(An ongoing list).
You might already know that I’m a rabid fan of sitcoms. That is the reason I keep an ongoing list of favorite sitcoms. Here are some of my thoughts about the genre:
It is always wonderful to have older characters be guest stars. Often these characters are played by immensely talented actors who at one time were famous. I just watched two episodes of the Middle which featured guest stars Norm MacDonald, Marsha Mason and Jerry Van Dyke. These actors had only small parts, but it was nice to see them again!
Many good shows have one bona fide asshole character. Often their negative energy can bring out the best in other characters. (Besides it’s always a plot art to humanize the asshole).
As good as three camera filmed-before-a-live-audience shows are, one camera shows have a lot of movement and energy and rapid scene changes which can make up for the silence. “Arrested Development had so many scene changes in a single episode that you were never bored.
I’m surprised at how many shows have gotten away with doing the same plot over and over again. Keeping Up Appearances, Three’s Company, Allo Allo, Get Smart, etc.
Most sitcoms fail because of bad ratings; it often has nothing to do with the scripts or talent.
I think 80% of the recipe for a successful sitcom is not great writing, but finding the perfect actor for the part. I was thinking of the Middle; all the characters and especially the kids seem born to play their parts.
Good to have a gimmick. It helps to have some narrative novelty even if it doesn’t always work. The Bernie Mac show had two brilliant things: 1)Bernie Mac breaking the fourth wall to rant about something and 2)onscreen text to comment on dialogue being spoken. Both provided endless amounts of hilarity.
Raunch and potty humor is beginning to be a problem on sitcoms. There are fewer restrictions about subject matter on contemporary TV, but lowbrow humor rarely pays in the long run.
One person online said that sitcoms by definition are not particularly memorable; it’s more the exception rather the rule. There is some truth in this. Plots tend to repeat themselves (even on the same sitcom), and jokes and character conflicts tend to recur throughout a show’s history. On the other hand, talented actors can inject something fresh into each iteration, and that is worth mentioning. Finally, the amnesiac quality of sitcoms may in fact be an advantage because it leads to rewatching. You may already know that George Constanza is going on a blind date set up by Elaine and Jerry, but it is still fun to watch the sequence again.
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