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It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ~ Season 15

Started by Mobius, November 04, 2021, 03:10:41 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

wrec

Really enjoyed those two episodes. Seeing them in places
that are familiar to me IRL is kind of mind-blowing (because they live in TV land). Funny though to see them driving down almost deserted Dublin streets, dunno if they had then blocked off or if it was the height of lockdown. The corporate tax shelter thing was a nice touch alongside the traditional hokey Oirish elements, which are at least appropriate to the tone of the show.

SteveDave

Christ alive. The first Irish one is great.

The revelation that Mac's dad is called
Spoiler alert
Luther Vandross made me scream
[close]
and Frank's Epstein spiel.

Ant Farm Keyboard


Mobius


selectivememory

Very enjoyable pair of episodes. It's good that each character has had a strong plot so far. "Shred and spread" just being an accepted Frank thing among the gang amused me quite a bit.

So it's just the two episodes left now? It's gone by very quickly. Been pretty good for a 15th season. And the podcast has been a lot of fun too. Hoping that they keep that going.

BeardFaceMan

Quote from: selectivememory on December 20, 2021, 12:42:52 AMAnd the podcast has been a lot of fun too. Hoping that they keep that going.

They're releasing a video version of the podcast soon so it must be doing ok. Which is nice, as it's very good.

Rizla

Quote from: wrec on December 17, 2021, 04:05:57 PMSeeing them in places that are familiar to me IRL is kind of mind-blowing (because they live in TV land). Funny though to see them driving down almost deserted Dublin streets, dunno if they had then blocked off or if it was the height of lockdown.

I may be wrong but it didn't seem like the cast themselves did any filming in Ireland - seemed like they just got second unit exterior stuff filmed there. When you actually saw them out of doors it looked fairly un-european at any rate.

Enjoyed seeing Miles Anderson as the priest in ep6, better known as Roger O'Neill the ill-fated cokehead PR man from (UK) House Of Cards. It's good when they dig up these kind of actors, like when they had Aubrey Morris from Clockwork Orange as Frank's shrink.

I'm enjoying this series well enough but I'm really loving the podcasts. Seems too good to be true that they'll do the entire run but here's hoping.

BeardFaceMan

Quote from: Rizla on December 20, 2021, 06:36:21 PMI'm enjoying this series well enough but I'm really loving the podcasts. Seems too good to be true that they'll do the entire run but here's hoping.

They certainly seem to be talking like thats what they're doing. From the sound of it they were recording an episode a day first thing in the morning during production of season 15 so there's probably quite a lot of podcast eps already in the bag. I'm hoping they have some guests on too, they always talk about how funny people like Rickety Cricket or the McPoyles are in real life, would be nice to hear them on the pod.

wrec

Quote from: Rizla on December 20, 2021, 06:36:21 PMI may be wrong but it didn't seem like the cast themselves did any filming in Ireland - seemed like they just got second unit exterior stuff filmed there. When you actually saw them out of doors it looked fairly un-european at any rate.

They're definitely present in a few recognisable locations. Dee tries to hail a taxi on Dame Street in Dublin. When she and Dennis are outside the property agent's I noticed Howth (Dublin seaside suburb) in one of the shop names. Dennis's road rage bit seemed to be around Stephen's Green or Merrion Square. I reckon the pub interiors and the cheese shop were real locations too.

Dog Botherer

yeah they're definitely in Ireland. it was almost uncanny seeing them in places i knew well.

selectivememory

McElhenney says here that they didn't go to Ireland (about 7:45 in):


AsparagusTrevor

There were some pics of them doing the rounds earlier in the year showing they were certainly on location in Ireland. However quite a lot of the stuff in the episodes were obviously green-screened. I assumed that was distancing-related as it's happened in non-Ireland episodes too.

wrec

Cone to think of it there was a call for an Irish Danny Devito stand in a while back so maybe it's all CGI magic

Dog Botherer

well they must have a bigger cgi budget than i thought because they fooled me.

Noodle Lizard

I'm not sure why he said they didn't film in Ireland, they clearly did. I'd have to watch again to be sure, but some of the exterior shots seem like they'd be unnecessarily difficult to fake.

Also there are photos of them in Ireland an' all.

https://www.q102.ie/news/buzz/alway-sunny-in-philadelphia-filming-in-ireland/

selectivememory

DeVito says that they filmed it all in California, and I've seen a similar interview with Olson where she says the same:

https://ew.com/tv/danny-devito-explains-why-hes-really-the-kid-in-the-always-sunny-family/

QuoteThe Always Sunny gang had originally planned to film a couple episodes in Ireland this season, but COVID-19 quarantine rules made that unworkable. So they used California's Bodega Bay as a stand-in, and ended up getting lucky with the weather.

"California's got the great weather, we love it and all that, but we were looking for something unique. That's why we wanted to go to Ireland, with its really cool hills and cliffs," DeVito says. "We went to Bodega Bay instead, but what happened is we had three days of fog. Oh my god, it was so great for the show. It gave you that feeling of being on the Emerald Isle and that bad weather. It really worked out for us."

I dunno, maybe it's some kind of weird joke where they've all decided to say that they weren't there when they really were.

Ant Farm Keyboard

Or maybe the pictures near the cliffs were made during the location shoot that took place on Bodega Bay during the fog. Technically, when they're not in a studio, it's a location shoot.

If they had gone to Ireland, we would have also got reports from extras and passers-by in Dublin and elsewhere that they had met some of the cast members, especially now that the episodes have started airing and that there's no NDA.

