Brainstorming Assignment
1. What is a sitcom?
2) List 5 Sitcoms that you are familiar
with:
3) Briefly describe an episode of one of your
favorite sitcoms. What made this particular show
funny?
• Night Court - This particular show took place at
night in a New York court house. The characters
included a judge, lawyers, bailiffs, a clerk, criminals,
and various other court characters. One particular
episode involved two siblings’ legal fight over the
cremated remains their father, Herb. The ashes
were kept in an urn in the judge’s chambers. One
of the lawyers enters the judge’s chamber and
begins to make herb tea. After he sips the tea and
comments on how good the herb tea is the
caretaker exclaims “that’s not herb tea, that’s Herb!”
4) List and describe the characters of the
Sitcom you chose to write about.
Situation Comedy Unit
What is a sitcom?
A situation comedy, usually referred to
as a sitcom, is a genre of comedy
programs which originated in radio.
Today, sitcoms are found almost
exclusively on television, as one of
its dominant narrative forms. Sitcoms
usually consist of recurring
characters in a common environment
such as a home or workplace.
A. Sitcoms:
Many sitcoms follow similar story lines.
Many of these story lines are used over
and over again – different show – different
characters – different setting– SAME
PLOT, SAME PREMISE!
I. - Traditional sitcoms:
- featured individual episodes that were largely selfcontained
- regular characters that remained largely static
- had events in each episode that resolved themselves by
the end of the episode
- would rarely mention events from previous episodes in
subsequent episodes
- Showed characters like school friends or beloved
relatives. Often these characters would only be seen
once in the series, and were rarely mentioned in
subsequent episodes
Example:
• This TRADITIONAL sitcom
formula has been parodied
many times by The Simpsons.
Mr. Burns, despite repeated
close interaction with his
employee Homer Simpson,
never recalls those incidents
and does not remember who
Homer is in subsequent
episodes.
II. - Modern Sitcom
More recently, sitcoms have introduced some ongoing story lines.
EXAMPLE:
• Friends, a popular US sitcom of the 1990s-2000s, had an overall
story arc similar to that of soap operas.
• In addition to using traditional sitcom stories, which were introduced
and resolved in the same episode, the show always had two or three
ongoing stories taking place at any given point in the show's run.
• Friends also used other soap opera elements such as regularly
resorting to an end-of-season cliffhanger and gradually developing
the relationships of the characters over the course of the series.
III. - Sitcoms making
Social Commentary
• Other sitcoms have veered into
social commentary. Examples of
these are sitcoms created by
Norman Lear (including All in the
Family and Maude) in the U.S.
IV - The Baby!
• A common aspect of family sitcoms is that,
at some point in their run, they introduce a
baby to the family. The addition of a new
baby to a sitcom family provides new
story situations for the series as the
family must adjust to a new member.
The baby itself, however, provides only a limited
range of stories, due to its limited mobility, mental
development, and vocabulary. In addition, there are
practical problems with working with a baby on-set.
Thus, most sitcom kids are aged to four or five
within two years of their birth
Examples:
- Andrew Keaton on Family Ties
- Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains
Occasionally a sitcom would retain the same child without
such age jumps such as:
- Erin Murphy as Tabitha Stevens on Bewitched
- The Olsen twins as Michelle Tanner on Full House.
B. Premises
Sitcoms are based on premises!
1. "Fish out of water"
• Many sitcoms, despite a variety of
settings, are based on the premise of a
character’s being out of his or her element,
i.e., a "fish out of water".
Examples
:
Gilligan's Island - castaways on a desert isle.
Having left civilization behind, these latter-day
Robinson Crusoes must fend for themselves
while seeking a means to effect their rescue.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air also used a fish-out-ofwater setup, but "with a hipper twist”. The show
features streetwise Will Smith landing at his aunt and
uncle's mansion in Bel-Air. Instead of Will being
uncomfortable and confused about the element of
"preppiness" he is unfamiliar with, his homeboy nature
allows him to continue the way he is without shame, as
he considers the fancy people, including his cousin
Carlton, people to insult and look down on, which in turn
makes up a large part of the show's humor.
