Television Sitcoms

Television sitcoms all share very similar characteristics, respectively. Sitcoms are episodic, meaning that the show typically keeps the same setting during the entire run time, the characters keep their personalities and behaviors, and the episodes tend to raise a main question that they will solve within the half hour time frame. Sitcoms have to live up to being funny and a bit absurd. The audience can usually predict the plot as the episode becomes more developed, but at the same time, the sitcom must evoke a few surprises. The characters will usually have a problem, and resolve it by the end of the episode. Sitcom episodes are always different from the one before, and don't have to strictly follow a highly developed story, such as one a drama would follow.


My favorite sitcom would have to be It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This show definitely adheres to the structural characteristics of a sitcom. Every episode has a new and exciting story to tell, and the "gang" always has a new scheme or adventure up their sleeves. The show follows Dennis, Mac, Charlie, Frank, and Dee, whom are owners/operators at a local bar in south Philadelphia. In every episode, Dennis and Mac will have some sort of scheme up their sleeves, Charlie will be doing something ridiculous and insane (like bringing out his infamous Green Man routine), Frank will be bailing the gang out of the trouble they cause, and Dee will be formulating her own side plan. Their personalities don't change much at all, and in fact, they just get more and more absurd. The show is always exciting and unpredictable, though.



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