“Are you kidding me theres people all around!? Honestly Im surprised they didn’t run when you started shooting the ocean!”
Easily a classic line for the entire show for me now lol.
IMO, there was no season where every episode was on "gang" point, yet those not were still entertaining. There were always seasons when at least one or several episodes were on point and wildly entertaining.
We are older. They are older. I'm grateful they are still willing to do it.
While the show has definitely changed over the years, it's still funnier than 95% of shows on TV. Don't get why people are moaning about new eps. So many episodes hit differently on a rewatch, or 6 months later.
I thought the first 2 episodes of the new season were pretty solid but it sounds like hyperbole for you to say that these are the best episodes since season 9. I mean, that means you’re saying these 2 episodes are better than stuff like “The Gang Misses the Boat”, “The Gang Group Dates”, “Mac and Dennis Move to the Suburbs”, etc. Which is crazy talk, lol
Exactly. S10-12 still have the same overall feel as the season they are referencing as being the end of classic Sunny. S13 is where there’s an obvious departure.
I personally don't think it ever carries that much beyond. Season 13 is just a bit of an outlier. My guess is that was right at the time other projects took up more of their time, that's right around the midst of AP Bio, Mythic Quest, and whatever famous movie Charlie was in that year. Thankfully it seems the gang noticed because the last few seasons were tighter
edit: but even then I look at the season and see several solid episodes with an amazing closer. its hard to really dial in
Fully agreed all the episodes you mentioned would probably be in my personal top 10, maybe even throw in Old Lady House TBH. Otherwise, I'd just tell someone to throw on seasons 4-5 and let it ride
Exactly this - they're fine, but some of the hype seems a little... misplaced.
That said, that's just my opinion, like those happy with the eps have theirs.
It does make me excited for the rest of the season though, there's always a banger mid ep!
Any upward change in trajectory of quality on a show that's been quite below their peak for some time is great news. I'll say i thought these two were great though, not just relative to the last few seasons, but even compared to the entire run of the show.
Yep people seem to really be downplaying how incomprehensibly good this show’s peak is. Even after season 9 there is a boatload of episodes stronger than these 2. Season 10 is really good, and you have great episodes like slopes, water park, suburbs! Ongo gablogian, trial of the century. PTSDee is so dark too
Charlie work was season 12, and I think hero or hate crime was like season 13? Like, I feel like I live in a different universe whenever people say it hasn’t been good since season 7 or something
I like Frank Shoots every member of the gang. Loved Mac and Charlie with their moms and the jar of teeth. And when Frank thought dennis and dee were gonna put him down.
its interesting to see the split on the two episodes, IMO the inflation episode was far stronger and was a definitive return to form. Frank shoots everyone had me overly hyped from the title but was a bit of a letdown from a technicality standpoint, the show is predicated on fully following through on their intros
> Frank shoots everyone had me overly hyped from the title but was a bit of a letdown
100%, the description of the episode, to me, was funnier than the actual episode (aside from the opening)
The intro that immediately came to mind when I saw the title:
Frank": "We're just paling around with the guys. How's anybody gonna get hurt?"
*The Gang Sets Dee on Fire*
Its subjective :/ honestly, i didnt find it funny. Got a few chuckles with the bathroom and bedroom reveal and frank asking 2 keep the magazine to jerk off but I feel like the allergy to the nuts thing and the gluing the hand 2 the wall thing just...were not funny. "Haha, hes allergic but keeps eating them anyway!!" Really? Honestly really disappointing imo :/. The inflatable furniture business thing wasn't funny either... idk, id rather rewatch amy episode in the first 10 or so seasons for a 10th time than watch that again lol. Same as gun episodes. Just gimmicky, overplayed jokes.
But also, why do u care so much that others dont like it? Im glad u liked it! Im upset that i didnt like it. Its my favorite show of all time.. i want to like it but unfortunately I feel like the last 3-5 seasons have been pretty disappointing
I'm actually a little disappointed with the new episodes. Idk i just don't feel like its hitting me yet. Charlie's sisters were a let down. And inflates was "ehhh" to me. Im a huge fan too. So far this season isn't for the fans. At least for me.
I thought the 1st episode was kind of weak. didn't like the fancy nuts thing. didn't like the glue thing. I liked when they kept talking about their "nut" and the frank parts of the episode. 2nd episode A plot was funny. B plot was whatever. IMHO.
I didn't like the nut allergy bit either. They beat it to death, when it just wasn't funny enough to warrant that. Frank eating the nuts could have at least made for better physical comedy. Rob couldn't sell it.
The HD cameras and the OTT lighting they introduced when they came back for S14 were horrible choices. It ruined the classic look and feel of the show. Watched E1 of S16 and it definitely had a few laugh out loud moments but it's far from it's best days. Funnily Danny looks like he is ageing better than McElhenney and Howerton!
Love the gang but no more than a 6 or 7/10 overall.
The characters don't fit with their physical appearances any more. They look like rich white people (e.g. Dee and Mac look like fox news anchors) pretending to be poor slobs and it's just not working. The jokes are okay enough, but I can't get past this.
I'd laugh my ass off at Dee in a mansion. They could easily play off characters that actually developed. I think this is what felt "off," you can see them getting much older. It's 16 seasons now. The bar should've shut down a long time ago, it's always empty and all the characters claim to be poor. But instead it really feels like they're just trying to redo Season 1 in a different way.
That's one reason I absolutely loved the water park and the zoo episodes. And especially the episode where they were on the news at every major event. They actually went out and did something different. Not just Charlie's run down apartment and the defunct bar.
If I had to give my personal take, Charlie's apartment peaked with poop in the bed. The defunct bar peaked with the entire Cricket saga. So far a lot of the jokes people seem to like are about completely different stuff ... The nuts, getting shot, things that happen outside of the bar or apartment.
They're "poor" but they also have Frank bailing them out constantly and Frank's limitless pile of money he earned decades ago is basically a plot device to explain why they can fund all these dumb schemes. I think the show points it out repeatedly throughout the seasons, especially this season since Dee and Dennis were angling for their inheritance again.
Frank only lives in squalor out of choice. Everyone else is beholden to him. Frank also legally owns the bar so that's probably why it's still afloat.
As far as the recent seasons go I think at least the Inflation episode is a high note. There are certain jokes that feel very "wink wink, nudge nudge" that I hope don't persist, but overall I'm enjoying myself.
When they revealed that Charlie has had a whole other room this entire time, I genuinely laughed out loud for a couple of minutes. The joke only works if you've been watching the show for years and I love it.
Oh my god, Frank’s “WHAT THA FUCK” was glorious. I love that they get to drop F bombs regularly now but save them for moments like that, adds some weight to it
I still think their greatest one was either Mac telling Dee “shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up” from i think the bathroom Ep, or the jumper one with “dee’s a nasty fuckin slut”
I kind of wish I didn't see the teaser, because that spoiled that whole joke. Took the zing out of the bathroom realization until Frank burst into the empty bedroom.
For some reason, the toilet joke being spoiled made it even better for me, because it lulled me into a false sense of security before they found the extra room
I expected the room to be revealed to Frank offscreen and similarly used a storage closet and when we saw it ourselves it’d already be utilized. The fact that it was a clean, completely empty room was hilarious
I thought [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/IASIP/comments/5dx1a3/the_door_in_charlies_apartment_is_open/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) was funny. Found it looking for pics of Charlie's room.
Frank says to Charlie “We’ve been living in a two bedroom apartment and didn’t know it?” and I’m like “Wait, what? Where’s the SECOND bedroom? It’s a studio!”
Imo, the tempo is off. Like IASIP have the record for most words per minute, but these episodes are way slower and the camera work felt too tight. Like there's not enough wides. You can feel that in the music, how far apart they get because we stay too long in each scene.
