History of Sitcom

 

Introduction

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Over the past fifty years sitcoms have remained one of the most enduring and popular forms of television. The format originated on radio; Sam and Henry, which first appeared on WGN Radio in Chicago in 1926 is generally regarded as the first sitcom. However, the genre has become synonymous with television with the first British situation comedy taking the form of Pinwright’s Progress, which was broadcast on the BBC in 1946. In 2010 sitcoms accounted for 25% of the BFI’s Top 20 television shows of all time, with the number one slot going to Fawlty Towers, a sitcom that ran for only two six episode series, first in 1975 and then again in 1979. In the UK, the longest running sitcom is the BBC’s Last of the Summer Wine, which has been on air since 1973. In America, The Simpsons is the longest running sitcom, with 434 episodes produced since its debut in 1989. Though some would say sitcoms dipped in popularity during the 1980s, particularly in the US, the phenomenal success of Friends in the 1990s saw a resurgence of interest in the genre well into the 21st Century.

 

Audiences

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Though sitcom is extremely popular, it is generally acknowledged that it is one of the hardest television genres to pull off successfully. In part this can be attributed to the difficulties maintaining quality control in any comedy drama format. However, the restricting variables in terms of cast, location, narrative structure and budget all stack the odds against this for, of television drama. While individual sitcoms may vary, once they have become established it is expected for a show to adhere to a particular set of conventions that the audience will recognise. Moreover, though it sitcom is a familiar and much-loved genre, standards set by previous shows raise expectations and make audiences extremely unforgiving of a show that fails to hit the mark. By the same token, however, for those shows that attract large audiences, the reward can be an extremely loyal following. As viewing figures demonstrate, however, audiences can also be fickle; if a new series fails to meet audience expectations, or indeed, if audience taste shift dramatically, then a once successfully show can find that the commission to produce further series is unforthcoming.

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Comedy

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Traditionally sitcom adheres to a very strict set of technical conventions; however, perhaps the most important rule of sitcom is that it should be funny! Traditionally, of course, this has taken the form of gag-based humour accompanied with a laughter track. Only Fools and Horses is exemplary of this with Del-boy’s one-liners central to the show’s audience appeal. That said, sitcom has always utilised visual humour: John Cleese’s performance as Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, for example, is extremely physical in terms of its comedy. With the rise of alternative comedy from the early 1980s onwards, the conventions of the mainstream have also shifted: once rebellious outlaws, both Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders influenced the direction of sitcom in the 1990s with Richard Curtis’s Vicar of Dibley and Absolutely Fabulous. The latter, in particular, redefined audience expectations of comedy for the 21st Century; likewise, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmonson reprised their working relationship from the Young One’s with Bottom, which ran on the BBC between 1991 and 1995. However, perhaps the most successful situation comedy emanating from 1980s alternative comedy was Rowan Atkinson’s Blackadder, written with Richard Curtis in its first series and then in collaboration with Ben Elton for the subsequent three. The show, which shifted time period with each series (from Middle Ages in series one, through Elizabethan, and Regency periods to the First World War in the final series) centres on the exploits of antihero Edmund Blackadder and his sidekick Baldrick. Blackadder is typical of the dark humour common to British as opposed to American sitcoms. Unlike NBC’s Cheers or Friends, Blackadder does not offer the audience the vicarious pleasure of aspiration and identification; there is, however, a tension between our admiration for Edmund’s intelligence and wit and being appalled at his immorality and scheming. 

