Quote: richiemoomoo @ November 23 2011, 9:07 PM GMTI'm about to finish my episode and one idea is to end on a cliffhanger which is addressed/resolved in the next episode. Is this a bit of a cop out?
I'd suggest - in terms of writing a serialised sitcom, it's a valid technique. In terms of winning this specific competition, it may be counterproductive, it may just look like you're unable to resolve a storyline in 15 minutes.
Quote: richiemoomoo @ November 23 2011, 9:07 PM GMTI'm about to finish my episode and one idea is to end on a cliffhanger which is addressed/resolved in the next episode. Is this a bit of a cop out?
There's a tricky balancing act here. You want to give the live audience a satisfying, conclusive and surprising ending and you want to let the comedy commissioners know that there are at least 5 more episodes implicit in your premise. You're effectively playing to two audiences at the same time; one present, one future. And you can't neglect either of them.
Quote: andyblacksheep @ November 24 2011, 9:20 AM GMTI'd suggest - in terms of writing a serialised sitcom, it's a valid technique. In terms of winning this specific competition, it may be counterproductive, it may just look like you're unable to resolve a storyline in 15 minutes.
You should never end a sitcom on a cliffhanger, there maybe ongoing storylines in a narrative sense - as in May to December etc, but there should always be a story that is concluded within each episode.
I remember an episode of Just Good Friends in which the last line was Penny's dad saying, "Vince got married." The self-contained element of the episode had been resolved, but this set up for the next episode and the rest of the series.
What we certainly don't want is half of a half-hour episode dressed up as a 15-minute episode.
Quote: Declan @ November 24 2011, 12:06 PM GMTI remember an episode of Just Good Friends in which the last line was Penny's dad saying, "Vince got married." The self-contained element of the episode had been resolved, but this set up for the next episode and the rest of the series.
What we certainly don't want is half of a half-hour episode dressed up as a 15-minute episode.
I think a half-hour episode would have to be dressed-down to be a 15-minute episode.
Quote: Marc P @ November 24 2011, 11:55 AM GMTYou should never end a sitcom on a cliffhanger, there maybe ongoing storylines in a narrative sense - as in May to December etc, but there should always be a story that is concluded within each episode.
Your logic is at fault here--having a story that is concluded within an episode doesn't preclude the use of a cliffhanger.
Anyway, there are many examples of sitcoms with episodes that did end on cliffhangers. "Cheers" and "Friends" immediately come to mind.
Nevertheless, I imagine it's not a good idea to end a Sitcom Mission entry on a cliffhanger.
Quote: evan rubivellian @ November 24 2011, 1:30 PM GMTYour logic is at fault here--having a story that is concluded within an episode doesn't preclude the use of a cliffhanger.
Anyway, there are many examples of sitcoms with episodes that did end on cliffhangers. "Cheers" and "Friends" immediately come to mind.
Nevertheless, I imagine it's not a good idea to end a Sitcom Mission entry on a cliffhanger.
A hook is different to a cliffhanger. 
Yes. A "hook" is something that draws the reader or viewer in, and a "cliffhanger" is an unresolved ending that leaves people wanting more. But why bring that up now?
At the end of shows it is called a hook when you leave an unresolved ending that draws the viewer in to see what happens next. A cliffhanger is simply that, coming from unresolved jeopardy originally. The original question on this issue was whether to have unresolved narrative that had been arcing through the story so that is a cliffhanger not a hook. In a sitcom, versus a narrative drama, you can have a hook but not a cliffhanger - unless it is a two parter and there aren't many of those that spring to my mind.
What in God's name are you talking about, Marc? Speak English!
I honestly don't understand what you're saying. But here's a list of cliffhanger endings and it includes both Friends and Cheers as well as the I.T. Crowd:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cliffhanger_endings
Perhaps your definitions are so, like, weird that they're only of use to you!
Anyway, we're both in agreement about avoiding cliffhanger endings in the Sitcom Mission entries.
Or are we?
I am agreeing with myself yes!
Quote: Frantically @ November 23 2011, 9:55 PM GMTI happened to check out the blog and read the 'Thunderer' script.
Fantastic stuff - almost every line is a great joke...in some cases 3 or 4!
