Sitcom
A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. Situation comedies have been produced around the globe. Countries, such as Britain, have embraced the form and they are among the most popular programmes on the schedule.
Sitcoms usually consist of recurring characters in a format in which there are one or more humerous story lines centred around a common environment, such as a family home or workplace.
History
The situation comedy format originated on radio in the 1920s. The first situation comedy is often said to be Sam and Henry which debuted on the Chicago clear-channel station WGN in 1926, and was partially inspired by the notion of bringing the mix of humor and continuity found in comic strips to the young medium of radio.. The first network situation comedy was Amos & Andy which debuted on CBS in 1928, and was one of the most popular sitcoms through the 1930s
Situation comedies have been a part of the landscape of broadcast television since its early days. The first was probably Mary Kay and Johnny, a 15 minute sitcom which debuted on the DuMont network in November of 1947.
This type of entertainment seemed to originate in the United States, which continues to be a leading producer of the genre, but soon spread to other nations.
Cultural Differences in Sitcom Production
Most US sitcoms are written to run 30 minutes in length with commercial breaks, leaving about 20 minutes of showtime, although ones made outside the US may run somewhat longer. US sitcoms are often characterised by long series runs of 20 or more episodes, whereas the British sitcom is traditionally comprised of distinct series of six episodes each. US sitcoms often have large teams of script writers firing gags into the script and round-table sessions, whereas the British sitcom is usually written by two co-writers or is the work of one person.
Characteristics
Traditionally, situation comedies were largely self-contained, in that the characters themselves remained largely static and events in the sitcom resolved themselves by the conclusion of the show. One example of this is the animated situation comedy The Simpsons, where the characteristics of animation has rendered the characters unchanging in appearance forever -- although the characters in the show have sometimes made knowing references to this (the writers have made reference to that by calling The Simpsons a "frozen-in-time" show).
Other sitcoms, though, use greater or lesser elements of ongoing storylines: Friends, a hugely popular US sitcom of the 1990s, contains soap opera elements such as regularly resorting to an end-of-season cliffhanger, and has gradually developed the relationships of the characters. Other sitcoms have veered into social commentary. Examples of these are sitcoms by Norman Lear including All in the Family and Maude in the US and the controversial Till Death Us Do Part in Britain.
A common aspect of family sitcoms is that at some point in their run they introduce an addition to the family in the form of a new baby. One exception to this are the several sitcoms starring Bob Newhart, who insisted that his sitcoms not have babies or children. However while babies are cute and give adult characters opportunities to act silly, toddlers are of little use in comedy as besides the difficulties of the "terrible twos" they basically can only look cute and say a few words - thus most sitcom kids are aged to four or five within two years of their birth - for example "Andrew Keaton" on Family Ties and "Chrissy Seaver" on Growing Pains. Cases of sticking with the same child such as Erin Murphy's "Tabitha Stephens" on Bewitched or the Olsen twins' "Michelle Tanner" on Full House are the exception to the rule.
Most contemporary situation comedies are filmed with a multicamera setup in front of a live audience, then edited and broadcast days or weeks later. This practice has not always been universal, however, especially prior to the 1970s when it became more common. Some comedies, such as M*A*S*H, were not filmed before a studio audience. (In the case of M*A*S*H, the use of multiple sets and location filming would have made this impractical).
Specific countries of origin
British situation comedies
The United Kingdom has produced a wealth of sitcoms, many of which have been exported to other nations or redone in adaptation. See: British sitcom,Britain's Best Sitcom, British comedy, List of British television series remade for the US market.
The most successful and fondly remembered early British sitcom was Hancock's Half Hour on BBC Radio in the 1950s. It had the legendary ability of rendering pubs and streets empty as everybody stayed home to listen.
In the 1960s Till Death Us Do Part often caused a stir at the dinner table, inciting debate on political issues - particularly those surrounding immigration. Steptoe and Son, about a man's fractious relationship with his father, is another classic from that decade.
The 1970s brought us Mind Your Language which, far from flirting with racial stereotypes, actually spent the entire 30 minutes of each episode in a long, loving, relationship with the - now frowned upon - business of making fun of other nationalities. Less controversially, and much more fondly remembered from this period, was Fawlty Towers - just don't mention the war.
The new wave of 1980s comedians brought us The Young Ones, an anarchic, knockabout romp and, partially from the same writer, Blackadder.
The unlikely story of three priests; one vain, one simple, one comatose, gave the 1990s one of its biggest hits in Father Ted.
And in the new millenium The Office has become such a monolith in the genre it's difficult to peer round it and see anything else that's been on, though My Family continues to be a massive ratings success.
Other well known British Sitcoms include:
New Zealand situation comedies
New Zealand started into television later than many developed countries. Early sitcoms included Joe & Koro and "Buck House". Later there was The Billy T James Show (subsequently rerun in early 2004 as part of the first year's offering on Maori Television).
Nearly all of the British and US sitcoms mentioned above and below have been popular in New Zealand.
United States situation comedies
Mary Kay and Johnny was followed by The Goldbergs which first aired on January 17, 1949. Probably the most well-known and successful early television sitcom was I Love Lucy, starring Lucille Ball which is well known because the producer took the step, unusual for its time, of recording the episodes, thereby inventing reruns.
Well Known US Sitcoms include:
- Cheers
- Full House
- Seinfeld
- M*A*S*H
- Three's Company
- Soap
- WKRP in Cincinnati
- The Golden Girls
- Hogan's Heroes
- Friends
Related Topics
Further Reading
- Lewisohn, Mark (2003) Radio Times" Guide to TV Comedy. 2nd Ed. Revised - BBC Consumer Publishing. ISBN 0563487550 -- Provides details of every comedy show ever seen on British television, including imports.