BP6: R&R

     One of my favorite television shows is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a comedy/sitcom starring Danny Devito that takes place in the Philadelphia area.  The show, while at times very obscure and shocking, is very appealing to me due to its high levels of abrupt humor and likable characters.  In particular, Devito's character, Frank, never fails to make me laugh.

     Despite the fact that the show is very entertaining, it is also very unrealistic at times.  Since I began watching the show last Summer, I have already seen episodes in which the characters harass professional athletes, attempt to illegally sell gasoline, smoke crack cocaine in excess in order to qualify for welfare so they do not have to work, and other outlandish things.  Even though the characters' antics almost always end in disaster, punishment, or widespread chaos, they always manage to fix things and bring their lives back to normal as if nothing happened.

     Even though the characters and episode plots of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are usually very crude, ridiculous, and exaggerated, a lot can be said about the carefree way in which the show's characters live.  I would not mind living a life where I could have the power to do so many crazy, illegal things and always get away with it.  Having said that, I can imagine living such a life in the real would eventually lead to misery, as well as possibly jail time or even death.

     I believe that the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" can be influential to the way its viewers see life due to how it is constructed.  The show does realistically portray aspects of life such as typical emotional reactions and common human interactions.  In addition, even though the characters' ability to constantly get out of trouble and re-appear in future episodes is pretty unrealistic, the ways they are punished for their actions in every episode is usually very realistic.  However, in the end, the show is not an accurate portrayal of every day life and its characters should probably not be mimicked by anyone.