Love it. I remember doing my first watch and heard that everybody apparently hated this one and thought they were insane. The cricket stuff alone makes it gold.
Megan’s Law & Order episode of Community is an absolute masterpiece. Ridiculous how well each character lines up comedically with the classic L&O structure.
It was tough hearing how dan treated her. That episode rocked. In his apology to her he admitted he couldn't really assess her work because he was just mad she wasn't attracted to him.
@@lukeroo yeah I think that’s what makes looking back at her work so…bittersweet (idek if that’s the right word to use) to reflect on bc it was SO GOOD and SO FUNNY but remembering what she had to go through at the time is just heartbreaking. And it was disappointing to learn abt as a huge community/Dan fan. Glad he gave an apology worthy of her approval though and both are in clearly better spaces. But I hate that it happened to her, she’s a lovely person who deserved better. Especially as a new writer.
@@KingofCrusher that's not to say that would have been the episode in question that was panned by Dan Harmon assuming it's Community that she is referring to. Could easily be the Documentary Filming Redux or whatever it is called as that is a different vibe episode
I feel like we've all been in a position where someone tried to make us look stupid but not all of us can say "I'm doing this because I enjoy it not because I need to" and can tell that person to shove it.
i actually love the fluctuation of charlie's character performance and i think the mixture of both takes was the perfect outcome, it's always made me picture charlie the character telling the story and really embellishing certain parts to emphasize what he imagines it was like back then. having the other character respond to him saying he doesn't understand is like mac and dennis in the room being like what the hell are you talking about charlie
The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell was the first episode of Sunny I ever watched. I was 12, staying with my aunt and uncle in California and my uncle loved the show already, so he let me sit down with him (to my aunts complete shock) to watch along as this episode originally aired. I will always remember how hard we laughed at "Check his pulse" "He doesn't have a head!". Been a fan ever since. Love you Sunny fam.
The gang cracks the Liberty bell is great. One of my all time favorite scenes is how in the ending we get to find out they were actually acting it all out
Yes! I’m surprised they didn’t mention this. Seeing the characters all separately acting out different parts of the story in that historical lady’s office at the end was hilarious
And then they think the reason she didn't like it was because she didn't understand it, so they decide to do it again in more detail. "Sit back, get comfortable - it's gonna take a little longer this time." "It starts the same. The year was 1776..."
Coming out with this podcast is probably the greatest thing that could ever happen.. my favorite actors from my favorite tv show breaking down every episode in detail and having a blast down memory lane with them
If you look at this episode within the context of them telling the story, Charlie's performance feels spot on to me. Because this absolutely feels like a scenario where Charlie Kelly would be doing a character. It's like his Jaws bit.
megan talking about the “keep the peace or run out of the room crying” instinct is something I, and I think many women early in their careers, relate to so much. megan you did a fantastic job on community and are doing even better on sunny/mq. we love you here
I was gonna say exactly that! To me this is a very common view of conflict that me and my female friends have. Doubting ourselves even though we're 100% in the right. It IS indeed inspiring to see someone be successful after having been through these difficult situations!
@@EmpressTeapotmen are overconfident and the veneer of competence throws us. But more often than not, and more often than many of them are, we can actually be brilliant
"Surrender maybe?" This episode is one of my favorites! Mac and Dennis dressing up as Nobel British was the best part. "Draw it out more than that. Yes, now flourish the pinkie" 🤣
She is needed for the podcast to work this well. She represents the fans and that is the magic touch that elevates this pod for me. Other pods that are doing this don't have that ingredient and I can feel it so clearly because I have been spoiled by the Always Sunny Podcast.
As a young female aspiring to be a tv/movie writer, Megan is so inspiring to me!! She’s worked on so many pieces of media I’ve enjoyed. I love hearing about her experiences as a woman writer.
*TIMESTAMPS* 0:00 Cold open (starting off with episode discussion today!) 3:18 Good jokes in this episode 5:30 Developing this story / Breaking format 8:25 Charlie's performance and storyline 12:32 Blunderbuss 13:43 Exploding Cricket's head 17:27 Mac's wooden teeth and Dennis the fop 19:40 Sets and locations / Paddy's in other movies / Dave G (thug) 22:52 - 24:24 ADVERTISEMENT#1 (Vuori) 24:25 - 26:00 ADVERTISEMENT#2 (Shopify) 26:02 Writing S16 / Strong memories of early seasons / Blue-skying 28:50 Conversations in the writers' room: Judgement Night (1993) and Denis Leary 32:31 Glenn as a gay wedding planner in The Job (2001-02) 36:18 Getting into comedy and standup 38:53 Smoking 39:46 - 41:00 ADVERTISEMENT#3 (Better Help) 41:08 Working in other people's writers' rooms 43:37 Glenn had a rude director on Fargo 47:03 Humiliating experiences as actors/writers So much episode discussion and insight into behind-the-scenes stuff in this episode. Is this the first time they just jumped straight into talking about the show? I hope we get this level of discussion for S5!
As a huge fan of the show, the episodes that depart from the norm are always so well done. It’s hard to be critical when the show as a whole has been so consistently brilliant and funny.
I'm appalled that some people are skipping this episode! It's absolutely one of my favorites. Dee continuously spitting in Cricket's eye his hysterical, and seeing who everyone would have been at that time was incredibly interesting
I'm always been shocked that people seem to hate this episode because for me, it's one of the ones I would say I laugh out loud the most. Just the moment when Cricket is trying to kiss Dee and she leans back and says you're crazy ugly makes me crack up every single time. I absolutely loved rewatching it
Personally, I just find the trope overdone. Even if it's done well, I just groan and go "okay it's one of THOSE episodes" whenever the main ensemble plays their own ancestors or whatever. It's got great stuff in it, but sadly it's wrapped in something I hate.
