8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.1 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
From Internet dating and in-vitro fertilization, to an uproarious road trip to the Grand Canyon, Season Five is loaded with seductions, interventions, back-stabbings, and beat-downs. You’ll find Dennis’s fool-proof method for scoring with chicks (that no one else seems to grasp), Frank wearing skinny jeans, and, of course, Flipadelphia! Brace yourself for a shot of laugh-out-loud insanity and see what’s on tap at Paddy’s Pub, the worst—and funniest—bar in the world!
Starring: Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVitoComedy | 100% |
Dark humor | 81% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p (upconverted)
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The motley, hard-drinking misfits who run Paddy’s Irish Pub in the FX original comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia have one thing in common: they’re all completely self-obsessed. They’re schemers and cheats, irresponsible citizens with zero regard for their fellow man. And this, of course, is why the show is so funny. The Gang, as Paddy’s crew is called, lives in an insular world of their own making, where common decency, politeness, and cultural norms like personal space and privacy simply don’t exist. There’s a reason FX has deemed the show “Seinfeld on crack.” Where Seinfeld points out the sometimes bizarre social rituals that people follow to succeed in modern day life, the barflies of It’s Always Sunny are completely oblivious to the way the world usually works. In season five—which originally aired between September and December of 2009—The Gang offers their skewed perspectives on, amongst other things, the mortgage crisis, the great recession, surrogate motherhood, road trips, supporting the troops, interventions, the D.E.N.N.I.S. system for picking up chicks, and, yes, kitten mittens.
The Gang
Season five marks It's Always Sunny's second appearance on Blu-ray, after the Very Sunny Christmas special in 2009. Diehard fans of the show are aware that seasons 1-5 were shot on standard definition video, but I can envision plenty of casual viewers picking up this Blu-ray set— expecting, as the back of the case claims, "the ultimate high definition experience"—and being severely disappointed by the blurriness of the upconverted 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation. While A Very Sunny Christmas had a small "1080p upconverted" disclaimer on the back of the Blu-ray case, there's no warning at all on this set. To be honest, I'm more upset about the lack of honesty in the marketing than the poor picture quality. Even compared to other standard definition shows, It's Always Sunny has always looked soft, so it's really not fair to lambaste season five's PQ, which makes the most out of its low-res source material. It is what it is. That said, be aware that the image is extremely soft and smeary, with no fine detail whatsoever—not even in close-ups. The picture might look decent on a very small screen, but no one would ever confuse it for a native high definition production. As you'd expect from standard definition video, color is realistic but muted, black levels are slightly hazy, and white highlights are often completely blown out. You'll also notice occasional aliasing and shimmer, especially anytime there are close parallel lines or tight patterns. Season five looks moderately better than A Very Sunny Christmas, but that really isn't saying much.
While the picture quality leaves me looking forward to season six—which is being filmed natively in high definition—I have no real complaints about the show's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 presentation. It's Always Sunny, like most sit-coms, is almost entirely dialogue driven, and the characters' yelling, screaming, and squabbling is always clean, centered, and easy to understand. That's about the best you can ask for this kind of show. The rear channels are rarely used for anything other than music; there are a few directional effects, but nothing noteworthy. In fact, you probably wouldn't even notice if someone switched over to the also-included Dolby Digital 2.0 track mid-episode. This season does show improvement, however, in dynamic range. I thought the Very Sunny Christmas special sounded conspicuously shrill—too much high end—but that's been fixed in season five with a better-balanced, grounded, more natural mix. Sure, It's Always Sunny is no Iron Man 2 in the sound department, but it really doesn't need to be.
Commentaries
A highlight of any Always Sunny home video release is the frequently hilarious commentary tracks featuring the cast and occasional guest stars. Here,
pop psychologist Dr. Drew joins in on two tracks to help psychoanalyze the characters.
"The Gang Hits the Road" - Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Danny DeVito
"The Gang Gives Frank and Intervention" - Danny DeVito and Dr. Drew
"The Waitress is Getting Married" - Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson, and Glenn Howerton
"The Gang Wrestles for the Troops" - Danny DeVito, Glenn Howerton, and Kaitlin Olson
"Mac and Dennis Break Up" - Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, and Dr. Drew
"The Gang Reignites the Rivalry" - Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton
Blooper Reel (SD, 7:47)
Deleted and Extended Scenes (SD, 19:40)
There's some great stuff here that didn't make the cut, although since the majority of these are "extended" scenes, you'll be seeing a lot of material
that was already included in the original episodes.
Kitten Mittens Endless Loop (SD)
This is like cat-nip for cat lovers—about four minutes of footage of cats trying to walk around wearing mittens, accompanied by kazoo music, looped to
repeat endlessly. (Actually, my Blu-ray player shows that the clip is finite. It's encoded to loop for 95 hours, 7 minutes, and 45
seconds.)
The Gang's Dating Profile (SD, 4:30)
Faux dating profile videos for Dennis, Mac, Dee, Artemis, and The Waitress.
Schwep Dream Sequence (SD, 4:54)
This time-lapse production video of the gang's fifth season was created using 23,793 stills.
Archer Season 1 - Pilot Episode (1080p, 21:33)
The first episode of FX's hilarious "James Bond meets Arrested Development" animated spy comedy.
With precious few comedies on TV that are actually funny anymore—I can't tell you how much I miss Arrested Development—it's good to see the irreverent Paddy's gang back to their usual self-centered antics in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's consistently hilarious fifth season. One word of warning: season five was the last to be shot on standard definition, so what we have here is a simple upconvert. Still, this Blu-ray set has all the Sunny special features goodness of its DVD counterpart, with the addition of lossless audio tracks and the convenience of having all 12 episodes of the season on two discs. Recommended!
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Includes 4 Exclusive Paddy's Coasters.
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2006
2005-2012
2013
2009-2015
Unrated Extended Edition
2007
2009
2011
2012
2011
UK
2001-2003
2013
#XtendedCut
2012
Bigger, Longer & Uncut 4K
1999
1987
Unrated Special Edition
2009
2018
2009
+ Unrated Version on BD
2016