Remember last week when we got crazy excited about Frank Reynolds (aka Danny DeVito) flashing around a copy of the City Paper, Carolyn Huckabay’s cover story on T. Desiree Hines to be exact, on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? We promised we’d give you the goods when the episode went up on Hulu. Without further ado, lower the lights and check CP out:
Also, if you saw last night’s episode, it’s in your best interest to visit dicktowel.com. Like, now.
Frank Reynolds is a City Paper reader! In the beginning of last night’s ep, “The Gang Wrestles for the Troops,” the titular gang sits around the bar watching old Hulk Hogan videos while Frank, aka Danny DeVito, flashes Carolyn Huckabay’s cover story on trans musician and activist T. Desiree Hines:
She knew that Mississippi would be the death of her.
Which is why, on the morning of August 28, 2001, T. Desiree Hines was leaving. She packed a suitcase full of skirts and dresses, carefully applied her makeup and prepared to take a taxi to Jackson-Evers International Airport, where she’d catch a 6:45 p.m. flight to Washington state by way of Memphis. She’d spent the last 21 years living, uncomfortably, in a male body. She was ready to be a full-time woman.
Leaving the stranglehold of the South may have been the single most significant moment of Desiree’s life, but it was only the second most significant moment of that particular morning.
Hines is also, coincidentally enough, mentioned in this week’s Agenda lead and Art Phag because of her screening of classic horror flick Nosferatu. Unfortunately for those who missed our star turn, Hulu is on an eight-day delay with the episodes, but here’s a preview. Along with our solid cameo, it was totally fucked up; one of those eps where by the end, your mouth is agape in horror and you don’t burst out laughing until the end credits start to roll. I thoroughly enjoyed. We’ll stick up the new episode when Hulu does:
A fresh-faced college grad straight off the bus in L.A., Reid knew no one expect old flame Rob McElhenney (aka Mac). They rekindled their romance and started to create a show based around four L.A, TV actors looking for their big break. Miraculously, FX picked up their DIY pilot, which evolved from It’s Always Sunny on TV to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and gave them the cash to turn it into a real TV show. And that’s when things went south for Reid:
Around that time, my relationship with Rob began to unravel, and I started to sense that I was on unsteady footing on the set, despite our “all for one” pact. I was surprised to learn that Rob, Glenn and Charlie had all been made executive producers, while I simply remained the lead actress. I went very quickly from being at the center of the project to standing on the periphery, and…truth? It felt like it had everything in the world to do with my gender. To me, FX felt like a cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking old boys’ club. I was welcome when I was the girlfriend of the creator, and once I wasn’t…well…I was persona non grata – and my role in creating their new pet project was forgotten.
So Reid was booted out in favor of Kaitlin Olson, who married McElhenney last year. Reid says she’s gotten over it, but she’s still gotta feel burned over the entire thing. Here’s what annoys me: She says that she thinks she was squeezed out because of her gender, but she admits that it was her own meekness that prevented her from asking for a showrunner credit, which would have saved her job. More important is the role she would have played on It’s Always Sunny. Sweet Dee is an integral reason why the show works. Rather than relegate the lone female to straight man status (like most sitcoms), Sweet Dee/Olson is just a ridiculous as the rest of the boys. Olson is also fantastic at what she does, as evidenced by her freakout scene in “The Waitress is Getting Married,” or when she sings “Runaway Train” to the hitchhiker in “The Gang Hits the Road,” or this:
Is it just me or is this season’s crop of new TV shows totally “Oh shit, I’m gonna put that on my DVR”-worthy? I did some catching up this weekend, and I finally got around to watching the obvs excellent It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premiere. FX decided to be super sneaky, though, and secretly broadcast new show Archer under the It’s Always Sunny banner, meaning my DVR picked up the debut episode as well.
Archer is an animated series about secret agent Sterling Archer (codename: Duchess) who works at international spy agency ISIS with his ex, her new boyfriend, a secretary who loves him and his domineering mother. I had seen a clip (check it out below) of Archer so I was pumped, especially because it involves some of my favorite people — Judy Greer as the secretary, H. Jon Benjamin (you’d know his voice — Home Movies, Dr. Katz) as Archer, Chris Parnell as his ex’s new love interest and consummate member of the Hall of Fame of Awesome Jessica Walter as Archer’s overbearing mater.
It’s like a lot of other Adult Swim-ish shows. It’s got a vintage look — like Harvey Birdman or Sealab 2021 — and half of the hilarity is derived from irreverence paired with animation — i.e. characters saying “shit,” having phone sex, big tits, etc. It doesn’t add anything to the formula, but who cares? It’s snappily written and continues the It’s Always Sunny asshole theme of the evening. Plus, if it means Judy Greer gets a paycheck, I’m down.
Here’s the clip:
Did you watch? What did you think? Will you watch Archer again when it airs in January?
Staff Blog
NOW SEE THIS: Watch City Paper get its close-up on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