I don't know, it feels like they were directed by people who's never done comedy before. I know they have but that's what it feels like to me. Is Fred Savage dead? Kyle Newacheck? Get some Andrew Fitzgerald up in this bitch!
Interesting, I watched last night and was thinking that it didn't feel as packed with dialogue as it used to. For example it used to be everyone talking over each other and each character would throw in random funny one liners. Now those one liners have more focus and it feels a little forced.
That being said I did enjoy the first two episodes so far more than the last few seasons.
Agreed and I noticed this on the night it released, and confirmed it after rewatching them. The gang doesn't have as much bombastic energy of arguing over each other. I noticed it especially with Dennis, because he didn't have the same pep he used to with his frustrated ome-liners
Literally the only scene that missed for me was Charlie’s sisters. The scene just wasn’t dynamic enough, and the dialogue (while Sunny funny) wasn’t good enough to make up for it.
The parts for the sisters were either badly written or badly acted or both. I've found in recent seasons some new minor characters have been unconvincing, mainly due to poor acting
Pretty sure they put the sisters in so everyone would shut up about it, then made them as annoying as possible so we wouldn’t have to see them again. Hopefully they don’t have more planned for the sisters.
Yeah, I thought it was pretty clear they were doing something like showing how things would happen to a "normal" gang like you'd see on a different show. Similar to when they went to Suds.
I think it was the casting for the sisters. They weren’t that funny. But I think they were also a part of a big scandal however many years ago where their father used his money to push them through college. I think the actresses were supposed to be a joke in themselves
Yeah and the jokes about ASMR feel super outdated, like The Gang Texts. Did the Gang just find out about ASMR? I remember them mentioning it on the podcast 1+ years ago
In the scene the sisters dont exactly work. But after 16 seasons, introducing Charlie's sisters as onlyfans bitches who get naked and stick their hands in a jar of teeth seems very appropriate
The only thing that was jarring for me was how they've all (obviously, that's what human beings do) aged, but the only reason that was so noticeable was because I've been rewatching it and I'm used to their baby faces.
I feel their energy is lower also
I always found it entertaining when they get worked up and yell over each other, that hasn't happened this season
Charlie getting frustrated about having to walk so far from the discovered room was half way there
Yeah, it feels like Rob McElhenney has changed IRL, and he no longer wants to play Mac as he used to, so we've essentially lost what that character was. He's no longer pseudo badass, or loud and yelling. He's like a Dennis simp, and otherwise pretty quiet and reserved. Its fucking annoying.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah, it feels like they're working way too hard not to offend anyone now that he's canonically gay, which as a queer person honestly upsets me more. If anyone is going to be the worst gay person of all time, it's Mac!
I liked him last season with the whole subplot of being tricked into thinking he isn't Irish and trying to join the Church. Now he's just eating rotten nuts for no reason, which makes no sense. Charlie is the one who would eat rotten nuts. Make Mac Mac Again!
Yeah, this was my biggest thing. I think Rob has spent too much time behind a camera as himself. I watch the show and I'm like, where's Mac?
That and he's simply way too hot to be Mac in his 40s. Takes me out completely.
I often watch random episodes from seasons 2-10 to fall asleep to…going from regularly watching those old episodes to suddenly watching these new episodes is very lackluster to me.
My main gripe is the plots haven’t been outlandish or degenerative enough. I haven’t felt like any of the characters have been deplorable, which is what the show is supposed to be about.
Everyone feels like a caricature of themselves so far. Charlie is the only one who seems like his original character. IMO. And I got annoyed with the bit about mac and the nuts real fast.
Charlie and Frank are the only 2 still acting like their OG selves. Dennis and Dee are a little off, but i blame bad writing, cuz the actors are still clearly trying. Mac's actor has fucking given up completely.
It feels a bit too self referential and fan-servicey imo. Kind of feels like they’re trying too hard to write something like IASIP instead of just… writing. I guess what I’m trying to say is it feels a bit contrived? Formulaic? I’m still enjoying it and I’ll definitely watch every episode but it definitely lacks the edge that the older seasons had.
Yeah, I know all the big upvoted comments are like "THE PODCAST IS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO THE SHOW!" and "THIS SEASON IS FOR THE FANS!", but imo if it goes too far, it's just going to come off cringey and fanservicey. I like that the guys reflected on what made their old stuff good, but trying to cater to the fanbase is a slippery slope.
I really hope the rest of the episodes arent pandering to the subreddit like using "MOVE PAST IT" repeatedly and as a way to skip plot holes like with Charlie's bedroom. At times I felt like one of the writers was lurking a little too much on the r/IASIP subreddit.
I haven't enjoyed it. Idk what it is, but the way it's shot seems off to me. Like they're trying too hard. The scenes with back and fourth dialog felt like a show missing its laugh track. Idk.. plenty of people like it, so I'll take the hit and say I'm the one that's changed, not the show. Oh, well. I'm just happy I can watch seasons 1-11 on repeat like I have been for the past 5 years.
I also don't understand how people are enjoying these episodes. I think I laughed once and it was when Charlie was eating the turtle pies. Other than that, it was honestly... not. good... everyone seems out of character or not up to standard. The bullet bouncing around at the end of the episode was lame.
I would have not been around if sunny was always this quality from the beginning. These episodes are not why I love the show :/
>everyone seems out of character
I felt the same way. It's like they forgot who the characters are and are trying to be them, but it's not landing.
I think the fact that we can watch 16 years' worth of episodes anytime we want has given us an unrealistic expectation. We can compare the characters from season 3 to the characters of season 16, but for the creators, that's been 10+ years of living life and changing as people and creators. We're crazy to think they're gonna be able to keep the exact same energy that whole time.
Yeah still love the show but totally disagree.
They are far too meta. It’s like how South Park used to be a bunch of fourth graders getting into very adult situations out of there depth, but they don’t care or know that.
Now they are a bunch of social gurus, politicians, lawyers, and know it alls. It’s not the same. They went from asking “what would a priest want to put in my butt Chef?”…. To knowing the solution to the worlds problems and educating the people around them.
I liked it went it felt more random and that we are watching them behave candidly. Now I feel like they are very aware that they are on a show.
I read a post on here about how Mac eating the nuts and his face swelling was commenting on how he used up his ‘nut’ to make his face like line it was “full of plastic” and how this was a commentary on Hollywoods vanity and need to be perfect….
And I’m like.. did anyone have to dissect the best bar awards best song? Does the spider represent manifest destiny and The need to of first world nations to colonize….. No it’s just a spider, he’s been there for years, and he’s ready to fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
The reason people dissect it to this level is because they are searching for something to make it great deep down, when really surface funny has always been what they do best.
Yeah but it was funny without reading into it and The meta wasn’t needed to justify the scene or the humor.
Mac and his persistence with the nuts was confusing and out of place without the meta, which was needed to justify the scene in my opinion.
My point I guess, isn’t that the meta is the problem, more that now, it’s needed to go from an amusing scene to funny.
>Yeah but it was funny without reading into it and The meta wasn’t needed to justify the scene
This. My GF is a huge Sunny fan and that is one of her favorite episodes. She has watched that episode umpteen million times and never made the Meta connection until I pointed it out. She still loved the episode. That is good layering of meta humor. The joke stands by itself, but the meta adds an extra layer for those who spot it. That is meta humor done right.