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Naturalistic Mise-en-Scene

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One of the key features of situation comedy is  the naturalistic mise-en-scene. This is key to the believability of characters, narrative and easy identification on the part of the audience. Typical of this are the sitcoms produced by the BBC during the 1970s, which depicted a vision of England defined by the tranquillity of suburban life. David Nobbs’ The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-1979), which starred Leonard Rossiter; Bob Larbey and John Esmonde’s The Good Life (1975- 1978); Carla Lane’s Butterflies (1978-1983); and John Cane’s Terry and June (1979 - 1987) are all set in archetypal middle-class conurbations: characterised by large 1930s detached houses with bay windows and expansive sitting rooms. While all four sitcoms subvert this idyll in different ways, the Received Pronunciation and mannered comedy is perhaps the last gasp of singular white middle-England and the legacy of Empire. In this direction, Hi-Di-Hi stands out from other mainstream sitcoms of the period: set in a fictional 1950s holiday camp called Maplins (loosely referencing the holiday parks promoted under the banner of ‘Butlins’), the show invoked nostalgia through the use of historical detail in terms of costume, location and sets. In this respect sitcom could be said to mirror broader shifts during the 1980s towards ‘period piece’ production in terms of television drama and also British film (Merchant Ivory in particular).

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Social Realism

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Social Realism is another key feature of sitcoms. They are typical set in everyday life, hence the tendency toward a naturalistic mise en scene and the exploration of accessible issues: getting on in life, family relationships, friendship, work-related themes. In Britain this strand of Social Realism can be attributed to changes in theatre, film and television at the end of the 1950s. A new generation of writers and directors shaped the direction of drama away from representation of the upper middle class and focused it instead upon the much grittier depiction of working class life. Playwrights like John Osborne, Arnold Whesker and Harold Pinter were often referred to as the Angry Young Men and along with Shelagh Delaney shifted the focus of drama away from the drawing room and onto the kitchen sink instead. The legacy of this for sitcom can be seen in some of the darker pieces emanating from the BBC in the 1960s typified by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson’s Steptoe and Son.  Steptoe and Son centred on the dysfunctional relationship between father and son Albert and Harold Steptoe. Living in abject squalor, the two eek out an existence as rag and bone men: the pathos of their situation heightened by Albert’s determination to thwart Harolds attempts to better himself. Indeed, unlike preceding sitcoms, Steptoe and Son was not played for laughs: Galton and Simpson broke new ground by employing serious actors (Wilfred Brambell and Harry H Corbett) to play the lead roles instead of comedians. The same dark humour can be observed twenty-five years later in David Renwick’s One Foot In The Grave (1990 – 2000). The show, which starred Richard Wilson and Annette Crosbie, was the surprise hit of the 1990s focusing as it did on the bleak existence of a couple forced into involuntary and impoverished early retirement: its success propelled not least by the catch-phrase ‘I don’t believe it’.

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Dialogue and Characterisation

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While sitcom has, throughout its history, flirted with more serious modes of drama the emphasis on dialogue and characterisation is a key generic convention.  Like One Foot in the Grave, traditional British sitcoms are often memorable for their characters and catch-phrases: Basil in Fawlty Towers (He’s from Barcelona), CJ in Reginald Perrin (I didn’t get where I am today) and Mr Humphries in Are You Being Served (I’m Free!). This is part of  the ritual pleasure in consuming the familiar and the mimetic quality of sitcom: audiences are primed for the repetitious aspects of the dialogue, whether that is Hyacinth correcting the pronunciation of the name Bucket (‘it’s Bouquet!’) or the call and response nature of Gladys Pugh’s eponymous catch phrase in Hi-Di-Hi (‘Ho-Di-H!’). In this respect, catch phrases are often a key feature of characterisation: a central motif around which the wider pallet of character traits are cohered. It is perhaps for this reason that one of the criticisms that is sometimes levelled at sitcom characters is that they are incredibly stereotyped. A stereotype in this instance meaning that sitcoms characters adhere to commonly held but often-unfounded ideas about particular groups or sections of society. An example of a stereotype could be that all women want to be mothers or that all men enjoy competitive sport. The issue here of course is that of representation. Though John Inman’s portrayal of Mr Humphries the camp sales assistant in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served? was extremely popular at the time, more recently critics have challenged his portrayal of a gay man as negative and clichéd. 