Love this episode so much. Also Meg definitely has to be talking about Dan Harmon when she wrote for Community. Fuckin awesome that she’s comfortable with these guys to share that and then make light of it.
It certainly does 'sound' like something Harmon would say, or at least how he'd repeat the line like 5 times, lol. If it is him she's talking about, I assume that part of her comfort now is that she and Harmon have been on good terms ever since he owned up to and apologized for his all-around poor behaviour with her.
Just read about the Dan Harmon incident on Megan's wiki page before the start of this pod. Sounds like he could be a real prick. Great that he was proven wrong by the episode in question being popular and that Megan's career is doing great while working with such a great gang. This podcast is a huge favourite of mine (haven't missed an ep) and can see that Megan is a major driver of the show. Edit Re: other comment, not surprised that it maybe was at Modern Family and not Dan Harmon who was the Hollywood asshole in Megan's story. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of narcissistic assholes in Hollywood.
@@theabraham8164 How do you figure? She said that she was a "young writer on the staff", and at the end Charlie said "They bully someone like Megan who's in her first year"". When she wrote "Connection Lost", she had already written 5 episodes (across 2 seasons) for Modern Family. Also the episode aired in 2015. It makes more sense that shes talking about Community (and an episode like Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking which aired in 2011, and it was her 2nd episode she had written for TV)
No, she had a different relationship with Dan Harmon. Harmon was sexually harassing her, but he stated publicly that he thinks she's a talented writer.
thats so funny because it was also my first episode and i hated it! thought the show was no good. glad i came back to it. And incidentally its my least favorite episode. just how it goes i guess
@@itsa-itsagames Yeah, same with the whole "good with women" exchange. "Good *_with_* women? You mean good *_at_* women?" "Like, you can't catch them when they run away from you? Bro, it's 1776 - they don't have any rights." As if they knew it would change in the future, lol.
This was actually the very first episode I ever watched of Sunny and I was hooked ever since! I dont understand how anyone who is a fan of the show could hate it, it embodies the whole feeling of the show with the 1700's spin. One of my favorites!
Love it! When Cricket’s head exploded , I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. P.S. Megan, I’m not sure what show you were talking about, but the episode you wrote for Community where the dean loses his mind making a commercial is one of my favorite episodes of television EVER! You’re awesome!
@@DavinJesseLoganScott Yeah that's spot on Harmon behavior. Kinda insane he treated her like that in addition to the sexual harassment shit, and she STILL accepted his apology!!!
I love the liberty bell episode so much. Its the one I always put on when I just wanna rewatch a random episode. Its glenn’s “surrender maybeee” that took me there.
This was the first episode of this show I ever saw, many winters ago. And to this day it remains one of my absolute favourites. "YeeEeeEEEEeeessshhhhhh".
26:04 YES! They've started writing the next season and both Marder and Rosell are back as writers this year! Their voices are clearly important for the insanity in the show. Loved this episode of the pod. Can we have this level of episode and show-adjacent discussion in the next few episodes at least? (plz!)
@@johnwerner69 two writers that have been with the show since the beginning. A lot of the incredible stories and jokes that we all know and quote often came from having them on the team.
@@johnwerner69 They've mentioned them on the podcast before. At first, Charlie, Glenn and Rob wrote everything with David Hornsby joining in from Season 2. Scott Marder and Rob Rosell were the first writers the guys hired for their staff when they started to build a writers' room in Season 3. It was the five of them (plus Lisa Parsons) that season, before they started adding other writers. Marder and Rosell stayed on for many years. Sunny has a noticeable tone shift between seasons 2 and 3, with the show only really finding that absurd-batshit-insance-heightened-cartoon reality in the latter. The guys have noted in the Dumpster Baby pod, and several others, that a big reason for this direction for the show going forward was what Marder and Rosell brought to the table. The two are credited for writing a lot of classics from Season 3-9. Writing is extremely collaborative so "writing credits" don't mean as much as we might think, and Rob/Charlie/Glenn as showrunners have obviously written on/rewritten every episode even if they're not explicitly credited, so it's tough to say what the exact contributions are, but it was clearly quite significant in the case of Marder and Rosell. At the very least, many of Charlie's crazy dialogues and rants seem to be Rosell-isms, mixed in with Charlie Day-isms (off the top of my head, this comes up in the pod episodes for The Gang Dances Their Asses Off "karate snow machine chops it" and Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack "Pepe Silvia"). They also wrote the chorus of Dayman. I'm not 100% sure, but between Season 10 and 12, Rosell wasn't around, and on Season 15, Marder wasn't around. Neither of them was writing on Season 13 and 14 though, which could be part of the explanation why those two seasons are generally regarded as being weaker (ofc another major one is probably that Glenn was burnt out and taking a break from the writer's room in those seasons). Edit: Anyway, for whatever reason, they've never quite been celebrated enough by the fans, even compared to someone like Meg, who's only been writing for Sunny since Season 12 and hasn't had _half_ the impact they've had, probably because audiences just don't pay attention to writers unless they're famous or on-camera. It's why it might be nice to have Marder-Rosell on the podcast someday, so fans can know them.