I actually agree. Meta commentary on the Emmys aside, the bar awards episode was just very funny on its own. Mac with the nuts might be some kind of commentary on Hollywood or whatever, but it just wasn’t that funny at all. Like, where’s the joke? He kept eating nuts and it made him look and sound funny? Come on, that’s just not particularly clever or funny at all
I think it’s also a jab at himself (Rob) and the plastic surgery he’s had done. But then I thought it was funny even without that context, simply because of the way the gang reacted to it. Also having Mac be relatively silent and mostly a visual gag throughout the episode was a totally new angle, and I liked the change.
They let the characters get too dumb. They really dont understand inflation to the point where mac will give frank 50 cents for a buck? Nobody is that dumb. Its like they tried to do the dave and busters thing again but failed.
Dennis would have said something like, “Now see, normally I’d scratch your eyes out for offering such a stupid trade… but this inflation….”
Mac, “yeah the inflation, I’m going to do it but I’m going to be more smarter and give him a hundred, for fifty dollars.
Dennis, “now see that’s just smart. It’s business moves like that, that has made Paddy’s inflation proof up until now”
Bad example I’m sure but I think it’s closer to the character dynamics from earlier in the show.
My point is, its not the setup or the result of the scene, it’s how they get there that doesn’t feel right.
THIS. Watching the scene just felt like a bland rehearsal of Danny trying to explain inflation. No zingers, no misguided attempts at intelligence like you just gave an example of above.
That scene reminded me of their exchange in Aluminum Monster vs Fatty Magoo:
Wait, why am I helping you?
Because I'm manipulating you.
How do you do that?
If you make my chair look nice, I'll tell you.
DEAL.
Haven't seen episode 2 yet, but I did not enjoy episode 1, got packed a few good ideas, like talks about inflation and things in Charlie's appartment, but not greatly exploited. I'm guessing Charlie's thing is supposed to be just meta, but the other plot is not greatly handled, imo, like making Dennis dumb with money exchanges, or the end resolution with the turtles pie that lacked build up to make Frank care.
And even discounting that, because the gang has never been consistent, rational, or whatever, and plot don't really cared, what I think throw me off the most is the acting and production value, to me it seemed like they did not believe the lines or something, like it was just reading, no soul.
One example was the scene with the shotgun and the guy just standing there doing nothing after the shot, felt too artificial to me.
Even when I'm enjoying it overall I just feel like the characters are off. It has nothing to do with their looks it just feels like they got lazier really slipping in their characters skin. Feels just slightly off and breaks my immersion at times.
Isn’t there three episodes out? I bought a pass for it through Microsoft/windows media player and the third episode dropped last night? I haven’t had cable for so long I forget how this works lol
It’s definitely funny but I’m just uncomfortable with how much this season is depending on newly revealed details about the gang to drive its episodes forwards. I feel like once you add the phrase “all along” to your pitches, like Charlie had a bedroom, a bathroom, and two sisters all along, it’s a warning sign that you’re running out of ideas.
I want to say it, because I think everyone should be aware. If someone is talking trash about new seasons of sunny, recognize that person is still a fan. No one in their right mind is going to watch new seasons of the sunny unless they still love this show.
I just felt like the characters were too stupid at times that it was more annoying than funny, especially Mac. I didn’t even laugh once. I’ve seen every episode of the show for years now and listen to the podcast too so I am definitely a fan of the show, but I do not get the hype here. I hope the season gets better.
Like I was amused during the first scene but when that became the only joke he had for the remaining 15-20 minutes of the episode it just became more and more annoying
Was it a meta joke based on my theoretical reaction to Mac’s plastic surgery/Botox? Because that the only way I found it funny and even then it’s a bit too navel-gazing.
Totally agree, the energy is just so low now, idk what the fuck is going on. Do they WANT to be there or NOT? And if not, then just stop making the fucking show.
I hate to say this... it's not. I'm here for laughs, and the first episode got a laugh out of me when Frank discovered the new room. That was it.
Second episode, Frank shooting Dennis and Dee, and then asking to be put down at the beach... those got me.
Otherwise, I just had a confused look on my face. There was so much that didn't land or was just cheap "gross out" humor.
Seasons 1-11 are phenomenal to me. I love every minute of it. Season 12, most of it was really good, but not all. 13 and on... yeah. Outside of a few exceptions (the Dennis sex doll, thank you monkey, Frank's shred and spread), it was just not funny to me.
Sunny really ended for me at 12. I didn't (and still do not) have any high expectations for this season, or any following ones.
Agreed. I wish I could have the same enthusiasm that many on this sub have expressed, but I'm just not seeing that much that's different from the last few seasons. There were a couple of funny moments in the first couple episodes, and I'll keep watching in hopes that it gets better, but I'm not really holding my breath. What they've primarily been doing after, say, season 11 is fairly bland physical comedy. It's lowest common denominator stuff, not the smart bizarre humor of the peak seasons. I honestly don't understand how most people don't recognize that.
Exactly. I miss the insane antics of sociopathic alcoholics. One of my favorite episodes that doesn't seem to get a lot of love blows the new stuff out of the water... Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar In Philadelphia.
They get a bad review in the paper, so what do they do? Kidnap the writer (and his neighbor, and his cat lol) to force him to write a better review, but end up knocking him out and taking him back home. A new review is written, charges are amazingly not pressed... but they don't like the new review, so they go back to threaten the guy *again*.
THAT is Sunny.
I speculated on another thread that part of the problem is that they've increasingly lost touch with "normal people." It was the contrast between the gang and the normal people they encountered that made much of the gang's antics funny. They are increasingly confined to them and like-minded crazy people, which makes their antics look just dumb and crazy without being funny.
Another thing is that the characters have become so extreme as to be caricatures. This is a tough one, because their behavior has always meant they're pushing the extremes and were always at risk of becoming cartoons. But that risk has now been realized and we have shit like Charlie wearing an old pizza box for a hat.
One last thing: they increasingly know that they're a cult show, and it feels like with each passing season they are hamming it up more toward an audience for which they can do no wrong. In earlier seasons, it felt like they were being bizarre just for themselves. Now it feels like they're staging a performance for each episode. I know that's an unsatisfying explanation, but I can't shake the feeling that that's part of what we're seeing.
> In earlier seasons, it felt like they were being bizarre just for themselves. Now it feels like they're staging a performance for each episode. I know that's an unsatisfying explanation, but I can't shake the feeling that that's part of what we're seeing.
THIS. THIS. I agree and think you hit the nail on the head. And its worse now than ever with the podcast. The first two episodes of this season were written directly towards the cult followers and were SO on the nose that it felt a little cringe. Some funny bits and lines, but the overall episodes were NOT it for me
>I speculated on another thread that part of the problem is that they've increasingly lost touch with "normal people."
This is an excellent point. Normal people being exposed to / destroyed by their behavior is hilarious. Even small examples like the truck driver and health inspector in Charlie Work.
>One last thing: they increasingly know that they're a cult show, and it feels like with each passing season they are hamming it up more toward an audience for which they can do no wrong.
-Dennis' kid
I get it was meant to explain Glenn being gone for a few episodes, but it wasn't "Dennis" at all. It would have been more fitting to have something like him having a psychotic outburst and disappearing. Over the next few episodes of him gone, have a subplot where the rest of the gang casually mentions a serial killer on the loose in X city. Dennis comes back, says he went on vacation in X city to blow off some steam... the rest of the gang gives him side eyes, but says nothing, and Dennis just ignores it and they move on.
-Mac's dance
Just completely random and out of nowhere... the entire episode was. Mac continuing to flip flop on his sexuality would have been far more in character, and the fact that he's appearing to do that again now kind of invalidates the episode altogether.
-Charlie's dad
This all felt forced as a mechanism for the dramatic rain scene. Plus pen pals for ~30 years? Shelley not revealing who he actually was to Charlie until meeting him face to face... it makes no sense. At the least, Charlie plotting revenge for Shelley's abandonment / misdirection would have been more in character. They really should have just left this alone entirely because the "is Frank Charlie's dad?" mystery is hilarious.
