Sitcom: What It Is, How It Works
Actcom: Action-Based Situation Comedies
by
Richard F. Taflinger
This
page has been accessed since
30 May 1996.
The action-based situation comedy, or actcom, is the most common form of situation comedy on
television, 88% of the total number of sitcoms.
Plot
Orientation
The plots of actcoms
are plots of action. That is, the emphasis is on the action rather than on
characterization or thought, as will be shown below.
Exposition
The exposition is usually under the opening
credits: still photographs, cartoons, or film showing the characters, settings,
and basic premise. For example, the opening of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW shows
photographs of the cast, as does FAMILY TIES. C artoons
were very popular as openings in the 1960s (BEWITCHED, I DREAM OF JEANNIE, IT'S
ABOUT TIME), and films showing characters and locations are often used
(CAVANAUGHS, NEWHART, RHODA, THE WONDER YEARS). If any information other than
visual is needed, then the lyrics of the title song supply it, as on GILLIGAN'S
Problem
The problems in an actcom
are mistakes, misunderstandings, attempts to influence the behavior of others,
or unforeseen circumstances, all of which disrupt the status quo. In one
episode of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW (see appendix C) the plot is precipit ated by Mel Cooley, the
producer of "The Alan Brady Show" (for which Rob Petrie, Sally
Rogers, and Buddy Sorrell are writers) and Alan's brother-in-law, who rejects a
script about a man rising to the top by marrying the boss' daughter, thinking
the script is about him. He is wrong but he realizes it only at the end of the
show, allowing a half-hour of comic results built on his misunderstanding. In
another episode of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, the plot is started by Ritchie,
Rob's son, being in a school pl ay.
In an episode of I LOVE LUCY, Lucy thinks the
romance has gone out of her marriage and wants to induce her husband, Ricky, to
show the same interest in her that he did when they were first married. She
never mentions this to him, but instead embarks on three different schemes,
each designed to get Ricky's attention.
Sometimes the character attempts to influence
his own behavior rather than someone else's. Rhoda, on
RHODA, frequently tries to behave in a manner not consistent with what she
believes her character to be. In one episode, she rebels against her ste reotyped upbringing that
insists that a woman wait for the man to ask for a date, and asks the man of
her choice to go out with her.
On yet another show, DELTA HOUSE, the boys
want to impress their parents on Parent's Day at the University.
Most often the problem is an unforeseen
occurrence: Mork (MORK AND MINDY) demonstrates his
gullibility; Lucy and Ricky (I LOVE LUCY) prepare for an overseas trip; the
station (WKRP IN CINCINNATI) is holding a contest with a cash prize; Tabitha
(BEWI TCHED) wants a toy elephant; Cosmo (TOPPER) needs money to pay his wife's
bills; Brad's father (ANGIE) wants Angie and her mother to come meet him;
Roper's (THREE'S COMPANY) drain needs fixing; Alex (TAXI) picks up an old lady;
Murray, the cop, (THE ODD C OUPLE) meets Felix' new girlfriend and remembers
that he raided the play she is in; a space capsule is going to pass directly over
the island (GILLIGAN'S ISLAND); Frasier and his new girlfriend invite Sam and
Diane over for dinner (CHEERS).
All of the above examples are simple, yet set
off chains of events that comprise the bulk of the show, all of them physical
rather than mental or emotional actions.
Complications
The complications are flaws in the plan to
solve the problems or natural outgrowths of the problem. In the first DICK VAN
DYKE example, complications include Rob quitting in protest to Mel's canceling
the script, and Buddy and Sally not quitting wit h him. In the second example,
Rob has to leave town and can't go to Ritchie's play. In the I LOVE LUCY
example, complications include Lucy's schemes to get Ricky's attention. In
other examples: The Delta House boys realize that the last thing that wil l impress their parents in their junkyard of a house.
In addition, their faculty advisor is told to get contributions from their
parents or face an unrenewed contract; Mork meets an escaped prisoner who tells Mork that he escaped in order to visit his mo ther; Lucy has to get a passport for the trip, but can't
because she has no birth certificate; Johnny Fever, the WKRP disc jockey,
misquotes the amount of the cash prize, saying that it is $5000.00 instead of
the correct $50.00; Clara the witch, Tabitha's aunt, wants to give Tabitha a
toy elephant, but mixes up her magic spell and creates a real elephant instead;
Cosmo gets involved in catching counterfeiters; Angie's mother is afraid to fly
and therefore won't go to see Brad's father; Roper can hear what is said in the
apartment upstairs through the open drain; the old lady likes Alex' company and
sets up a regular meeting for him to drive her around; Felix thinks that his
girlfriend is a librarian, not a nude actress; the castaways attempt to signal
the capsule; Frasier and his girlfriend, Lilith, who has just moved in with
him, begin arguing about their personality foibles.