This was definitely one of the best podcast episodes yet. Partly because the Liberty Bell episode is actually one of the funniest episodes and they all really wanted to reminisce about it hahah. I love when I have the same favorite episodes as them, especially Charlie-makes me feel like I have good taste 😂 but this one was seriously great, equal parts talking about the episode, telling stories, talking about other shit they like, etc. Fuckin love you guys 🥹
This is the best episode of the pod so far. It had a great combination of details from the creation of this episode and showrunning in general. All the glimpses into everyone's other projects was also extremely interesting. I never knew Meg wrote for community, which is one of my favorite sitcoms out there.
I specifically love that the Liberty bell ep was different. When you’re an artist that makes 100+ episodes or 100+ songs… you’ve given the world so much material that you should be allowed for a couple of those to be experiments. It’s like The Beatles’ Revolution #9. Some people hate it… even though they have 99 other Beatle songs they can listen to
Definitely agree, an artist needs to experiment to evolve their style and prevent them becoming stale. If this means that quality occasionally may vary, then that's a necessary outcome.
Just rewatched this episode with my brother while running through some of season 4 the other week, we were absolutely howling throughout this one. One of my favorites now, so glad to hear the gang loves it too
Great point by Megan at the end, Bullies are never a positive influence on creativity. They're the opposite, they have only a negative effect on creativity.
"The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell" is my all time favorite episode! I saw it the night it aired, and the rewatched the rerun a couple hours later. I asked to myself "What is Happening?!?" I wasn't sure what I was watching, and it was brilliant.
I never hated this episode, but it was definitely one I chose not to re-watch when I was younger. However, it's now one of my favorites. It's so off the wall and has so many great moments.
agree bro, this episode is so slept on. They make the most out of the alternate reality. And it's so fun to see the gang at their usual shenanigans but in this different context.
I absolutely love how this podcast starts with talking about an episode and how i was created then wanders down a path to discuss human nature, being a good bass and bullies. There is a lot more in here beyond just the laughs and entertainment. Kudos to you all, wonderful stuff.
I have been watching the series for some years now by the time this one came out. This episode was immediately my favorite and is still one of my top 3. It's fantastic.
Maybe she's mentioned it before but I just binged Community and got hyped when Megan referenced writing for it. She wrote one of the show's best episodes: "Cooperative Calligraphy" (which has a similar energy to Always Sunny in a way).
I wrote this before Megan spoke about the abuse she received from a showrunner early into her career for creating what would go on to be a beloved episode, and it really feels like "Cooperative Calligraphy".
@@KonkeyVG she accepted his apology but guess that’s not good enough for you, someone that has nothing to do with the entire situation. thanks for your helpful and insightful comment. Hopefully you have never done one bad/wrong thing in your life, even if you show remorse, because based on your comment there is no coming back from that. I’m sure if your life was held under a microscope there is nothing you have ever done that anyone would object to or be offended by.
@@tmobeygee5351 Seriously though, what Harmon did was habitual abuse of co-workers throughout most of his career, and one high-profile victim accepted the apology years later when her career was at a better place. It wasn't "one bad/wrong thing" nor was it widely forgiven. In fact this cycle of behaving poorly and then making a major (arguably performative) public apology is itself a habitual behaviour of Harmon. I'm for restorative justice, but people are still entitled to feel a certain way about his past behaviour, and those feelings may influence how they feel about him today.
Shocked to learn this wasn't one of the more popular episodes. This one had me in stitches, and was one of the first ones I showed my friends to get them hooked. (in retrospect, maybe not the best episode for that purpose, but in my head, it was funny enough to hook a new viewer)
The episode has the best start because it symbolizes how the episode itself is perceived. Some people love it as a classic and some people wanna rip it off the wall. Mac's got a pocket knife.
The fact that Duncan is played by the same guy that worked at the Oldies Rock Cafe is amazing. That's a character backstory that I would love to see you guys dive in to.
It was always one of my favorite episodes from the moment I saw it. One of the funniest and most accurate lines ever spoken about characters is “gentlemen, you have both proven to me in the short time that I have know you that you are both slanderous perverts lacking any moral fortitude “
I mean it was 100% Dan that said that to Megan, problem is all the episodes she wrote were incredible so I have no idea which episode of community it was. So sorry for her that she had to go through that, her work on Britta's character was absolutely sublime
I loved The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell and my favorite is the end of the story. With Glen standing on his chair pretending to be an evil witch. His face and laugh is top tier comedy.
This is by far my FAVORITE It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Episode. Always has been ever since this episode premiered and I've been watching the show since it came out. Aloha from Hawaii. & thank you so much for helping me get through such tough times in my life. Thank you so much, guys.
Whenever i'm asked what my favorite episode is, i always mention this one. One of my favorite Charlie lines as well- "Wait, check his pulse!" phenomenal.
I find it wild that they were thinking Charlie’s accent in the episode wasn’t working. That, and everything else in this episode was hilarious. Much love creeps!
Having not got into Sunny until it was a few seasons in and binge watching it through torrents back then, I had no clue this episode was hated. It was fun like most of their episodes. I only learned years later it's considered one of the worst. Really shows how different experiencing a show in traditional weekly airings vs streaming style effects audience perception. When you're waiting for an episode to air and that's your only way to really see it, going off the beaten path can feel like a let down and loses the larger context of the series. It's like how season 2 of The Wire is much more liked now than it was then as the distinct shift in characters and focus could be really jarring to weekly viewers waiting for it but now fits the overall series narrative in hindsight.
Charlie’s portrayal of his 17th century character is too funny to think it could have been any better if he had played the character more true to his usual persona. It’s hilarious. Perfectly done.
I never knew people didn't like this episode. The head exploding was the most shockingly hilarious thing I've ever seen on TV. The jarring cut to the fake head absolutely broke me.
