The Running Camcorder Gag On It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia You May Not Have Noticed
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is one of TV's longest-lasting comedy shows, which leaves a lot of room for recurring gags. In fact, "Sunny" made history by being the longest-running live-action sitcom in television history. Over the course of 15 seasons, the show, which began running in 2005, follows the adventures and schemes of Mac, Dee, Dennis, Charlie, Frank, and some of Philadelphia's most colorful characters.
Some of the most popular running gags on the show include Charlie's penchant for duct tape, the fact that Mac's parents hate him, the joke that Dee is a bird, and many more. There are even hidden messages you may not have caught onto in the end bumper of every episode that changes every season. The show, which could be described as a surreal horror show, has so many ongoing gags and hidden easter eggs, it's almost hard for fans to keep track. One gag has been called out by fans who have kept a keen eye on the gang's recordings.
The gang re-tapes over the same video cassette tape over and over
Eagle-eyed fans have caught on to a running gag that has appeared throughout "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" on Reddit. Throughout the 15 seasons of the show, anytime a character needs to record something, they always use the same cassette tape on what looks like maybe three different camcorders. Since they're using the same tape to record over and over, traces of what they've taped before will often end up coming through when they watch the tape again, resulting in old clips on the new recordings.
For example, in Episode 8 of Season 5 of "Sunny," when Charlie shoots a commercial for the fake product Gun Shots to show at a merchandising convention that comes to town, he edits the commercial in-camera. In doing so, footage of Frank setting Dee on fire from the Season 3 episode "Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire" comes through in the commercial. In that season 3 episode, the gang thought they could become famous by becoming news reporters who make their own news.
In the episode, Charlie famously flips out about forgetting to put the tape in the camera. Before he can capture Mac saving someone from choking, he realizes no tape is in the camcorder, and it would be impossible to put it in because he duct-taped a light to the top of it, thus sealing up where you'd put in the tape. The use of the camcorder and tapes may be a reference to the fact that the pilot was insanely cheap to produce, and they recorded it on a consumer-grade camcorder — their low budget was only used for the tapes needed to record on.