Each of the complications is fairly simple
and straightforward, and do not lead the characters to any great moral decision
or mental strain. They lead quite naturally to some type of action, in which
the characters do something to solve the complica tion: Rob tries to get back in time to see the play; Lucy
tries yet another scheme to get Ricky's attention; the Delta House boys take
over the swank Omega House; Mork frees the prisoner;
Lucy tries to find someone to vouch for her at the passport office ; the disc
jockey tries to rig the contest so nobody can win; Clara tries to get rid of
the elephant; the ghosts try to get rid of the men in Cosmo's basement who are
counterfeiters; Angie tries to get Brad's father to come to see her; the three
kids upst airs give Roper a good piece of false
gossip; Alex feels like a gigolo but goes along; Felix and Oscar go to the
theatre to see if Felix' girlfriend is really a nude actress; the castaways on
the island try a variety of ways to signal the space capsule; L ilith locks herself in the bathroom.
Crisis
The crises are the points at which it is 1)
necessary for the protagonist to make a decision about what action to take, or
2) the events place the protagonist at a low point. The decisions involve no
great soul searching, philosophical pondering, no r
consideration of possible consequences beyond the solving of the immediate
problem. The greatest amount of thought is devoted to the actual mechanics of
carrying out the decision. The low point is the failure of a plan, or
circumstances that put the p rotagonist in some sort
of trouble.
Examples of the first include: Alex must
decided whether he should continue to see the old lady; Oscar must decided
whether to tell Felix about his girlfriend.
More often, the protagonist finds himself in
trouble: Mork is arrested for freeing the prisoner;
Lucy can't find a witness in lieu of a birth certificate; someone wins the WKRP
contest for $5,000.00; a loan officer and investigator are coming over a nd will see the elephant; the ghosts think Cosmo is the
counterfeiter; Roper thinks that Chrissy is pregnant.
Climax
The climax is the highest point of physical
and verbal action. The protagonist has gone to his farthest extreme in mistake,
misunderstanding, attempt to influence, or to cope with the unforeseen
occurrence. A result must be obtained, either vindica
ting his actions or showing him his error, thus achieving resolution.
The resolution of actcom
plots in most cases is a restoration of the status quo. In both THE DICK VAN
DYKE SHOW and I LOVE LUCY examples, once the protagonists have admitted what
they were doing (Rob hating Buddy and Sally for not quitting with him and Mel
admitting his error, and Lucy trying to rekindle romance), the facts were told
and the status quo restored. In the other examples: Mork
is vindicated when the prisoner returns from visiting his mother; the WKRP
prize money is stolen by a conman, but Johnny, the disc jockey, redeems himself
by getting it back; the bank inspector is made to look a fool and thinks he
hallucinated the elephant; the ghosts alter the printing plates to make play
money and catch the counterfeiters, saving Cosmo; the Om ega
House is destroyed but the advisor has checks for contributions, saving Delta
House and his job; Roper looks like a fool and the kids get what they want--
$50.00 off the rent; Alex tells the old lady off, refusing to be a gigolo; the
capsule blows up; Rob dreams he's a puppet and his wife is pulling the strings
to get him to his son's show; both Lilith and Diane end up in the bathroom,
upset with Frasier and Sam.
Denouement
The denouement shows that the status quo has
been reestablished. It can occur very quickly. In the above I LOVE LUCY
example, it is simply Ricky and Lucy embracing after he reassures her that he
does indeed love her. More often, though it is a sho rt scene showing that all is once again as it was at the
beginning, with everyone happy and laughing together: Ritchie sings his song
from the play for Rob; Johnny offers a new prize--a tube of lip gloss; Mrs.
Topper had $10,000 in counterfeit money but couldn't find anything she wanted
to buy; the checks the advisor gave the dean were forged by the Delta House
boys; Roper has done a bad job of fixing the drain -- it leaks all over him;
the old lady agrees not to try to buy Alex, but is not sure she can stomach the
places he can afford to take her; Oscar sets up a date for Felix with Felix'
ex-wife, Gloria; Mr. Howell, who had money on the space capsule when it blew
up, throws a tantrum; Frasier locks the bathroom door from the outside and he
and Sam go upstairs to watch television.
