filled with holiday joy.

At Charlie's house, Mac learns about the Christmases of the past in the Kelly household. Every year a Santa. or elf, would come to the door. The gentleman would give little Charlie a present, then head upstairs with mom Kelly. Many Santas, and elves, would come to the Kelly house on Christmas day. Being confronted with the fact that his beloved mother is an actual prostitue starts to completely break Charlie's fragile mind.

The Christmas Carol scheme of Dennis and Dee does not go well. Frank's old business partner Eugene, a man that Frank swindled millions of dollars from, is a born again Christian who just wants to talk about Jesus. Their attempt to show Frank how much people hate him just ends with the nude elder Reynolds bursting from a couch he demanded to be sown into. Their attempt to show him a future gravesite also fails spectacularly. The lesson of Christmas was not appearing before the Scrooge-like Frank.

With their terrible realizations, Mac and Charlie are still trying to make Christmas merry. On a trip to a mall to buy an old friend a new shirt, and a cool toy, poor Charlie spots the mall Santa and starts to approach the jolly fellow. Once on Santa's lap Charlie has one question, did Santa visit his mom (the real dialogue was too hot for FX, hence the early DVD release). With Santa quite confused, Charlie lunges at the man and red and starts to bite old St Nick's ear off. The scene ends with a little girl in hysterics.

The whole gang gets back together on Christmas Eve night and decide that the whole Christmas thing is garbage. They vow to forget their troubles by getting drunk and forgetting about all the awfulness. While they poor the first few drinks, Charlie receives a phone call and tells everyone that Frank died in a car accident.

Once the gang reaches the hospital, they see Frank very alive. He was in an accident, but just hurt his leg. He tells the crew that he had a vision, one that looks a lot like the Rudolph animated special. Through the vision he wants to be a better man. The gang doesn't buy it and heads back to the bar. The truth is that Frank does want to be better and has decorated the whole bar, with his old partner Eugene, for the holidays. Frank is giving Dennis the Lamborghini, Dee gets the designer bag, Mac and Charlie get the new hot toy, everyone is about to have a great Christmas.

Then Eugene enacts his own fake out and pulls a gun on the crew. He demands all the gifts and blows everyone down with an industrial snow machine. Christmas sucks once again. The only thing that everyone can do to make this Christmas worthwhile is to throw rocks at trains. Why wouldn't you throw rocks at trains?

The idea of a perfect Christmas is a myth. The truth of how people pull off a Christmas miracle is filled with some dark actions. Most people do not have criminal fathers, or prostitutes for mothers, but we all have parents who have gone to extremes to make the holidays memorable. When confronted with the truth, we have a choice to make. We can try to make the holidays joyous in our own way, or we can bite Santa's ear off. No matter what we choose, the day should definately end with anice group activity.

RD

RD Kulik is the Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He one time had an Omni Bot. That thing was the stuff.

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