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S04.E09: Volunteers

chitowngirl

By chitowngirl
in Abbott Elementary

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Galileo908

Galileo908

(edited)

This was everything I'd hope it would be. I know there's technically gonna be a part 2 in It's Always Sunny's next season, but this was WAY too short and fast paced.

Melissa knew the gang! They fought each other at an Eagles game. And of course she's been to Paddy's Pub.

Frank and Mr. Johnson arguing over the soil and how to get rid of raccoons was great. Apparently it was "lacking lithium," according to Frank. Of course he eats compost ands gets caught in his own raccoon trap. (but only after they added garlic and chili powder to it)

Of course Dennis's first reaction to seeing the cameras is "NOPE" and get behind the camera. It sucks that he was barely in this, though.

Charlie knows lots of duck work. And I knew it, Barbara was gonna try to teach him how to read. I was dying at his "graduation" and how he pronounced "sooth."

Oops, sorry Janine. She thought she was gonna bond with Dee...and then Gregory showed up and she had her claws out for him. "Oh, looks like he's into big feet. Mine are enormous." God, Janine panicking over that was fantastic. Living for Janine calling her a "bird-ass bird!"

"Before we got here, this place was falling apart. And now they send children here." I liked Mac being overly helpful for Ava, if only to get the gang out of community service early. We're definitely gonna see where Mac took Ava's car (and getting the Cinnabons) in the Always Sunny half, I just know it.

Edited by Galileo908
  • Like 8
Annber03

Annber03

"If some girl came into my house, ate my porridge, and slept in my bed, I'd eat her ass."

I don't know what made me laugh harder, that line or the way everyone looked at Melissa after she said it XD. OMG. 

Also loved Ava's "If Caucasion Cultural Exchange week is over..."

I've never seen "It's Always Sunny..." but I have a general idea of the basic premise and have heard of the characters, so that helped me a little. Melissa knowing these people just...makes so much sense and is a great way to connect the two groups of characters. Mr. Johnson and Frank interacting also makes a lot of sense. 

It was a kick to see Kaitlin Olson on here - she's keeping quite busy, what with juggling "Sunny", this crossover, and "HIgh Potential" :D! I loved Dee and Janine interacting as they did - Dee in the Ben Franklin getup was great - and her hitting on Gregory was entertaining, too. I liked the way Gregory reassured Janine, too. 

LOVED Ava and Mac using that endangered species to get back at that golf course. They make a good team. Barbara helping Charlie learn to read was nice, too. 

So yeah. Fun to get a little more familiar with another gorup of characters, and I liked how the show worked them into this setting. Would be fun to see the "Abbott" cast somehow find a way to return the favor someday :D. 

  • Like 8
Galileo908

Galileo908

"Crime is worth it. Plain and simple." Never change, Frank.

Just now, Annber03 said:

So yeah. Fun to get a little more familiar with another gorup of characters, and I liked how the show worked them into this setting. Would be fun to see the "Abbott" cast somehow find a way to return the favor someday :D. 

Well, you're in luck. The second half of the crossover is gonna be in It's Always Sunny's next season.

1 minute ago, Annber03 said:

I don't know what made me laugh harder, that line or the way everyone looked at Melissa after she said it XD. OMG. 

Melissa was on fire this week. 

  • Like 4
Galileo908

Galileo908

(edited)
4 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I've never seen "It's Always Sunny..." but I have a general idea of the basic premise and have heard of the characters, so that helped me a little.

You got most of the basics. Even some Charlie memes like Milk Steak and Bird Law. 

The only one that didn't get much development was Dennis. He's a giant narcissist and is most likely a serial killer and absolutely hates being filmed if he's not in control of it.

Edited by Galileo908
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Harvey

Harvey

WTF was this episode? All that marketing and hype for this nothing burger of an episode? The Dee / Janine parts were somewhat entertaining, but other than that this episode forgot to be funny.

They did not utilize the sunny gang well at all, they barely did anything crazy, and they did not even yell at each other!

For someone who watches both shows this was super weak and a huge disappointment.

 

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txhorns79

txhorns79

15 minutes ago, Harvey said:

They did not utilize the sunny gang well at all, they barely did anything crazy, and they did not even yell at each other!

I'm old enough to remember when Ally McBeal crossed over with The Practice for a two part episode.  Both were David E. Kelly shows, but were very different in tone and aired on different networks.  They somehow mostly made that work. 

18 minutes ago, Harvey said:

 

They did not utilize the sunny gang well at all, they barely did anything crazy, and they did not even yell at each other!

