Folks, it's going to be a cold winter without It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Sure, this season had more episodes fall flat than  the previous two, but we also got some great moments with the McPoyles and a hilarious incestuous marriage.

[Don't think incestuous marriage is hilarious? Go get spoiled somewhere else.]

As the Season 3 finale opens, Frank is ranking the Paddy's staff. Not by quality or any other meaningful indicator; just arbitrarily. That doesn't stop Dennis, Dee and Mac from obsessing. As for Charlie, he's off signing up Paddy's Bar to host a dance marathon. Oh, but he mistakes the word "Prize" for "Pride," and puts the bar up as the winner's spoils. Oops!

The rules are these: Dancers have to keep moving, and are out when they hit the ground. Oh, and any dancer can challenge another to a dance-off, and the loser has to wear a 25-pound keg around his neck. Worse for the gang, The Waitress and Rickety Cricket are in the competition to indulge in their respective grudges. No, wait, what's worse is that the gang is still hung up on their rankings, and are out to get each other even if it means losing Paddy's.

You see where this is going. First our antiheroes take out the competition with dirty tricks (mostly dropping people to the floor, though the cough syrup-laced brownies help) and then turn on each other. In the end, Cricket accidentally takes out Sweet Dee, and Homeless Larry wins. Good think Frank paid off Larry, so the bar stays in his hands.

As sitcom season finales go (for a show where characters and plot really never progress), this one was funny but not uproarious. I was hoping for a McPoyle challenge, but they never appeared. Bringing in Waitress and Cricket was fun, but stretching the ep to an hour and having all of the gang's rivals appear would have really made it special. Then again, that smacks a bit too much of the Seinfeld series end. At least we got to see Charlie's choreographed routine for Berlin's classic "Take My Breath Away."

Comments

thinking of Charlie's choreographed routine is still cracking me up. I loved Mac's dancing skills as well. And the "exoskeleton" Hee!

Wendy | Nov 16, 2007 4:55:31 AM | #

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I think this shows needs to refocus a bit and stop trying to be too outrageous. This season left me a little underwhelmed compared to the previous two. Still one of the better shows on tv. Can't wait for next season!

Johnny | Nov 16, 2007 6:39:43 AM | #

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Yeah, the begining of the season was a little off but the last 5 or 6 episodes have been great they are back to true form and I hope they get another longer season. It feels like just when they got theri grove back that the show was over for the year. I hope next year they do to 13 episode seasons w/ a small break between seasons.

pete | Nov 16, 2007 7:29:53 PM | #

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Sunny did take a couple of shows to reach stride, but I

Jake Steele | Nov 17, 2007 8:17:40 PM | #

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I thought it was a brilliant finale to another great season. I really liked how the dance marathon served to salute all of their pairings in each episode in one show and pay offhand tribute to "They Shoot Horses, Don't They".

Mik Davis | Nov 20, 2007 5:34:27 PM | #

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What song is it that Charlie dances to in his choreographed routine???

Cam | Dec 5, 2007 11:08:15 PM | #

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