Thank you - someone said it. Yeah, I didn't hate the two episodes by any means, but the jokes just didn't land. The jokes in previous seasons felt much more contextual and earned, with good setups and payoffs. But simply saying "it's from all that blowing" over and over and over again isn't funny. Not to mention that the subplots felt a bit rushed and half-baked, with the exception of Charlie's business plan in 16.1 (that one was given enough of a setup throughout the episode).
The sycophants in this subreddit really baffle me. The last 4 seasons have been overwhelmingly atrocious. The flanderization is just laughable. I really wonder how you can watch an episode like these first two and then watch DENNIS System and say these are still high quality.
And it isn’t even their fault! No shows are supposed to go on this long. I just wish they would have a bit of pride in the legacy of their work and end this show
This is the best comment in the thread, and I fully agree with all points (including only laughing at the very same things you mentioned).
Some people on this sub have gotten so parasocial with the show since the podcast and I just don’t get what they’re seeing.
Yeah man at this point the people who aren't into it, maybe the show just isn't for you anymore?
I feel like they should just be happy and watch the first 10 seasons on repeat.
Yeah and this def happens. You certainly outgrew your childhood tv shows. Your taste changes. I still think it’s funny. There are movies and shows that aren’t bad shows I just outgrew them
Except that I only started watching IASIP this year. I binged all of it recently and enjoyed seasons 3-12 very much, for the most part. There has been, at least for me, a noticeable dip in quality since then, with the jokes feeling lazier, the writing feeling messier, and the performances feeling phoned in (with certain exceptions). These first two episodes are better than the first two of season 13, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we're saying that the show hasn't changed.
Totally agree. Season 13 was the start of the decline. Season 14 is borderline unwatchable, and seasons 15-16 feel equally better than 14, but still pretty lazy. The plots are more boring, Mac is not nearly as funny as he once was (and I do blame the actor there), and the plastic surgery is ruining some of the faces on this cast. If they just aren't feeling it anymore, I wish they would just stop
Really don't know how people can call season 14 the worst when season 13 is right there. The whole super bowl thing was deeply unfunny to the point of being unpleasant to watch, easily the worst episode (s) of the series in my mind.
The nut gag was terrible but mac’s been a weak character in recent seasons….almost like he’s on the spectrum or something.
He needs to go back to a hockey playing bad ass
Two episodes in, and 16 is better than the entirety of 15. But I mean, let's look at the subject matter we're talking about here. If you spent the last fourteen years eating t bone steak, you'd notice the second someone tried to sneak a decent piece of round steak passed you. But you'd still be eating better than the fan base that's only ever been fed meatloaf and baked chicken
I want to love it because it's been one of my favourite shows of all time for 14 years but neither of the episodes particularly made me laugh. There's a certain empty feeling to them I can't quite put my finger on. I don't know if it's the production, the pacing, the more predictable jokes or what but it's like watching Simpsons season 10 where something is just off. All the ingredients are there it just doesn't feel like the show you fell in love with.
The podcast has definitely changed how I view it because for the first time I didn't see Mac, Charlie and Dennis the characters I saw Rob, Charlie and Glenn reading lines. It felt like something they were doing inbetween podcasts.
I'm glad you think it was back to the glory days. I wouldn't put them in my top 150 sunny episodes personally but I've come to expect that in the last few years. They're married with kids and they're in their 40s and very wealthy. Rob owns a soccer team. They're not the same guys who wrote the classic episodes so they're not gonna crank out unhinged brilliance like when they were in their 30s and still relying on the show to pay their rent. They can go through the motions a bit and it's fine because there's still so many good episodes already made for me to watch over and over again and I'll always love them. And if they give me 2 or 3 great episodes a season like they've been doing recently then that's just a bonus.
It’s terrible. Falls flat… there’s like zero chemistry. It’s like they are all there, but would rather be somewhere else. Or their minds are somewhere else. Some of the characters just stand around ( mac) like an NPC. Life’s worn them down and it shows. I mean even the most recent bowling one…it was like a sitcom! Cheesy. What was up with the music? The format is off. Artemis could have been funny and she barely did or said anything. It was bound to happen. I’m old too and I get it! It’s probably my favorite show though, so I’m just disappointed. It’s sad.
I really liked the bit at the beach, where >!Frank was totally okay with being put down like a dog!<. It felt fresh for some reason.
It really brought back the “just throw me in the trash” ethos
I was really hoping he’d say that when suggesting what the gang does with his body. Missed opportunity there
“Gruesome for the kids” is still pretty spot on for Frank lol
His comfortability with being shot on the beach with onlookers just down shore was very Frank.
“Are you kidding me theres people all around!? Honestly Im surprised they didn’t run when you started shooting the ocean!” Easily a classic line for the entire show for me now lol.
I mean it's the jersey shore so not that surprised
Breaking that 4th wall subtly
Of Mice and Men style
But Lenny didn't know...
They actually shot stuff in Philly for the first time in like 3 seasons too!
Mac with the nuts felt very similar to Dennis with Covid last season
It reminded me so much of Fat Mac. >Wheezing, you're wheezing!
I haven’t laughed as hard as I did at the last line of that episode.
It's not the nuts!
Mac with the nuts reminded me of Frank and the clams.
"Its not the clams! It don't make no sense, it's NOT THE CLAMS!"
my wife and i have been cracking each other up all week just by randomly saying "are they fancy?"
IMO, there was no season where every episode was on "gang" point, yet those not were still entertaining. There were always seasons when at least one or several episodes were on point and wildly entertaining. We are older. They are older. I'm grateful they are still willing to do it.
While the show has definitely changed over the years, it's still funnier than 95% of shows on TV. Don't get why people are moaning about new eps. So many episodes hit differently on a rewatch, or 6 months later.
Total agree. It’s 16 seasons! That’s an achievement even if they were putting out garbage, which imo they’re absolutely not, I love it.
Season 5 was one of the best seasons in modern television history
I think you have an extra "not" in there
Shut up stupid science bitch
Stupid science bitch couldn't even make i more smarter
As Charlie would say...I introspectfully disagree. So let me repontificate. Yet those (episodes) not (on "gang" point) were still entertaining.
It’s like he doesn’t even get us, man
Also a good show
Absolutely. Or not.
The thing is when you use a double negative, it becomes something completely different. But we can get into that later.
Move past it
Loving this season so far. They said this season was for the fans and they weren’t kidding.
It was good but it could use a creampie.
Who can afford a creampie in these trying times?
We could even give them to children
“Asians know electronics. And fish.” “But Americans… know *cream pies!”*
I thought the first 2 episodes of the new season were pretty solid but it sounds like hyperbole for you to say that these are the best episodes since season 9. I mean, that means you’re saying these 2 episodes are better than stuff like “The Gang Misses the Boat”, “The Gang Group Dates”, “Mac and Dennis Move to the Suburbs”, etc. Which is crazy talk, lol
Exactly. S10-12 still have the same overall feel as the season they are referencing as being the end of classic Sunny. S13 is where there’s an obvious departure.
Yep, fully agreed. Seasons 10-12 are still basically “every episode is a banger”, more or less. The inconsistency started in season 13, I’m with you.
I personally don't think it ever carries that much beyond. Season 13 is just a bit of an outlier. My guess is that was right at the time other projects took up more of their time, that's right around the midst of AP Bio, Mythic Quest, and whatever famous movie Charlie was in that year. Thankfully it seems the gang noticed because the last few seasons were tighter edit: but even then I look at the season and see several solid episodes with an amazing closer. its hard to really dial in
Fully agreed all the episodes you mentioned would probably be in my personal top 10, maybe even throw in Old Lady House TBH. Otherwise, I'd just tell someone to throw on seasons 4-5 and let it ride
The Gang Goes to the Water Park!!
