Sitcoms

Premises
Sitcoms are based on such premises as the "fish out of water", the foil, the family
sitcom, the young protagonists point of view, misunderstandings, and the parody of
serious versions of their characters or genres.

"Fish out of water"

Many sitcoms are based on the premise of a character being out of his or her element,
in an environment they do not understand and in which they cannot function well.
Such as Gilligan's Island and Kappa Mikey.

Foils
Other sitcoms are based on foils. In fiction, a foil is a minor character whose traits are
the opposite to those of the main character. I Love Lucy is an early example, in which
a straightforward, down-to-earth, rational husband marries a flighty, zany, emotional
woman given to hatching complex absurd schemes that invariably cause problems for
their impatient but long suffering husbands.

The family sitcom

Having existed from the invention of the sitcom and having prominence in the 1980s,
this premise involves the lives and situations of a family, usually taking place inside
their house or residence. The standard formula for an episode of a family sitcom is:

A family member (usually a child) creates conflict or otherwise gets him or

her self into trouble, usually followed by some kind of misunderstanding or
cover-up.
The culprit is exposed or caught and confronted.
This almost always results in a lesson being learned.

Since the popularity of The Simpsons, in which the father of the household is the one
who creates most conflict, many family sitcoms have trended toward the father being
the "troublemaker" of the house.
A common aspect of family sitcoms is that, at some point in their run, a baby or
adopted child is introduced into the family. The addition of a new baby to a sitcom
family provides new story situations for the series as the family adjusts to a new
member. However, there are practical problems with working with a baby on-set.
Thus, most sitcom kids are aged to four or five within two years of their birth,
allowing the characters a wider range of story lines.

In recent years however, family sitcoms have become rare and what is left tends to
steer away from the traditional "lesson learned" format. The general exception to this
is when the creators are mocking the format or paying an homage.

Youthful protagonist's point of view

A fourth premise for sitcoms is that of telling the story from the youthful protagonists
point of view, usually making them an unreliable narrator. In these shows, the main
characters are teens or pre-teens whose view of the world is often exasperating and
endearing simultaneously. Trying to understand their world through inexperienced and
nave eyes, these characters often misunderstand the implications of incidents and
actions. Often, they make a bad situation worse before their parents or another wise,
understanding, and loving adult bails them out of their trouble. As a result, they
become somewhat older and wiser.

Parody
Television sitcoms such as Batman and Get Smart are based on parodying other more
serious versions of their characters or genres. Batman, starring Adam West, poked fun
at the campy elements implicit in costumed crime fighters and over-the-top villains
whose comic book punches are accompanied by onomatopoetic graphics (e.g., "pow",
"bang") in dynamic and dazzling fonts. However, the parody was done so
unobtrusively that the show could be watched as a straight action series if the viewer
were so inclined. Likewise, Get Smart made fun of the action-adventure plots of
secret agents like James Bond.

The "urban" comedy

Highly popular in the 1970s and again circa 1990, when newer networks such as
UPN, Fox and the WB were still trying to establish themselves; this style is geared
toward the African American viewer. The "urban" comedy usually has a cast
composed almost entirely of African Americans, and deals with issues of their
interest. Many of the same formulas are used as in any of the other styles, but there is
usually a high sketch comedy influence and a lot of times involve many absurd gags
not normally seen in modern American television. Another thing that sets "urban"
comedies apart from most other shows is their use of stars not only from a stand-up
comedy background, but also from the world of music.

Sitcom
Ensemble cast structure
Many sitcoms reuse a common mixture of character archetypes to achieve reliable
comedic situations from week to week.

The naf
The most common archetype appearing in sitcoms is the naf or fool. Typically, this
character accepts events and statements at face value and often misunderstands
situations in ways that create conflict in the plot. In some series, the entire cast may
take on this trait at one time or another.

