I don't know if I'm completely on board with the Seinfeld comparison. In Seinfeld you have a lot of dialog-intensive humor, but its a lot of observational stuff, putting societal norms under microscopes, etc. The situational humor usually stems from misunderstandings and coincidences. Sunny on the other hand is more like a group of douchebags with no redeeming qualities whatsoever scheming against each other, fighting over anything and everything, and just basically making the worst decisions ever while always having their own purely selfish interests at heart. Oh and one of them just happens to sniff glue, stalk waitresses, eat cat food, practice bird law, sleep on a futon with a 60 year old man, and most importantly regularly take on the alias known as "greenman"
IMO not really, I think Curb your Enthusiasm is basically uncensored Seinfeld but with just George, and he's older and balder.
I think the difference between Seinfeld & Always Sunny is that the characters in Seinfeld, though also with no redeeming moral qualities and completely out for their own ends, operated in a world (Manhattan) in which they were largely successful. Jerry was a top-flight comedian, Elaine ran a company, George fell -ss-backwards into women & jobs despite his chronic unemployment, and Kramer (though unemployed) never had a problem with money. In contrast, the Always Sunny people are constantly on the precipice of starvation. Their only salvation is a dive bar; they come from the gutter (even if two/three of them once knew better worlds, they now live in the gutter). Unlike George, Charlie can't even talk to women in an adult manner, much less get laid. Desperation, in all its forms, is a constant companion. So, the Always Sunny people lack even the patina of restraint that the Seinfeld people used to navigate (successfully) through modern life & society. There is, of course, also the obvious difference between living in the Philly slums & the Upper East/West Side. Also, from a continuity standpoint, Seinfeld had a comparatively high rate of turnover in its writing/show-running staff, leading to several episodes toward the end where they relied solely on Kramer's goofball antics. Always Sunny is more tightly constrained; even when it outsources the scripts, it seems more cohesively of a piece, to all flow from the same wellspring of sadness/life's frustration seen in the first episode/season.
i dont disagree w/ you there, but your previous description of sunny perfectly summed up the very essence of seinfeld. just a bunch of selfish, self-absorbed, a-moral douchebags - sunny takes it to another level of depravity, but the dynamics b/t characters are very similar.
NSFW, watch now... <object width="450" height="330"><param name="movie" value="http://www.megavideo.com/v/NUG9AHO0979e857477fc4b3746dc856d9f3168a9"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.megavideo.com/v/NUG9AHO0979e857477fc4b3746dc856d9f3168a9" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="450" height="330"></embed></object>
^^^ Overall, good but not great. However, a few set pieces attain perfection: Spoiler Frank crowning, then being birthed by a couch, 18:00. Charlie & the mall Santa, 26:00.
Was one of the first Sunny episodes that was a swing and miss for me. It was funny but did not top or even come close to Kitten Mittons. Hope next week will be better.
I thought tonight's was hilarious. There wasn't much going on but Charlie and Frank were amazing. I loved Frank's face after he heard Dennis had swallowed an apple seed.
I agree with what you said, especially about how they represent opposite ends, but what makes the shows similar to me is how the premise isn't really what the show is about. Sunny isn't about a bar even though that's the backdrop. Seinfeld wasn't really about a group of successful New Yorkers. They're just backdrops for character-driven situational comedy. Most shows are about a group of people at their job, finding love, dealing with kids or family. These two stand apart in the sense that anything can happen in any given episode, regardless of the setting. The fact that both shows characters are devoid of morals helps, though.
Not an amazing episode to me either, but maybe because I just watched that Christmas special beforehand, so I was laughed out. Or maybe because it had quite a bit of sweet dee in it, I don't like how her voice pierces the air when she squawks (bird).
Maybe just don't like the combination of Mac and Dennis story line. Love Charlie and Frank combination. Pure Gold and has never failed. Anybody have a favorite episode. I love "Charlie Goes America of Everybody's Asses" but think for somebody who has never seen Sunny to watch "Dennis and Sweet Dee Go on Welfare". It sums up everything Sunny is and is still the funniest episode to me.
I just found out that Sweet Dee and Mac are married in real life. That's pretty cool. I think he has the musculature to better if anyone wants to talk about his body mass.