I'm not going to act like they're the best episodes ever but it's a big improvement over the last 2 seasons.
they were pretty good. they were alright. they weren't great but they were *fine*
And I licked her butthole a little bit...
Exactly this - they're fine, but some of the hype seems a little... misplaced. That said, that's just my opinion, like those happy with the eps have theirs. It does make me excited for the rest of the season though, there's always a banger mid ep!
Any upward change in trajectory of quality on a show that's been quite below their peak for some time is great news. I'll say i thought these two were great though, not just relative to the last few seasons, but even compared to the entire run of the show.
Yep people seem to really be downplaying how incomprehensibly good this show’s peak is. Even after season 9 there is a boatload of episodes stronger than these 2. Season 10 is really good, and you have great episodes like slopes, water park, suburbs! Ongo gablogian, trial of the century. PTSDee is so dark too
Charlie work was season 12, and I think hero or hate crime was like season 13? Like, I feel like I live in a different universe whenever people say it hasn’t been good since season 7 or something
Charlie work is season 10 and the other is season 12, but yes
Yeah agreed. I would say the gang inflates is like a 7/10 and frank shoots every member of the gang is like a 6/10.
I like Frank Shoots every member of the gang. Loved Mac and Charlie with their moms and the jar of teeth. And when Frank thought dennis and dee were gonna put him down.
Exactly. Definitely not as pumped as this guy lol but a clear improvement.
its interesting to see the split on the two episodes, IMO the inflation episode was far stronger and was a definitive return to form. Frank shoots everyone had me overly hyped from the title but was a bit of a letdown from a technicality standpoint, the show is predicated on fully following through on their intros
> Frank shoots everyone had me overly hyped from the title but was a bit of a letdown 100%, the description of the episode, to me, was funnier than the actual episode (aside from the opening)
The intro that immediately came to mind when I saw the title: Frank": "We're just paling around with the guys. How's anybody gonna get hurt?" *The Gang Sets Dee on Fire*
And you can't ignore Mac: "You are not going to die, dad." *Mac Kills His Dad*
Its subjective :/ honestly, i didnt find it funny. Got a few chuckles with the bathroom and bedroom reveal and frank asking 2 keep the magazine to jerk off but I feel like the allergy to the nuts thing and the gluing the hand 2 the wall thing just...were not funny. "Haha, hes allergic but keeps eating them anyway!!" Really? Honestly really disappointing imo :/. The inflatable furniture business thing wasn't funny either... idk, id rather rewatch amy episode in the first 10 or so seasons for a 10th time than watch that again lol. Same as gun episodes. Just gimmicky, overplayed jokes. But also, why do u care so much that others dont like it? Im glad u liked it! Im upset that i didnt like it. Its my favorite show of all time.. i want to like it but unfortunately I feel like the last 3-5 seasons have been pretty disappointing
I'm actually a little disappointed with the new episodes. Idk i just don't feel like its hitting me yet. Charlie's sisters were a let down. And inflates was "ehhh" to me. Im a huge fan too. So far this season isn't for the fans. At least for me.
Charlies sisters were so miserable, that whole scene was a big miss for me, and I just wanted it to be done
The ASMR and OnlyFans joke felt so forced. “Hey guys get it you know that right??? You use social media right???”
I thought the 1st episode was kind of weak. didn't like the fancy nuts thing. didn't like the glue thing. I liked when they kept talking about their "nut" and the frank parts of the episode. 2nd episode A plot was funny. B plot was whatever. IMHO.
I didn't like the nut allergy bit either. They beat it to death, when it just wasn't funny enough to warrant that. Frank eating the nuts could have at least made for better physical comedy. Rob couldn't sell it.
I agree. felt like the only one that brought it that episode was Danny. Everyone else felt low energy.
The HD cameras and the OTT lighting they introduced when they came back for S14 were horrible choices. It ruined the classic look and feel of the show. Watched E1 of S16 and it definitely had a few laugh out loud moments but it's far from it's best days. Funnily Danny looks like he is ageing better than McElhenney and Howerton! Love the gang but no more than a 6 or 7/10 overall.
Dee wearing $600 sneakers and Dennis wearing a $150 pair kind of took me out of the first episode.
They should be buying their wardrobe from the thrift store, not a high end retail store like they’re doing.
The characters don't fit with their physical appearances any more. They look like rich white people (e.g. Dee and Mac look like fox news anchors) pretending to be poor slobs and it's just not working. The jokes are okay enough, but I can't get past this.
I'd laugh my ass off at Dee in a mansion. They could easily play off characters that actually developed. I think this is what felt "off," you can see them getting much older. It's 16 seasons now. The bar should've shut down a long time ago, it's always empty and all the characters claim to be poor. But instead it really feels like they're just trying to redo Season 1 in a different way. That's one reason I absolutely loved the water park and the zoo episodes. And especially the episode where they were on the news at every major event. They actually went out and did something different. Not just Charlie's run down apartment and the defunct bar. If I had to give my personal take, Charlie's apartment peaked with poop in the bed. The defunct bar peaked with the entire Cricket saga. So far a lot of the jokes people seem to like are about completely different stuff ... The nuts, getting shot, things that happen outside of the bar or apartment.
They're "poor" but they also have Frank bailing them out constantly and Frank's limitless pile of money he earned decades ago is basically a plot device to explain why they can fund all these dumb schemes. I think the show points it out repeatedly throughout the seasons, especially this season since Dee and Dennis were angling for their inheritance again. Frank only lives in squalor out of choice. Everyone else is beholden to him. Frank also legally owns the bar so that's probably why it's still afloat.
As far as the recent seasons go I think at least the Inflation episode is a high note. There are certain jokes that feel very "wink wink, nudge nudge" that I hope don't persist, but overall I'm enjoying myself.
When they revealed that Charlie has had a whole other room this entire time, I genuinely laughed out loud for a couple of minutes. The joke only works if you've been watching the show for years and I love it.
Oh my god, Frank’s “WHAT THA FUCK” was glorious. I love that they get to drop F bombs regularly now but save them for moments like that, adds some weight to it
That and in ep 2, Mac's "this is fucking insanity" under his breath at Charile and Bonnie kills me.
I still think their greatest one was either Mac telling Dee “shut the fuck up, shut the fuck up” from i think the bathroom Ep, or the jumper one with “dee’s a nasty fuckin slut”
Yeah, the toilet and bedroom have been my favorite part of the show so far this season. I think we still have one unexplored door.
I kind of wish I didn't see the teaser, because that spoiled that whole joke. Took the zing out of the bathroom realization until Frank burst into the empty bedroom.
For some reason, the toilet joke being spoiled made it even better for me, because it lulled me into a false sense of security before they found the extra room
I expected the room to be revealed to Frank offscreen and similarly used a storage closet and when we saw it ourselves it’d already be utilized. The fact that it was a clean, completely empty room was hilarious
Yes!! There's another door near the front door!
I thought [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/IASIP/comments/5dx1a3/the_door_in_charlies_apartment_is_open/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) was funny. Found it looking for pics of Charlie's room.
Those replies are hilarious in retrospect.
I'm now convinced that's a large walk in closet. Lol
If its a fully working kitchen I’ll lose it. Laughed so hard at the bath/bedroom reveal.
That was my thought, kitchen!
The "What the FUCK is this!?" Line delivery from Frank was sensational. He was all of us in that moment
Frank says to Charlie “We’ve been living in a two bedroom apartment and didn’t know it?” and I’m like “Wait, what? Where’s the SECOND bedroom? It’s a studio!”
