TVSquad

(S03E04) The McPoyles are on the loose! They've taken over Paddy's Pub and are threatening to shoot the gang in the face! The tension mounts! Frank and his gun are in the vents, nowhere to be found! What will they do? What will they do?

This is the best episode of the third season so far, mainly because it tells a nice, cohesive story from beginning to end. It also does a little something different from most Sunny episodes, as it not only makes fun of a particular movie genre -- the hostage drama -- but basically takes place within the confines of the pub. Oh, and Fred Savage is the director. How can you go wrong?

You knew when Frank shot Doyle McPoyle in "The Gang Gets Invincible," that it would come back and bite the gang in the ass. But what you might not have expected to see was Liam, Ryan, and Margaret McPoyle bust into Paddy's with guns and take the gang hostage.

But the hostage drama cliches are all there: the ominous music, the gang making alliances, people turning on each other, someone going "Brother!" in slow motion, romance, and people falling off buildings. But in the world of Sunny, everything is just a little off.

To me, the most inspired joke in the episode was the running gag about Stockholm Syndrome. The fact that Dee even brought it up confirms to me that she's got a few more brain cells than the rest of the gang... especially Charlie, that lovable idiot. "I think I'm coming down with it!" he tells the gang and McPoyles as he grabs his throat. But we hear about the syndrome throughout the episode. And when Dee breaks and oh-so-subtly moves to the McPoyles' side of the room, you knew that she'd be sent back to the "good side" quickly; after all, the McPoyles are all pretty disgusting.

Yes, even the poor deaf mute Margaret. Thesy Surface has to be commended for instilling her with some extraordinary inbred creepiness. Between the hungry look in her eyes, her lizard-like licking of her hairy upper lip, to her open-mouthed longing for more of Dennis' kisses (I like when he said "I want you inside me." Isn't it the other way around?), she thoroughly embodied one of the most unattractive women we've ever seen on television. In real life, Thesy is actually kind of cute, so to make her into the creepiest of the McPoyles is quite an acting feat on her part.

The things that the McPoyles thought of to screw with the gang were really creative. The robes and tighty-whities they had everyone wear after turning up the heat was inspired (everyone wore them so the "police" wouldn't know who's who). Of course, both Dee and Margaret wore oversized t-shirts; Dee's was a Garfield shirt that said "I Need Less Week and More Weekend." The warm milk. the smashing contest. Even Ryan's stabbing of Liam. It was enough to make the four idiots really think they were being held hostage. The rooftop scene, with Charlie and Frank coming out of the vents and Ryan's one-floor plunge to the sidewalk, was all pretty funny, though the one-floor plunge joke was telescoped a little bit.

Now, why was Frank in the vents again? Let me get this straight: he wants to take Dennis and Dee out of his will before they off him. But if he dies and no one finds the will, Charlie gets his money (remember that Charlie is really Frank's son), but he doesn't want Charlie to get it either. So he'll split the money with Mac if he helps him get through the vents to the will using Charlie's child-like map. "Frank, no one understands the subtleties of Charlie's retardation better than me," says Mac. Um... ok. That whole plot was a bit of a kludge to me... I mean, I didn't even know Frank still had any money. But I guess it was a good way to get Frank out of the picture so the four younger members of the gang could all turn on each other.

Some funny lines:

• Liam: "We're gonna get this place hot and clammy. just like the McPoyle's like it."
• Liam again: "I don't know what you're doing... but I'm into it."
• Charlie (to Mac): "We could die today and I've never farted in your face before!"

Oh, and one day we need to see Charlie break bottles in his "bad room." Just because.

Like most Sunny episodes, the humor was hit-and-miss. But what hit was very funny. And I salute the boys for trying something a little different, while sticking to the mantra that the gang are the worst people in the world.