Everything just felt off.  It was like the Sunny actors weren't quite sure of themselves, and the Abbott writers struggled to write scenes for well established characters with whom they were not all that familiar.  

  • Like 4
Empress1

Empress1

(edited)
7 hours ago, kathyk2 said:

I hated this episode all the characters from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia were obnoxious. I only watched this episode because I love Kaitlin Olson in High Potential. Ava's subplot was the only one I liked.

They ARE obnoxious. That’s their thing. Them having to do court-ordered community service also makes sense (though I think Ava would have known that’s why they were there). Dennis (the one who wouldn’t show his face) is a sociopath. (Dennis and Dee are siblings. Kaitlin Olson and Rob McIlhenney, who plays Mac, are married with kids IRL.) The premise of Always Sunny is that they’re varying degrees of bad/unpleasant. 

“My tires rotate every time I drive,” Frank in the cage, and “Again?!” when the scoreboard fell were my laugh out loud moments this episode.

Edited by Empress1
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peeayebee

peeayebee

12 hours ago, Galileo908 said:

You got most of the basics. Even some Charlie memes like Milk Steak and Bird Law. 

The only one that didn't get much development was Dennis. He's a giant narcissist and is most likely a serial killer and absolutely hates being filmed if he's not in control of it.

Thanks for that info. I've never watch Sunny. I only had a general sense that the characters are terrible people (though I'm sure they have their good points). 

It was a huge deficit for me not knowing the characters. Obviously if you know what each of them is like, the jokes would land much better. 

Did Dee really go to Penn?

7 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Kaitlin is also on Hacks!  

I keep forgetting that. I love her on High Potential, and she's great on Hacks as well.

Overall, I didn't like this ep. I didn't like any of the characters, except maybe Charlie who (IMO) is naturally charismatic and endearing. What's Mac's personality? Always looking for an angle?

I think the only LOL moment for me was when Charlie needed the hall pass sign and grabbed the "Live Laugh Love" one. 

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jah1986

jah1986

I have never seen It's Always Sunny... and I'm not familiar with the concept of that show, but enjoyed this episode. I did laugh at a lot of the jokes, maybe because I just viewed the volunteers as that and not as characters from another well established show.

One moment I really liked was when Janine was standing next to Danny DeVito and kind of pleased because she's taller than him. She looked so happy not to be the shortest adult in the room.

Loved Gregory reassuring Janine that she didn't need to fight over him.

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marceline

marceline

I didn't like it.

I've never watched Sunny and I've had no interest in watching it so for me this was a just a bunch of interlopers showing up at the school and being gross and inappropriate.

Was the adult illiteracy story line supposed to be funny? Because I saw no humor in it. Danny DeVito eating compost in a raccoon cage covered by "piss pelts?" The crazy blond sexually harassing Gregory? It was just all so gross to me and not right for a show set in an elementary school.

I'm here for the teachers and the kids. Not whatever this was.

 

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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

I watched this with Mr.Tennis, who had no idea that this was a crossover, and when he saw the Always Sunny gang he about fell out of his chair, which was more than enough of a reason to justify this for me. Beyond that though, I thought that this was a really funny episode, you get the feeling that the writers and actors of both shows were having a lot of fun doing something kind of wacky and outside of the norm.

If you aren't a fan of Its Always Sunny I can see how this might not be your thing (especially when its a show as darkly comedic and deliberately gross as Sunny) but as someone who has watched it off and on for years, I really enjoyed this. Of course Melissa is the one who has run into the gang before and has been to Paddy's, the nastiest bar she's ever seen, of course Dee would bond with Janine over going to Penn before hitting on Gregory, of course Mr. Johnson and Frank would clock each other as being cut from the same bizarre cloth, they clearly had to tone down the gangs antics for network TV and for the shows tones to work at all, but they still seemed enough like their nasty selves to be funny. 

Mac made a fatal mistake trying to suck up to Ava, if you suck up to Ava she will keep sucking you until your sucked dry. They did actually end up making a good team though, they even got the construction halted via bird scheme. 

I'm glad to know that no matter what network she's on, everyone clocks Dee as looking like a bird. "Bird ass bird!"

"I would have eaten her ass" Oh my...

It sounds like the second crossover, over on Its Always Sunny, will be at some unknown point in the future, and its going to be wild. Cant wait!

  • Like 8
kittykat

kittykat

Lol I enjoyed this too much being a fan of both shows.  Janine calling Dee a bird will live rent free in my head.

Did love the part where Barbara actually taught Charlie to read.  Mac's face towards the camera when he heard Charlie reading was priceless.

Ava and Mac were great.  Of course Mac was trying to get the form signed quickly but actually ended up doing good.