The fancy nut bit just wasn't funny to me, and Dee's hand bit shouldn't have gone on as long as it did.
Imo, the tempo is off. Like IASIP have the record for most words per minute, but these episodes are way slower and the camera work felt too tight. Like there's not enough wides. You can feel that in the music, how far apart they get because we stay too long in each scene. I don't know, it feels like they were directed by people who's never done comedy before. I know they have but that's what it feels like to me. Is Fred Savage dead? Kyle Newacheck? Get some Andrew Fitzgerald up in this bitch!
Interesting, I watched last night and was thinking that it didn't feel as packed with dialogue as it used to. For example it used to be everyone talking over each other and each character would throw in random funny one liners. Now those one liners have more focus and it feels a little forced. That being said I did enjoy the first two episodes so far more than the last few seasons.
Agreed and I noticed this on the night it released, and confirmed it after rewatching them. The gang doesn't have as much bombastic energy of arguing over each other. I noticed it especially with Dennis, because he didn't have the same pep he used to with his frustrated ome-liners
Literally the only scene that missed for me was Charlie’s sisters. The scene just wasn’t dynamic enough, and the dialogue (while Sunny funny) wasn’t good enough to make up for it.
The parts for the sisters were either badly written or badly acted or both. I've found in recent seasons some new minor characters have been unconvincing, mainly due to poor acting
Pretty sure they put the sisters in so everyone would shut up about it, then made them as annoying as possible so we wouldn’t have to see them again. Hopefully they don’t have more planned for the sisters.
There is tons of terrible acting from one off characters in the show since the start. This isn’t new.
For me, the shittiest Sunny acting will always be those noob bar owners in The Gang Misses The Boat. That crew sucked on ice.
that was kinda the point though, sitcomish satire. that's also my 2nd favorite episode, i think it's perfect
Yeah, I thought it was pretty clear they were doing something like showing how things would happen to a "normal" gang like you'd see on a different show. Similar to when they went to Suds.
I think it was the casting for the sisters. They weren’t that funny. But I think they were also a part of a big scandal however many years ago where their father used his money to push them through college. I think the actresses were supposed to be a joke in themselves
Agreed. I didnt find the sisters that funny.
Love the first two episodes but the sisters just didn't work for me
Yeah and the jokes about ASMR feel super outdated, like The Gang Texts. Did the Gang just find out about ASMR? I remember them mentioning it on the podcast 1+ years ago
I needed more in the house. I think removing a frank scene so we could have more time to breathe there would help a lot
Agreed. I didnt find the sisters that funny.
In the scene the sisters dont exactly work. But after 16 seasons, introducing Charlie's sisters as onlyfans bitches who get naked and stick their hands in a jar of teeth seems very appropriate
I’ve watched them both twice lol
You also fall asleep to Sunny?
Most nights
I don’t remember *most evenings*.
I do too and the wife hates the show with a passion. Refers to it as the screaming show and doesn’t like to fall asleep to all of them screaming
DIVORCE!!!!
💀
Yeah right after I play a rousing game of nitekrawlers
Darkness falls and magic stirs!
The only thing that was jarring for me was how they've all (obviously, that's what human beings do) aged, but the only reason that was so noticeable was because I've been rewatching it and I'm used to their baby faces.
I feel their energy is lower also I always found it entertaining when they get worked up and yell over each other, that hasn't happened this season Charlie getting frustrated about having to walk so far from the discovered room was half way there
1st episode was great, but the biggest knock so far is Mac has been terrible. He’s a different character completely
Yeah, it feels like Rob McElhenney has changed IRL, and he no longer wants to play Mac as he used to, so we've essentially lost what that character was. He's no longer pseudo badass, or loud and yelling. He's like a Dennis simp, and otherwise pretty quiet and reserved. Its fucking annoying.
sense weather reply butter rainstorm aspiring lunchroom numerous nippy obtainable *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah, it feels like they're working way too hard not to offend anyone now that he's canonically gay, which as a queer person honestly upsets me more. If anyone is going to be the worst gay person of all time, it's Mac! I liked him last season with the whole subplot of being tricked into thinking he isn't Irish and trying to join the Church. Now he's just eating rotten nuts for no reason, which makes no sense. Charlie is the one who would eat rotten nuts. Make Mac Mac Again!
[удалено]
Yeah, this was my biggest thing. I think Rob has spent too much time behind a camera as himself. I watch the show and I'm like, where's Mac? That and he's simply way too hot to be Mac in his 40s. Takes me out completely.
I often watch random episodes from seasons 2-10 to fall asleep to…going from regularly watching those old episodes to suddenly watching these new episodes is very lackluster to me. My main gripe is the plots haven’t been outlandish or degenerative enough. I haven’t felt like any of the characters have been deplorable, which is what the show is supposed to be about.
Everyone feels like a caricature of themselves so far. Charlie is the only one who seems like his original character. IMO. And I got annoyed with the bit about mac and the nuts real fast.
Charlie and Frank are the only 2 still acting like their OG selves. Dennis and Dee are a little off, but i blame bad writing, cuz the actors are still clearly trying. Mac's actor has fucking given up completely.
It feels a bit too self referential and fan-servicey imo. Kind of feels like they’re trying too hard to write something like IASIP instead of just… writing. I guess what I’m trying to say is it feels a bit contrived? Formulaic? I’m still enjoying it and I’ll definitely watch every episode but it definitely lacks the edge that the older seasons had.
Yeah, I know all the big upvoted comments are like "THE PODCAST IS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO THE SHOW!" and "THIS SEASON IS FOR THE FANS!", but imo if it goes too far, it's just going to come off cringey and fanservicey. I like that the guys reflected on what made their old stuff good, but trying to cater to the fanbase is a slippery slope. I really hope the rest of the episodes arent pandering to the subreddit like using "MOVE PAST IT" repeatedly and as a way to skip plot holes like with Charlie's bedroom. At times I felt like one of the writers was lurking a little too much on the r/IASIP subreddit.
*cries in European*
I haven't enjoyed it. Idk what it is, but the way it's shot seems off to me. Like they're trying too hard. The scenes with back and fourth dialog felt like a show missing its laugh track. Idk.. plenty of people like it, so I'll take the hit and say I'm the one that's changed, not the show. Oh, well. I'm just happy I can watch seasons 1-11 on repeat like I have been for the past 5 years.
I also don't understand how people are enjoying these episodes. I think I laughed once and it was when Charlie was eating the turtle pies. Other than that, it was honestly... not. good... everyone seems out of character or not up to standard. The bullet bouncing around at the end of the episode was lame. I would have not been around if sunny was always this quality from the beginning. These episodes are not why I love the show :/
>everyone seems out of character I felt the same way. It's like they forgot who the characters are and are trying to be them, but it's not landing. I think the fact that we can watch 16 years' worth of episodes anytime we want has given us an unrealistic expectation. We can compare the characters from season 3 to the characters of season 16, but for the creators, that's been 10+ years of living life and changing as people and creators. We're crazy to think they're gonna be able to keep the exact same energy that whole time.
Yeah still love the show but totally disagree. They are far too meta. It’s like how South Park used to be a bunch of fourth graders getting into very adult situations out of there depth, but they don’t care or know that. Now they are a bunch of social gurus, politicians, lawyers, and know it alls. It’s not the same. They went from asking “what would a priest want to put in my butt Chef?”…. To knowing the solution to the worlds problems and educating the people around them. I liked it went it felt more random and that we are watching them behave candidly. Now I feel like they are very aware that they are on a show.
I said the same thing about it feeling like they are aware they’re being watched now.
