Blu-ray Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - The Complete Season 5

When it comes to current sitcoms, there are too few that dominate the coverage. The hit series Modern Family is understandably all the rage for its deft blending of humor and tenderness, The Big Bang Theory is nerd-centric so it's no surprise it has a lot of fans on the Internet, and annoying fans are still going on and on about the canceled Arrested Development. However, there's one that has slipped off the radar that is outrageously funny with the emphasis on "outrageous" and I can’t believe more people aren’t talking about it.

FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia features the gang from Paddy's Irish Pub getting in all sorts of madcap misadventures because none of them are too bright. Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (Rob McElhenney), and Charlie (Charlie Day) are friends from school and co-owners of Paddy's Irish Pub in Philadelphia. Dennis and Mac are also roommates. Deandra (Kaitlin Olson) is Dennis' twin sister and works at the bar. Frank (Danny DeVito) is the adoptive father of Dennis and Deandra and possibly the father his roommate Charlie.

The fifth season of their madcap misadventures include attempts to be entrepreneurs, go on a road trip, give Frank an intervention, wrestle for the troops, and reclaiming their status in a local bar competition. The results are not predictable due the bizarre thought process of the characters (and writers), their frequent drinking, and their complete disregard for their fellow man. Continuity doesn’t play a huge part in the series so it's easy to jump in at any point.

Although released on Blu-ray, the creative team offers a funny warning about the show only being able to look so good as they shot it in standard def and they are right. The 1080p/AVC encoded transfer displayed at a 1.78:1 ratio offers nothing of note. Nothing about the colors, textures, or details stand out. The same goes for the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with its very front heavy mix that is expected for a dialogue-driven series. The discs are also slow to load. Given the choice, consumers should just go with the DVD.

Article Author: Gordon S. Miller

Gordon S. Miller is the artist formerly known as El Bicho, the nom de plume he used when he first began reviewing movies online for The Masked Movie Snobs in 2003. Before that year was out, he became that site's publisher. …

Visit Gordon S. Miller's author page — Gordon S. Miller's Blog