What can I say about this episode? It's one of their best. In a show already unique and with its own corner of the modern comedy market, this episode stands out as one of the most memorable of the series as a whole. I laughed so hard I about cried. The acting and the writing hit full stride as the gang performs the musical. It's sheer, raw, unapologetic brilliance. The song at the end has been stuck in my head for days.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV Series)
The Nightman Cometh (2008)
User Reviews
Review this title18 Reviews
Amazing
DrWalterBishop20 December 2018
Peak Comedy
exlana13 June 2020
Classic episode.
minutolo4 June 2020
Likely in the top 5 of best television episodes for the 2000s
spiritxzx18 July 2020
Any list ranking the best television of 2000-2010 will absolutely have this episode, and I believe it is top 5 worthy.
It works as a standalone, it is truly hilarious, has great rewatchability, ties into the series as a whole, catchy music, amazing physical comedy that transcends language. DeVito at his best. Nah every character is at their best in this.
The directing is amazing. Same director who did Charlie Work apparently, which is the second best episode of the whole series IMO. Combined with the audio production (reverb-y piano and dynamic dialogue) really feels like you are at an elementary school theater production which just makes the writing contrast in ways that are groundbreakingly hilarious. And the crowd reactions!
The Troll Toll and Dayman songs have forever entered the cultural zeitgeist. I have been finding myself humming both songs for 12 years now. For a TV episode that is impressive stuff.
It works as a standalone, it is truly hilarious, has great rewatchability, ties into the series as a whole, catchy music, amazing physical comedy that transcends language. DeVito at his best. Nah every character is at their best in this.
The directing is amazing. Same director who did Charlie Work apparently, which is the second best episode of the whole series IMO. Combined with the audio production (reverb-y piano and dynamic dialogue) really feels like you are at an elementary school theater production which just makes the writing contrast in ways that are groundbreakingly hilarious. And the crowd reactions!
The Troll Toll and Dayman songs have forever entered the cultural zeitgeist. I have been finding myself humming both songs for 12 years now. For a TV episode that is impressive stuff.
Season 4: Yet another inventively wrong and hilarious season
bob the moo15 March 2010
It seems a million years since I watched season 1 of this show even though it cannot have been more than 8 months ago now. The reason for this is not the time that has passed but more how far my opinion of the show has come since a first season that was fresh and funny even if the rather loose feel to it translated into it not being as funny or as sharp as one would have liked. That all changed with season 2 as the show became this tight, sharp beast while still retaining the appearance and air of a loose, rambling, messy comedy. This combination worked very well indeed and produced a very funny season indeed and it is a standard that it has maintained since then, including season 4.
As before the plots are an inventive mess where several threads run at the same time in each episode. All of them are convoluted to the point that they sound as absurd as they are if you try and explain them to anyone but they can all be understood if you simply explain that all the characters have had their moral centres removed to make more room for the selfish ego part of their brains. It is hard to explain how funny it is but the scripts are full of laughs and this is the third season where I spend more time laughing than I do not. The amoral characters allow the plots to be extreme but yet also make perfect sense in terms of the internal logic of the show - a show where it is hilarious and makes sense that two of the characters eat cat food and snort glue at night in order to be able to sleep through the noise of a thousand cats howling outside their window at night.
Season 4 is not perfect though and, like the previous seasons there are a few minor things that don't work as well. Unlike season 3, it is not a specific thing but rather just a matter of some of the threads not being particularly good in a handful of the episodes. Specifically I didn't think that the "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" bit with Frank offered anything special, while Dennis in rehab with Sinbad was a funnier as an idea than it was in reality. The Liberty Bell episode was a nice change of setting but wasn't as good as I had hoped either (with the gore being unnecessary as well). The fact that I can list a few specific threads in a few specific episodes should be enough to tell you that the vast majority works very well indeed.
The cast continue to nail the material and their delivery is as good as the writing. Kelly and De Vito continue to get the biggest laughs from me but Howerton, McElhenney and Olson are equally as good. The supporting cast are good but the lead five are where the show is strongest and they are very funny indeed, seemingly without any ego (De Vito included) but with everyone totally on the same page and committed to making it work.
I have no idea why this season has yet to show up in the UK or why FX-UK appeared to just drop the show a few seasons ago, but for me it is good enough to get on import as I know for every 20 minute episode I'll be laughing out loud for 15 of them and chuckling for another 3 or 4.
As before the plots are an inventive mess where several threads run at the same time in each episode. All of them are convoluted to the point that they sound as absurd as they are if you try and explain them to anyone but they can all be understood if you simply explain that all the characters have had their moral centres removed to make more room for the selfish ego part of their brains. It is hard to explain how funny it is but the scripts are full of laughs and this is the third season where I spend more time laughing than I do not. The amoral characters allow the plots to be extreme but yet also make perfect sense in terms of the internal logic of the show - a show where it is hilarious and makes sense that two of the characters eat cat food and snort glue at night in order to be able to sleep through the noise of a thousand cats howling outside their window at night.