As can be seen in the above examples, the
orientation of the plots is toward action rather than character or thought. The
problems are superficial and often invented by the characters themselves, and
are minor occurrences happening to the main or a s upporting character leading to further action.
Character
The characters in an actcom
are not human, but humanoid. That is, though they have the appearance of
humanity, certain characteristics are exaggerated in an actcom
for effect. When a character is in love rhe wanders aimlessly, moony-eyed and sighin g; when rhe cries rhe screws up rher eyes and wails;
when rhe's angry rhe tears rher hair, bugs rher eyes and yells.
Characterizations are generally shallow, the
writer emphasizing certain characteristics and ignoring others. For instance,
Harry on THE LUCY SHOW is loud, belligerent, and constantly angry and
exasperated when he is not being obsequious to his super iors.
Ricky (I LOVE LUCY) is also loud and ill-tempered, as is the Skipper on
GILLIGAN'S
In addition, there is a great deal of
stereotyping. The husband is the breadwinner, usually the only one in the
family with a job, as in I LOVE LUCY, THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, BEWITCHED, and
TOPPER. The wife is the homemaker, staying in the house. I f she does get a job
she usually quits by the end of the episode, having proven that she is
incompetent outside the house. The children are either cute and winsome, brats,
or both. Of course, as society changes, so do the stereotypes as they reflect tha t society. In the last ten years, women have become
more and more important in the workplace. Thus, sitcoms now have the wife
working. Nonetheless, much stereotyping still exists.
Many actcoms, such
as I LOVE LUCY, THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW and NEWHART, will have what I will call,
for lack of a better term, a star, as opposed to a main character. A star is
the leading character in virtually every plot, being the focal point of t he
action, the instigator and the one who carries out the bulk of the action, and
the most visible character. Lucille Ball, Bob Newhart, and Dick Van Dyke were
all the stars of their shows, acting as focus to the action. In recent years,
Harry Anderson on NIGHT COURT, Tony Danza on WHO'S
THE BOSS?, and Alf on ALF are the stars.
There are certain characteristics devolving
on the star depending on whether the star is male or female. If the star is
male his character is often confused and beset, he tries to do his best but
often fails, tries to be honest and straightforward b ut
is defeated by the forces around him.
If the star is female her character is often
confused and confusing, flighty, ambitious, and devious.
Along with the star there is often one other
character who is the second lead. Ricky on I LOVE LUCY, Laura on THE DICK VAN
DYKE SHOW, and Joanna on NEWHART are examples. If the second lead is male he is
usually loud, volatile, and exasperated. If the second lead is female she is
often docile but determined, supportive, and witty. A female second lead is
also often more intelligent and well-rounded that a male second lead. Joanna
and Jill (HOME IMPROVEMENT), for example, are witty and clever, ver y supportive but not above making disparaging remarks
about their respective husbands, Bob and Tim.
Many actcoms have a
basic unit of a man and a woman as main characters. Actcoms
based on gimmicks such as magic or other supernormal powers always have this
basic unit, although it may be a hybrid such as MY FAVORITE MARTIAN wherein the
basic unit i s a man and a Martian, or MY LIVING DOLL
in which the unit is a man and a robot (although the robot looks like a
beautiful woman).
In gimmick-based actcoms
one member of the basic unit has unusual skills or characteristics: Samantha
(BEWITCHED) is a witch, Jeannie (I DREAM OF JEANNIE) is a genie, Uncle Martin
(MY FAVORITE MARTIAN) is a Martian with the ability to disappear, lev itate objects, etc. In all
cases, the other character is both the victim and the benefactee
of the first character's skills. An interesting point is that in all cases
wherein the basic unit is a man and a woman, it is the woman who has the
special abili ties. It appears to be assumed that it
is acceptable for a woman to take advantage of a man by turning him into a
housefly or dropping him into the middle of the
In most actcoms the
main characters are shown as shallow and superficial, physically rather than
mentally or emotionally motivated, with certain characteristics exaggerated.
The motivations and emotions that are shown by the characters are few and s imple, basically those necessary to continue and illustrate
the action. Motivations can be jealousy, greed, envy, curiosity, fear, etc.,
but they are never complex and rarely mixed. The same is true of the emotions
shown: they are basic--grief, fear, e xcitement,
love, etc.--and usually exaggerated for comic effect. However, in the more
sophisticated actcoms such as RHODA, THE GOLDEN GIRLS
and HOME IMPROVEMENT, the characters are more dimensionally human: they respond
to stimuli in a fashion denoting an ability to think rationally and not
necessarily comically. They have a tendency to use wit rather than slapstick,
tears rather than crybaby wailing, sarcasm rather than yelling.
