‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Fans Are Voting on the Show’s Worst-Ever Episode
Paddy’s Pub may be the “Worst Bar in Philadelphia,” but, by God, it never needed to add bear traps to the mix.
Over two decades and 162 episodes, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has put out some of the most audacious, daring and hilarious episodes in the history of situational comedy, but even Phillies legends like Chase Utley and Mike Schmidt didn’t bat a thousand. Sixteen seasons (and counting) is a long time for any show to be on the air, and, especially in the comedy genre, you’re bound to get a fair share of swings-and-misses here and there in otherwise stellar seasons.
In the lead-up to Always Sunny‘s return on July 9th, the moderators of the Always Sunny subreddit are doing a little fandom polling as they’ve asked their community to select the “The Worst Episode of All Time” out of the 162 possible entries. At the time of publication, there are still roughly 36 hours left in the poll, so anyone who wants to jump to any derided episode’s defense has time to go over and play some sleazy Philly politics to knock it off the top spot.
But as the votes currently stand, here are the bottom-five episodes in ascending order of awfulness…
The Gang Beats Boggs: Ladies Reboot
Sweet Dee tricks the most beloved female side characters of Always Sunny into rebooting the events of “The Gang Beats Boggs” with what was supposed to be an all-woman cast. However, unlike other meta retreads such as “The Gang Recycles Their Trash,” this Season 13 return to The Gang’s all-time greatest drinking challenge felt more like a tired repetition than a sly commentary on the series itself.
The Gang Texts
The Gang’s trip to the zoo is derailed by communication breakdown as Mac tries desperately to keep the crew intact with a group text chain. This Season 14 entry strained the Gang’s comedic chemistry by forcing them to play off of each other from afar, and while the concept of a glimpse inside the Gang’s wireless communications sounds appealing, the bit got older faster than Dennis can type out a simple “K.”
Frank’s Brother
As the name suggests, Frank’s long-lost brother Gino crashes Paddy’s Pub to revisit their oldest fight and make some sandwiches in his mouth while the pair tell the story of their fought-over love Shadynasty. Any flashback episode is bound to be divisive, and despite the number of classic lines this Season Seven episode introduced to the Always Sunny canon, eventually, the gag of people calling Danny DeVito a “kid” as he’s wearing a shitty wig wore thinner than his actual hair.
A Cricket’s Tale
A day in the life of poor Father Matthew Mara shows Rickety Cricket find love and reject the assistance of his father in order to remain astray from society. Much like other entries on this list, the lack of scenes featuring multiple members of the Gang at the same time put this Season 12 episode at a disadvantage due to the challenge of replacing that electric comedic chemistry, and the payoff was more uncomfortable than hysterical.
Charlie’s Home Alone
The clear frontrunner in the worst-of-the-worst poll, the alternate version The Gang’s Super Bowl shenanigans showed Charlie literally missing the bus for the Big Game as he went through a series of increasingly grueling superstitious rituals that he believes will secure an Eagles win while dodging — or not dodging — his own deadly booby traps.
A fitting solo episode to top the list, this Season 13 stinker felt more like a straight-to-streaming Saw sequel than a plot line from an historic sitcom. But hey, The Birds won the Super Bowl, so “Charlie’s Home Alone” must have been doing something right.
Source link
