JOE’s boxsets you should be watching: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

We all love a good TV boxset, so JOE is turning our eye to a couple of under-appreciated shows, from comedies to dramas, that you might have missed.

By Adrian Collins

The insanely funny It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been running for eight seasons now and still remains as good as ever.

The story follows the bizarre antics of a group of Irish Americans in Philadelphia - Charlie, Dennis, Dee and Mac - who own an Irish bar called Paddy's, typically enough.

The cast are also the writers, and you can really get a sense that they've got an idea of how the script should work, where they can ad lib and what limits they can push, which certainly comes across on screen.

The basic storyline of the show is that the gang gets involved in increasingly bizarre and hilarious situations that will have you laughing until you can’t breathe.

The early seasons are great, but the show gains an added dimension when Danny DeVito joins the cast in the second season playing Frank Reynolds, the father of Dennis and Dee.

His past is chequered to say the least, having owned a sweatshop in Vietnam, but his seemingly endless riches allow the gang to get into more and more ridiculous situations.

The McPoyle brothers are our favourite recurring characters on the show. They have a bizarre family relationship, lounge around in their dressing gowns no matter where they go and love lukewarm milk. Have a look at some of these ridiculous out takes to get a feel for the madcap type of show that it is:

Guest stars include the brilliant Dennis Haskins, who you might remember from his role as Mr. Belding in legendary 1990s program Saved By The Bell, as well as Brittany Daniel from Sweet Valley High.

It's Always Sunny also avoids the pitfalls of many US based shows by not churning out thousands of episodes, with most seasons containing around 12 instead of the usual 25 that American channels ask them to crank out.

Some brilliant episodes to get you introduced to the show are ‘The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis’ (Season 4) where they try to buy up as much petrol as possible and sell it door to door, ‘Dennis and Dee go on Welfare’ (Season 2) where two of the main characters get hooked on crack to get welfare benefits, and ‘Dennis and Dee’s Mom is Dead’ (Season 3), where the gang inherit a mansion that they try to turn into a party house, and Frank gets involved in a scheme that would see him marry his own daughter.

While all of these episodes are good, it’s always a good idea just to start at the start, and this show is so funny you won’t want to stop watching. It's highly addictive though, so don't forget to go eat and shower and stuff after a few hours.

And if all that doesn’t get you watching, then check out Dennis' flawless system for picking up chicks, the D.E.N.N.I.S system. Guaranteed success!

Pic via Google Images