Yeah I definitely remember people hating this one which I never got. It's one of the best episodes ever. I do remember thinking Charlie's performance was off though, it was cool to see him be aware of that and explain the reasoning why.
This was the very first episode I ever watched… on Comedy Central reruns. I had no idea who any of the characters were but I fell in love with the show after watching this episode 💙💙💙
I love this episode. I quite love it when Sunny goes in an interesting and creative direction, this episode, the film noir episode was spectacular in my opinion, Charlie Work was a bit of a departure but was excellent, the Making a Murderer spoof was up there with the best. I don't mind at all when they guys flex their creative muscles.
I love the episode. And in fact just about every time you guys insert the gang into a major event it has always worked. This episode is probably in, or close to my top 5. Where Charlie Work is my absolute favorite all time so far.
I can't imagine ever skipping any episode. you and your writers never miss Edit: Also. I think it would be very cool to get a peek inside the writers room and see how that actually goes.
Creeps, where do you land on this episode? Love it or hate it?
Love it
Love it! Definitely in my top 5
Love it. I remember doing my first watch and heard that everybody apparently hated this one and thought they were insane. The cricket stuff alone makes it gold.
❤️ LOVE IT 😍
Love it, genuinely don't understand the hate.
Glenn's delivery of 'surender maybe' is one of my favorite moments of the whole show
Surrrendderrr mAaaybeee
Love Megan’s reference of one liners throughout, then no one really reacting. She representing the fans!
LMAO
this is why meg adds so much. She wasn't involved until season 14 i think so shes coming in as an outsider of sorts
@@TtotheCizzel wasn't sure myself when Megan joined the show, looked it up and it was S12 as a writer and later executive producer.
I know! I love how she's just geeking out over episodes and moments as a fan. Megan's the King Creep really
@@JenLight is great to know that someone who is a major driver of show wants to see/hear the same as us fans.
Megan’s Law & Order episode of Community is an absolute masterpiece. Ridiculous how well each character lines up comedically with the classic L&O structure.
I knew immediately that she was talking abt Dan and I still hate that she had to walk through that experience.
It was tough hearing how dan treated her. That episode rocked. In his apology to her he admitted he couldn't really assess her work because he was just mad she wasn't attracted to him.
@@lukeroo yeah I think that’s what makes looking back at her work so…bittersweet (idek if that’s the right word to use) to reflect on bc it was SO GOOD and SO FUNNY but remembering what she had to go through at the time is just heartbreaking. And it was disappointing to learn abt as a huge community/Dan fan. Glad he gave an apology worthy of her approval though and both are in clearly better spaces. But I hate that it happened to her, she’s a lovely person who deserved better. Especially as a new writer.
Thank you! I was trying to figure out which one she was talking about. That was a great episode, ha. My first instinct was the paintball episode.
@@KingofCrusher that's not to say that would have been the episode in question that was panned by Dan Harmon assuming it's Community that she is referring to. Could easily be the Documentary Filming Redux or whatever it is called as that is a different vibe episode
This is my literal absolute favorite episode. Mac’s wooden teeth whistling had me dead
yeeeessss 🤣
Yesssssyh 😂😂flourish the pinky
My least favorite episode for the same reason, hate those wooden teeth, sounds like nails on a chalkboard.
I know I always start crying from laughing and then I can't breathe so I start choking.
Stop, no more ''S's'' for you 😂
Glenn asking the director to walk him through the fingerless finger dial was incredibly cathartic
Agreed.
Do we have a clip?
@@metaforically it's like right towards the end, last 5 minutes or so
They do one handed dialing in the movies all the time. Has the dude never seen movies before?
I feel like we've all been in a position where someone tried to make us look stupid but not all of us can say "I'm doing this because I enjoy it not because I need to" and can tell that person to shove it.
Frank and Charlie posing while they test the guns at each other is such a classic scene.
Try me!
One of my favorites
Favorite part of the episode lol. When Charlie poses with his hand on his hip it gets me every time
I rewind it to see the posing part again every time I watch that episode. So subtle and great.
So funny.
Glenn's hair has grown back from shaved SO quickly. Must have done it through sheer force of will and the strength of a thousand suns.
He has 5 star hair follicles 😆
BALD HEAD BE GONE!
@@trishagraceking1941 His hair follicles have no bounds!
Sickness be gone!!
He consulted Brad Pit.
i actually love the fluctuation of charlie's character performance and i think the mixture of both takes was the perfect outcome, it's always made me picture charlie the character telling the story and really embellishing certain parts to emphasize what he imagines it was like back then. having the other character respond to him saying he doesn't understand is like mac and dennis in the room being like what the hell are you talking about charlie
43:54 when Glenn asks if he's told the story before.
The happiness on rob and Megan's faces when they reply "no."
lol it sounds exactly like how Dennis would handle the situation.
The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell was the first episode of Sunny I ever watched. I was 12, staying with my aunt and uncle in California and my uncle loved the show already, so he let me sit down with him (to my aunts complete shock) to watch along as this episode originally aired. I will always remember how hard we laughed at "Check his pulse" "He doesn't have a head!".
Been a fan ever since. Love you Sunny fam.
The gang cracks the Liberty bell is great. One of my all time favorite scenes is how in the ending we get to find out they were actually acting it all out
Yes! I’m surprised they didn’t mention this. Seeing the characters all separately acting out different parts of the story in that historical lady’s office at the end was hilarious
And then they think the reason she didn't like it was because she didn't understand it, so they decide to do it again in more detail.