The Beverly Hillbillies: Upon discovering oil
on his land in Bug Tussle, Jed Clampett and
his kin move from the hills of Tennessee to
Beverly Hills, California, where they must
cope with a way of life they’ve never known
and are ill equipped to handle.
2. Foils
• Other sitcoms are based on foils. In fiction,
a foil is a minor character whose traits are
the opposite to those of the main
character.
Examples:
• I Love Lucy and Dharma and Greg: A
straightforward, down-to-earth, rational husband
marries a flighty, zany, emotional woman given to
hatching complex absurd schemes that invariably
cause problems for her impatient but long
suffering husband.
3. The family sitcom
- Having existed from the invention of the sitcom
and having prominence in the 1980s, this
premise involves the lives and situations of a
family, usually almost entirely taking place inside
their house or residence. The standard formula
for an episode of a family sitcom is;
- A member of said family (usually a child) creates
conflict or otherwise gets himself into trouble,
usually followed by some kind of
misunderstanding or coverup, the culprit is
exposed or caught and confronted. This almost
always results in a lesson being learned.
Examples:
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"The Brady Bunch“
"Leave it to Beaver”
"The Cosby Show”
"Full House”
"Family Ties”
"Growing Pains”
"Home Improvement” is
interesting because its lead
character Tim "The
Toolman" Taylor, who is the
father in the series, is almost
always the one learning the
lesson, as opposed to one
of the children.
4. Youthful protagonist's point of view.
• A fourth premise for sitcoms is that of telling the story from the
youthful protagonist’s point of view (i. e., the use of an unreliable
narrator).
•
In these shows, the main characters are teens or pre-teens whose
view of the world is often exasperating and endearing
simultaneously.
• Trying to understand their world through inexperienced and naïve
eyes, these characters often misunderstand the implications of
incidents and actions.
• Often, they make a bad situation worse before their parents or
another wise, understanding, and loving adult bails them out of their
trouble. As a result, they become somewhat older and wiser.
Examples:
• Malcolm In The Middle, "Blossom”, Leave It To
Beaver, and frequently The Brady Bunch.
5. Parody
• Television sitcoms such as Batman and
Get Smart are based on parodying other
more serious versions of their characters
or genres.
EXAMPLE:
Batman, starring Adam West, poked
fun at the campy elements implicit in
costumed crime fighters and over-thetop villains whose comic book punches
are accompanied by hand-lettered
onomatopoeia in dynamic and dazzling
fonts.
Get Smart made
fun of the actionadventure plots of
secret agents like
James Bond, all
the rage at the
time.
C. Ensemble cast structure:
Many sitcoms reuse a common mixture
of character archetypes to achieve
reliable comedic situations from week
to week.
1. The naïf
• The most common archetype appearing in
sitcoms is the naïf or fool. Typically, this
character accepts events and statements
at face value and often misunderstands
situations in ways that create conflict in the
plot.
Characters in sitcom history that fit
this description include:
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Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
Chrissy Snow (Three's Company)
"Coach" Ernie Pantusso and Woody Boyd (Cheers)
Joey (Friends)
Maxwell Smart (Get Smart)
Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld)
Kelso (That '70s Show)
Arthur Carlson (WKRP in Cincinnati)
Michael Scott (The Office)
Kenneth Parcell (30 Rock).
In some series, the entire cast may
take on this trait at one time or
another; examples include the
Bundy family of Married... with
Children, The Griffins et al. of
Family Guy, and the Tate/Campbell
family of Soap.
2. The social rebel
• Not commonly seen on US television before the appearance of The
Bundys from "Married... with Children", this character was fairly
common on British comedies from the '60s onward; these
characters at times have traits of "The naive fool", and "The
antagonist". They have (at least limited) awareness that his or her
actions are in some way socially unacceptable, rude or just plain
dumb. At times, this character plays pranks, makes inappropriate
comments and generally makes life more difficult for the other
characters. This character isn't quite an antagonist; however, they
are usually accepted (and even loved) by the other characters
dispite their flaws. In some cases. they are the ones who end up
saving the day with just the right advice or sacrifice.