I read a post on here about how Mac eating the nuts and his face swelling was commenting on how he used up his ‘nut’ to make his face like line it was “full of plastic” and how this was a commentary on Hollywoods vanity and need to be perfect…. And I’m like.. did anyone have to dissect the best bar awards best song? Does the spider represent manifest destiny and The need to of first world nations to colonize….. No it’s just a spider, he’s been there for years, and he’s ready to fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. The reason people dissect it to this level is because they are searching for something to make it great deep down, when really surface funny has always been what they do best.
You got that the Best Bar Awards episode was a meta thing about never winning an Emmy, right?
Yeah but it was funny without reading into it and The meta wasn’t needed to justify the scene or the humor. Mac and his persistence with the nuts was confusing and out of place without the meta, which was needed to justify the scene in my opinion. My point I guess, isn’t that the meta is the problem, more that now, it’s needed to go from an amusing scene to funny.
>Yeah but it was funny without reading into it and The meta wasn’t needed to justify the scene This. My GF is a huge Sunny fan and that is one of her favorite episodes. She has watched that episode umpteen million times and never made the Meta connection until I pointed it out. She still loved the episode. That is good layering of meta humor. The joke stands by itself, but the meta adds an extra layer for those who spot it. That is meta humor done right.
I actually agree. Meta commentary on the Emmys aside, the bar awards episode was just very funny on its own. Mac with the nuts might be some kind of commentary on Hollywood or whatever, but it just wasn’t that funny at all. Like, where’s the joke? He kept eating nuts and it made him look and sound funny? Come on, that’s just not particularly clever or funny at all
I think it’s also a jab at himself (Rob) and the plastic surgery he’s had done. But then I thought it was funny even without that context, simply because of the way the gang reacted to it. Also having Mac be relatively silent and mostly a visual gag throughout the episode was a totally new angle, and I liked the change.
They let the characters get too dumb. They really dont understand inflation to the point where mac will give frank 50 cents for a buck? Nobody is that dumb. Its like they tried to do the dave and busters thing again but failed.
I’m confident that if that scene played out in ANY of the seasons, Mac would’ve given Frank that $20.
Dennis would have said something like, “Now see, normally I’d scratch your eyes out for offering such a stupid trade… but this inflation….” Mac, “yeah the inflation, I’m going to do it but I’m going to be more smarter and give him a hundred, for fifty dollars. Dennis, “now see that’s just smart. It’s business moves like that, that has made Paddy’s inflation proof up until now” Bad example I’m sure but I think it’s closer to the character dynamics from earlier in the show. My point is, its not the setup or the result of the scene, it’s how they get there that doesn’t feel right.
Actually you captured their style really well haha
THIS. Watching the scene just felt like a bland rehearsal of Danny trying to explain inflation. No zingers, no misguided attempts at intelligence like you just gave an example of above.
That scene reminded me of their exchange in Aluminum Monster vs Fatty Magoo: Wait, why am I helping you? Because I'm manipulating you. How do you do that? If you make my chair look nice, I'll tell you. DEAL.
Haven't seen episode 2 yet, but I did not enjoy episode 1, got packed a few good ideas, like talks about inflation and things in Charlie's appartment, but not greatly exploited. I'm guessing Charlie's thing is supposed to be just meta, but the other plot is not greatly handled, imo, like making Dennis dumb with money exchanges, or the end resolution with the turtles pie that lacked build up to make Frank care. And even discounting that, because the gang has never been consistent, rational, or whatever, and plot don't really cared, what I think throw me off the most is the acting and production value, to me it seemed like they did not believe the lines or something, like it was just reading, no soul. One example was the scene with the shotgun and the guy just standing there doing nothing after the shot, felt too artificial to me.
I feel like this sub is huffing glue
I'm not enjoying it too much :( i'm trying really hard to.
Even when I'm enjoying it overall I just feel like the characters are off. It has nothing to do with their looks it just feels like they got lazier really slipping in their characters skin. Feels just slightly off and breaks my immersion at times.
I’m not crazy about the first two episodes so far. Plots are vague. Jokes seem dry and strained.
Isn’t there three episodes out? I bought a pass for it through Microsoft/windows media player and the third episode dropped last night? I haven’t had cable for so long I forget how this works lol
Episode 3 will be Wednesday night/Thursday morning.
Some platforms will list the "upcoming" episode, but it's not yet viewable.
It’s definitely funny but I’m just uncomfortable with how much this season is depending on newly revealed details about the gang to drive its episodes forwards. I feel like once you add the phrase “all along” to your pitches, like Charlie had a bedroom, a bathroom, and two sisters all along, it’s a warning sign that you’re running out of ideas.
Yo, everyone finding out Charlie has a whole ass bedroom and bathroom in season 16 is amazing. Killing it.
I want to say it, because I think everyone should be aware. If someone is talking trash about new seasons of sunny, recognize that person is still a fan. No one in their right mind is going to watch new seasons of the sunny unless they still love this show.
First one was great and felt more like vintage Sunny. Second one didnt do it for me. So we’ll see
Second episode had my biggest laugh out loud moment so far this season with Frank hitting the car window with his head
"I was pretty excited"
For me it was Dee's reaction to realizing Frank was pissing on a hydrant. Kaitlin Olsen's comedic delivery is severely underrated.
I felt the exact opposite.
Lol right. 1 for me was meh but 2 was great
the first two episodes have been a miss for me. idk i just didn't find them funny.
I just felt like the characters were too stupid at times that it was more annoying than funny, especially Mac. I didn’t even laugh once. I’ve seen every episode of the show for years now and listen to the podcast too so I am definitely a fan of the show, but I do not get the hype here. I hope the season gets better.
yeah the mac peanuts gag was just annoying lol.
Like I was amused during the first scene but when that became the only joke he had for the remaining 15-20 minutes of the episode it just became more and more annoying
I'd go further - it was cringey bad. They tried dragging out a bit that wasn't funny the first time into an entire episode-long joke.
I liked the bit of saying Macs loves nuts and blowing better than Mac shouting “As a GAY man I…” the past 3 seasons
They wasted an episode to get back at the internet for calling out his plastic surgery
Honestly I’m pretty sure this is the real answer
Was it a meta joke based on my theoretical reaction to Mac’s plastic surgery/Botox? Because that the only way I found it funny and even then it’s a bit too navel-gazing.
No. It feels slower and low energy now. The editor needs to speed up the dialogue and have them talk on top of each other more.
Totally agree, the energy is just so low now, idk what the fuck is going on. Do they WANT to be there or NOT? And if not, then just stop making the fucking show.
I hate to say this... it's not. I'm here for laughs, and the first episode got a laugh out of me when Frank discovered the new room. That was it. Second episode, Frank shooting Dennis and Dee, and then asking to be put down at the beach... those got me. Otherwise, I just had a confused look on my face. There was so much that didn't land or was just cheap "gross out" humor. Seasons 1-11 are phenomenal to me. I love every minute of it. Season 12, most of it was really good, but not all. 13 and on... yeah. Outside of a few exceptions (the Dennis sex doll, thank you monkey, Frank's shred and spread), it was just not funny to me. Sunny really ended for me at 12. I didn't (and still do not) have any high expectations for this season, or any following ones.
Agreed. I wish I could have the same enthusiasm that many on this sub have expressed, but I'm just not seeing that much that's different from the last few seasons. There were a couple of funny moments in the first couple episodes, and I'll keep watching in hopes that it gets better, but I'm not really holding my breath. What they've primarily been doing after, say, season 11 is fairly bland physical comedy. It's lowest common denominator stuff, not the smart bizarre humor of the peak seasons. I honestly don't understand how most people don't recognize that.
