It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops": I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubble gum

When I wrote my column about "The League," I said that "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" tends to bat around .333 for me, but tonight's wrestling episode (complete with Rowdy Roddy Piper and his bucket of chestnuts, Rickety Cricket briefly being triumphant and the guys once again composing songs that the masses can't appreciate), coupled with last week's Green Man vs. Philly Frenetic brawl, has the show on a very funny streak at the moment.

Or maybe I'm just happy that Piper's appearance gives me an excuse to quote from, and link to, this scene.

What did everybody else think? And does anybody want to weigh in on "The League"? Click here to read the full post

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "The Nightman Cometh": The play's the thing

Anyone have any thoughts on the homoerotic musical "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" season finale?

I still prefer the original episode with "Night Man" and "Day Man," but any trip inside Charlie's creative and disturbing brain is welcome. Click here to read the full post

Weekend round-up: Life, Earl and Always Sunny

Brief spoilers for the most recent episodes of, in order, "Life," "My Name Is Earl" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" coming up just as soon as I buy a grenade and a wedding dress...

If I hadn't already seen this Monday's episode of "Life," I'd be far more concerned that season two has opened with two disappointing episodes in a row. "Everything... All the Time" was actually weaker than the season premiere, which at least had some memorable "Life"-style visuals and a plot I could follow from beginning to end. I spent this one feeling like the Donal Logue character, not sure what the hell Crews and Reese were doing, or why, and so other than some of the business about Charlie not having a car (and then getting another awesome one), this didn't work for me.

Again, Monday's episode feels much more like the sort of thing they were doing late last season, so I'm not too worried yet. But since I'm skeptical that the show's going to be around very long, I want as many good episodes as possible before it goes.

This week's back-to-back "My Name Is Earl"s were both better than either of last week's. (They were also helped by being one of the few Thursday shows I watch that wasn't pre-empted by the VP debate, since I was just glad to have something scripted to watch.) Joy's one of the show's two strongest characters (Randy is the other), and the combination of her abrasiveness and Darnell's germ-phobia made for some funny moments before the inevitable "Earl heart-warming ending. Meanwhile, the second episode cast Jerry Van Dyke as the world's greatest killing machine, and I have to admire it for that. It's still inessential viewing, but on a week like this, it was welcome.

I should probably only write about "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" when they do an episode I like, which tends to be once ever three or four times out. But people like to talk about it, and I did watch the two-part "Mac & Charlie Die," even if most of it fell flat for me (other than Dee's unfortunate SEPTA bus ride and the matter-of-factness of the pawn shop guy), so have at it.

What did everybody else think? Click here to read the full post

Patches, billboards and memorials

Time for the first grab-bag post of the season. Quick-hit spoilers for, in order, "ER," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Sons of Anarchy" coming up just as soon as I patch over a rival fantasy football team so I can bolster my running back corps...

Giving up on "ER" as anything but casual viewing has made me far more forgiving of things that would have driven me nuts about it when I actually cared. So they killed off Pratt, and it should be ridiculous and over-the-top given the number of ER personnel they've bumped off in extreme ways (Lucy gets stabbed, Mark Greene takes forever to die of cancer, Rocket Romano somehow angers the helicopter gods twice), but instead of rolling my eyes, I was actually a little moved by it. It helped that they distanced his death from the explosion, that there was a period where he seemed fine and was even giving orders about how he should be treated; it made his death feel less part of a lame, sensationalistic cliffhanger and more of a character piece. Like Lucy mouthing her own diagnosis right before she crashed, Pratt's awareness of just how bad this was made it hit a lot harder than it otherwise might have. And, of course, it helps that Mekhi Phifer is such an expressive actor.

Given that they devoted an entire act of the episode to memorializing him (a treatment not all the dearly departed -- like Rocket -- received), it would have been nice for Abby or one of the old-school nurses to remark on what a massive tool Pratt was when he first arrived at County. Most of the other characters in the run of the show have either started off fully-formed or got written out before they had a chance to evolve; other than Carter, Pratt arguably grew the most of anyone in the entire run of the series, and there's something to be said for that, even at this extremely late date. He annoyed the hell out of me when he was introduced -- as I'm sure he was supposed to -- and now I'm going to miss him for the limited time the show has left.

