TVSquad

You'd have thought that after 32 episodes of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (premieres on FX, next Thursday, 9/18 at 10PM) that Mac, Dennis, Dee, Charlie, and Frank would have tackled just about anything you can think of that's offensive. They've hit on underage drinking, Nazis, sex offenders, dumpster babies, religion, retardation, homosexuality, and homeless people. Well I'm here to tell you that it's far from over. There's still plenty of off-color material for these five fools to rape (considering the context... I think that is the right word) and it isn't stopping with this season, which will run for 13 episodes. FX president John Landgraf has confirmed that 39 more episodes will follow. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My thoughts on the season four premiere are after jump.

Can't get enough It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? The irreverent FX comedy is back September 18th (10/9 Central) for a fourth season of shenanigans unlike anything live action non-sketch television comedy has ever given us. Except for those other shows you are about to fill the comments with. If you're anxious for the show to start, and want more of Charlie, Mac, Frank, Dennis and Sweet Dee then have I got a treat for you.

Okay, well that's not fair. I really didn't have anything to do with it. But show writers Patrick Walsh and Sonny Lee aren't here to take credit for it, so we'll just say it's all me. That's right, come check out Paddy's Pub, the new production blog for the upcoming season of It's Always Sunny. It features cast interviews as well as excerpts from Dennis' erotic memoir and even an advice column written by Frank. Now there isn't much there right now, but it only launched August 26th. I mean seriously, what the hell do you people want from me ... I mean from staff writers Patrick Walsh and Sonny Lee.

File this one under awesome. To help promote the upcoming fourth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, FX is launching a traveling game show where fans can test their Sunny wits in a trivia challenge. The tour kicks off today at the University of Colorado and spans the country making stops at other campuses like UC Berkeley and Hofstra University.

The contest will feature five rounds of questions as well as a bonus spin wheel where fans can walk away with DVD sets, apparel, and yes - the grand prize - The Golden Dumpster Baby. Everyone remembers that episode, right?

I suppose this is a pretty good idea. For the most part, the audience FX is targeting (college males who like fart and boob jokes) probably already know the show returns on September 18th. So for a lot of people, this is just a really cool bonus.

It's coming. The return of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. With the season three DVD set to be released on September 9th, FX has lined up season four to premiere on Thursday, September 18th. I've gotta say - between this, The Shield, and Sons of Anarchy, FX has one helluva fall schedule. No word on whether or not the first few weeks will be double episodes as they did the past few seasons, but I would imagine they will be.

To prep for the season, FX has been airing promos like crazy (I embedded a great one featuring "Day Man" at the end of this post), but if you haven't been poking around the It's Always Sunny... website, you probably missed this: they made a music video.

(S03E15) "Your illiteracy has screwed us again Charlie!" - Mac

1:15 PM. On a Saturday. Philadelphia, PA. Last call at Paddy's bar for the season... and possibly forever. Why you ask? Because thanks to Charlie's pea-sized brain, a bum now owns Paddy's. Of course, Charlie isn't entirely to blame. Add in Frank's sedative brownies and Rickety Cricket beating in Dee's legs, and it becomes hard to say where the ultimate blame should rest. While this wasn't the best episode, the ending made for a good cliffhanger. In the past year, FX has rewarded Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, and Damages with meaty renewals. Here's to hoping that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is extended the same courtesy.

(S03E14) Most people trust the cops. But what if those cops just happen to be bar owners who are driving a fifteen year old cop car and toting around a cat? Would you trust them then?

If that happened, then you might turn to grass-roots law enforcement groups like the Guardian Angels. But what if those people were just douches wearing berets and carrying souvenir mini-bats?

Those are the questions unleashed this week by the gang at Paddy's Pub. And all because they saw a bum getting it on with himself in the alley next to the bar.

(S03E12 / S03E13) "Hold on. Nobody's gonna get whacked off today!" - Dee

Every sitcom does it and it was only a matter of time until It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia hopped on the "hour long episode" bandwagon. Sometimes it's a finale or a premiere, but in this case it was FX taking advantage of the first day of November sweeps. Often it works and sometimes it doesn't. As much as I love this show (and the same goes for The Office and the four hour-longs its season started with), I just can't endorse more double-length installments like this. The uneven balance between the good and the bad is just far too obvious. At times during this episode, I felt like I was watching a bunch of mediocre deleted scenes that I'd normally expect to see as a bonus on a DVD set.