This type was popularized in the US by the series
"Seinfeld”, in which all of the characters are selfish
and rude and don't care about how society views
them, yet they are the protagonists of the show.
Other examples of this character include Dan
Fielding of "Night Court”, Michael Scott of “The
Office", Roseanne Connor of "Roseanne” and
Peter Griffin of "Family Guy”.
3. The sage
• This character usually has either an
elevated intellect, advanced age, or
"outsider" experience. The sage frequently
comments wryly on the situation into which
the other characters have placed
themselves and often suggests solutions
to resolve the major plot conflict.
The characters Wilson Wilson from
Home Improvement and Mr. Feeny
from Boy Meets World are examples of
the use of a sage.
4. The comic relief
• The comic relief character usually exhibits
eccentric personality traits and unusual
reactions to commonplace situations and
sometimes serves as the protagonist of
the situation comedy series. This
character's strange attitudes and reactions
to events provide opportunities for absurd
or unexpected humour.
Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld is a textbook
example of a comic relief character, as is
Phoebe Buffay of Friends . On The Office ,
Michael is the main comic relief character.
5. The Wacky Neighbor
• This character, who will often embody
qualities of the Naive Fool or Comic Relief,
lives next door, across the hall, or in
similar close proximity to the protagonist.
This allows them to pop into the plot
whenever necessary and inject a slice of
levity and/or oddness to the proceedings.
Examples include Steve Urkel
from Family Matters. The Wacky
Neighbor may also be an element
of the core cast, such as Cosmo
Kramer from Seinfeld, Ned
Flanders from The Simpsons,
Joey from Friends, and Wilson
from Home Improvement, whose
wisdom and insight often helped
the Taylor family during the course
of the series.
6. The Antagonist
• This archetypal character functions as a
primary rival, competitor, or enemy of the
series' principal character, the protagonist.
On the sitcom All in the Family, Michael
"Meathead" Stivic served as the primary
antagonist to his father-in-law, Archie Bunker. On
The Simpsons, Homer Simpson chooses (most of
the time) to make an antagonist of his neighbor,
Ned Flanders. Jerry Seinfeld's main antagonist on
his self-titled sitcom was his postal worker
neighbor Newman (Seinfeld).
7. The ‘ladies’ man
• The ladies' man and the man eater are
aggressively sexual characters whose
primary humor derives from their sexual
exploits. Depending upon the tenor of the
series, and depending on if it's airing
earlier or later on the schedule, the
character's attitude can range from
harmless flirtation to borderline
hypersexuality.
Larry Dallas (Three's Company)
Blanche Devereaux (The Golden Girls)
Roz Doyle (Frasier)
Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
The Todd (Scrubs)
Karen Walker (Will and Grace)
Joey (Friends)
Sam Malone (Cheers)
Glenn Quagmire (Family Guy)
Barney Stinson ("How I Met Your Mother")
Kelso ("That 70s Show")
are examples of this character type.
8. The ethnic/regional stereotype
• Some sitcoms feature characters from
other countries or specific parts of the
United States whose accents, speech
patterns, mannerisms, and attitudes
provide opportunities for conflict or comic
relief.
Examples included:
Latka Gravas (Taxi)
Balki Bartokomous (Perfect Strangers)
Carla Tortelli (Cheers)
Thurston Howell III and Lovey Howell (Gilligan's Island)
Apu (The Simpsons)
Fez (That '70s Show)
Otto and Gretchen Mannkusser (Malcolm in the Middle)
Joy Darville (My Name Is Earl).