Not a good double-header for "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" this week, I thought. The two season-opening episodes, while typically uneven, at least had some very funny individual moments -- Dee and Charlie trying to reconcile cannibalism with racism, the three guys all trying to seduce the loan officer, any scene featuring the cry of "Wild card!" -- where these two were fairly flat throughout. Other than the return of Green Man, and maybe the scene where Charlie and Dennis thought they were listening to Mac tell The Waitress about some cross-dressing sex fantasy, I doubt I'll even remember what happened a day or two from now.

Finally, "Sons of Anarchy" goes for more of an action episode, with a couple of bike-on-bike chases and the shootout at the Nevada biker bar. I'm slowly warming to the ancillary characters -- Tig's refusal to bond with Juice was a highlight -- but still not feeling Jax, unfortunately.

Also, I'm a little shocked by how different Jay Karnes looks and acts here than he does as Dutch on "The Shield." I know he's an actor, and that some of it's simply the haircut (and letting the gray show through, which is actually an improvement), but I'm so used to him as the dweeby serial killer-phile that it's strange to see him as this more confident ATF guy.

What did everybody else think? Anybody still watching "Sons of Anarchy" at this point? Or "ER," for that matter? Click here to read the full post

It's always wrong at 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," a show I wax and wane on, is back tonight on FX with a pair of episodes from 10 to 11.

I've seen both episodes, and the first one (hunting other humans, cannibalism) is better than the second (the gas crisis, water-boarding), in that usually uneven (and always offensive) "Always Sunny" way. I'm not sure how often, if at all, I'll write about the show during the season, but I know it has fans around these parts, so over at NJ.com I've embedded my two favorite moments in the show's history: Charlie's original compositions of "Night Man" and "Day Man."

Feel free to talk about the episodes here after they air. Click here to read the full post

The Emmys always manage to disappoint

Technical difficulties continue to keep yesterday's column off of NJ.com for some reason, so I'm just going to post the whole thing here for now, with items on Sunday night's Emmys telecast, tonight's premiere of Fox's "Nashville" and last night's premiere of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." (Feel free to use this post to comment on the episode, as I won't be doing anything separate for it). Last night's "Mad Men" was the first I watched live instead of on an advance screener, so I won't be reviewing it until sometime later this morning.

Column after the jump...

Even the cast of "Jersey Boys" serendading the cast of "The Sopranos" wouldn't be enough to get me to watch Sunday night's Emmy telecast if I wasn't getting paid to do it.

Sure, Sunday night's show (8 p.m., Ch. 5) will be the last real hurrah for the "Sopranos" cast and crew, who lead all series with 15 nominations. And, sure, the "Jersey Boys" -- or, at least, the touring company -- will be on hand to present a Four Seasons-style musical medley tribute to Tony and Paulie Walnuts.

But even by the silly, narcissistic standards of Hollywood awards shows, the Emmys have rendered themselves irrelevant, year after year, first with nominations that often leave out the best shows, then with awards that go to the least likely, least deserving finalists. If a great show gets some recognition, I consider it either an accident or a sign that the show or performer was so popular that even the ostrich-heads in the TV Academy heard about them while they were enjoying their time in the dirt.

This year's list of nominations completely ignores "The Wire," which is neck and neck with "The Sopranos" as the greatest drama in TV history. It all but ignored the best show on network TV, "Friday Night Lights," not to mention HBO's brilliant "Deadwood," no doubt because the latter aired last summer and the voters have the attention span of a 10-year-old with a Pixy Stix habit. Also no love for the likes of "Battlestar Galactica," "Dexter" or "The Shield," all while giving multiple nominations to name-brand shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "Entourage" that had seasons even their fans were hard-pressed to defend.

The Emmys have reached guilty-until-proven-innocent status with me. I am fully prepared to see James Spader and William Shatner hit the stage ahead of more interesting winners, to see Mariska Hargitay get another statuette, to see "Two and a Half Men" beat out both "The Office" and "30 Rock" for best comedy, etc., etc., etc.

