Was just thinking that a lot of comedies use foreshadowing very cleverly to have joke payoffs and some don't but the jokes are good as a result of not having any.
For example, Curb Your Enthusiasm has a lot of foreshadowing for a big pay-off at the end while other farcical comedies don't have any so that the jokes are fresh.
Does anyone have an opinion on this or do I need to get out more???
I hope to write a sitcom someday.
Uhhh ... That barely even makes sense.
(I'm almost certainly just retarded, but still.)
Sorry if i'm being pedantic.
I've never heard of foreshadowing but I assume you're talking about hints or (seeds) planted early in the story which you'll call back on later?
I don't understand your question though. Are you asking if we think foreshadowing is a good thing?
It's the dogs bollocks of techniques, Fawlty Towers, Hot Fuzz (the Swan).
I love watching a show for half an hour, and going
"Here comes the punchline!"
After a good half an hour marinading.
I think the best use of foreshadowing is where you don't see it coming at all. See Frasier, for example, where they manage it all the time. Brilliant, complex set ups that all come together for one ridiculous and yet perfectly logical pay off.
That is also true, there's a lovely moment in one of the Wayne's World films, where half an hour before a cliched car chase they meet all the guys stacking stuff for them.
You know cardboxes in the centre of the road etc.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov's_gun.
(You'll have to cut and paste the whole link as the BSG code seems to get thrown by the apostrophe.)
Aah yes Chekhov's gun.
Wouldn't it be ironic if he'd shot himself.
Whoah! Bizarre coincidence, the first time I heard the phrase Chekov's gun was round a friend's house last night and now this!
I'm trying to write a web series and I want a twist at the end of each episode so I've found myself doing this without realising it... along with fresh jokes too of course.
Quote: Griff @ October 11 2008, 10:57 AM BSTSee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov's_gun.
(You'll have to cut and paste the whole link as the BSG code seems to get thrown by the apostrophe.)
That Aaron!
Thanks folks. I have noticed that in some other comedies that there is no foreshadowing at all, unsure wether it is a bad or a good idea for them to leave it out. However Larry David with Seinfeld and Curb manages to do it beautifully.
If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, Arrested Development does this brilliantly.
like someone said, it's good when you don't see it coming. As for Curb, I think they rely on it too much, and consequently, there aren't enough jokes in that show for my liking. No wonder the actors in it are able to improvise so much. There's no need for a proper script, when many of it's episodes are all just based around one big pay off, at the end.
I like the way they use this in Black Books. It's always a small, insignificant thing that you don't pay much attention to, but it is often the final joke or big pay off at the end of the episode. I think it can be very rewarding for the audience, but I prefer it as an extra, not something to rely on. 