"Sit back, get comfortable - it's gonna take a little longer this time."
"It starts the same. The year was 1776..."
Dennis being the Wicked Witch of the West was awesome. 🤣 They really lost the plot by the end of the story.
Mine is the YEEEZZZ and Dee being a "witch" hahahaha time flies, it has been so long since it came out, damn!
Coming out with this podcast is probably the greatest thing that could ever happen.. my favorite actors from my favorite tv show breaking down every episode in detail and having a blast down memory lane with them
💯
Crème de la crème in the Golden Age of content
My mind was blown when they announced the podcast was going to exist
Agreed, it’s so thoughtful for the fans as well as being nostalgic for them too
I just wish episodes were longer but I still enjoy the podcast
If you look at this episode within the context of them telling the story, Charlie's performance feels spot on to me. Because this absolutely feels like a scenario where Charlie Kelly would be doing a character. It's like his Jaws bit.
100% agree
megan talking about the “keep the peace or run out of the room crying” instinct is something I, and I think many women early in their careers, relate to so much. megan you did a fantastic job on community and are doing even better on sunny/mq. we love you here
Nah
lol
@@Steven-co5sd No.
I was gonna say exactly that! To me this is a very common view of conflict that me and my female friends have. Doubting ourselves even though we're 100% in the right. It IS indeed inspiring to see someone be successful after having been through these difficult situations!
@@EmpressTeapotmen are overconfident and the veneer of competence throws us. But more often than not, and more often than many of them are, we can actually be brilliant
"Surrender maybe?" This episode is one of my favorites! Mac and Dennis dressing up as Nobel British was the best part. "Draw it out more than that. Yes, now flourish the pinkie" 🤣
I still die laughing at the lines “YEEEEEEEEEEESSS” and “Wait…check his pulse”.🤣🤣🤣🤣
This episode is so good. Franklin and Charlie testing the guns on each other was gold. And the "Check his pulse" line cracks me up every time.
Love the way the pod ended. you can sense the sheer enthusiasm these guys feel about the writing session that was to follow.
I love how much more involved Meg is. She brings a great dynamic to the podcast. Great episode!
Nah
I love that I don't watch live so I can skip ahead every time she starts talking.
She is needed for the podcast to work this well. She represents the fans and that is the magic touch that elevates this pod for me. Other pods that are doing this don't have that ingredient and I can feel it so clearly because I have been spoiled by the Always Sunny Podcast.
As a young female aspiring to be a tv/movie writer, Megan is so inspiring to me!! She’s worked on so many pieces of media I’ve enjoyed. I love hearing about her experiences as a woman writer.
*TIMESTAMPS*
0:00 Cold open (starting off with episode discussion today!)
3:18 Good jokes in this episode
5:30 Developing this story / Breaking format
8:25 Charlie's performance and storyline
12:32 Blunderbuss
13:43 Exploding Cricket's head
17:27 Mac's wooden teeth and Dennis the fop
19:40 Sets and locations / Paddy's in other movies / Dave G (thug)
22:52 - 24:24 ADVERTISEMENT#1 (Vuori)
24:25 - 26:00 ADVERTISEMENT#2 (Shopify)
26:02 Writing S16 / Strong memories of early seasons / Blue-skying
28:50 Conversations in the writers' room: Judgement Night (1993) and Denis Leary
32:31 Glenn as a gay wedding planner in The Job (2001-02)
36:18 Getting into comedy and standup
38:53 Smoking
39:46 - 41:00 ADVERTISEMENT#3 (Better Help)
41:08 Working in other people's writers' rooms
43:37 Glenn had a rude director on Fargo
47:03 Humiliating experiences as actors/writers
So much episode discussion and insight into behind-the-scenes stuff in this episode. Is this the first time they just jumped straight into talking about the show? I hope we get this level of discussion for S5!
mans did his homework, firm handshakes
Good bot
This is impressive, young Zaphod. Thank you for playing this safely. See what I did there? 😉😁
hey you dropped this - 👑
Rude director is Colin Bucksey
LMAO I love he goes full Dennis at 46:38 like "Hey just so you know, none of this matters to me, I got my own thing going on"
Before even beginning the episode two things come to mind; “flourish the pinky” and “YESSSSSH”
and they didn't even mention those lines!
As a huge fan of the show, the episodes that depart from the norm are always so well done. It’s hard to be critical when the show as a whole has been so consistently brilliant and funny.
I'm appalled that some people are skipping this episode! It's absolutely one of my favorites. Dee continuously spitting in Cricket's eye his hysterical, and seeing who everyone would have been at that time was incredibly interesting
I'm always been shocked that people seem to hate this episode because for me, it's one of the ones I would say I laugh out loud the most. Just the moment when Cricket is trying to kiss Dee and she leans back and says you're crazy ugly makes me crack up every single time. I absolutely loved rewatching it
I'm shocked people liked this episode! I adore all other episodes but this one. I didn't get it. What am I missing ?
@@hope_so_90 🤡
Flourish the pinky
Personally, I just find the trope overdone. Even if it's done well, I just groan and go "okay it's one of THOSE episodes" whenever the main ensemble plays their own ancestors or whatever. It's got great stuff in it, but sadly it's wrapped in something I hate.
I'm with you completely. I was extremely surprised to find out there was backlash to this episode, it's one of my favorites
Love this episode so much. Also Meg definitely has to be talking about Dan Harmon when she wrote for Community. Fuckin awesome that she’s comfortable with these guys to share that and then make light of it.
She isn't, she was talking about her "Connection Lost" episode of Modern Family.
