Television Sitcoms

A situation comedy, or sitcom, is a genre of comedy which originated in radio and which became a mainstay format for television from the 1950s. Much television drama relies on certain formulas. The most popular include crime series, hospital dramas and "soap operas," continuing dramas often on a domestic theme. Sitcoms tend to be regarded more as entertainment rather ...

A situation comedy, or sitcom, is a genre of comedy which originated in radio and which became a mainstay format for television from the 1950s. Much television drama relies on certain formulas. The most popular include crime series, hospital dramas and "soap operas," continuing dramas often on a domestic theme. Sitcoms tend to be regarded more as entertainment rather than dramas, although they present a fictional narrative in which a given situation reveals new comic possibilities each week.

A sitcom is generally a half-hour comedy program, which means that for networks in the United States, it takes 22 minutes of programming and eight minutes of commercials. Each program features a recurring group of characters. Episodes are typically self-contained, meaning viewers do not have to have any previous knowledge of the show to get the jokes. Sitcoms are usually studio produced in front of a studio audience, whose laughter is heard, although they are not seen. However, the effect of a live studio audience can be also imitated with the use of a sound track providing what is known as "canned laughter."

Sitcoms usually adhere to the series format, with each continuing for a limited number of episodes. Individual shows are broadcast at the same time each week, centering on the lives and activities of an established core of characters and locations. The content of sitcoms often mirrors the family or domestic setting in which the viewer is situated. The characters have conversations in real time, interact in everyday locations, such as the apartment, the coffee house, the bar, the workplace, and speak in ordinary language, much as the viewers do in their daily lives. The basis for most situation comedies is that all characters will revert to their original position at the end of every episode and problems are invariably resolved. Some sitcoms use a version of the "stage whisper," device, where a character may break away from the narrative for a moment to address the audience directly down the camera, engaging them as friends and allies in the situation.

Eaton (1981) developed a typology of sitcom, according to which there are three locations, or situations, in which the comedy tended to occur. First, the home, where humour derives from the interactions between family members. Second, the workplace, where relationships between colleagues at work drive the humour. Third, a location that is neither home nor work but contains some of the relationships and tensions that those situations generate. A recent example of this might be the popular American show Friends, where there is not a traditional family environment, but where some characters take on family roles which are often the source of mirth.

Some situation comedies aim for more than just a laugh. They flirt with reality, wrap the social, political, and moral lessons in humor so that each episode becomes a reminder of something useful to the audience. Many sitcoms are innocuous, while others address almost-real problems with almost-real people.