I'm sure we'll figure out what Dennis was doing on the IASIP episode but I don't trust it. Also pretty rich that he's against being filmed when he doesn't consent given his history.

I did like how they framed incorporating the gang around an Abbott premise, needing volunteers to help out in class, something I actually do.

  • Like 5
Galileo908

Galileo908

(edited)
5 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I really have to applaud Ava picking up on the protected bird thing.  That was pretty shrewd. 

Bird Law saves the day!

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

If you aren't a fan of Its Always Sunny I can see how this might not be your thing (especially when its a show as darkly comedic and deliberately gross as Sunny) but as someone who has watched it off and on for years, I really enjoyed this. Of course Melissa is the one who has run into the gang before and has been to Paddy's, the nastiest bar she's ever seen, of course Dee would bond with Janine over going to Penn before hitting on Gregory, of course Mr. Johnson and Frank would clock each other as being cut from the same bizarre cloth, they clearly had to tone down the gangs antics for network TV and for the shows tones to work at all, but they still seemed enough like their nasty selves to be funny. 

“They’re too awful and obnoxious for this wholesome ABC sitcom!” Yes. That’s the joke. And it’s okay if they rub people the wrong way. There have been episodes showing that NONE of them should be allowed anywhere near a school, and an elementary school at that. Everyone in the cast has done way, way worse.

Take Dee. Yes, she went to Penn with Dennis. But she didn’t drop out, she was expelled and got institutionalized after setting her roommate on fire. Dee would've absolutely gone to that length if that plotline wasn't snuffed out as quickly as it was.

My main complaint is that it was too fast paced and the Always Sunny characters barely interacted with each other, let alone with Abbott characters outside their groups. But that’s the weakness of having only 22 minutes to tell a story, on top of trying to juggle five (really four) established characters on top of the regular cast, and trying their best to work around schedules. Glenn Howerton was busy filming something else, so that’s why he was only in the group scenes, and Kaitlin Olson was also busy with High Potential.

10 hours ago, Harvey said:

Gay & Irish

The most self-absorbed member of the gang meeting his match in Ava.

Edited by Galileo908
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bettername2come

bettername2come

"Have you ever even met a raccoon?" 

"I met a famous one last spring!" I love a good callback and Danny DeVito's confusion over the line.

I know nothing about Always Sunny apart from the implication. But Charlie learning to read and the children encouraging him was nice. Gregory not at all phased by some deranged woman hitting on him was fair (he's worked with Ava for 4 years), and Danny DeVito and Mr. Johnson are well-matched. Fairly low on the spectrum of Abbott Elementary episodes, but that still makes it better than a lot of other TV.

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ItCouldBeWorse

ItCouldBeWorse

 

11 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Did Dee really go to Penn?

11 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Dennis and Dee, who are twins, both did, but Dee dropped out. Dennis talks about Penn a lot (he believes himself to be superior to most people, and Penn is part of that).

However, once Dee said she had also attended Penn, there's no way that Janine wouldn't have asked her class year, and told Dee her own.

On 1/8/2025 at 9:05 PM, Annber03 said:

It was a kick to see Kaitlin Olson on here - she's keeping quite busy, what with juggling "Sunny", this crossover, and "HIgh Potential" :D

19 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Kaitlin is also on Hacks!  She is busy.

In Hacks, based on her character's life choices, someone is shocked to find out that she attended Cornell (or any college, probably).

8 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

Nice to see Mr. Johnson and Gregory working together

Mr. Johnson was putting some of the urine-soaked stuff (I think) in a lunch bag labeled "Mr. Morton". 

 

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zenithwit

zenithwit

Meh... as someone who's watched both shows, this episode didn't work for me.  The tone of both shows was off.  Most of the characterizations of the It's Always Sunny group were way off even when adjusting for tone - especially Mac.  The Mac portrayed here is nothing like the Mac portrayed on It's Always Sunny.  It's almost as if Rob McElhenney decided to play himself instead of the character Mac.

I think Frank was the character closest to his actual character in the It's Always Sunny universe and maybe Dee next.   I guess it makes sense for Frank.  Danny Devito is a good actor and It's Always Sunny didn't get really good until after he joined.

I did think the teaching Charlie how to read storyline was cute.

11 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I really have to applaud Ava picking up on the protected bird thing.  That was pretty shrewd. 

Oh I doubt those were really the eggs from a protected bird. If I were a betting person, I would put money on some sort of Frank and Mac scheme there.

