Sitcoms have been around since the same time as
television started. They have a range of tone from slapstick and surreal and been set in all sorts of situations and created many different stereotypes. Sitcoms go on life happenings but they give an exaggerated insight to what actual reality is like which gives them such a good reception with the viewers that they aimed to attractand many more.
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, with humorous dialogue. Sitcoms are mostly found on television as one of its dominant narrative forms. Most sitcoms that are on television are usually recorded in front of a studio audience. The effect of a live studio audience can also be imitated by the use of a laugh track if it hasn't been recorded in front of a live one. Sitcoms are usually watched by teenagers and adults due to some of the humour that is presented in their scripts.
Friends
Friends is probably one of the most popular and one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. The sitcom ran for a big ten seasons, running from 1994-2004. Friends was, in many ways, as traditional a sitcom as you could want. Most early sitcoms were based around a family unit such as sitcoms like; I Love Lucy (Desilu USA 1951-57), Bewitched (ABC USA 1964-72), Are You Being Served (BBC UK 1972-85) AND Taxi (ABC USA 1978-83). In this case, friends is based on friends who are like a family, where it was the friendship group that provided the support network, fiction or fun that fuelled the show. Other traditional aspects included the production process. As like many sitcom, Friends was shot on a stage at Warner Brothers Studios. Almost no exteriors were used, however those that were, were shot on 'New York' street, which was really shot on the outside if the studio. Sitcoms are shot in linear sequence and after all preparation, are recorded in front of a live studio audience. Through the use of audience laughter, we are invited to share the joke and the perspective from which the joke is told. In Friends, this is pushed further by including the audience's reaction to romanic and emotional scene. The audience is encouraged to cheer and happily sigh with ooh's and ash's to give a better reception. In Friends, main settings are the friends' respective apartments and the coffee shop Central Perk, which were available for use throughout the ten years that it ran. Some settings that were used in season 5 were used once such as the Las Vegas scenes but we're then torn out after production of that season ended.
Friends has recieved a lot of viewers over the ten years that it was in production, on the IMBd website, statistics show that people have rated this sitcom a 9/10 from over 300,00 viewers.
One of the most popular sitcoms around is 'The Big Bang Theory'. This is a comedy that is centred on five characters living in Pasadena, California. The four who are scientists make the geekiness and intellect of them contrast for comic effect with the social skills and common sense of the female neighbour. The sitcoms executive producers are Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady along with Steven Molaro, of whom are all head writers for the sitcom. The sitcom had its first debut on CBS on September 24, 2007 in America and has been going on now for its eighth series which aired on September 22, 2014. In the UK, The Big Bang Theory airs on E4. This as many sitcoms is recorded in front of a live studio audience. When the actors are performing their lines, they go off the atmosphere of the audience which makes them perform better because they know that they have done a good job.
The United Kingdom has produced a wealth of sitcoms, many of which have been exported to other countries or even adapted to better fit local audiences. British sitcoms often exhibit a tendency towards black humour. A frequent theme in British sitcoms is that of people trapped in an unpleasant situation (such as in Porridge, 'Allo 'Allo!) or a dysfunctional relationship (such as in Only Fools and Horses, Rising Damp, George and Mildred and Steptoe and Son).British sitcoms have also tended to shy away from the folksy homespun nature of the American sitcom and into more adult or intellectual territory, Yes Minister being an example of the latter. Other examples of popular British comedy shows that have also enjoyed international success include Black Books and The IT Crowd.
Reference: http://www.imdb.com/search/title?count=100&genres=comedy&keywords=sitcom&num_votes=5000,&title_type=tv_series Assessed 20/11/14
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sitcom Assessed: 22/10/14
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