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Stereotypes and Type Casting

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Other stereotypes are perhaps more innocent and in this sense can perhaps be viewed as archetypes: symbols recognised by all. In this direction one of the stock characters in British sitcom is that of the snob: one who believes others are inherently inferior and strives at all costs to enhance their social standing: Hyacinth Bucket, Margo Leadbetter, Sybil Fawlty, Edmund Blackadder, Patsy Stone, David Brent, Will McKenzie all fit into this mould; their social pretension underscored by an anxiety that they will in fact never be accepted. By the same token, some sitcom actors become synonymous with always playing the same kind of character. Focusing on the BBC The Good Life, which starred Richard Biers as Tom Good and Felicity Kendall as his wife Barbara alongside Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith as their neighbours Jerry and Margo Leadbetter it is easy to see how each of the actors have reprised the roles created for them by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey in characters played in other sitcoms. Most obvious is Penelope Keith as Audrey Forbes-Hamilton in To the Manor Born (1979-1981) and Richard Briers performance as Martin Bryce alongside Penelope Wilton in Esmonde and Larbey’s Ever Decreasing Circles (1984-1989). However, Paul Eddington’s role as Jim Hacker in Yes Minister and latter Yes Prime Minister (1980-1988) also drew upon element of Jerry and likewise Felicity Kendall’s role Rosemary Boxer the gardener in the ITV murder mystery Rosemary and Thyme invoked aspect of her horticultural past in The Good Life. In this sense all four actors found themselves subsequently type-cast: destined to reprise their role in the show with which they enjoyed their greatest success. A sitcom history is littered with programs that were in facts spin-offs incorporating characters from previously successful shows. Thames television’s George and Mildred (1976-1979) was a spins off from ITV’s Man About the House: a vehicle for both Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyve. Likewise NBC’s Frasier (1994- 2004) was a spin-off for Kelsey Grammar from the equally successful Cheers (1982 – 1983). Not all such ventures are successful. An attempt to resurrect the cast of Are You Being Served for Grace and Favour in 1992 was generally met with a lukewarm reception ran for only two series.

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Sound

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Likewise the use of a signature title sequence gives each sitcom its own unique flavour. In some case a bespoke composition is commissioned to suit the stylistic conventions of the show. This was particularly commonplace in the 1960s and 70s. Ronnie Hazlehurst, for example, was a conductor and composer who created theme tunes for BBC sitcoms that included Are You Being Served, Last of the Summer Wine, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, To the Manor Born and Yes Minister. By the 1990s, however, it had become more commonplace for shows to utilise contemporary popular songs with more mainstream appeal: for example, The Rembrandts ‘I’ll Be There For You’  topped the US airplay charts and reached number three in the UK on the back of the success of the NBC sitcom Friends. Likewise some sitcom utilise borrowed interest and meaning from older songs that deliver the audience in a specific frame of mind. Good examples of this include the re-recording of the Bob Dylan composition’ This Wheel’s on Fire’ (originally made famous by Julie Driscoll) for Jennifer Saunder’s Absolutely Fabulous and Big George’s reworking of Mike d’Abo’s ‘Handbags and the Gladrags’ for The Office (a tune synonymous with both Rod Stewart in 1971 and subsequently the Stereophonics in 2001).

 

Mirroring the wider shift towards more reflexive modes  of address in recent years sitcoms have utilised popular music in ways that are more self-conscious. Flight of the Conchords for example is cohered around the exploits of two New Zealand musicians trying to break into the New York music scene, consequently the self-composed title sequence and incidental music is inextricable from the narrative structure. Likewise, Channel 4’s The Inbetweener’s uses contemporary popular music from a miscellany of up and coming bands and established artists including The Ting Tings, Arctic Monkeys, Vampire Weekend, Hot Chip, The Libertines, Passion Pit, The Fratellis, Gorillaz, The Cure and Belle and Sebastian. The raised status of incidental music in sitcom in recent years can be attributed to a number of factors. In the first instance, though sitcom is dialogue heavy, the rejection of a ‘canned’ laughter has left the audio soundtrack ominously silence. Secondly, the use of contemporary popular music reflects the more general proliferation of popular music video since the 1980s and its influence upon the soundtrack and editing of youth television like Phil Redmond’s Hollyoaks and of course Channel 4’s Skins.