D. Other common characters
Other recurring archetypal characters that appear in sitcoms include:
 1. The meddling or nosy neighbor:
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The Ropers/Ralph Furley - Three's Company,
Gladys Kravitz - Bewitched,
Marie Barone- Everybody Loves Raymond
The Ochmoneks - ALF
 2. The wacky wife and her straight
laced husband
 - I Love Lucy
 - Dharma & Greg
 - American Dad
3. The wisecracking curmudgeon
- Archie Bunker from All in the Family
- Lou Grant from The Mary Tyler Moore Show
- Frank Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond
 4. The lovable loser
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- Cliff Clavin and Norm Peterson - Cheers
- George Costanza – Seinfeld
- Noel Shempsky - Frasier
- Gunther - Friends
- Spence Olchin - The King of Queens
- Toby Flenderson f- The Office
- Bill from "King of the Hill"
 5. The acerbic servant
 - Geoffrey - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
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- Florence Johnston - The Jeffersons
- Benson - Soap
- Rosario Salazar - Will & Grace
- Niles - The Nanny
- Berta – Two and a Half Men
6. The unseen character, often mentioned
and sometimes heard, but never seen
-
Vera - Cheers
Maris - Frasier
Louis - Becker
Bob Sacamano and George Steinbrenner - Seinfeld
 7. The overprotective father
 - Paul Hennessy - 8 Simple Rules for Dating My
Teenage Daughter
 - Dave Gold from The War at Home
 - Danny Tanner from Full House
 - Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
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8. The meddling sibling
- The Brady Bunch
- Cosby Show
- Malcolm in the Middle
- DJ - Full House
 9. The sarcastic hero
 - Hawkeye Pierce - "M*A*S*H“
 - Chandler Bing - "Friends"
 10. The Unnamed
Chacter, where we do
not know the proper
name of a character,
usually only a
nickname or part of a
name
- Fez - "That 70's Show“
- Kramer - "Seinfeld"
- The Professor, Gilligan
and The Skipper "Gilligan's Island"
- Agent 99 - "Get Smart"
• 11. The "Straight Man", who is
sometimes the spouse of the
lead character. Their main
purpose is to react to the comic
lead's shinanigans
Al Borland from "Home Improvement“
Marge Simpson from "The Simpsons"
E. Plot Formulas
•
The plot and situations for many sitcom episodes arise out of a character's
lying to or otherwise deceiving the other characters. The most common
comedic situations based on deception include:
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Attempts
Attempts
Attempts
Attempts
Attempts
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Attempts to dupe someone so as to achieve an advantage.
Attempts to return stolen property before discovery of the theft.
Attempts to replace destroyed property before discovery of
destruction.
Attempts to ignore certain characters.
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to hide egregious mistakes or acts of weakness.
to protect friends and family members from bad news.
to "correct" a mistake before others find out about it.
to hide the breaking of pacts.
to maintain an advantage based on deception.
Attempts to recreate scenarios.
Attempts to fix situations that end up making them worse.
The majority of sitcom episodes revolve around some form
of the lying/deception premises listed above. Lesser-used
sitcom plot formulas include:
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One or more characters going into a foreign environment only to return to
"where they belong." Frequently, sitcom writers will use this plot formula to
transplant the entire cast to some exotic location.
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A character choosing to make some fundamental change in their body, habits,
job, or other component of their environment, only to return to "what feels
normal."
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Characters entering contests or races.
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Characters being elevated to positions of responsibility they can't handle.
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Newcomers or strangers making one-time appearances that change the
personal dynamics between the recurring characters.
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A special holiday episode, such as Christmas or Halloween.
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A character thinking another character is going to die and does anything to
please him/her, while the other character takes advantage.
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Male and female characters exchanging their archetypal "men" and "women"
roles to demonstrate the other gender "has it easier", only to find out they were
more comfortable with their own.
F. The "Very Special Episode"
• One type of plot of particular note is the "very
special episode". This episode of a comedy
series goes outside of their standard comedy
format and involves a controversial issue or
either a birth, a death or an otherwise traumatic
experience for one of the major characters.
Examples include any episode of "Family Ties"
involving the alchoholic Uncle Ned (played by
Tom Hanks) and the episode of "Happy Days"
where Richie almost dies after crashing Fonzie's
bike. This is many times a sign of the series
"Jumping the Shark“ (", i.e., an illogical plot twist
usually symptomatic of a decline in the show's
quality).
G. Life cycle
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Landmarks in the life cycle of a typical sitcom include:
Development
Pilot episode
Popularity or semi-popularity
"Jumping the shark", i.e., an illogical plot twist usually
symptomatic of a decline in the show's quality
Cancellation
Reruns in syndication
Reunion Show
DVD Box-set Release