It certainly does 'sound' like something Harmon would say, or at least how he'd repeat the line like 5 times, lol. If it is him she's talking about, I assume that part of her comfort now is that she and Harmon have been on good terms ever since he owned up to and apologized for his all-around poor behaviour with her.
Just read about the Dan Harmon incident on Megan's wiki page before the start of this pod. Sounds like he could be a real prick. Great that he was proven wrong by the episode in question being popular and that Megan's career is doing great while working with such a great gang. This podcast is a huge favourite of mine (haven't missed an ep) and can see that Megan is a major driver of the show. Edit Re: other comment, not surprised that it maybe was at Modern Family and not Dan Harmon who was the Hollywood asshole in Megan's story. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of narcissistic assholes in Hollywood.
@@theabraham8164 How do you figure? She said that she was a "young writer on the staff", and at the end Charlie said "They bully someone like Megan who's in her first year"". When she wrote "Connection Lost", she had already written 5 episodes (across 2 seasons) for Modern Family. Also the episode aired in 2015. It makes more sense that shes talking about Community (and an episode like Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking which aired in 2011, and it was her 2nd episode she had written for TV)
No, she had a different relationship with Dan Harmon. Harmon was sexually harassing her, but he stated publicly that he thinks she's a talented writer.
This episode was and always will be a classic. It started a great period of growth for the show.
38:29 Bill Hicks does write good jokes.
0:15 nice harmony
This was the first sunny episode I saw. I was flipping through the channels and it was on. Been a sunny fan ever since.
thats so funny because it was also my first episode and i hated it! thought the show was no good. glad i came back to it. And incidentally its my least favorite episode. just how it goes i guess
This is absolutely one of my favourite episodes. It's one of the ones I will always watch
"Charlie, it's 1776! We'll just kill him and take his stuff!" XD
i love how they keep saying their current year like thats how people talked
@@itsa-itsagames Yeah, same with the whole "good with women" exchange.
"Good *_with_* women? You mean good *_at_* women?"
"Like, you can't catch them when they run away from you? Bro, it's 1776 - they don't have any rights."
As if they knew it would change in the future, lol.
One of my all time favorite episodes. The line "surrender maybe" just kills me. Also the teeth. Just so damn good.
One of my absolute favorites. The scene of Dennis teaching Mac how to sound British is one of my top 10 favorite moments from the show
Flourish the pinkay
@@shytguy Yeeeeeees
Yeeeeeeeeesss!!!!!
Oh, yeeeeesh!
This was actually the very first episode I ever watched of Sunny and I was hooked ever since! I dont understand how anyone who is a fan of the show could hate it, it embodies the whole feeling of the show with the 1700's spin. One of my favorites!
Love it! When Cricket’s head exploded , I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe.
P.S. Megan, I’m not sure what show you were talking about, but the episode you wrote for Community where the dean loses his mind making a commercial is one of my favorite episodes of television EVER! You’re awesome!
I didn't realize Megan wrote that episode. That is one of the best episodes. I already liked her and now I like her even more. 😁
Im thinking she's either referencing that one or the pen episode. Either way the "showrunner" she's talking about 100% has to be Dan Harmon.
@@DavinJesseLoganScott Yeah that's spot on Harmon behavior. Kinda insane he treated her like that in addition to the sexual harassment shit, and she STILL accepted his apology!!!
"Wait, wait, wait! Check his pulse."
Every single episode Meg did was fantastic. Especially documentary redux
I love the liberty bell episode so much. Its the one I always put on when I just wanna rewatch a random episode. Its glenn’s “surrender maybeee” that took me there.
Loved this episode…Robs whistle while he’s talking cracks me up every time
The Fargo director from Glenn's story is named Colin Bucksey
This was the first episode of this show I ever saw, many winters ago. And to this day it remains one of my absolute favourites.
"YeeEeeEEEEeeessshhhhhh".
"the wooden teeth are killing it!
i think the wooden teeth are a SSHHHHmashing SHHHHHuccessHH"
"Oh, nayeth! Nayeth!"
Longer than that?!
26:04 YES! They've started writing the next season and both Marder and Rosell are back as writers this year! Their voices are clearly important for the insanity in the show. Loved this episode of the pod. Can we have this level of episode and show-adjacent discussion in the next few episodes at least? (plz!)
Marder and Rossell?
@@johnwerner69 two writers that have been with the show since the beginning. A lot of the incredible stories and jokes that we all know and quote often came from having them on the team.
which was the last season that they worked on?
@@bulldogfront666 awesome!
@@johnwerner69 They've mentioned them on the podcast before. At first, Charlie, Glenn and Rob wrote everything with David Hornsby joining in from Season 2. Scott Marder and Rob Rosell were the first writers the guys hired for their staff when they started to build a writers' room in Season 3. It was the five of them (plus Lisa Parsons) that season, before they started adding other writers. Marder and Rosell stayed on for many years. Sunny has a noticeable tone shift between seasons 2 and 3, with the show only really finding that absurd-batshit-insance-heightened-cartoon reality in the latter. The guys have noted in the Dumpster Baby pod, and several others, that a big reason for this direction for the show going forward was what Marder and Rosell brought to the table.
The two are credited for writing a lot of classics from Season 3-9. Writing is extremely collaborative so "writing credits" don't mean as much as we might think, and Rob/Charlie/Glenn as showrunners have obviously written on/rewritten every episode even if they're not explicitly credited, so it's tough to say what the exact contributions are, but it was clearly quite significant in the case of Marder and Rosell. At the very least, many of Charlie's crazy dialogues and rants seem to be Rosell-isms, mixed in with Charlie Day-isms (off the top of my head, this comes up in the pod episodes for The Gang Dances Their Asses Off "karate snow machine chops it" and Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack "Pepe Silvia"). They also wrote the chorus of Dayman.
