It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Review & Recap – The D.E.N.N.I.S. System

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It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The D.E.N.N.I.S. System

Original Air Date: Nov 19, 2009

Tom R. – Sr. Staff Writer
tom@thetwocentscorp.com

Warning: Do not try this at home.

Best episode of the season so far. Whenever a character uses the word “Foolproof”, you can start laughing as soon as you’re done with the “uh-oh”. You know where things are headed.

1:30 PM, on a Tuesday, and Dennis is proudly playing a call from a girl who is obviously irritated with him. He smiles calmly and says it’s all a part of a plan that he calls “The DENNIS System”, with each letter of his name as a mnemonic for the next step. The fun in the first part of the episode is his unveiling of each step, and the reenactment of his affair with a cute pharmacist. Of course, Dee balks at each step, while the rest of the guys fall for it.

Unfortunately, the scam hits Dee on a subconscious level, and she begins to second-guess every polite gesture by her new boyfriend Ben. Mac establishes his own acronym (Move in After Completion), while Frank and Charlie get stuck on the first step (Demonstrate your Value). Charlie heads to The Waitress’ apartment to clog and fix her sink, while Frank thinks the answer is carrying the largest condoms he can find.

Dennis tries to “Re-DENNIS” The Pharmacist, but she has found the flaws with the prescription he faked in order to meet her. Since The Waitress is working part-time at a carnival, everyone ends up there with the usual wacky schemes, including Dennis and his rented grandmother (Gladys, from previous episodes). Just as quickly, everyone is forced to leave as Dee is stabbed, Ben dumps her for The Pharmacist, and Gladys is left behind in the confusion.

The succession is beautifully done, in writing and performance. The initial phone call leads to Dennis’ reveal of the plan. From there, we see his frustration that no one can get it right. Then, of course, we see it all fall apart for him. On Dee’s part, there’s the usual frustration at being ignored as she tries to point out the stupidity. After that, we see her getting sucked in by the psychological bugaboos. And any fan of the show can draw the diagram to see where Frank, Mac and Charlie will end up. Nice touch, by the way, that Mac tries to pass himself off as an intellectual by putting on glasses, carrying a book, and changing nothing else.

Did you notice I used the word “bugaboos”? How cool was that, huh? Dude, you should totally work that into a sentence this week. At work, yeah, I was just thinking! Let me know your take on the show…Drop, me a line at: tom@thetwocentscorp.com