(S03E11) "Yeah, that's right. A maid. A maid I can bang." - Frank

You know, they say that somewhere in the world, everyone has a double. Or at least someone that looks awfully close to them. Dennis definitely got the short end of the stick. Nobody wants to look like a convicted child molester. However, only Dennis would be stupid enough to try and prove that he's not the portly guy depicted in the fliers all over the neighborhood.

For the most part though, Dennis' look-alike issues took a backseat to the rest of the episode which focused on a lot of little plotlines from previous episodes that came together. It was great to see some of that stuff. Then again, it was also great to see Dennis try and prove he's not a child molester by donning a fake moustache and trying to teach kids some exercise techniques with no shirt on. So smart.

(S03E10) Most fans of It's Always Sunny have probably seen this episode already, since it was the one that was on the show's MySpace site from early summer until a few weeks ago. After watching it again, I can see why the boys decided to share this episode early: not only is it representative of exactly what people love about the show, but everyone got a meaty story to play. In other words, it's the best episode of the season so far.

I mean, how can you not like an episode that involves chain saws, squeaky clown shoes, pimps that love Fraggle Rock, tranny bulges, and severed heads in a fridge?

(S03E09) Despite what we -- and Rob McElhenney -- thought was going to happen, FX has decided to stop airing back-to-back episodes of Sunny one week early. Does that mean that the show's ratings are so good that the network wants to spread things out a little more? Let's hope so. I mean, the longer we have new episodes of Sunny the better...

Anyway, this was an episode where the seemingly thrown-together B story was much funnier than the A-story featured in the title. In fact, if the episode was "The Boys Create a Band," that would probably have been a more accurate reflection of what dominated the episode. But you can't go wrong with the title they went with.

(S03E08) "We've been throwing rocks at cats for years Dennis." - Charlie

Well... this was funny, but it didn't quite do it for me after how good last night's earlier episode was. One thing I did like was how it took some hints from Curb Your Enthusiasm by introducing something early on in the show ("Diaper Time" on the public access station) and then brought it back right at the end of the episode for the punchline.

The theme for the majority of the installment was fame and how you achieve it. Obviously, that led to some disastrous results including just what the title says. Frank set Dee on fire. Twice, actually.

(S03E07) "Of course we sing! We're a gang!" - Frank

Wow. Brilliant. I'm honestly not sure where to begin because this episode was fantastic. Joel and myself have both talked about how It's Always Sunny... is trying some new things season and that trend continued in this episode with winning results.

Jumping on a theme that's just ripe for laughter, the episode tackled Corporate America. Throw in some Oldies music theme restaurants, a 1950s Doo-Wop biker group, helipads, and secret tunnels and you've got a bunch of things that don't have appear to have anything in common. Leave it to this show to tie that list together.

(S03E06) "I look like Lorenzo Lamas and woman find it irresistible." - Mac

OK, number one - I'm buying a duster. Number two - I got an answer to my question. Paddy's only ever makes money when there's a bar crawl. Now it all makes sense, why they can be open all the time yet never have more than one or two customers. There I go again again with being logical though. There's no time for that. The North Koreans are moving in on Paddy's turf.

What a great premise. One of the things this show does so well time and again is take the gang's problems and manifest them in such a way that they all think they're some sort of microcosm for the whole world's issues. Fighting off a Korean BBQ down the street is the same as trying to halt nuclear war... right?

(S03E05) "You're making my chair look like it was dipped in gold." - Frank

For a place that just got taken hostage and destroyed not a week ago by a clan of incestuous bathrobe enthusiasts, Paddy's Bar looked pretty good. Of course, for fans of It's Always Sunny... we all know that means nothing. The idea of a time-line, save for a few ongoing stories, doesn't really exist on this show. You can easily watch the episodes in any order you like and not find yourself even remotely confused.

It does make you wonder though. The bar was trashed. Broken bottles. Sledgehammers taken to the walls. How would they have paid for the renovations? When do you ever see more than one or two people drinking at that bar? Doesn't matter. When you consider the simple brilliance of this show, intelligent questions are a waste of breath.

(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?