Differences between American and British sitcoms
From analysing American and British sitcoms I have noticed many differences between the pair.
American sitcoms are usually set in high class, luxurious looking houses or apartments. They are crammed with attractive looking people and sets.
Friends is a typical American sitcom, because the characters are glamorous, pleasant people who are eye-catching and quite exaggerated. The setting is unrealistic, as it is much too high priced for their level of socio economic status.
By contrast British sitcoms focus on more realistic plots yet deal with issues which have more impact on the audience. Only fools and horses is a traditional British sitcom, because it uses typical working class
characters that are sometimes not over dramatised, they are just normal people. The comedy is acted in an ideal setting which is a high rise council flat in Peckham. The setting is lifelike as the Trotter’s house reflects their social and financial position.
Modern British sitcoms like the Office and Phoenix nights are more radical, they deal with controversial issues and taboo subjects that are not touched on in real life amongst comedy. For example redundancy, death or under aged pregnancy; they are sensitive and shouldn’t really be joked about. Nonetheless sitcoms use them to get the highest value of comedy, in attempt to intrigue and sometimes astonish the audience. A brand new sitcom also uses this method to generate humour named little Britain. It was first experimented with on BBC 3 and can now be found on BBC 2, sketches would easily be seen as offensive in real life as they include subjects, such as racism and discrimination towards people’s weight.
Practical Task - Creating your own British sitcom.
Synopsis for Whistle while you work.
Whistle while you work is based around four main characters, three males named Daz, Bob and Dave and one female called Barbarella. The main setting is a local public house; however small selections of the screenings are set on a football field. Daz the young, outgoing sports enthusiast, Bob the eccentric nerd and Dave the noble entrepreneur all have one task and that is to impress the stunning barmaid Barbarella.
Barbarella is vivacious, and is very supportive towards all three gentlemen; nevertheless a relationship with any of the men is not on her agenda. The comedy is generated from the fiasco caused by the three men, when attempting to impress Barbarella. Bob’s irrelevant comments, and unsystematic outbursts contribute to the comedy. Also the over competitive dispute between the three men convey pleasure to the audience.
Evaluation
In my practical task I set out to achieve an incomparable idea for a potentially admired sitcom. It is about an attractive barmaid and 3 men that are central around a pub. They set out to impress the barmaid. It will appeal to people in the 20-30 age bracket and even some teenagers.
My sitcom matches the rules and conventions of British sitcoms for the reason that it has four stereotypical, persistent characters that are situated in two acknowledgeable settings. Daz, Bob, Dave and Barbarella are normally shown in the pub or at a football match. In addition the episodes last for 30 minutes, along with the main comic situation being the three male’s determination to impress Barbarella. It is shown on one of the 5 terrestrial channels which is BBC 2.
All of the characters are established and have a catchphrase.
Their clothes and status match their job and limits. Therefore none of the characters are over exaggerated, or spend more than they earn.
My sitcom appeals to the target audience, first of all it is set in a pub and most people in the 20-30 age range go out to enjoy them selves and spend time in pubs. It is also set on a football field and as a huge amount of the population adore football the sitcom will automatically become appealing. The characters will be engaging to my target audience since they are young attractive people that are outgoing and have a lot to express. They are funny and may be idolised by the public. At the same time you can associate them with normal everyday people.
My sitcom will be shown on Channel 2 on Sunday evenings.
It will start at around 9 0’clock and last 30 minutes. I have chosen to show my sitcom at this time because there aren’t any sitcoms shown on Sundays at 9 o’clock, therefore fans of sitcoms will watch it. Consequently it will be viewed extensively, because there are no similar programs shown to compete with it.
These are the actors I have in mind to play the main characters roles in my sitcom.
I think Zoe Lucker should play the barmaid Barbarella due to the fact that
she is pretty, she has blond hair and her cunning acting skills will make
Barbarella irresistible to the male charm. The public will recognise her from footballer’s wives.
I think Jason from Coronation street should play Daz the trendy sports fanatic, because he looks like he is quite a fit person and he will be able act Daz’s roll of slick talking and smooth moving.
I have Matt Lucas in mind to play Bob the nerd, as his ability to take on lots of different roles in Little Britain shows you that he would do a great job of adapting this character and keep the audience amused throughout.
I would like Will Smith to play Dave as his witty acting talent and look of ultimate importance will perceive Dave’s as being the intellectual entrepreneur he really is.