Absolutely. Here's the link for those that haven't yet seen the script: https://www.comedy.co.uk/sitcom_mission/blog/35/
It can't be stressed enough - putting lots of funny lines in a sitcom is a good idea! If you don't have as many as Thunderer add more... because that's the level you need to be at if you want to win.
Marc P: 
Mission Controllers: I enjoyed the "Thunderer" script--thanks for posting it.
Quote: Marc P @ November 24 2011, 1:52 PM GMTA hook is different to a cliffhanger.
Except in The Sitcom Trials where the cliffhanger is the hook. You see what I did there?
It's interesting to debate these things, and worth keeping in mind that the script you enter for a competition like the Mission is a different thing from a script that a TV commissioner will be looking at (though Dec & Si are doing the best job of keeping their eye on that prize and encouraging writing that has commissionability in mind).
I'm always worried, though, when we become sticklers for The Rules. The history of sitcom is full of people succeeding by breaking the rules, and often the worst thing anyone can do is trying to make shows like they've always made in the past.
A sitcom ending on a cliffhanger is indeed rare, and doesn't conform to what have become accepted norms and formulae, but to outlaw them entirely would mean no Red Dwarf 2, no Blackadder 4, and no two-parters (I'm particularly fond of the two-parter at the end of Cheers series 1, and who can forget the incredible shark-jumping two-parter in Happy Days?)
It's similar to the debate about whether a sitcom has to have a studio audience (I'm in the No camp) or be half an hour long (again, a No from me). Rules are made to be broken.
Now where do we stand on The Goodies and The Young Ones? Sitcoms or sketch shows?
Kev F
Quote: Kev F @ November 24 2011, 8:04 PM GMTExcept in The Sitcom Trials where the cliffhanger is the hook. You see what I did there?
It's interesting to debate these things, and worth keeping in mind that the script you enter for a competition like the Mission is a different thing from a script that a TV commissioner will be looking at (though Dec & Si are doing the best job of keeping their eye on that prize and encouraging writing that has commissionability in mind).
I'm always worried, though, when we become sticklers for The Rules. The history of sitcom is full of people succeeding by breaking the rules, and often the worst thing anyone can do is trying to make shows like they've always made in the past.
A sitcom ending on a cliffhanger is indeed rare, and doesn't conform to what have become accepted norms and formulae, but to outlaw them entirely would mean no Red Dwarf 2, no Blackadder 4, and no two-parters (I'm particularly fond of the two-parter at the end of Cheers series 1, and who can forget the incredible shark-jumping two-parter in Happy Days?)
It's similar to the debate about whether a sitcom has to have a studio audience (I'm in the No camp) or be half an hour long (again, a No from me). Rules are made to be broken.
Now where do we stand on The Goodies and The Young Ones? Sitcoms or sketch shows?
Kev F
Sitcom cliffhangers are hooks that set up a new narrative... when end of series etc. A cliffhanger is the idea (I know I tried to explain this before) when at the end of an episode is a kind of stop to the narrative with a man holding on by his fingers to a cliff edge or a woman tied to the train tracks with a train coming - how is the incident to be resolved - rather than a basic shift from the Status Quo. End of series the dynamics change to set up the next. There really are two different things. The original question (again) is whether to end a entry for the sitcom mission mid narrative (not even on an act break) ... with a 'to be continued' subtitle. And the answer is no.
Quote: Mark @ November 24 2011, 3:18 PM GMTAbsolutely. Here's the link for those that haven't yet seen the script: https://www.comedy.co.uk/sitcom_mission/blog/35/
It can't be stressed enough - putting lots of funny lines in a sitcom is a good idea! If you don't have as many as Thunderer add more... because that's the level you need to be at if you want to win.
No disrespect, really, but this is a very poor script. I can see how it might play fairly well on stage (it being a massively arch, theatrical piece), but it's not sitcom. It's mostly just actors making (often torturous) speeches at one another. Fair play to the writer(s?) for their success in winning the comp, but I suspect it wouldn't receive anything more than a brief, polite rejection from a production company.
But maybe that's beside the point...
Anything that's an outlet/showcase for new comedy writers is probably a good thing.