The more sophisticated actcoms
approach sex as something more than simply that which one avoids telling the children.
The main characters are rarely virginal in mind or body. For instance, Rhoda
and Brenda on RHODA both think of men not only as mar riageable
but as sexual objects. Dan on NIGHT COURT thinks of women only as sexual
objects. Granted, they often use oblique language, but they are rarely reticent
in admitting to sexual encounters.
Supporting characters in actcoms
are usually henchmen, dupes and straightmen. They
provide assistance, wittingly or not, and are occasionally the targets of
schemes. They also provide straightlines for the main
character's punchlines.
Their dramatic function is usually limited to
being confused and beset, rarely providing plot problems, simply aiding and
abetting, or being the victim of the main character's actions. Colonel Bellows
(I DREAM OF JEANNIE), Gladys Cravits (BEWITCHED) , Maynard (THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS), Mr. Roper
(THREE'S COMPANY), and Cliff (CHEERS) are examples.
In the more sophisticated actcoms,
such as THE GOLDEN GIRLS and THE DAYS AND NIGHTS OF MOLLY DODD, supporting
characters are also often relatives of the main character, intimately involved
in rher life: mother, father, siblings, spouse. They do pro vide plot problems
and complications, often by imposing themselves on the main character's
personal life. In addition, the supporting characters can, like the main
character, grow and change, affected by the events that occur.
Unsympathetic characters are often supporting
characters, providing a variety of functions. They are foils for the main
characters, are perpetual obstacles to overcome, and are continuing butts of
complications in constant confusion. Larry Tate on BEWITCHED, Mel Cooley and
Alan Brady on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, Herb on WKRP IN CINCINNATI, Dean Wormer
on DELTA HOUSE, Brad's family on ANGIE, Louis on TAXI, and Dan Fielding on
NIGHT COURT, are examples of this type of character.
In any case, supporting characters are as
shallow and superficial as the main characters in the same show, their special
characteristics exaggerated and others ignored.
Transient characters have three purposes.
First, they provide plot problems and complications. Second, they provide comic
bits of business, aiding the regular characters in comic scenes. Third, they
make it possible for many plots to function, per forming those bits of business
that would be dramatically impossible for a regular character to do.
Transient characters can often be
unsympathetic, providing conflict with the main character or one of the
supporting characters, or both.
The relationships between the characters on
an actcom are only as close and deep as is necessary
to make the actions possible and believable. Families and friends often appear
to have no life beyond that shown on the screen, leaving a sense of super ficiality, as though families were barely acquainted, much
less related.
All characters in actcoms
have one special purpose: to be the agent to carry out the dictates of the
action. Their characterizations are developed only to the point at which they
can carry out their function, with little or no growth or change as p eople.
Settings
The settings for an actcom
are generally simple and functional, serving as a background for the action rather
than being a part of it. They show little personality, either of their own or
of the characters inhabiting them. They are kept to a minimu
m, usually just the home (the living room, kitchen, and occasionally a
bedroom), and the main character's place of work.
They are generally middle-class, occasionally
lower-middle-class, but very rarely upper-class. Lower- and upper-class
settings are only used when they are a basic part of the situation, as the
run-down shack on GREEN ACRES, or the mansions on THE BE VERLY HILLBILLIES, THE
GOOD LIFE, and THE POWERS THAT BE.
The rooms are often not even designed to be
functional. For example, the kitchen on THE LUCY SHOW has the refrigerator
upstage center, the sink stage right, and the stove stage left. This would not
be remarkable were it not for the fact that the ki tchen appears to be approximately 20 feet across. Such a
distance and arrangement of appliances would make cooking more an act of
endurance than a preparation of a meal.
If one is to believe an actcom,
bodily functions do not exist. Bathrooms are almost never used. If a bathroom
is shown it is only if specifically required for the plot in a particular
episode, as in an episode of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW in which Lau ra gets her big toe stuck in the bathtub faucet. However,
the only fixture that appears in this bathroom is the bathtub. The rest of the
room is empty. In another DICK VAN DYKE episode, Rob thinks he is losing his
hair, but he comes out of his house's bathroom to check his scalp's condition in
the bedroom dresser's mirror. A most unusual house, that
has no mirror in the bathroom. On an episode of CHEERS, the bar's men's room
was used, but only because Diane's name and number were on the wall, and she
had to go erase it.
