TVSquad

I'm sure that Halloween isn't the main focus of tonight's episode of 30 Rock (Liz and Jack going to Kenneth's hometown to audition people for TGS is), but this clip flashes back to a party from last year that Frank, Lutz, and Toofer had. I'm trying to remember if 30 Rock did a Halloween show last year and if this contradicts it.

Also: are women really more loose on Halloween?

[Watch clips and episodes of 30 Rock and other shows at SlashControl.]

Here's something I never saw coming: a straight to DVD release of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's very own Christmas special. Frankly, I can't think of anything more inappropriate. I love it.

According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, the 60 min. special is set to be released on November 17th, exactly two months after the comedy's season five premiere on Thursday, September 17th on FX.

So what's it all about? Read on for the description from the official press release ...

If you've read the comments section of our review of last night's episode of Lost, you'll see that a lot of viewers noticed a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows in the scene where Sun and Frank meet Christian. Now there are a couple of freeze frames that give a closer look.

I have to admit that I didn't see this when I watched the episode live, though I wasn't looking for it. Was it available to everyone or just those watching it in HD? The pic above doesn't really reveal anything. It just looks kinda like a blob. I didn't record the episode so I can't check it. I tried to go to ABC's site but I can't access it right now for some reason. Sigh.

Here's another look at the scene. Still can't tell too much. What do you think? Was it Claire? Charlotte? Someone else? Some filming mistake we weren't supposed to see?

[via TV Tattle]

(S04E13) "Can I do it naked?" - Frank

It's been just a little over a year since "Dayman" took the world by storm (that may be an exaggeration) in the season three It's Always Sunny ep "Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person." Everyone knows the lyrics, there are tee-shirts, cell-phone ringtones, and now Charlie has taken his opus to a new level - musical.

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.

Like Bob wrote the other day in his TV Squad review, 30 Rock is the kind of show that you have to watch and really pay attention to in order to get all the great lines and jokes. That includes the lids on Judah Friedlander's noggin. At a recent event, a New York Observer reporter cornered 30 Rock's Frank with a few questions ... all about his hats.

The baseball caps that Judah wears in every show -- and you never see him sans-hat -- are his own creation. It's a shtick that he began nearly two decades ago. "I've been making my own hats for years. I've been doing stand-up for 19 years and my hats have always said world champion in some language." See, the joke is that he's not the world champion of anything. Now, as one of the writers on TGS, Judah tailors his hats to the individual episode. Some are obvious jokes, some are in-jokes, nothing is accidental or unplanned.

Every Christmas I look forward to the new slate of holiday episodes. Since I have seen most holiday specials more than enough times, I always enjoy a new holiday themed episode of a current show.

Last year, it was The Office. Michael's hilarious trip to Benihana was a delightful addition to the collection of classic episodes that TV Land will eventually show every year at this time. While I was also happy to see it repeated again this year, the feelings were bittersweet because I knew that if it weren't for the current WGA strike, there would have probably been another great one.

(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.

(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.

(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.

Well it's about frickin' time. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is finally coming to DVD and the two-disc set will have every single minute of inappropriate humor from the first two seasons.

It'll be released on September 4th, right before the third season premieres. While hardcore fans like myself have taken advantage of the show being offered on iTunes, this still comes as great news. I think the one thing that bugs me is that it took this long.