Single-camera shows: 30 Rock, Community, The Good Place
and then documentary-style shows like The Office and Parks & Rec sorta split the difference, the main thing is multicamera shows are (allegedly, in most cases) filmed live to tape
When the list was best characters I initially thought wacky characters, like the Kramers of the world with character actors going nuts. I was leaning towards a lot of foils to main characters. Any thoughts on that? Best characters who exist to make a main character miserable?
I had thought of
The Janitor
Mimi Bobeck
Newman
Mr. Burns
Janice from Friends
Theodore Flooseveltproud parent of eight beautiful girls and shalmelodorne (which is currently being ruled by a woman (awesome role model for my daughters)) #dornedadRegistered Userregular
Theodore Flooseveltproud parent of eight beautiful girls and shalmelodorne (which is currently being ruled by a woman (awesome role model for my daughters)) #dornedadRegistered Userregular
I think one strict requirement of a sitcom is a 30 minute runtime, personally
Unless it features a detective.
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Theodore Flooseveltproud parent of eight beautiful girls and shalmelodorne (which is currently being ruled by a woman (awesome role model for my daughters)) #dornedadRegistered Userregular
i don't feel like "is this a sitcom or not" is really too tricky to define
I'm sure someone will come up with some edge case immediately after I post this, though
I think The Good Place is the modern sitcom that sort of skirts at the edge of the definition
because a sitcom to me feels like the kind of show where you could drop in on any episode having never watched it and have a good time, and The Good Place is very heavily serialized and you should be watching the whole thing
+6
StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
Yeah, The Good Place isn't really a sitcom. It's a comedy, but not all comedies are situational.
I think The Good Place is the modern sitcom that sort of skirts at the edge of the definition
because a sitcom to me feels like the kind of show where you could drop in on any episode having never watched it and have a good time, and The Good Place is very heavily serialized and you should be watching the whole thing
Yeah this is fair
I think that's the real hard and ironclad rule
A sitcom relies on a core set of characters being thrown into various situations and reacting to them
Sitcoms can have ongoing plotlines and continuity but each episode should be fairly standalone to at least a decent degree (barring 2 parter s or something, obviously).
The Good Place is so heavily built on plot and continuity that it doesn't fit
I just flat cannot get over the idea that someone made a show based on the concept that “a farce is Hell for the characters”
It’s such a perfect idea, and what’s even more perfect is that they don’t just sit in that space. The characters move and grow beyond that and fight back. I fucking love it to pieces.
I feel that one of the defining traits of a sitcom is that it is a half-hour.
Why is this required though? This feels like a weirdly metatextual trait to insist on - is not the genre of a piece of media defined by its content?
It kind of comes down to prescriptivism versus descriptivism. Genres are pretty nebulous but media tends to get heavily defined by well-known or influential pieces. I think the fact that the vast majority of influential/well-known sitcoms follow a similar format contributes to the common definition.
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Theodore Flooseveltproud parent of eight beautiful girls and shalmelodorne (which is currently being ruled by a woman (awesome role model for my daughters)) #dornedadRegistered Userregular
i don't think the good place strays that far afield of sitcom convention--or I guess more specifically, that its serialization would have a real marked effect on a person's enjoyment of catching any given episode in its theoretical syndication--but i see the point
Sitcoms need to have conflict/resolution within a short amount of time, that’s why it’s a situation. It needs to resolve or else it will implode
Yeah I see being largely episodic as a key part of the definition of a sitcom. You can have running background plotlines and character growth and whatnot but if your average episode doesn't have the main plot completely self-contained (or feature an explicit To Be Continued in the cases when it doesn't) I'm gonna have a tough time classifying the show as a situational comedy.
0
StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
I would consider a genre that relies on external information to be a bad/invalid genre, personally.
Like, yeah, spaghetti western, that's a thing, but I feel weird calling it a genre - it feels more like a filmmaking production style than a genre in its own right. It's a style that developed enough of its own signatures that it has turned way more into a genre, but in the process of turning into a genre, I'm no longer certain that spaghetti westerns have to be of that production style, y'know?
