Sitcom

[AH020387]

'sitcom' stands for 'situation comedy', I understnad what is meant by 'comedy' but what does 'situation' here mean?

 

[englishlisteningworld]

Well, they are trying to say the comic humor depends on the situation that things are in. Ordinarily, a boss getting angry may not be funny, but if the boss is getting angry because of a situation that we can see is ridiculous (but the boss himself cannot see it... so he is angry), then it becomes funny.

 

[Tdol]

A sitcom means that the series revolves around a central location (a person's home, a street, an office, a company, etc)- the situation.

 

[TheParser]

'sitcom' stands for 'situation comedy', I understnad what is meant by 'comedy' but what does 'situation' here mean?

:!::!::!: NOT A TEACHER :!::!::!:


May I add something to the excellent comments of the other

posters?

I was reading an article this morning about sit-coms when I

remembered your thread.

A famous television sit-com producer was interviewed in

The New Yorker, a very sophisticated American magazine.

Because of copyright laws, I can quote only a few words:

The same characters appear week after week,

displaying the same tics [habits of thought, speech, etc.] and

having the same arguments, in the same rooms, hallways,

stairwells, and offices.

I think that our most famous sit-com was "I Love Lucy,"

which was filmed in the 1950's. It is still being shown on TV

here in the United States. Just as that producer said, the show's

characters never change or grow. Nevertheless, we find them

funny even though we almost know what they are going to say or

do.

THANK YOU & HAVE A NICE DAY

 

[Ouisch]

The term "situation comedy" (which has been defined very well above) is used to distinguish from other forms of comedy, such as "slapstick" (like The Three Stooges) and "sketch" comedy, which involves short vignettes like those seen on Saturday Night Live.


Since the Parser mentioned I Love Lucy, I thought I'd post my favorite scene in a classic episode (which is also very appropriate for an ESL forum). The Ricardos are visiting Paris for the first time, and Lucy naively exchanged currency with a con man, not knowing that he gave her counterfeit French francs. When she was arrested, she felt helpless because she didn't speak French. At the police station, the cops have just arrested a German man for being drunk in public; the German doesn't speak French, either, but he speaks Spanish. When Lucy's Cuban-born husband arrives, a "translation" line is arranged.