Television comedies have been on the air for decades, and throughout this time many different shows have come and gone. Due to the dominance of these shows, comedies are one of the biggest draws on television. There are many different types of comedies, each with their own unique characteristics and features that differentiate them from others and lead to their popularity. Whether the show is a sketch comedy, sitcom, mockumentary or dramatic comedy, each utilizes different types of humour, locations, themes, and situations to appeal to the audience; which is likely why they are so popular today.
One of the most famous types of television comedy is the sketch comedy style. Greg M. Smith, in his article “Red Skelton, The Crack-up, and the Quick- change” explains how the move of vaudeville acts to television created the template for all sketch comedies. A small number of performers, often only one or two, “depended on interchangeable acts that could be juggled into different configurations for a show, the sketch necessarily is narratively compartmentalized. Plot elements from one sketch do not carry over to the next, necessitating that the performer slip from one role to another as he/she moves from sketch to sketch.” (n pag) Today’s sketch comedies continue to run independent multiple short sketches per episode. Although they may now have recurring characters, frequently still, only a single-time character is played. Just as there is a prevalence of one actor playing multiple roles per episode, so also are the situations, locations, and interactions often differentiated completely from one scene or show to the next. Some or all of these elements can be found in such shows as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Saturday Night Live, The Whi...
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... the genre. Only time will tell if the comedy will maintain its television supremacy. Until then, society will just have to stay tuned.
Works Cited
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Smith, Greg M. “Red Skeleton, The Crack-up, and the Quick-change” Journal of Popular Culture 45.3 (2012): 592:610. Web. 17 January. 2014.
Laughing Together? TV Comedy Audiences and the Laugh Track
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McCarthy, Tyler. “Sitcom success a reflection of changing society.” Daily Campus. 29 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"Remarks made during 'Quiz Show and the Future of Television'." Annenberg Washington Program. http://www.annenberg.nwu.edu/pubs/quiz/remarks.htm (3/11/97).
Many politically based talk shows focus on controversial topics. Their shows aim to cause discussion over many politically controversial topics. The shows cause people from both sides of politics to argue over topics that usually both sides strongly believe in their opinion. The shows begin to turn into a screaming fest, where one side, of the argument, tries to talk over the other side, while the other does the same thing. It shows that without humor or something else being there to lighten the mood a small debate can turn into a fully heated argument. This shows the power of context and diction. Through the use of a humorful tone, when used in the right time and place, people are able to calmly talk about topics that without it would be a full on argument. Through a comedian’s humorful word choice, he is able to make his points usually without completely enraging his audience. Those who don’t use humor or something else to lighten the mood, end up creating an argument that just grows and grows until both sides are screaming at and denying everything the other side says. However, eventually something is said that lightens the mood. This is usually something somewhat comical that both sides can relate to. Whatever it was that was said becomes the thing that both sides can agrees on, and as a result makes the argument
It is this mix that so marks the play out from pure comedies such as
Sight gags are an essential part of comedy, especially the silent comedies of Charlie Chaplin's time. A sight gag is a visual form of comedy. In this form of comedy, the actors rely on the way the audience perceives the actions on screen for humor. This could include a misunderstanding by characters or a misrepresentation of an everyday object. In order to make the gag work, the actor must use smooth, visible actions to convey his or her point. Noel Carroll outlines six different types of sight gags in the book, Comedy/Cinema/Theory. In this paper, I will talk about each gag and give examples from the three Charlie Chaplin films that we have watched.
Strinati, Dominic (2003), ‘Structuralism, semiology and popular culture’ (extract), in his An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture: 2nd Ed., London, Routledge, pp. 82-85.
For a large part of the history of TV sitcoms women have been portrayed as mothers or as having to fulfill the woman's role in the private sphere. Family based sitcoms were one of the forms of sitcom that keep women in these roles, but what is interesting is that even in other forms of sitcoms women do not truly escape these roles. Sitcoms, like Sex and the City and Murphy Brown showcase women whom have seemingly escaped these roles, by showing liberated women, but that does not mean that both do not fall into the gender role showcased in family sitcoms. It draws the similarities between ensemble sitcoms and family sitcoms when it comes down to the role of women. The starring women in both Sex and the City and Murphy Brown, and even the Mary
The situation comedy, or sitcom, is a television programming genre that incorporates a narrative of humor within the context of a perception of domestic routine. In some cases the humor is associated with the dynamics of a relationship between a husband and wife, the neighbors, or friends (Roman, 93). The sitcom first appeared on radio and was embraced for its wit, charm,
According to Aristotle, “Comedy can be any colloquy or performance generally intended to amuse or stimulate laughter”. In modern times, comedy can be found in different forms, such as television, movies, theatres and stand-up comedy.
It was hilarious whenever Fred Sanford of the hit series Sanford and Son used to fake his heart attack saying that famous phrase, “I’m coming Elizabeth” or what about him telling Aunt Ester how ugly she was. No one took that type of comedy to the heart and it was intended to hurt no one. It was all for a laugh. Now in today’s time there are new shows on television such as The Chapelle Show, which is hosted and directed by the comedian Dave Chapelle. The object of this show seems to be how much fun he can make of a different race. Times have changed and so have peoples’ since of humor. People went from the laid-back type sitcoms such as Sanford and Son, The Three Stooges, and The Little Rascals, which are all types of shows that people can watch with their entire family, to shows even adults feel turned away from. Some examples include The Chapelle Show and In Living Color.
Language or the way in which words are used is one of the most important components of a comedy. Through an intelligent use of word play and the ability to add
Reiss, S & Wiltz, J 2004, ‘Why people watch Reality TV’, Media Psychology, vol. 6, issue 4, November, pp.363-378.
Becker, Anne “Reality Helps: TV Turns to Life-Changing Shows.” Broadcasting and Cable 135.23 (2005): 20. Proquest. Web.24. 24 Nov. 2013.
In a genre analysis, stories, issues and concerns are explored. Researchers who study genre focus on broad patterns within those texts in the genre (Brennen 204). Since my research involves studying sitcoms, my sample will consist of ten popular sitcoms that aired from the 1980s to the present. These sitcoms include Roseanne, 30 Rock, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I Love Lucy, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Friends, Will and Grace, Cheers, The Simpson and Seinfeld. The reason why I am choosing this sample is because I believe that it is broad enough to display the growth and evolution of the situational comedy genre and most (if not, all) of its pertinent aspects. Each of these shows all fit the standard conventions of a sitcom, however, the each bring a something different to the program, which allows them to stand out and be successful. I also chose them because they are all listed on the Rolling Stones top 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. This list was gathered by actors, writers, producers, critics and showrunners in the television industry (Sheffield,