a surprising lack of awareness of basic social norms. The comedy of the show emerges from these extreme character traits resulting in conflicts that lead The Gang into absurd, dark and painfully embarrassing situations, typically ending with them getting their comeuppance, but never learning their lesson. This allows the show to mine a variety of socio-political and economic issues for satire and dark humor, while keeping the characters in a state of relative stasis conducive to the long-running sitcom format. Episodes usually find The Gang hatching elaborate schemes and regularly conspiring, against both outsiders and one another, for personal gain, revenge, or simply schadenfreude. They habitually inflict physical and psychological pain on anyone who crosses their path, even each other, yet always return to the status quo at Paddy's Pub because they have alienated the rest of society and have only each other's company in the end. Idiosyncrasies The Gang has no sense of shame when attempting to get what they want and often engage in activities that others would find humiliating, disgusting, or shocking. Some of these situations include pretending to be disabled and becoming addicted to crack cocaine in order to qualify for welfare, attempted cannibalism, kidnapping, waterboarding, blackface, blackmail, stalking, grave robbing, hiding naked inside a couch to eavesdrop on people, tricking a man into giving his daughter a lap dance, foraging naked in the sewers for rings and coins; impersonating police officers to extort civilians; creating a cult; secretly feeding someone their dead pet; plugging their open wounds with trash; setting a room full of people on fire and locking the door shut; taking out life insurance on a suicidal person; and pretending to have AIDS in order to get priority access to water park rides. During the Season 7 episode "The Gang Gets Trapped", in which The Gang breaks into a family's home and has to hide from them when they return, an angry monologue by Dennis captures the essence of The Gang's modus operandi: Except for certain rare occasions, Paddy's Pub does not do well financially. There are often only a few customers inside at a time, if any, and those present sometimes "appear to be serving themselves." Passersby avoid the bar because of the numerous stabbings that have occurred there. The Gang has been known to close Paddy's for extended periods without warning. When the bar is open, they shirk their respective jobs'