The basic locations on place-based actcoms are dictated by the format. For example, on
GILLIGAN'S
Due to the nature of gimmick-based actcoms many special locations are used: clouds, icebergs,
jungles, deserts, etc. These locations are easily conjured up by magic.
Nonetheless, the majority of the action takes place in settings just like any oth er actcom.
In general, the settings in actcoms are unimportant. They are impersonal backgrounds to
action, generally middle-class unless altered according to the dictates of the
format. As the show's type becomes more sophisticated the settings become more pe rsonalized to the characters.
However, in all cases the settings are merely functional to the comic action.
Thought
The characters in actcoms
rarely seem to indulge in rational thought. At most, they devise schemes to
accomplish their purposes, to solve their problems. Further consequences of
their actions are either never considered or shrugged off as unimporta nt. Their thought
processes are also superficial, their motivations based on first impressions,
appearances, and hasty conclusions. Rob automatically thinks his friends have
deserted him when they don't walk out with him when he quits; Mork believes eve rything he sees
and hears; Lucy, trying to get her passport, almost commits a Federal crime
because she doesn't think about the consequences of lying on her application;
the WKRP prize is easily stolen because the characters don't even consider
asking for identification from the man who comes to claim it; many of the magic
spells on BEWITCHED backfire because no one thinks of alternative possibilities
that the same spell could produce.
Actcom plots rarely have a theme, a point of view expressed
or implied by the writer. Occasionally, there is a moral, as on HAPPY DAYS when
Fonzie says, "Stay in school-it's cool",
but such morals seem almost an afterthought, tacked on and out of pl ace because it is not prepared for during the course of
the show. Instead, the show uses action and humor for its own sake.
Diction
The language used in actcoms
in generally simplistic, the emphasis being on physical action, not verbal wit.
It reflects the shallow characterizations found in most actcoms,
and is limited to only what is necessary for the plot. When a character is
witty, it is usually done for effect, the incongruity of the character speaking
like Oscar Wilde or Mark Twain being funny. For example, Frasier Crane (CHEERS)
is a psychiatrist, and often speaks in a very erudite fashion. However, when he
does, the re st of the characters either make fun of
him, or look at him with a blank stare, at which point he translates what he
said into simplistic terms.
Music
The first auditory effect noticed on an actcom is the sheer volume of the lines. I can think of no
other type of television program on which the characters shout with such
consistency. There is little or no use of background music and few sound eff ects.
They almost invariably used a laugh track.
There are four basic reasons to use a laugh track. First, people are more
likely to laugh with someone else than they are to laugh when they are alone.
Thus the track provides them with that crowd.
Second, even though many shows use a live audience,
a live audience simply doesn't put out the volume and intensity of sound for it
to work. Several shows, including I LOVE LUCY, THE ODD COUPLE, and MORK &
MINDY tried to dispense with the laugh machine and use only the live audiences'
laughter, which, with each of those shows, was rich and heavy. The results
sounded thin and anemic, sort of like the polite noises made by a matron
hearing a dirty joke. Therefore, even shows with live audiences "sweeten " the laughter with the machine.
Third, as a stage actor knows from being in
shows, when rhe says a laugh line, the audience laughs, and the actor waits
until the laughter begins to diminish before continuing to insure the audience
doesn't miss the next line -- it's called holding for l aughs.
However, on a TV show, particularly one without a live audience, there is no
way for the actors to know at what the audience will laugh, or for how long. If
you watch the shows carefully, you will see the actors "hold for
laughs" after a purporte d funny line, leaving a
window of opportunity for the audience at home to laugh and not cover the next
line. However, many supposedly funny lines are duds that the audience doesn't
laugh at. The laugh track is there to fill that hole of silence so the a udience doesn't notice that
the actors are holding.
Finally, of course, "they can assure
themselves some laughs during an otherwise mundane show." However, the
laugh track is not there just to be annoying, but is there for some purely,
necessarily technical reasons. The laugh track is a major characteri
stic of the "music" in actcoms.
SUMMARY
In conclusion, the actcom
is a basic, even simplistic, form of comedy. The idea is to get laughs, not
examine character or discuss social or personal problems. Action is the means
by which humor is created, rarely verbal wit or subtlety. Little or nothing is
placed in the way of the action, neither setting nor diction, and little
thought is given to possible outcomes of action.
In recent years there has been a trend toward
actcoms examining social ills, such as crime, drug
and alcohol use, and sexual diseases. However, many times this social
consciousness appears tacked on rather than an integral part of plots. Since to
exami ne social problems the characters have to
respond to them as people involved and affected by them, not merely agents of
actions, actcoms are particularly ill-equipped for
the task.
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