Season 4 is not perfect though and, like the previous seasons there are a few minor things that don't work as well. Unlike season 3, it is not a specific thing but rather just a matter of some of the threads not being particularly good in a handful of the episodes. Specifically I didn't think that the "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" bit with Frank offered anything special, while Dennis in rehab with Sinbad was a funnier as an idea than it was in reality. The Liberty Bell episode was a nice change of setting but wasn't as good as I had hoped either (with the gore being unnecessary as well). The fact that I can list a few specific threads in a few specific episodes should be enough to tell you that the vast majority works very well indeed.
The cast continue to nail the material and their delivery is as good as the writing. Kelly and De Vito continue to get the biggest laughs from me but Howerton, McElhenney and Olson are equally as good. The supporting cast are good but the lead five are where the show is strongest and they are very funny indeed, seemingly without any ego (De Vito included) but with everyone totally on the same page and committed to making it work.
I have no idea why this season has yet to show up in the UK or why FX-UK appeared to just drop the show a few seasons ago, but for me it is good enough to get on import as I know for every 20 minute episode I'll be laughing out loud for 15 of them and chuckling for another 3 or 4.
Top banana
jennalavelle4 April 2019
Gold
laurashackel29 June 2020
The Best Episode of the Best Show
marmar1310 December 2020
The nightman's revenge
RetroRick6 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Season 4 has been a strange one. While the ratings are consistently high, I have personally considered to have included both the least likeable & the most brilliant episodes. The penultimate episode for me, the extreme makeover episode for instance just didn't work even though most people seemed to like it & the same was true of the rehab/flew the cuckoo's nest episode. Over the last three seasons this show has become an increasingly big risk-taker, and while it's always fun to watch, some of the risks pay off and some of them perhaps don't. This is an episode that really does pay off. It's brilliantly absurd but also compared to some of the previous episodes has a depth that you don't always get with the ultra-cynical It's Always Sunny. Unsurprisingly perhaps that depth comes to us by way of Charlie & it's delivered to us with the brutality & utter refusal to sentimentalize that characterizes this show.
We've met the theme of tonight's episode before way back, when we first learned of the 'nightman', Charlie's nemesis, personal El Guapo, Red Knight, or more prosaically suspected childhood rapist. Well, when bad things happen to you, you've got to work through the issues right? Well, some people might go to therapy or self-harm. Charlie, well, he just sniffs glue & acts crazy & hyper for the most part, but on this occasion he decides to write an entire musical
As Dee says 'nobody just writes a musical', and as we learn of the subject matter we realize just how true that observation must be?
Except there turns out to be a rather surprising explanation for Charlie's sudden decision to turn into a musical auteur, one that is actually full of brutal pathos. How this plays out in my opinion, as Charlie bares his soul, with absolutely zero reward, is a thing of brilliance & for a show that can sometimes seem to stray a little too far in the direction of the absurd feels strangely for a moment like the best kind of truth soaked drama.
Another great thing here is, while it's mostly Charlie's show - & his impression of a tortured bully of an artistic director while somehow staying within character is a thing to behold - it also has the whole cast having fun & singing their socks off to 'the nightman'.
Altogether a great episode: both completely crazy & grounded at the same time
We've met the theme of tonight's episode before way back, when we first learned of the 'nightman', Charlie's nemesis, personal El Guapo, Red Knight, or more prosaically suspected childhood rapist. Well, when bad things happen to you, you've got to work through the issues right? Well, some people might go to therapy or self-harm. Charlie, well, he just sniffs glue & acts crazy & hyper for the most part, but on this occasion he decides to write an entire musical
As Dee says 'nobody just writes a musical', and as we learn of the subject matter we realize just how true that observation must be?
Except there turns out to be a rather surprising explanation for Charlie's sudden decision to turn into a musical auteur, one that is actually full of brutal pathos. How this plays out in my opinion, as Charlie bares his soul, with absolutely zero reward, is a thing of brilliance & for a show that can sometimes seem to stray a little too far in the direction of the absurd feels strangely for a moment like the best kind of truth soaked drama.
Another great thing here is, while it's mostly Charlie's show - & his impression of a tortured bully of an artistic director while somehow staying within character is a thing to behold - it also has the whole cast having fun & singing their socks off to 'the nightman'.