The social rebel

Not commonly seen on US television before the appearance of The Bundys from
Married... with Children, this character was fairly common on British comedies from
the '60s onward; these characters at times have traits of "The naive fool", and "The
antagonist". They have (at least limited) awareness that his or her actions are in some
way socially unacceptable, rude or just plain dumb. At times, this character plays
pranks, makes inappropriate comments and generally makes life more difficult for the
other characters. This character isn't quite an antagonist, however. They are usually
accepted (and even loved) by the other characters despite their flaws. In some cases.
they are the ones who end up saving the day with just the right advice or sacrifice.
This type was popularized in the US by the series Seinfeld, in which all of the
characters are selfish and rude and don't care about how society views them, yet they
are the protagonists of the show. An earlier antecedent was the Maynard G. Krebs
beatnik character from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

The sage
This character usually has either an elevated intellect, advanced age, or "outsider"
experience. The sage frequently comments wryly on the situation into which the other
characters have placed themselves and often suggests solutions to resolve the major
plot conflict.

The comic relief

The comic relief character usually exhibits eccentric personality traits and unusual
reactions to commonplace situations and sometimes serves as the protagonist of the
situation comedy series. This character's strange attitudes and reactions to events
provide opportunities for absurd or unexpected humour.

The straight man

Sometimes the spouse of the lead character, the straight man's main purpose is to react
to the comic lead's shenanigans with an often sarcastic or deadpan response, often
acting as a foil to the naif, the wacky neighbor, or the comic relief. Many times the
straight man functions as the main character of the show, driving the plot by being the
only seemingly sane person admist the chaos of the show.

The wacky neighbor

The wacky neighbor is a stock character in popular fiction, particularly in situation
comedy. This character is usually (but not always) male, lives close to the main
character, and is highly eccentric, or just not very bright. This neighbor may be given
to bizarre conspiracy theories, improbable get rich quick schemes, or a highly
unconventional lifestyle. Their lives are also often clouded in mystery.
The wacky neighbor generally works as a gag character, performing functions that
would usually be uncharacteristic or too implausible for main characters. The
explanation that the character lives "nearby" allows him or her to easily drop in and
out of situations to add comical dialogue or sight gags, without the storyline getting
too deep into the character. Typically, the wacky neighbor might barge in to the main
character's dwelling unannounced, to the chagrin of the main character.

The antagonist
This archetypal character functions as a primary rival, competitor, or enemy of the
series' principal character, the protagonist.

The ladies' man / "the man eater"

The ladies' man and the man eater are aggressively sexual characters whose primary
humor derives from their sexual exploits. Depending upon the tenor of the series, and
depending on if it's airing earlier or later on the schedule, the character's attitude can
range from harmless flirtation to borderline hypersexuality.

The ethnic or regional stereotype

Some sitcoms feature characters from other countries or specific regions of a country
whose accents, speech patterns, mannerisms, and attitudes provide opportunities for
conflict or comic relief.

Other common characters

Other recurring archetypal characters that appear in sitcoms include:

The meddling or nosy neighbor.

The wacky wife and her strait-laced husband.
The wisecracking curmudgeon.
The well-meaning, but ill-fated, male blue-collar worker.
The lovable loser.
The acerbic servant.

The unseen character, often mentioned and sometimes heard, but never seen.
The cutesy moppet.
The overprotective father.
The meddling sibling.
The anti-hero.
The sarcastic hero.

Plot formulas
The plot and situations for many sitcom episodes arise out of a character's lying to or
otherwise deceiving the other characters. The most common comedic situations based
on deception include:

Attempts to hide egregious mistakes or acts of weakness.

o Attempts to "correct" a mistake before others find out about it.
Attempts to return stolen property before discovery of the theft.
Attempts to replace destroyed property before discovery of
destruction.
Attempts to fix situations that end up making them worse.
Attempts to protect friends and family members from bad news.
Attempts to maintain an advantage based on deception.
Attempts to dupe someone so as to achieve an advantage.

The majority of sitcom episodes revolve around some form of the lying/deception
premises listed above. Lesser-used sitcom plot formulas include:

One or more characters going into a foreign environment only to return to

"where they belong." Frequently, sitcom writers will use this plot formula to
transplant the entire cast to some exotic location.
A character choosing to make some fundamental change in their body, habits,
job, or other component of their environment, only to return to "what feels
normal."
Characters entering competitions or contests.
Characters being elevated to positions of responsibility they can't handle.
Newcomers or strangers making one-time appearances that change the
personal dynamics between the recurring characters.
A special holiday episode, such as Christmas or Halloween.
A character thinking another character is going to die and does anything to
please him/her, while the other character takes advantage.
Male and female characters exchanging their archetypal "men" and "women"
roles to demonstrate the other gender "has it easier", only to find out they were
more comfortable with their own.