It's much more likely that they had already decided to shoot the episodes as hybrids, with the studio sets in California and some views of Ireland featuring the main cast. Then came the new quarantine rules and the actual Irish shots were filmed by a local team with the cast later composited into stand-ins.

selectivememory

#77
Yeah, that's clearly what happened. I was just kidding, as I can't see why they would all be lying about it, and all the evidence says they didn't go.

Still, seems like they did a good job of recreating Ireland, because they convinced a lot of people.

Noodle Lizard

Ah my mistake. For some reason I thought the caption on Olson's Instagram photos specified they were location shooting in Ireland, not just "some cliffs".

The Giggling Bean

So that's season 15 done now. It's absolutely flown over by them showing 2 episodes a week.

I've enjoyed the Ireland episodes a lot more than I thought I would. I laughed a lot when
Spoiler alert
the waitress would only rescue Dee from the bog if she said her name
[close]
. On the flipside I was genuinely crying at the end of the last episode when
Spoiler alert
everyone had left Charlie to carry his dad up the mountain and he breaks down over the body
[close]
that really got me.

Aside from the monkey episode nothing has reached classic sunny. There's still enough enjoyment to be had though to make it a worthwhile watch. I'm looking forward to watching it again when it's on Netflix.

selectivememory

Really good stuff. It was pretty disgusting, but
Spoiler alert
Frank eating the turd meatball
[close]
had me howling.

The season overall was better than I was expecting. It might not be at the level of classic Always Sunny, but it's still going strong for being 15 seasons in.

The Giggling Bean

Quote from: selectivememory on December 23, 2021, 12:16:55 PMReally good stuff. It was pretty disgusting, but
Spoiler alert
Frank eating the turd meatball
[close]
had me howling.

Yes, I forgot to mention that. I think it's the first time it had me gagging. I was also in stitches at
Spoiler alert
Mac bonding with the priest until he finds out he's a peado
[close]
.

I still can't stop thinking about that scene with Charlie though towards the end. I know the show has touched on dramatic themes in the past (thinking of Macs coming out dance in the prison). That scene really got me though. Of course I did laugh at the immediate following scene
Spoiler alert
where the SUV comes flying over the hill
[close]
.

I also liked Dennis and Frank's awkward bonding
Spoiler alert
particularly when he kisses him on the head
[close]

Taking away the credits etc this felt like a mini Sunny movie.

neveragain

Yeah, it could have been released as a special or, perhaps more fittingly, just the Irish episodes (plus Monkey Beer as that set it up). Brilliant plotting throughout, so many little threads that came back. Really sweet at the end.

I loved what happened to the doctor, completely unnecessary.

The Giggling Bean

That made me laugh too, I did like the whole Dennis/Castle connection thread. I don't know whether it would have been funnier to see it but thinking about it, the way it's just casually tossed out there was hysterical.

I think I'll get a lot more out of it when I can binge watch the 4 episodes on Netflix.

Sebastian Cobb

These last two were great, it almost feels like the first two 'in Ireland' episodes got the 'gang on tour' novelty of being somewhere else out the way and the last two let the gang be the gang naturally but in a different location.

I also agree it did feel like watched together it could be stitched into a film.

Ferris

Just blew through it on day 4 of my quarantine. Maybe it's
Spoiler alert
missing my own son (thanks quarantine) but Charlie breaking down up the mountain on his own made me slightly upset.
[close]
Some excellent gags throughout (of course) and great season overall, inspired me to go back and catch up on the seasons I've missed over the years.

Its a special show and to maintain the level of quality over the years speaks to the dedication and vision of the Gang.

Lovely stuff.

The Giggling Bean

Quote from: Ferris on December 23, 2021, 11:01:03 PMJust blew through it on day 4 of my quarantine. Maybe it's
Spoiler alert
missing my own son (thanks quarantine) but Charlie breaking down up the mountain on his own made me slightly upset.
[close]

I've rewatched that scene a few times throughout the day. Without fail every single time it makes me cry. Even now its stuck with me and has made me all melancholy. My folks are still alive so it's not like I'm mourning my parents but it's probably a mortality reminder.

The fact that Charlie is the sweetest member of the gang, albeit still a scumbag, makes it more upsetting. From when he slips over I'm done for. It's probably the most affecting scene I've watched on anything for a long time.

Even the immediate shot
Spoiler alert
of the SUV flying over the hill
[close]
whilst really funny
Spoiler alert
immediately gets me misty eyed when the gang come back for Charlie to help him
[close]

On a lighter note Franks explanation of the vaccination was hysterical, especially
Spoiler alert
putting your thoughts into Manatees
[close]

Sebastian Cobb

I really liked the

Spoiler alert
callback to the fairly basic thing of Mac being Dutch and the original 'Luther Vandross' gag being expanded to the gang just not wanting him to bother them with plastic Irishness and Macs mum being easy to bribe. Also the whole conversation originally was great as she grunted at him and Charlie ear-wigging and nonchalantly muttering 'she didn't say that' when Mac made up 'love you too!' responses.
[close]

Obel

The season ended really strong with those Ireland eps, I was worried they would be a bit gimmicky and shit. Some massive belly laugh moments, especially Dennis doing a Shockmaster through the painting. Lovely stuff. Best season since 12 probably, made up for the earlier weak episodes.

up_the_hampipe

Wow, that last episode was really great. It reminded me of the finale where Mac came out to his Dad, just unexpectedly heartfelt, but this one seemed to be more tonally fitting to the show. A strong season all in all, perhaps the best in a few years.