1.
The Waitress is Getting Married (Season 5)
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This is one of my favorite episodes primarily
because of Charlie. Between his dating profile in which he reveals he likes
“little green ghouls” and hates “people’s knees” and his hilarious date where
he tries to switch shirts with Dennis in the bathroom, this is an episode I can
watch over and over again. The relationship between Frank and Artemis has also
gotten increasingly weird and funny in this episode.
2.
Charlie Rules the World (Season 8)
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Everyone brings a little humor to this episode.
Frank pretends to be a woman in order to get free peaches, Mac’s body
dysmorphia is triggered, Charlie becomes obsessed with his video game tribe,
and, my personal favorite, Dennis tries to seek real-life human interaction.
British Dennis makes the episode.
3.
Frank’s Back in Business (Season 8)- This episode belongs to Frank and Dennis. Frank shows his clean, business side, trying to show Charlie the ropes (failing epically). Dennis pretends to be someone else and pushes himself to the edge in order to “get off”; a dead finger triggers the climax.
4. Sweet Dee's Dating a Retarded Person (Season 3)
- This is the birth of both Dayman and Nightman,
culminating in a song that is hilariously epic. We also see Charlie dressed as
and singing like Bob Dylan.
5. The Nightman Cometh (Season 4)
- The play that Charlie creates from his
Nightman/Dayman songs is amazing. Frank plays a troll whose mispronunciation of
one of his lines is a riot, Mac loses himself in his karate “skills”, and
Charlie’s play is a comic hit.
6. The D.E.N.N.I.S System (Season 5)
- Here we see Dennis at his best: manipulative,
diabolical. We see his system he uses to “win the hearts of women”. We also get
to see the M.A.C. system as well as Frank’s, in which he drops his “monster
condom” for his “magnum dong”. This is an instant classic.
7. A Very Sunny Christmas (Season 6)
- Frank sews his naked self into a couch. Mac and
Charlie learn the horrible truths behind their Christmas memories; Charlie’s
mom is a prostitute and Mac’s parents are criminals, although we already sort
of knew that. The whole episode is classic. And it’s topped off with an
animated Christmas scene.
8. The High School Reunion (Season 7)
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This is a two-parter, but I’m counting it as one
episode. In these episodes, we find out (A) the real name of both Mac and The
Waitress (b) Dennis was not one of the cool kids in high school and shown to be
as delusional as the rest of the gang (C) Dennis may in fact be a serial killer
– we see him explode with rage as he goes to his car and retrieves his “tools”:
duct tape, rope, handcuffs, etc.
9. Charlie Kelly: King of the Rats (Season 6)
- Charlie is the obvious highlight of the episode. His dream book and the gang's interpretation of what they mean makes the episode.
10. The Gang Reignites the Rivalry (Season 5)
- Dennis’s vanity and self-delusions ride high in
this one. After all, he is a legend. Frank gets hilariously weird after doing a
bunch of drugs and Charlie tries to “pull a Good Will Hunting”, with hilarious
results. Flip, flip, flipadelphia.
11. Reynolds vs. Reynolds: The Cereal Defense (Season 8)
- There is a hilarious mock trial, the highlights
being the further explanation of Frank’s past at the nitwit school, and Mac’s
attempt at disproving evolution – because science makes everyone look like a
bitch.
12. The Gang Runs for Office (Season 2)
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This episode displays the gang for who they are;
a bunch of back-stabbing, self-serving assholes. Everyone screws one another
over. The highlight is when Dennis reads the speech written by illiterate
Charlie (which is, from what I’ve gathered, entirely improvised).
13. The Gang gets Analyzed (Season 8)
- We see every character at their best (or
worst?). Dee’s delusions about her acting abilities reaches an all-time high.
We get a better glimpse into Mac’s body dysmorphia. Dennis reveals the
psychological profiles he has compiled of the gang over the course of their
lives, proving that he just as disturbed and delusional as the rest. Frank’s
bit is the best, in which he unravels and talks about his childhood memory of
attending a nitwit school, where he befriend a “frog kid”. He also claims that
the twins were supposed to be triplets and that Dennis and Dee devoured him.
14. The Gang Buys a Boat (Season 6)
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The implication. Also Charlie’s theory about
their being an underwater horse massacre.
15. Charlie Gets Crippled (Season 2)
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Everyone pretends to be crippled (except
Charlie). Frank rigs a Stephen Hawking-like contraption, Charlie acts like
Cruise in Born on the 4th of July, and Dennis has a polio backstory.
This is also the episode we're introduced to Frank.
16. Storm of the Century (Season 7)
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Dennis shines the brightest in this one. If by
bright, you mean psychotic. He has a devious plan to get girls back to the
bunker during the storm, and when the women reject him, he loses his mind.
17. Mac's Banging the Waitress (Season 4)
-
This episode is different in that only Mac,
Charlie, and Dennis are in it. Charlie gets wasted, pisses everywhere, and we
get some insight into Dennis’s infamous sex tapes.
18. Flowers for Charlie (Season 9)
- Charlie takes a pill and starts getting smarter, but in reality, he's delusional. He thinks he's speaking Mandarin but it's jibberish and he fakes a limp and a weird accent that is quite amusing.
19. Mac Day (Season 9)
- We
see Mac rub oil on muscular men and get his ass handed to him in a karate
match, yet he is still delusional about his homosexual tendencies and his
extreme lack of ability to fight. Seann William Scott guest stars, so that’s
enough to be an instant favorite
20. The Gang Gives Back (Season 2)
- I’ve always regarded this as my favorite
episode, but after recently watching it, I’ve realized that the bulk of the
episode is only on par with the other episodes. It remains on the list because
of the one hilarious scene where Charlie gets wasted and referees the
children’s basketball game.
21. Thunder Gun Express (Season 7)
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The whole gang tries to make it to a movie, each
one of them getting left behind one by one. Frank gives a boat tour of Philly,
sharing all his adventures with Charlie while knowing nothing of the city
itself. Charlie wants to get naked in the sewer and Dennis reassesses his
seduction process.
22. Mac and Charlie Die (Season 4)
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Dennis explores the weirdness of his sexuality –
from glory holes to half-nude buffets. Mac and Charlie live like hobos, but not
before they fake their deaths in a funny way. Frank doesn’t cope with the loss
of Charlie, as he creates a new fake Charlie mannequin that he brings with him
everywhere. Charlie believes he saw Frank bang it.
23. The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis (Season 4)
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Charlie makes this episode. His
impersonation of a Texan oilman is probably one of his best personas, right up
there with his Serpico persona.
24. Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City (Season 3)
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I’ve never thought of this as a favorite until recently.
We see Dennis and Frank impersonate cops and Charlie undergo his best persona
to date: Serpico. Why more Al Pacino personas haven’t surfaced is beyond me (only
other I recall is his “Attica” moment taken from Dog Day Afternoon).
25. Underage Drinking: A National Concern (Season 1)
- A perfect display of the gang's complete disregard for the law and morality in general.
Honorable Mentions: The Gang Beats Boggs, Mac and Charlie Write a Movie, The Gang Hits the Road, The Gang Group Dates
Breakdown of Top 25 by Season
Season 1: 1
Season 2: 3
Season 3: 2
Season 4: 4
Season 5: 3
Season 2: 3
Season 3: 2
Season 4: 4
Season 5: 3
Season 6: 3
Season 7: 3
Season 8: 4
Season 9: 2
Season 7: 3
Season 8: 4
Season 9: 2
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