The last straw was when Emmy historian Tom O'Neill posted a report on his Web site, GoldDerby.com, that Fox executives debated between two choices to host the telecast: "American Idol" emcee Ryan Seacrest and "House" star Hugh Laurie. In one corner was Seacrest, who's good at keeping a live telecast moving, but whose speciality is facilitating performances by other, more talented people -- a skill that's not as essential on a night that's all about people giving soul-deadening speeches thanking their business managers and attorneys. In the other was Laurie, who in addition to being a deserving Emmy nominee for best actor in a drama is a gifted musician and an experienced, hilarious sketch comedian, the exact sort of guy who could liven things up in between the attorney-thanking.

Guess who Fox chose?

As if it wasn't bad enough that the people who vote on the Emmys can't be bothered to choose the right nominees and winners, now we find out that the people who run the Emmy telecast can't even be bothered to choose the right host.

So I'll be watching on Sunday night, but only out of obligation to you fine readers. My professional motto is "I watch so you don't have to." Keep that in mind, do something else with your Sunday night and pick up a paper Monday morning to keep your aggravation at a minimum. And if the "Jersey Boys" medley is any good, it'll be on YouTube.

(No) Music City

Basic cable spent all summer cleaning the networks' clocks, both in terms of ratings and quality. While the networks tried and failed with one new reality concept after another ("Pirate Master," "On the Lot"), cable scored with the kind of scripted product that used to be the networks' bread and butter: sitcoms (TBS' "Bill Engvall Show" and "My Boys"), dramas (TNT's "The Closer" and "Saving Grace," not to mention AMC's brilliant "Mad Men"), even made-for-TV movies ("High School Musical 2").

So I suppose it's appropriate that the the first new network show of the season would be an MTV-style "docu-soap" from the people who unleashed "Laguna Beach" and, by extension, "The Hills," upon an unsuspecting populace. If the competition's beating you at your own game, maybe it's role reversal time.

"Nasville" (9 p.m., Ch. 5) follows a group of easily defined types around the country music capital: the privileged rich girl (Terry Bradshaw's daughter Rachel), the privileged rich guy (trust fund player Clint, the obligatory villain), the has-been (Matt, who once had a song that got radio play and now struggles with dive bar gigs), the rising star (Chuck, on the cusp of a big record deal) and a literal coalminer's daughter (Mika, new in town from rural Kentucky).

Though all but clint are trying to make it as country singers, the music is really just an excuse to throw together a bunch of attractive young people for the usual partner-swapping and catfights. Rachel, you see, has a boyfriend -- whom she dumps, by phone, with a crib sheet of excuses on her lap -- but has a crush on Clint, only he's hot for Mika, only Matt has a thing for Mika, only... you know where this is going before it even starts. Reality TV began as an unpredictable alternative to all the clichés we got from the scripted shows, but now it's become another form of comfort food for its audience.

Also predictable -- and making shows like this largely critic-proof -- is the way you know going in whether you'll like it or not. If you don't mind how contrived so much of it is -- how, for instance, Matt and Mika are "introduced" to each other by their landlord without either one bothering to say, "Hey, you have a camera crew following you, too! Awesome" -- or how shallow the entire Clint/Rachel/Mika love triad seems to be, you'll be fine. If not, don't even bother.

Still somewhat cloudy

"You guys are the most horrible people alive!" a guest start tells the main characters of FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" early in the show's third season.

The comedy wears that description like a badge of honor. No amount of bad behavior by its anti-heroes -- three lunkheads who own a Philly bar, plus a sister and a non-biological father (or is he?) -- is too foul, too appalling, too offensive in the quest for a good joke.

Unfortunately, the focus too often is on the degree of outrage and not the degree of funny. The two can go hand in hand, as evidenced by "Curb Your Enthusiasm," but season three of "Sunny" features a lot of yelling and not a lot worth laughing at. The characters are interchangeable in their awfulness, behaving in whatever way serves the joke instead of letting the jokes be defined by their behavior. And the frequency of the shocks becomes wearisome after a while; I laughed when one character was told he was an abortion survivor ("I had an abortion! It just didn't take!") but could barely muster a raised eyebrow by the time two characters were being manipulated into incest to claim their share of an inheritance.

Sometimes, extremes aren't necessary. Maybe for season four they should just try to be among the most horrible people alive.

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