The Family Dynamic

 Plated a lot differently than early theatrical acts  They developed classic set-up/punchline jokes, slapstick humor and snappy, witty dialogue  Topics touched on a number of topics, including love, life and misery

 Amos and Andy, The Burns and Allen Show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet  Used simple, but effective plots  Wide range of funny characters  Specific techniques designed to get a lot of laughs

 Shows were produced and sponsored by advertisers  Advertisers required a certain amount of time in each show to sell products  Writers had to come up with story that could appeal in a limited amount of time  When TV made its move, studios took these types of shows and turned them into televised sitcoms  Adapted a similar formula to work within a 30- minute format  22 minutes of story  8 minutes of commercials

 Credits  Story (Teaser/Cold Open)  Commercial  Story  Commercial  End of Story  Commercial  Tag  Credits

 Most sitcoms based on the idea of family  Could be relatives or group of friends  Love each other  Have conflict with each other  Experience the joy, pain and everything else life has to offer  Every family has different personalities within its structure  Funny comes from a skewed look at life within a family

 Immediate family= the mother, the father, the kids  Some with clearly defined roles (According to Jim)  Some have roles reversed (Two and a Half Men)  Family of Friends= traditional roles taken on by friends, roommates, neighbors, co- workers, etc.  Friends

 Immediate family: cute, simple humor out of everyday situations in what was considered the “normal” household.  Patriarchal figure, a smart and patient wife and mother, and innocent yet precocious (mature beyond years) children  Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Make Room for Daddy, The Donna Reed Show  Family of Friends: similar dynamics, but moved into a group of friends.  Sometimes the roles were reversed—patriarch became child, smart wife and mother became an endearing loser  The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy

 Family theme mirrored the turmoil of the decade, taking a more realistic twist  Different types of families  The Andy Griffith Show, My Three Sons—widower  The Brady Bunch—stepfamilies  Julia—black, single mother  Fish out of Water stories—took immediate families and placed them in unusual environments to add to the overall humor  Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies  Some stories gave a fantastical twist  Bewitched, The Addams Family, The Munsters  Family of Friends shows had twists as well  Gilligan’s Island—cast on a deserted island  McHales’s Navy—set on a warship  The Flying Nun—set in a convent

 Family continued where subjects of politics, race, religion and even sex were brought up  All in the Family= revolutionary comedy about a family headed by a bigoted, yet loving, father  Other shows with touchy subjects Maude (abortion), Good Times (struggles of poor black family), The Jeffersons (interracial marriage), Soap (homosexuality), Three’s Company (sex)  Family of Friends shows boomed and we began to see workplace comedies  The Mary Tyler Moore Show (a newsroom  Taxi (a garage)  WKRP in Cincinnati (a radio station)  MASH (war)

 Sitcoms became smarter, bolder and more truthful  Storylines, dialogue, characterizations and acting styles became less exaggerated and more realistic  Put emphasis back on the immediate family and the issues at home  Roseanne, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Growing Pains  Dealt more with real struggles of the everyday family  Family of Friends  Golden Girls, Cheers, Newhart

 Immediate family=more dysfunctional  The Simpsons, Married…with Children, Frasier  Most popular shows took a step away from IMMEDIATE family  Why?  Americans questioned and challenged the meaning of family  People separated selves from immediate family a little more to discover who they were as individuals  Emphasis on extended families, single parents, gay relationships=the idea of family took on a broader and deeper meaning  Friends, Seinfeld, Sex and the City, Will & Grace

 Popular shows are redefining the family dynamic  Entourage  Scrubs  Arrested Development