Why do the sitcoms

Why do the sitcoms “Men behaving Badly” and “friends” appeal to their audiences?

The sitcom genre is very popular worldwide. This could be because the sitcoms have long-standing characters, with different problems, all begun and solved in the same episode. The fact that the characters are long-standing makes them very well known to their audiences, almost if the audiences are actually part of the problems. Some storylines may be ongoing. This makes the audiences want to watch more, to see what the characters would have done in their predicament, a bit like a soap. Episodic storylines give the audience a sense of satisfaction because they’ve seen the beginning, middle and end of an episode, which is resolved happily. All of the above points mean that for an episode the audience can escape from the harsh realty and enter into a fantasy dreamland.

Men behaving badly and Friends are two notorious sitcoms. They both display humour in many different forms such as exaggeration, situational humour and toilet humour.

Men behaving badly is a sitcom about two couples living in a house together with common problems occurring each episode. They are not rich and the sitcom shows the two couples living a hard life from a comical point of view. The introduction makes the audiences feel much more homely and increasingly bonded with the characters, as the home video camera impression and the jazzy music reveal down to earth characters.

Friends is a sitcom about the glamorous lifestyles of very close friends living opposite each other. Friends focus on the main issues of the men and women. Situational humour and exaggeration are a widespread occurrence in an attempt to resolve the characters issues in a light-hearted way. The fact that they have found a solution makes the audience fell content and feel that that everything has been finalised.

Friends and M.B.B are both intended at separate audiences. Not all audiences have the same tastes. Americans may like the glamour and happy times shown on Friends whilst the British may be able to look at themselves and laugh. The British can readily accept hard times in their lives. Particularly with regards to Friends, it is best suited for American T.V as it offers escapism and glamour. The image of a powerful nation is presented with the aid of appearances of famous people. Audiences, after watching the episodes can gain renewed hopes and pleasant dreams.

Men Behaving Badly and Friends have different characters that appeal to their audiences for different reasons.

Firstly there are three women and three men in “Friends”. Their names are Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, Monica, Rachel and Joey.

Phoebe is by far the most exaggerated and stereotypical character of all. They way she often dresses reflects a poor person and yet she wears lots of bold and beautiful rings. She plays the guitar in a café called the Central Perk. Her songs aren’t too good. This causes humour. She often says the wrong things at the wrong time. ...

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Men Behaving Badly and Friends have different characters that appeal to their audiences for different reasons.

Firstly there are three women and three men in “Friends”. Their names are Phoebe, Ross, Chandler, Monica, Rachel and Joey.

Next comes Ross, who is Monica’s brother. He works in a Museum as a scientist and is in this way financially stable. His job means that he is sometimes referred to as a dweeb. Although these factors appeal to the audience, there is one crucial element with regards to Ross, and that is sympathy. The audience feel sorry for him because of the storylines he has been through. He has parents who really couldn’t care less about him, and the fact that he has been divorced several times adds sympathy.

Joey is a very interesting character. He is very popular with the audiences. This is partly because he can be very funny and mostly because he acts like a teenager all the time. His speech patterns, clothes and obsession for jam reflect the view above. This tendency to act like a child means that the audiences can laugh at him, and so find him appealing.

Chandler can be appealing in many ways. He is the wittiest amongst the characters and it is he that makes the funny remarks and likes to poke fun at people where possible. He has a good job and is financially secure. He is almost all the time arrogant. Chandler appeals to the audiences in this way as a fine example of a great American reminding the viewers in a way, that America is the nation above the rest.

Monica is seen as abnormal as in she is a clean freak. She has the most command out of the women and asserts her self well. She has also gained a lot of respect and credibility amongst the viewers. All of the above points make the audience seem attracted to Monica.

Rachel appeals to her audiences in many ways. It is clear that the storylines she has been involved in makes her appeal to the audience, especially the very long troubles she has had with Ross. Other factors, which make her appealable to the audience, include her style, her tenderness, her glamour and her attractiveness. Younger female audiences see her as a role model.

All of these characters create humour and appeal to their audiences due to the stereotypes they portray.

There are only four main characters in Men Behaving Badly. They include Gary, Tony, Deborah and Dorothy.

Gary owns a security company. He likes to think that he is a “bloke”. He regularly goes down to the pub, watches TV, and craves for sex all the time. Gary is appealing because he reminds viewers of themselves. Having thought that in ways there is no difference between the audience and Gary, it makes them laugh.

