Sitcom formats

Hi Guys, newly joined to share my love of sitcoms!

I'm doing a social history degree and am writing about the sitcom formula and how it has changed. I'm interested in how it has developed and how it is being re-invented. Seinfeld with the numerous storyline dovetails and latterly (although I'm not the biggest fan) by shows like How Not To Live Your Life (breaks in the story for stand alone jokes).
Can the collective memory of the forum point me in the direction of any original formatting/ideas from past sitcom, or new ones in case I've over-looked them? There is a show on Paramount called The Winner by Seth MacFarlane which has an interesting angle: introduces the guy as a millionaire and then switches back to his old life to re-tell the journey.
A wasted youth has left me with a pretty extensive knowledge but it's not complete!

I'd love to know how other people have played with the format.
Oh and here's my top 5 by the way, although it changes hourly:

1. Seinfeld - so many ideas over nearly 200 episodes
2. I'm Alan Partridge - beautiful characterisation without forgetting the lines
3. The Office - a bit obvious but it's no good trying to be smart. It was funny.
4. Frasier - I think you respect it rather than love it
5. Any one of Peep Show, Nathan Barley, Rising Damp, CYE, Porridge, Cheers, Yes, Prime Minister, The Phil Silvers Show... Depending on my mood!

Edited by Aaron.

That is such a broad question...

As it's topical right now, I guess it is fitting to mention The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. The original series was quite innovative in having a story which progressed from week to week rather than just self-contained episodes.

In recent years, shows like Coupling and Spaced have had slightly different formats I would say.

Afternoon, sir.

Not entirely sure what you're getting at with the Seinfeld 'dovetails' bit, but take a look at the Coupling episode The Girl With Two Breasts (S01E05). Tells the story twice, from different viewpoints, in different languages. Similarly there's an award-winning Malcolm In The Middle episode which was entirely split-screen, showing everything from two peoples' views.

That episode is just called Bowling.

http://www.livevideo.com/media/playvideo_fs.aspx?fs=1&cid=ABFD7FA3065844A09D48C222C41D75DE

re: Seinfeld

All episodes featured at least two stories that more often than not 'collided' and interacted with each other. I've certainly never sen it done before like that. Along with the writing and the observations on life, puts it IMO way beyond any other sit com.

The Jimmy is a pretty good example of such an episode. Larry David has done the same with Curb Your Enthusiasm and Jack Dee has now copied it to use in Lead Balloon.

The first episode of Coupling was one of the best I've seen. All swapping partners and completely setting up the show in one episode a la friends.

Thanks for the MITM link, very interesting.

Wasn't there a M*A*S*H episode shot from the POV of a wounded soldier in a stretcher?

There was indeed and for once I'm not going to look it up on Wikipedia.

I suppose the obvious one would be Spaced which messed with the format endlessly, but now I think about it did it?

Friends did those alternative universe future sketches, I'm sure they've been done else where. But mostly it's done as a kind of Christmas Carol/Wonderful Life moralising.

Where as with Friends it was definitely more of a scifi kinda alternative universe vibe.

If you count Moonlighting as a sitcom then that was endlessly varied. I especially loved the musical film noir episode.

If we are talking alternative universe things then Red Dwarf surely deserves a mention.

There was that famous backwards Seinfeld episode too.

And the Roseanne without the laugh track.

The Simpsons with the flashbacks within flashbacks.

The One Foot in the Grave where he stays in one room.

The Only Fools and Horses that turned out to be all a dream (or did I dream that?)

And of course Tree House of Horror where everyone dies and stuff.

Quote: John Lawrence @ April 25 2009, 4:34 PM BST

There is a show on Paramount called The Winner by Seth MacFarlane which has an interesting angle: introduces the guy as a millionaire and then switches back to his old life to re-tell the journey.

View original

A life in flashback is hardly a new concept, take "How I Met Your Mother" for instance as a show that uses it.

One show that people always overlook, but uses a clever concept that's more akin to a radio sitcom than a TV sitcom is "My Name Is Earl".

The basic principle of a sitcom is that the characters are trapped in a situation that they can't get out of, and always default to. So Harold Steptoe is always a rag and bone man, Basil Fawlty is always a hotelier.

By introducing the idea of his list, Earl can be and do anything he wants, anywhere he wants in each episode. So he can be a burglar or a dancer or a golfer or a teacher - and like I say that's more akin to radio, and reminds me of the Hancock episodes when he'd be a zookeeper or a pilot etc.

I like Flash Forwards, as typified by Lost. Not a sitcom, but worth a mention.

Quote: Nick @ April 27 2009, 11:17 AM BST

If we are talking alternative universe things then Red Dwarf surely deserves a mention.

View original

A liiiittle bit different, stepping into an 'alternative' reality, and actually being set there.

Quote: Nick @ April 27 2009, 11:17 AM BST

If we are talking alternative universe things then Red Dwarf surely deserves a mention.

View original

A liiiittle bit different, stepping into an 'alternative' reality, and actually being set there. In fact, not even there. Just in the future.

Although I'm sure it's been done in other shows before and since, Family Guy is also worth a mention for its cutaway sketches, normally into the world of Peter's imagination.

Oh, and then there's shows which actually talk to the audience. Most recently Better Off Ted has Ted turning and narrating into the camera, but something like According To Bex was presented more as if the 'sitcom' elements were her playing back a video tape in order to demonstrate something she was talking about. (IIRC she would be sitting on a stool in front of a blackboard, talking about some aspect of her life - the show's first production title was Everything I Know About Men.)