It's like how Black Dynamite is not blaxploitation production, but it is a blaxploitation film, you know?
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Raijin QuickfootI'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPAregular
I'm watching The Magicians.
I'm halfway through the second episode and... I'm not sure i like it? I mean, I find parts I enjoy then I hate some of the dialogue.
Posts
Single-camera shows: 30 Rock, Community, The Good Place
and then documentary-style shows like The Office and Parks & Rec sorta split the difference, the main thing is multicamera shows are (allegedly, in most cases) filmed live to tape
I had thought of
The Janitor
Mimi Bobeck
Newman
Mr. Burns
Janice from Friends
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1JI9WWSRW1YJI
Captain Holt rules but I was on one-per-show and no one can step to bi icon Rosa Diaz
Remove Speedy and replace with Cheddar from Brooklyn 99
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1JI9WWSRW1YJI
One day I'll remember to put in the effort to watch it in chronological order instead of Hulu's fucked up airing order.
the definitive way to watch justified is the 22-minute "everybody loves raylan" network TV cut
Alright, as mentioned to @Rorshach Kringle, my list is a bit basic but these are all my favorite live-action sitcom characters.
#1. -- Ross Geller (Friends)
#2. -- Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
#3. -- Bill McNeal (NewsRadio)
#4. -- Ron Swanson (Parks & Rec)
#5. -- Will Smith (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
I will think today on animated characters.
you can't deny that raylan gets himself into some situations, though
Unless it features a detective.
I'm sure someone will come up with some edge case immediately after I post this, though
Fuck yeah Bill McNeal. News radio was an awesome show
Well obviously breaking bad
That could DQ Party Down, which I can't abide - are we talking full thirty or TV thirty?
because a sitcom to me feels like the kind of show where you could drop in on any episode having never watched it and have a good time, and The Good Place is very heavily serialized and you should be watching the whole thing
I think that's the real hard and ironclad rule
A sitcom relies on a core set of characters being thrown into various situations and reacting to them
Sitcoms can have ongoing plotlines and continuity but each episode should be fairly standalone to at least a decent degree (barring 2 parter s or something, obviously).
The Good Place is so heavily built on plot and continuity that it doesn't fit
I think even in show they call it a dramedy
It’s such a perfect idea, and what’s even more perfect is that they don’t just sit in that space. The characters move and grow beyond that and fight back. I fucking love it to pieces.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1JI9WWSRW1YJI
Why is this required though? This feels like a weirdly metatextual trait to insist on - is not the genre of a piece of media defined by its content?
Genre can also be defined by who is making it, what period it was made in, etc.
Like Spaghetti Westerns are a genre very heavily defined by both of those
It kind of comes down to prescriptivism versus descriptivism. Genres are pretty nebulous but media tends to get heavily defined by well-known or influential pieces. I think the fact that the vast majority of influential/well-known sitcoms follow a similar format contributes to the common definition.
Yeah I see being largely episodic as a key part of the definition of a sitcom. You can have running background plotlines and character growth and whatnot but if your average episode doesn't have the main plot completely self-contained (or feature an explicit To Be Continued in the cases when it doesn't) I'm gonna have a tough time classifying the show as a situational comedy.
Like, yeah, spaghetti western, that's a thing, but I feel weird calling it a genre - it feels more like a filmmaking production style than a genre in its own right. It's a style that developed enough of its own signatures that it has turned way more into a genre, but in the process of turning into a genre, I'm no longer certain that spaghetti westerns have to be of that production style, y'know?
It's like how Black Dynamite is not blaxploitation production, but it is a blaxploitation film, you know?
I'm halfway through the second episode and... I'm not sure i like it? I mean, I find parts I enjoy then I hate some of the dialogue.
I'm going to keep going I suppose.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1JI9WWSRW1YJI
dangit zonny why did you do this to me today
Basil Fawlty
Pauline Campbell-Jones
Ted Crilly
Humphrey Appleby
I won't forget a single day believe me.
None of these are actual names.
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