Altogether a great episode: both completely crazy & grounded at the same time
One of the funniest episodes in the series
PotatoesAreAwesome19 August 2021
This episode never fails to crack me up. Peak comedy. The songs are hilarious, the acting is hilarious, every line is delivered perfectly. This is easily one of the top 10 episodes of the series and possibly the best Charlie episode of all time.
Funniest episode of the serie
zntos5 September 2021
I've watched the entire serie and this is by far the best and funniest episode. I generally don't laugh easily but this had me laughing out loud so much my sides started hurting. The funniest episode for a tv show ever made.
YA THE GREATEST BUT MAN THERE STILL FUNNY
mkayseryan15 July 2021
He's A Master Of Karate And Friendship For Everyone!
Silver59631 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
The Nightman Cometh is quite possibly the best episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia ever created.
The episode follows Charlie's attempt to woo the woman he stalks daily with a musical he wrote. The musical is based on his song "Nightman" from an earlier episode. Charlie ropes the rest of the gang into taking part, but soon finds them incredibly difficult to work with. He then offers The Waitress a ticket to the show in exchange for him no longer following her everywhere, to which she accepts the tickets.
The show starts and enters the first number, "Tiny Boy, Baby Boy" which involves Dennis' 'Baby Boy' and Dee's 'Coffee Shop Princess' duetting a strange ballad, only made stranger by the fact that Dennis and Dee are siblings but play characters who lust for each other. Dee, afraid people will think she is attracted to little boys, sings an impromptu encore to explain that that is not the case, but she makes it clear she's available to anyone interested. Charlie is getting increasingly annoyed.
The next scene sees Mac as The Nightman climbing through a window into the Baby Boy's room, where Frank awaits as Antonio the Toll Troll. Frank, played by Danny Devito, sings a song about having to pay the Troll Toll to "get into that boy's SOUL". However, he mispronounces it as "boy's HOLE", which changes the context here. The Nightman pays off the Toll Troll and proceeds to violate the Baby Boy. Charlie is getting increasingly annoyed.
The final scene involves the Baby Boy transforming into the Dayman, at which point he shoots Antonio the Toll Troll to death, fights The Nightman, rips his heart out, and then the cast sing "Dayman", the finale song, which is far catchier than it had any right to be, but we love it.
At the end of the show, Charlie comes on stage to reveal that he was the real Dayman, and he proposes to The Waitress, who rejects him instantly and leaves.
This episode is completely hilarious, as I found myself laughing the whole way through. It's honestly one of the funniest pieces of TV I've seen, and I see no faults in it, thus I give it a TV rating 10/10!
The episode follows Charlie's attempt to woo the woman he stalks daily with a musical he wrote. The musical is based on his song "Nightman" from an earlier episode. Charlie ropes the rest of the gang into taking part, but soon finds them incredibly difficult to work with. He then offers The Waitress a ticket to the show in exchange for him no longer following her everywhere, to which she accepts the tickets.
The show starts and enters the first number, "Tiny Boy, Baby Boy" which involves Dennis' 'Baby Boy' and Dee's 'Coffee Shop Princess' duetting a strange ballad, only made stranger by the fact that Dennis and Dee are siblings but play characters who lust for each other. Dee, afraid people will think she is attracted to little boys, sings an impromptu encore to explain that that is not the case, but she makes it clear she's available to anyone interested. Charlie is getting increasingly annoyed.
The next scene sees Mac as The Nightman climbing through a window into the Baby Boy's room, where Frank awaits as Antonio the Toll Troll. Frank, played by Danny Devito, sings a song about having to pay the Troll Toll to "get into that boy's SOUL". However, he mispronounces it as "boy's HOLE", which changes the context here. The Nightman pays off the Toll Troll and proceeds to violate the Baby Boy. Charlie is getting increasingly annoyed.
The final scene involves the Baby Boy transforming into the Dayman, at which point he shoots Antonio the Toll Troll to death, fights The Nightman, rips his heart out, and then the cast sing "Dayman", the finale song, which is far catchier than it had any right to be, but we love it.
At the end of the show, Charlie comes on stage to reveal that he was the real Dayman, and he proposes to The Waitress, who rejects him instantly and leaves.
This episode is completely hilarious, as I found myself laughing the whole way through. It's honestly one of the funniest pieces of TV I've seen, and I see no faults in it, thus I give it a TV rating 10/10!
Musical ending
anselmdaniel29 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This review contains spoilers.
The fourth season finale of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is entitled "The Nightman Cometh" and concerns Charlie Kelly's play that he assigns the Gang into lead roles.
The Nightman Cometh is a great finale and has everything great about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia coming together in the one episode. The musical itself is entertaining with the moments leading up to it and the questioning of Charlie Kelly's past an interesting note.
I highly recommend "The Nightman Cometh".