Which leads me to... I'm curious how the second part of this episode will play (i.e from the gang's eyes).  I want to know what the gang was actually up to while they were there (because as noted many times over, they are not so sweet or innocent).

Also, it'll be interesting to see how raunchy they'll let some of the Abbott characters get.

 

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highway61

highway61

5 hours ago, zenithwit said:

I think Frank was the character closest to his actual character in the It's Always Sunny universe and maybe Dee next.   I guess it makes sense for Frank.  Danny Devito is a good actor and It's Always Sunny didn't get really good until after he joined.

 

 

The one thing I immediately expected to see was Frank pulling his gun to get the raccoons. Too much for an elementary school?

 

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Night Cheese

Night Cheese

As a fan of both shows, I liked it. I think the only issue was the 22 minute time frame which didn't do the characters or stroylines any justice. Typically with a Sunny episode, there's the 5 of them and there's usually 2-3 storylines per episode, with 2-3 characters being a part of each storyline. Here we had the gang paired up with a person from Abbott, so basically 5 storylines (although Dennis is hardly a stroyline), which made the pace of the episode frenetic.

But I thought the writers did well to capture each character's essence. Dee is cool and nice on the surface, but really she's a psychopath. Dennis is a creep and a predator. Frank is a complete wacko (batteries are robot food, need to make the dirt appetizing, anything with urine). Mac is always looking for the best way to come out on top, no morals or scruples. Charlie is doing Charlie Work, also he's illiterate and of course Bird Law. They revealed these characters' true personalities and characteristics pretty well in 22 min. 

  • Like 5
Giuseppe

Giuseppe

At the beginning of the episode in the assembly, all the teachers were complaining about needing more help. So were there other volunteers assisting the other teachers that we just didn't see? Or is our gang so special that they were the only ones to get them? That's the only thing that bugged me about this episode, lol.

I've watched several episodes of Sunny - mostly on planes when I travel for work - and have always found it to be pretty funny, so I didn't have an issue with the crossover. But I honestly didn't know or wasn't paying attention to the fact that the show was still airing new episodes. It's been on forever, hasn't it?

  • Like 1
Racj82

Racj82

I figured people not watching Sunny before would hijack the discourse.

I watch and love both shows so this was a lot of fun.

The thing is, Sunny doesn't have a ton of limits. Abbott does. Its on network tv.

So, the Sunny characters were never going to be able to fully be themselves.

These crossovers always works better when it's the same network at play.

But, I enjoyed myself anyway. Then again, I can't relate to the this show isn't as funny anymore discourse either.

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peeayebee

peeayebee

I don't see that viewers who never watched Sunny have hijacked the discourse, whatever that means. For myself, I'm just saying that because I never saw Sunny, I wasn't able to enjoy the characters like those familiar with the characters would. There were a lot of in-jokes that bypassed me. Those kinds of jokes and references are great for Sunny fans, but not for non-Sunny viewers.

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marceline

marceline

Yeah, I don't think it's "hijacking the conversation" when we're talking about whether we thought this episode worked or not.

I feel like crossovers will always be difficult. There's the earlier reference to David E. Kelley's, but I also think of Whedonverse crossovers and multiple L&O crossovers. I just feel like they're an acquired taste.

But just to get back to this episode, I must confess to loving Gregory reassuring Janine with "I don't want any other woman. And especially not THAT woman." Tyler's line reading there just landed perfectly.

  • Like 6
Racj82

Racj82

(edited)

My comment simply meant that there would be more talk about not knowing Sunny or not liking this episode because it's not Abbott. All valid thoughts. That was just my assumption when I saw what the episode was going to be about. I didn't know about the crossover beforehand. So, I was caught off-guard. Pleasantly though.

Sunny has been going on for nearly 20 years but they took Jerry Seinfelds advice.

Jerry told Rob (Mac) to never end the show if don't want to. Do it as long as you want. So, it's never canceled. They just do another season when they have time and want to.

Its definitely a contrast in styles. Like I said, I had fun with it. I always appreciate trying to do different things.

It doesn't always land and I won't give them a pass. But, this was a pass for me.

 

Edited by Racj82
Ilovepie

Ilovepie

On 1/9/2025 at 6:18 AM, peeayebee said:

It was a huge deficit for me not knowing the characters. Obviously if you know what each of them is like, the jokes would land much better. 

Felt the same. I knew it was them, but having never watched the show, that's about all I knew. I didn't find most of this funny at all, with the exception of Mr. Johnson and Danny Divito arguing over the garden. And finding him caught in his own trap covered by the urine soaked pelts was funny. 

I don't know, but this season isn't really doing it for me. Too many unbelievable plots and guest stars. 

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