Sitcoms

          TV Research - Sitcoms

List of Sit-coms:

Gavin and Stacey

Brooklyn Nine Nine

The Big Bang Theory

Fawlty Towers

Frasier

The Inbetweeners

Keeping Up Appearances

Red Dwarf

One Foot In The Grave

Only Fools and Horses

Examples of a sit-com:

Gavin and Stacey Series 1 Episode 1 Opening Scene

Gavin and Stacey Series 2 Episode 2 Clip



Gavin and Stacey Series 2 Clip




Sit-coms run in series instead of running all the time like soap operas. They are usually yearly like shows such as Brooklyn Nine Nine and The Big Bang Theory. They can also be aired years apart such as shows like Faulty Towers which had series 1 in 1975 and series 2 in 1979. This can be due to popularity of a show with its audience who want it brought back for another series. Sit-coms usually air between the hours of 5 to 6pm, week days. This is usually around the time people are back from work and about to have their tea. This allows more people to be able to watch them whilst they are on the TV. Depending on the nature of the sit-com they can air later at night so that younger people are not able to watch them if they are inappropriate. During the series of a sit-com there can be a bit of a difference in the way they use the episodes. For example shows like Fawlty Towers have each episode as a separate episode from the rest of the series. Like a reset button is pressed every episode so that everything can go wrong again. However shows like Gavin and Stacey have all their episodes connected so that they can tell an entire story in only 3 series. There are always hints for later episodes and episodes can start straight after one another. The most popular format for a series though is having each episode separate like Fawlty Towers, Red Dwarf and Keeping Up Appearances.

The appeals of sit-coms are identity. Sit-coms are often based on and reflect the current society of the time. This means that the audience can then identify with the characters in the show because the way the characters act and talk can be very similar to themselves or who they would like to be. The characters in the shows can be considered role models for the audience because they reflect the current times so they can see what the current society is like from all angles of it. They are also there to entertain. They provide escapism for the audience so that the audience can temporally forget about the worries of modern day life and what is to come. This is done through the use of comedy to make people laugh to forget the stresses of life. The productions of sit-coms have changed over time. An example of this is the sit-com Red Dwarf. Over time as sit-coms grew in popularity the budgets were higher. When the series started in 1988 the sets and production of the show was very limited which is clear when watching it now. The series is still going however and has a much higher production value 39 years later were the seta are very large and more detailed and the production looks better and feels better as a result.

The target audience for sit-coms are varied. For example older sit-coms such as Only Fools and Horses and Keeping Up Appearances are aimed at older people such as 30+. Newer sit-coms however are aimed at a younger audience such as teenagers and people in their 20s. This is shown through the feel of the different types of sit-coms because the newer sit-coms have a younger feel to them and the jokes are more aimed at the younger audience and a lot of joke made are related to things only younger people would find funny. Over time the jokes have been adapted to fit a younger audience.