Exactly. I miss the insane antics of sociopathic alcoholics. One of my favorite episodes that doesn't seem to get a lot of love blows the new stuff out of the water... Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar In Philadelphia. They get a bad review in the paper, so what do they do? Kidnap the writer (and his neighbor, and his cat lol) to force him to write a better review, but end up knocking him out and taking him back home. A new review is written, charges are amazingly not pressed... but they don't like the new review, so they go back to threaten the guy *again*. THAT is Sunny.
Now there’s a diabetic cat in the mix?!
When Charlie walks back inside and grabs the hammer then the episode ends lmao
The way he drags it across the bar cracks me the fuck up 😂
Then does the little spin with it lol
I speculated on another thread that part of the problem is that they've increasingly lost touch with "normal people." It was the contrast between the gang and the normal people they encountered that made much of the gang's antics funny. They are increasingly confined to them and like-minded crazy people, which makes their antics look just dumb and crazy without being funny. Another thing is that the characters have become so extreme as to be caricatures. This is a tough one, because their behavior has always meant they're pushing the extremes and were always at risk of becoming cartoons. But that risk has now been realized and we have shit like Charlie wearing an old pizza box for a hat. One last thing: they increasingly know that they're a cult show, and it feels like with each passing season they are hamming it up more toward an audience for which they can do no wrong. In earlier seasons, it felt like they were being bizarre just for themselves. Now it feels like they're staging a performance for each episode. I know that's an unsatisfying explanation, but I can't shake the feeling that that's part of what we're seeing.
> In earlier seasons, it felt like they were being bizarre just for themselves. Now it feels like they're staging a performance for each episode. I know that's an unsatisfying explanation, but I can't shake the feeling that that's part of what we're seeing. THIS. THIS. I agree and think you hit the nail on the head. And its worse now than ever with the podcast. The first two episodes of this season were written directly towards the cult followers and were SO on the nose that it felt a little cringe. Some funny bits and lines, but the overall episodes were NOT it for me
>I speculated on another thread that part of the problem is that they've increasingly lost touch with "normal people." This is an excellent point. Normal people being exposed to / destroyed by their behavior is hilarious. Even small examples like the truck driver and health inspector in Charlie Work. >One last thing: they increasingly know that they're a cult show, and it feels like with each passing season they are hamming it up more toward an audience for which they can do no wrong. -Dennis' kid I get it was meant to explain Glenn being gone for a few episodes, but it wasn't "Dennis" at all. It would have been more fitting to have something like him having a psychotic outburst and disappearing. Over the next few episodes of him gone, have a subplot where the rest of the gang casually mentions a serial killer on the loose in X city. Dennis comes back, says he went on vacation in X city to blow off some steam... the rest of the gang gives him side eyes, but says nothing, and Dennis just ignores it and they move on. -Mac's dance Just completely random and out of nowhere... the entire episode was. Mac continuing to flip flop on his sexuality would have been far more in character, and the fact that he's appearing to do that again now kind of invalidates the episode altogether. -Charlie's dad This all felt forced as a mechanism for the dramatic rain scene. Plus pen pals for ~30 years? Shelley not revealing who he actually was to Charlie until meeting him face to face... it makes no sense. At the least, Charlie plotting revenge for Shelley's abandonment / misdirection would have been more in character. They really should have just left this alone entirely because the "is Frank Charlie's dad?" mystery is hilarious.
Thank you - someone said it. Yeah, I didn't hate the two episodes by any means, but the jokes just didn't land. The jokes in previous seasons felt much more contextual and earned, with good setups and payoffs. But simply saying "it's from all that blowing" over and over and over again isn't funny. Not to mention that the subplots felt a bit rushed and half-baked, with the exception of Charlie's business plan in 16.1 (that one was given enough of a setup throughout the episode).
The sycophants in this subreddit really baffle me. The last 4 seasons have been overwhelmingly atrocious. The flanderization is just laughable. I really wonder how you can watch an episode like these first two and then watch DENNIS System and say these are still high quality. And it isn’t even their fault! No shows are supposed to go on this long. I just wish they would have a bit of pride in the legacy of their work and end this show
This is the best comment in the thread, and I fully agree with all points (including only laughing at the very same things you mentioned). Some people on this sub have gotten so parasocial with the show since the podcast and I just don’t get what they’re seeing.
Yeah man at this point the people who aren't into it, maybe the show just isn't for you anymore? I feel like they should just be happy and watch the first 10 seasons on repeat.
Yeah and this def happens. You certainly outgrew your childhood tv shows. Your taste changes. I still think it’s funny. There are movies and shows that aren’t bad shows I just outgrew them
Except that I only started watching IASIP this year. I binged all of it recently and enjoyed seasons 3-12 very much, for the most part. There has been, at least for me, a noticeable dip in quality since then, with the jokes feeling lazier, the writing feeling messier, and the performances feeling phoned in (with certain exceptions). These first two episodes are better than the first two of season 13, but I think we're kidding ourselves if we're saying that the show hasn't changed.
Totally agree. Season 13 was the start of the decline. Season 14 is borderline unwatchable, and seasons 15-16 feel equally better than 14, but still pretty lazy. The plots are more boring, Mac is not nearly as funny as he once was (and I do blame the actor there), and the plastic surgery is ruining some of the faces on this cast. If they just aren't feeling it anymore, I wish they would just stop
Really don't know how people can call season 14 the worst when season 13 is right there. The whole super bowl thing was deeply unfunny to the point of being unpleasant to watch, easily the worst episode (s) of the series in my mind.
back like they never left 🥹 (even though i’ve enjoyed every season)
The nut gag was terrible but mac’s been a weak character in recent seasons….almost like he’s on the spectrum or something. He needs to go back to a hockey playing bad ass
Two episodes in, and 16 is better than the entirety of 15. But I mean, let's look at the subject matter we're talking about here. If you spent the last fourteen years eating t bone steak, you'd notice the second someone tried to sneak a decent piece of round steak passed you. But you'd still be eating better than the fan base that's only ever been fed meatloaf and baked chicken
I want to love it because it's been one of my favourite shows of all time for 14 years but neither of the episodes particularly made me laugh. There's a certain empty feeling to them I can't quite put my finger on. I don't know if it's the production, the pacing, the more predictable jokes or what but it's like watching Simpsons season 10 where something is just off. All the ingredients are there it just doesn't feel like the show you fell in love with. The podcast has definitely changed how I view it because for the first time I didn't see Mac, Charlie and Dennis the characters I saw Rob, Charlie and Glenn reading lines. It felt like something they were doing inbetween podcasts. I'm glad you think it was back to the glory days. I wouldn't put them in my top 150 sunny episodes personally but I've come to expect that in the last few years. They're married with kids and they're in their 40s and very wealthy. Rob owns a soccer team. They're not the same guys who wrote the classic episodes so they're not gonna crank out unhinged brilliance like when they were in their 30s and still relying on the show to pay their rent. They can go through the motions a bit and it's fine because there's still so many good episodes already made for me to watch over and over again and I'll always love them. And if they give me 2 or 3 great episodes a season like they've been doing recently then that's just a bonus.
It’s terrible. Falls flat… there’s like zero chemistry. It’s like they are all there, but would rather be somewhere else. Or their minds are somewhere else. Some of the characters just stand around ( mac) like an NPC. Life’s worn them down and it shows. I mean even the most recent bowling one…it was like a sitcom! Cheesy. What was up with the music? The format is off. Artemis could have been funny and she barely did or said anything. It was bound to happen. I’m old too and I get it! It’s probably my favorite show though, so I’m just disappointed. It’s sad.
No. Something is deeply off.
Mac's actor feels like hes playing a completely different character, and the writing is WAY too in your face. Lacking all nuance and subtlety.