Grade: A
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season Four
Season four of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of the best seasons of the television series so far. This season was impressive from the beginning to the end with barely a misfire in the episodes. I laughed at all of the episodes in the fourth season. The season also has great stand-out episodes.
"Mac and Dennis: Manhunters" is an impressive introduction episode that had an unusual premise.
"Mac and Charlie Die" is a great two-parter episode series that was hilarious from start to finish. These episodes had Mac and Charlie at their finest as they try to fake their own deaths. It was hilarious as they went from bad plans to poor plans and the rest of the Gang tries to move past them.
"The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Makeover Edition" is a grand indicator of clever writing in the series. The Gang turns an act of kindness into a home invasion that somehow becomes even more extreme. This episode had hilarious moments that I would not find in other television comedy series.
To cap it off "The Nightman Cometh" is a great finale.
I highly recommend the fourth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Grade: A.
The fourth season finale of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is entitled "The Nightman Cometh" and concerns Charlie Kelly's play that he assigns the Gang into lead roles.
The Nightman Cometh is a great finale and has everything great about It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia coming together in the one episode. The musical itself is entertaining with the moments leading up to it and the questioning of Charlie Kelly's past an interesting note.
I highly recommend "The Nightman Cometh".
Grade: A
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season Four
Season four of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of the best seasons of the television series so far. This season was impressive from the beginning to the end with barely a misfire in the episodes. I laughed at all of the episodes in the fourth season. The season also has great stand-out episodes.
"Mac and Dennis: Manhunters" is an impressive introduction episode that had an unusual premise.
"Mac and Charlie Die" is a great two-parter episode series that was hilarious from start to finish. These episodes had Mac and Charlie at their finest as they try to fake their own deaths. It was hilarious as they went from bad plans to poor plans and the rest of the Gang tries to move past them.
"The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Makeover Edition" is a grand indicator of clever writing in the series. The Gang turns an act of kindness into a home invasion that somehow becomes even more extreme. This episode had hilarious moments that I would not find in other television comedy series.
To cap it off "The Nightman Cometh" is a great finale.
I highly recommend the fourth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Grade: A.
Incredible, innovative and - above all - hilarious
yavermbizi28 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
My overall rating of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"'s Season 4: 4/10
There are many things to love about this episode. It's centred around a musical, allowing us to appreciate some of the vocal talent that we have previously glimpsed in, for instance, "Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia"; it shows both (elements of) the rehearsals and the final show and manages to be hilarious throughout; it builds upon the characters a bit more (most of all upon Charlie and Artemis); and it references and plays with elements of the prior episodes, making it a good finale - heck it would've been a good finale for the series itself, were it ending. Finally, it's just incredibly creative and funny and appropriately provocative - the "Always Sunny" formula at its best and purest, and without any filler or toilet humour. The performances are also great.
Where the episode seemed to miss its mark for me (if only by a little bit) is in the (probably intentional, but nevertheless) cringiness/weakness of Dee's apology song and Charlie's final song/dialogue. These - while funny in their way - I felt could've been better, especially when contrasted against the otherwise stellar rest of the episode.
There are many things to love about this episode. It's centred around a musical, allowing us to appreciate some of the vocal talent that we have previously glimpsed in, for instance, "Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia"; it shows both (elements of) the rehearsals and the final show and manages to be hilarious throughout; it builds upon the characters a bit more (most of all upon Charlie and Artemis); and it references and plays with elements of the prior episodes, making it a good finale - heck it would've been a good finale for the series itself, were it ending. Finally, it's just incredibly creative and funny and appropriately provocative - the "Always Sunny" formula at its best and purest, and without any filler or toilet humour. The performances are also great.
Where the episode seemed to miss its mark for me (if only by a little bit) is in the (probably intentional, but nevertheless) cringiness/weakness of Dee's apology song and Charlie's final song/dialogue. These - while funny in their way - I felt could've been better, especially when contrasted against the otherwise stellar rest of the episode.
The hardest I've laughed in my life
colleenanthes21 November 2023
I was laughing so hard, I had to leave the couch and get on the floor to sprawl out and move around, started sweating, and had tears running down my face. Every word is brilliant and so random that you wonder how anyone could possibly come up with the details of the plot. We get a glimpse of Charlie's childhood trauma but it's somehow made unbearably funny. The acting is superb, with Charlie's intonation adding to the humor.
Also, I encourage everyone to look up Dayman (cover) by the band RMB on YouTube, it's an excellent rock arrangement of the Dayman song near the end of the episode.
All in all, a true masterpiece.
Also, I encourage everyone to look up Dayman (cover) by the band RMB on YouTube, it's an excellent rock arrangement of the Dayman song near the end of the episode.
All in all, a true masterpiece.
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