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Camerawork and Editing

Generally speaking camerawork and editing in sitcom is extremely naturalistic, utilising a range of medium shots, medium close-ups and two shots. In part this is because sitcom tends to be dialogue heavy and recorded in a studio environment. Likewise editing tends to follow the pace of the dialogue switching back and forth between actors as they speak their lines. However, with the proliferation of videotape from the late 1970s onwards, sitcom began to splice location shots with the more familiar interior footage. ITV’s Rising Damp, for example, which starred Leonard Rossiter as Mr Rigsby the landlord of a run-down Victorian townhouse and France de al Tour as Miss Jones his lodger, is set almost exclusively within oppressive confines of the house. Likewise, the BBC’s Porridge (1974-1977), which also starred Richard Beckinsdale alongside Ronnie Barker as prison cellmates, was necessarily restricted in its use of footage. By the 1990s, however, it was much more routine for sitcom to venture on location. Though in many respects One Foot in the Grave and Keeping Up Appearances are very traditional in their suburban and portrayal of Middle England, unlike the Good Life or Terry and June, much more action takes place outside than in the sitting room.

 

Of course the past ten years has seen radical changes to the way in which the camera is used in sitcom. In part this can be attributed to the influence of Ricki Jervais’ The Office, which eschewed a laughter track and took on the form of fly on the wall style documentary. In this sense camerawork in the office is far less polished, incorporating hand-held footage and abrupt zooming. Likewise, the editing is far less slick as the camera lingers with morbid fascination on situations that are excruciatingly uncomfortable. The influence of The Office can be found on Peep Show (2003- 2009), which likewise utilises the camera in ways more common to documentary. However, one of the key technical conventions of Peep Show is the use of the point of view shots and voice-over giving the audience insight and perspective into the mind-set of the characters. This stylistic feature is also reprised in the Inbetweeners, which is effectively narrated by the voice of Simon Bird as Will.

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Conclusion

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Of all the conventions of sitcom perhaps the one that has remained the most consistent is that of narrative resolution: the end of each episode usually ties up all the loose ends of the plot. In this sense many sitcoms are discrete in that episodes can be watched in any order and meaning is not contingent upon understanding prior events. This is one of the ways sitcom can be distinguished from soap opera and drama serials in which storylines are developed over a number of episodes, which usually end with some climatic event or cliffhanger. In this sense, sitcom tends to adhere to the narrative rule of equilibrium-disequilibrium-equilibrium i.e. each episode begins with normality which is then disrupted and by the end of the episode normality is reinstated. And, indeed, part of the pleasure for the audience in consuming sitcom is that nothing ever changes. That said, while adhering to the basic rule, more recently sitcoms have employed an over-riding narrative structure around which episodes and series are cohered. This is particularly common in long-running sitcoms like Friends, Peep Show and more recently Gavin and Stacey, where the romantic relationships between characters change over time. However these changes tend to be peripheral and the show, which is still rooted in the unchanging relationship between the lead characters. More recent examples of sitcom have embraced post-modern ideas about narrative, incorporating aspects of surrealism and situationism into the sitcom mix. Both The Mighty Boosh (2004-2007) and Flight of the Conchords are extremely carnivalesque in their wider references to popular culture, flamboyant mise-en-scene and improvisation with narrative structures that are more ambiguous. How the genre will develop in the future is open to interpretation; however, in an age of digital channels and YouTube, it seem unlikely that its rich history will despair from our collective conscious any time soon.

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