Tony is a very vibrant and active person. He is always trying to make Deborah fall in love with him. He does not always succeed. This creates much sympathy for Tony. At times Tony can behave like a lunatic and a kid. The fact that he is described as a kid compares him to Joey in Friends.

Tony therefore appeals to the audiences because of his naïve childishness and silly antics.

Deborah plays an un-stereotypical role of a blonde dumb bimbo. She looks beautiful and wears good outfits. She appeals to her audiences primarily because of the way she treats and dismisses Tony. She intentionally takes advantage of Tony and the audience like it as she subverts the blonde stereotype.

Dorothy can be described as a fat, ugly, moody, sarcastic and depressed person. She wishes to be thin like Deborah and waits for a special man to wed her. Instead to her dismay she has Gary. It is these anxieties that Dorothy has which make her appealing as a large part of the audience share the same anxieties too.

Both programmes also contain a wide variety of humour.

In a particular episode of Friends called “The one with the invitation” Joey is named Ross’s best man for the wedding in London. He is kept in charge of the wedding ring. One day after a party the previous night Joey discovers that the ring is gone. When Chandler hears about the lost ring he tries to make life difficult for the puzzled Joey. He says things like “…so basically you would say the ring is irreplaceable…” and when Ross remarks, “…when did all this happen…” Chandler once again cheekily replies, “…I believe it started when you said “Joey will you be my best man?”

This is a first-class example of humour because Chandler being the witty person he is has just humiliated Joey and makes him look like an idiot. This appeals to the audience because they have once again seen the wittiness and arrogance that is so well associated with Chandler.

In the “Good pub guide”, an episode of Men Behaving Badly, high-quality humour is shown as well.

When Gary and Dorothy are about to have sex, Tony comes barging in to their room and exclaims, “The pub is being re-decorated”.

Gary instantly jumps out of bed to go to the pub with Tony, leaving a less than satisfied Dorothy all alone in bed.

This appeals to the audience because it reflects how serious the pub is taken as part of every day social life for these stereotypical men. Sometimes as in Gary’s case they skip sex to have a drink at their local pub with their friends. The audience can relate to the seriousness of the pub, which means that they find the scene humorous, funny and comical.

Fiends and Men behaving really badly are organised and constructed in different ways.

Friends has more ongoing episodes and storylines. This appeals to their audiences as the sitcom becomes more likes a soap. This makes the viewers want to watch more and more, to keep track of every thing that is going on.

Men behaving badly tends to have one storyline per episode. This interests the audiences because they get a sense of completion at the end of an episode. Also if a viewer happens to miss an episode they would not have missed a significant piece of information that carries on to the next episode, because each episode has a new problem to solve each week.

Once more what is so appealing to the audiences is that they can skip a few episodes and when they come to watch a Men behaving badly episode they’ll know exactly what is going on.

The opening and ending of a sitcom is of supreme importance if it is to appeal and captivate its audience.

The opening of Friends is made up of scenes where the characters are seen dancing by a fountain. Also there are a variety of short clips at the beginning along with the characters names in big bold colourful fonts. The logo is also bright and colourful. The music is very catchy and slick. This is effective because before the episode has even started, the audience have adapted to a homely and friendly situation ready to enjoy the sitcom. They feel that they know the characters well and so therefore feel close to them. The ending is also quite effective. In the ending of the episodes the sitcom always leaves with a funny joke or witty joke. This is both appealing and effective because the first thing the audience will recall is the happy ending or joke.

The opening of Men behaving badly consists of home video shots of all the characters. The camera angles are not always precise, neither is the quality of the picture. This is all very effective as it makes the audiences feel more at home with the characters. It also reflects the down to earth quality of the programme. The audiences feel that they have a deep insight in to the lives of the characters before the sitcom has even begun.

The ending of Men behaving badly shows Gary and Tony dancing around the living room, pretending to be rock and roll stars while also bouncing of sofas. They are behaving very immaturely. This is appealing and effective because it fits in with the viewer’s ideas of Gary and Tony being two rough and rowdy comical characters.

Finally to conclude Friends and Men behaving badly are two very popular sitcoms. They have both received recognition nation wide and have successfully appealed to both their audiences.