I'm not 100% sure, but between Season 10 and 12, Rosell wasn't around, and on Season 15, Marder wasn't around. Neither of them was writing on Season 13 and 14 though, which could be part of the explanation why those two seasons are generally regarded as being weaker (ofc another major one is probably that Glenn was burnt out and taking a break from the writer's room in those seasons).
Edit: Anyway, for whatever reason, they've never quite been celebrated enough by the fans, even compared to someone like Meg, who's only been writing for Sunny since Season 12 and hasn't had _half_ the impact they've had, probably because audiences just don't pay attention to writers unless they're famous or on-camera. It's why it might be nice to have Marder-Rosell on the podcast someday, so fans can know them.
This was definitely one of the best podcast episodes yet. Partly because the Liberty Bell episode is actually one of the funniest episodes and they all really wanted to reminisce about it hahah. I love when I have the same favorite episodes as them, especially Charlie-makes me feel like I have good taste 😂 but this one was seriously great, equal parts talking about the episode, telling stories, talking about other shit they like, etc. Fuckin love you guys 🥹
This is the best episode of the pod so far. It had a great combination of details from the creation of this episode and showrunning in general. All the glimpses into everyone's other projects was also extremely interesting. I never knew Meg wrote for community, which is one of my favorite sitcoms out there.
I specifically love that the Liberty bell ep was different. When you’re an artist that makes 100+ episodes or 100+ songs… you’ve given the world so much material that you should be allowed for a couple of those to be experiments. It’s like The Beatles’ Revolution #9. Some people hate it… even though they have 99 other Beatle songs they can listen to
Definitely agree, an artist needs to experiment to evolve their style and prevent them becoming stale. If this means that quality occasionally may vary, then that's a necessary outcome.
Lbb
I love when they actually talk about the episode. This was a great podcast listen. Thanks boys
Absolutely love this episode. The wooden teeth whistley tooth bit is priceless 😂
The whistling done by Rob was done also in Arrested Development (S1E5) in a scene with Will Arnett. I think they used the same method.
Just rewatched this episode with my brother while running through some of season 4 the other week, we were absolutely howling throughout this one. One of my favorites now, so glad to hear the gang loves it too
Great point by Megan at the end, Bullies are never a positive influence on creativity. They're the opposite, they have only a negative effect on creativity.
It's so wild to me to hear about pushback from the fans on this episode. It's easily one of my favorite Sunny episodes ever
This is one of the episodes where the more times I see it, the funnier it is. So good.
Frank and Charlie shooting and posing at each other is a top tier moment in the show, period. The wife and I lose it every time
"Try me!" "Nothing!" "What about this one?!" (Strikes a pose)
The part in the episode where cricket yells "he just spit in my mouth" makes me burst out laughing every single time I rewatch the episode.
I’m so shocked that some people didn’t like this episode. It’s actually, hands down one of my absolute FAVORITES!! ❤🍻💥🔕
Absolutely agree!
When they cut from the past to the present and the gang is going ham in the historian's office is great.
Mine too. My favorite part is when Dee, the "witch", actually takes flight on a broom at the end. So ridiculous XD
Same man. Crickets head exploding had my CRYING laughing so hard.
The acting in this episode makes me cringe.
"The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell" is my all time favorite episode! I saw it the night it aired, and the rewatched the rerun a couple hours later. I asked to myself "What is Happening?!?" I wasn't sure what I was watching, and it was brilliant.
Really enjoy when you guys do these in-depth episode breakdowns.
One of the top 5, hands down.
46:13 Rob's pursed-lips lip-balm application technique is exactly what my girlfriend has always laughed at me for. THERE ARE DOZENS OF US ✊
These episodes are jam packed with life advice that help me be a better person. Love it.
I never hated this episode, but it was definitely one I chose not to re-watch when I was younger. However, it's now one of my favorites. It's so off the wall and has so many great moments.
Charlie definitely on the memory pills this week! 😂
His face before he says “What else do you want me to remember?” 😂
Charlie is limitless right now
agree bro, this episode is so slept on. They make the most out of the alternate reality. And it's so fun to see the gang at their usual shenanigans but in this different context.
I absolutely love how this podcast starts with talking about an episode and how i was created then wanders down a path to discuss human nature, being a good bass and bullies. There is a lot more in here beyond just the laughs and entertainment. Kudos to you all, wonderful stuff.
I have been watching the series for some years now by the time this one came out. This episode was immediately my favorite and is still one of my top 3. It's fantastic.
"Check his pulse" always kills me!!
Maybe she's mentioned it before but I just binged Community and got hyped when Megan referenced writing for it. She wrote one of the show's best episodes: "Cooperative Calligraphy" (which has a similar energy to Always Sunny in a way).
I wrote this before Megan spoke about the abuse she received from a showrunner early into her career for creating what would go on to be a beloved episode, and it really feels like "Cooperative Calligraphy".
She wrote that one?? Might be my favorite episode, and that’s saying a lot because there are so many good ones
@@KonkeyVG she accepted his apology but guess that’s not good enough for you, someone that has nothing to do with the entire situation. thanks for your helpful and insightful comment.
Hopefully you have never done one bad/wrong thing in your life, even if you show remorse, because based on your comment there is no coming back from that. I’m sure if your life was held under a microscope there is nothing you have ever done that anyone would object to or be offended by.
