It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season 5 [Blu-Ray]

It's hard to maintain one's edge, especially in the television industry. The longer a so-called "edgy" show remains on the air, the more it becomes part of the mainstream, and it's impossible for satirists to say "fuck you" to the mainstream when they're clearly a part of it. That's why South Park has remained popular for 14 seasons; it's constantly fighting a battle with its complicity in the landscape of popular culture, viciously lampooning anyone and everyone, with each season continually pushing the envelope. When It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia began in 2005, it positioned itself as a sitcom combining the outrageousness of South Park with the loveably shallow cynicism of Seinfeld. Unfortunately, after five years of being a show that tries not to be like every other show, the fifth season, by repeating itself and not trying anything new, contradicts the core edict of its inception. With a few exceptions, such as "The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention," this season is quite bland. The fact that there is an episode in the second season where two of the main characters become addicted to crack, and an episode in the fifth season about a road trip to the Grand Canyon, is evidence enough of the show's decline. The characters (Dennis, Dee, Frank and Charlie) are still amusing, but their shock value has worn off. I would be remiss in not mentioning that the Blu-Ray version of the show begins with a short skit in which Dennis and Charlie inform us that the show was shot in standard definition and therefore the Blu-Ray is atypically not in high definition, then Charlie picks up a hooker and exclaims that they should have sex on a pile of Blu-Ray money. It is kind of funny, but honestly what is the point of producing a Blu-Ray when the picture quality is no different than DVD? Since all Blu-Ray players play DVDs, there's no reason not to issue the season only on DVD, not both formats just for the sake of it. The suggested retail price of the Blu-Ray is a full ten dollars more than the DVD equivalent. So be warned: if you choose to shell out the extra ten bucks, it'll only be for the pop-up menus, some crappy special features and a 30-second skit about how you've been ripped off.