It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia/A Very Sunny Christmas

A Very Sunny Christmas
Season 6, Episode 13 & 14
Airdate	December 16, 2010
Production Number	IP05001
Written by	Charlie Day & Rob McElhenney
Directed by	Fred Savage
← 6x12 Dee Gives Birth	7x01 → Frank's Pretty Woman
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia — Season Six

A Very Sunny Christmas is the thirteenth and fourteenth episode of the sixth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the seventh and seventy-first episode overall.

Starring: Charlie Day (Charlie Kelly), Glenn Howerton (Dennis Reynolds), Rob McElhenney (Mac), Kaitlin Olson (Dee Reynolds)

and Danny DeVito (Frank Reynolds)

Guest Starring: David Huddleston (Eugene), Gregory Scott Cummins (Luther), Sandy Martin (Mac's Mom), Lynne Marie Stewart (Charlie's Mom), Pablo Schreiber (Ricky Falcone), Ryan Michelle Bathe (Woman-Office Worker), Mike Beaver (Man-Office Worker), Derek Waters (Toy Store Clerk), Mark Povinelli (Tiny)

Co-Starring: Preston Bailey (Young Mac), Charlie Carter (Young Dennis), Harley Graham (Young Dee), Robbie Tucker (Young Charlie), Timothy Goodwin (Christmas Dad), Donovan Scott (Santa in Mall), Karly Rothenberg (Another Mom), Marc Anthony Samuel (Raisin #1 V.O.), Gary Anthony Williams (Snowman and Raisin V.O.), Michael Yurchak (Elf V.O.)

Plot Overview

It's Christmastime, but Dee and Dennis aren't in the spirit. Yet again, Frank has bought what they wanted for himself. Hoping to put a stop to his cruelty, they attempt to change him a la A Christmas Carol.

Meanwhile, Charlie and Mac stroll down memory lane, but discover that their Christmas past wasn't as magical as they thought.

Notes

Music

• Bobby Helms - "Jingle Bell Rock"

• Andy Williams - "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

• Bing Crosby - "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

• Elvis Presley - "Blue Christmas"

• Bing Crosby - "White Christmas"

• "O Holy Night"

Trivia

The Show

• The main title sequence is altered for this episode. In addition to a Christmas jingle accompanying the score, all of the usual footage of Philadelphia are replaced with those featuring Christmas decorations in the city.

• When this special aired, all the utterances of "fuck" were censored with some parts of Frank blurred after emerging from the couch.

Behind the Scenes

• Although this essentially aired as the Season 6 finale, it was filmed during production for Season 5 and was released by itself on DVD November 17, 2009. This creates a continuity issue since Mac has Charlie over his home despite it being burned down earlier in the season.

Allusions and References

• The hallucination Frank recounts is done in the stop-motion style of many older Christmas specials, especially Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as the elf resembles Hermey. The "racist singing raisins" are the California Raisins who were featured in the Christmas special A Claymation Christmas Celebration.

Memorable Moments

• Frank emerging from the couch completely naked to everyone's horror.

• Frank's claymation hallucination.

Goofs

• When Charlie is playing with the Simon he is stumped when it hits three, but in the next two shots, it's inexplicably gone.

• When Charlie is repeatedly screaming "No!", he's clearly moving quite a bit, but when it cuts to a shot where we see his mother, he's still in frame and appears to be simply standing there, not even moving his mouth.

• When Frank is talking about sewing himself into the couch, it cuts to a shot from his side and you can see his mouth doesn't match what he's saying.

• After Frank pulls the blanket off his foot, there's a cut to a shot where his foot is again covered.

Quotes

• Frank: Merry Christmas, bitches!

• Dee: What is your problem, Frank? Why do you do this to us every year?

Frank: I do it to you every year, Deandra, because you and your brother never learn the lesson that I try to impart at Christmastime.

Dee: Oh, my God.

Frank: And that is, you have to earn what you get. This principle made me a multi-millionaire.

Dee: No. No, stealing millions of dollars from your ex-business partner is what made you a millionaire, Frank.

Frank: Eugene Hamilton was a great man. Do not speak ill of the dead.