@@tmobeygee5351 Next time I feel like expressing my thoughts I'll check with you to see if I'm allowed to have an opinion on something.
@@tmobeygee5351 Seriously though, what Harmon did was habitual abuse of co-workers throughout most of his career, and one high-profile victim accepted the apology years later when her career was at a better place. It wasn't "one bad/wrong thing" nor was it widely forgiven. In fact this cycle of behaving poorly and then making a major (arguably performative) public apology is itself a habitual behaviour of Harmon. I'm for restorative justice, but people are still entitled to feel a certain way about his past behaviour, and those feelings may influence how they feel about him today.
Easily one of my favorite episodes too! Charlies pose for frank to test the gun, spitting in crickets face and the wooden teeth are all comedy gold
I have always loved this episode. Still do. Especially the Charlie and Frank stuff. One of my favorites. They should do something like it again.
Shocked to learn this wasn't one of the more popular episodes. This one had me in stitches, and was one of the first ones I showed my friends to get them hooked. (in retrospect, maybe not the best episode for that purpose, but in my head, it was funny enough to hook a new viewer)
The episode has the best start because it symbolizes how the episode itself is perceived. Some people love it as a classic and some people wanna rip it off the wall. Mac's got a pocket knife.
The fact that Duncan is played by the same guy that worked at the Oldies Rock Cafe is amazing. That's a character backstory that I would love to see you guys dive in to.
The liberty bell episode is hilarious! The way it ends with them telling the story cracks me up so much
Rob and Scott being back in the writers room is exciting
“Good one witch” and the high five is one of my favorite lines from the series. I say it to my wife all the time
It was always one of my favorite episodes from the moment I saw it. One of the funniest and most accurate lines ever spoken about characters is “gentlemen, you have both proven to me in the short time that I have know you that you are both slanderous perverts lacking any moral fortitude “
I mean it was 100% Dan that said that to Megan, problem is all the episodes she wrote were incredible so I have no idea which episode of community it was.
So sorry for her that she had to go through that, her work on Britta's character was absolutely sublime
I loved The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell and my favorite is the end of the story. With Glen standing on his chair pretending to be an evil witch. His face and laugh is top tier comedy.
This is by far my FAVORITE It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Episode. Always has been ever since this episode premiered and I've been watching the show since it came out.
Aloha from Hawaii. & thank you so much for helping me get through such tough times in my life. Thank you so much, guys.
Whenever i'm asked what my favorite episode is, i always mention this one. One of my favorite Charlie lines as well- "Wait, check his pulse!" phenomenal.
Dennis and Mac being foppish dandy's was absolutely hilarious!
I find it wild that they were thinking Charlie’s accent in the episode wasn’t working. That, and everything else in this episode was hilarious. Much love creeps!
Having not got into Sunny until it was a few seasons in and binge watching it through torrents back then, I had no clue this episode was hated. It was fun like most of their episodes.
I only learned years later it's considered one of the worst. Really shows how different experiencing a show in traditional weekly airings vs streaming style effects audience perception.
When you're waiting for an episode to air and that's your only way to really see it, going off the beaten path can feel like a let down and loses the larger context of the series.
It's like how season 2 of The Wire is much more liked now than it was then as the distinct shift in characters and focus could be really jarring to weekly viewers waiting for it but now fits the overall series narrative in hindsight.
Charlie’s portrayal of his 17th century character is too funny to think it could have been any better if he had played the character more true to his usual persona. It’s hilarious. Perfectly done.
One of my favorite parts is the beginning with Charlie selling his olde ye furs sales pitch.
I've tried memorizing it, it's so funny!!!
im so glad that Megan is becoming more and more part of the podcast, I love hearing her talk
I never knew people didn't like this episode. The head exploding was the most shockingly hilarious thing I've ever seen on TV. The jarring cut to the fake head absolutely broke me.
Yeah I definitely remember people hating this one which I never got. It's one of the best episodes ever. I do remember thinking Charlie's performance was off though, it was cool to see him be aware of that and explain the reasoning why.
My favorite part to head exploding was when Charlie said, "Check his pulse". and to Dee's reaction 😂😂😂
One of the best episodes of always sunny for sure. The amount of times I’ve said “yeeeeessss”…
This was the very first episode I ever watched… on Comedy Central reruns. I had no idea who any of the characters were but I fell in love with the show after watching this episode 💙💙💙
The harmonizing "ahhhh" 0:15 at is so satisfying
For me the most hilarious thing about this episode is the spitting into crickets face. They do it so many times, it's unbelievable!
11:23 Franks face during this scene is so damn hilarious 😂
I was surprised a lot of fans dislike this episode, it's one of my favorites.
I agree with Charlie, this is one of my favorite episodes. At least top 15.
One of my favorite mac lines at the start with cutting the picture out of the frame, so good
I’m actually surprised that at any point this wasn’t well received, one of the best episodes of the show and most popular among my friends
I love this episode. I quite love it when Sunny goes in an interesting and creative direction, this episode, the film noir episode was spectacular in my opinion, Charlie Work was a bit of a departure but was excellent, the Making a Murderer spoof was up there with the best. I don't mind at all when they guys flex their creative muscles.
Been a fan since season 2, legit did not know people did not like this episode until just now lol! Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell is a classic!!
I love the episode. And in fact just about every time you guys insert the gang into a major event it has always worked. This episode is probably in, or close to my top 5. Where Charlie Work is my absolute favorite all time so far.
I can't imagine ever skipping any episode. you and your writers never miss
Edit: Also. I think it would be very cool to get a peek inside the writers room and see how that actually goes.