Dennis: She's speaking ill of you!

• Mac: Oh, check this out, dude. Look at that.

Charlie: Why do you have a karate trophy?

Mac: I found that in the street, one time.

Charlie: Oh, that makes sense.

• (after watching a video of Mac's Christmas morning as a kid)

Charlie: Dude, what wa- What was that? What happened, right there?

Mac: Huh?

Charlie: What was the family on the stairs? What was that?

Mac: That was probably the next family coming in to get their presents.

Charlie: What are -- What are you talking about? What was happening there?

Mac: That was the Christmas tradition, where you go from house to house collecting your presents. And then when the next family comes, you would run.

Charlie: I am not aware of this tradition, Mac. In fact, I think that you were just stealing from that home.

Mac: Oh, no. I was taking their presents, but they were taking mine. Yeah, dude. That's why there were never any presents at my house when I got back. The neighbours took them. It's a South Philadelphia tradition, Charlie.

Charlie: No. Mm-mm. That makes no -- People don't do that, dude. That doesn't make any sense.

Mac: You're telling me that Christmas morning, you would not go to your neighbour's house and take their presents?

Charlie: No! No one does that!

Mac: Well, my dad told me that that was the tradition.

Charlie: And your dad is, like, a thief and a murderer who eats people. So, he's not really trustworthy.

• (after a young Dennis and Dee open a large present)

Young Dennis: There's nothing in there.

Frank: Fake out! There's nothing in any of them. Now go wake up your pill-head mother.

• Dennis: All right, Frank, here's the plan: we're gonna hide you somewhere in the office so you can hear people talking shit about you, all right?

Frank: Oh, that's cool. Oh, I see where you going with this now. Sew me into the couch.

Dennis: Sew you into the couch? What are you saying?

Frank: Yeah. That's what I do at home all the time. Hide in the couch. It's a great hiding place. I catch Charlie pounding off all the time!

Dennis: "Pounding off"? Where do you get these terms?

Dee: Why do you want to catch Charlie masturbating? No! I don't care! No!

• (a silent Charlie stalks up to a mall Santa)

Mall Santa: Ho, ho, ho, ho. Well, hello, and Merry Christmas! (looking around) So, where's your little one?

(Charlie slumps down in Santa's lap)

Mall Santa: Oh! Ho, ho, ho, ho! You're a big boy, aren't ya? (laughs) Uh... (to Mac) Is he retarded? Ah, I got this one. (to Charlie) So, son, what would like for Christmas, huh?

Charlie: Did you fuck my mom?

Mall Santa: What?

Charlie: Did you fuck... my... mom?

Mall Santa: Whaddaya mean? I, uh...

Charlie: Did you fuck my mom, Santa Claus? Did you fuck my mom? Did you fuck her? Did you fuck my fucking mom?! Did you fuck my mom, Santa?!

(Charlie bites into the mall Santa's neck)

• Charlie: Hey, Mac. Now, I know things weren't pretty at the mall, but we have a chance to save Christmas here, dude. And check it out: we can still get into the Christmas spirit if we just bring that shirt I bought over to Ricky Falcone.

Mac: The shirt. Is this the shirt that you're referring to?

Charlie: Yeah!

Mac: It's covered in blood, Charlie! Santa's blood, you goddamn lunatic!

• (everyone comes to the hospital after hearing that Frank died)

Dee: What the hell is this?

Frank: Well, I knew you guys would never come to see me, so I faked my own death.

Charlie: Really should have seen that one coming, right?

• Charlie: Why did the elf have no pants on?

Frank: I didn't say the elf have no pants on.

Charlie: Oh. I might'a... added something to my brain there at the end. I've had a very strange day.

• (Dennis, Dee, Mac, and Charlie go off to give each other the Christmas spirit)

Frank: What about me?

Dennis: Oh, you go fuck yourself in your fat fucking ass.

• Eugene: But in the spirit of Christmas reparations, I have a... little present for you, Frank.

Frank: Oh! You didn't have to do that, Eugene.

(Eugene pulls a gun on Frank)

Charlie: Oh!

Frank: A gun! I love guns! I got a gun of my own!

Eugene: Shut up!