Sitcom
May312005
Filed Under Sitcom
A favorite of mine finally made it to DVD last week… Newsradio
. The “Arrested Development” of its day, NewsRadio deserved from NBC the nurturing hands FOX gives “Arrested.”
What I admire the most about NewsRadio was that creator Paul Simms was exploring similar territory to “The Office"… trying to mine comedy from the workplace and real workplace issues. This focus probably came from Simms working on Larry Sanders, with it’s breakthrough focus on backstage showbiz (and sadly, repeated ad infinitum today - please stop navel gazing Hollywood).
NewsRadio was obviously a lot broader and bigger than
The Office, but it was very innovative in dealing with office politics, romances and relationships beyond the usual sitcom metaphor of coworkers as family. Concerns about downsizing, jockeying for titles and assignments and NSFW materials left in common areas were all were seeds for NewsRadio plots. For once, it felt like creators of a TV show had real jobs prior to becoming writers. (For a borderline obsessive/sweet homage to the show, check out Newsradio and the Comedic Art, which has nothing but superlatives for the show.)
In recent years, I’ve seen Simms work only occasionally in the New Yorker’s Shout and Murmurs page but not much on TV. Anyone who called NBC’s 90s-era Thursday Night Friends-Disposable Show-Seinfeld lineup a “shit sandwich” might have a hard time finding a network to love him, but Simms is a fantastic talent and if he’s still making pilots, someone should commit to a series and give him the kushy timespot denied him for so long.
Mar252005
Filed Under Sitcom
The premiere of The Office on NBC gave me stirrings of optimism for the network situation comedy again. Anyone who dismisses it harshly because it’s not the original does not realize how much of a breakthrough this is: no laugh track, pained silences, a real environment anyone might work in, characters who take insults uncomfortably and seriously. This is exactly what we need in situation comedy now.
Though it’s not near the original’s perfection, this remake has retained all the right stuff to make something amazing in its own right. The main flaw I can see is that Steve Carell hasn’t found the depth of character in the obnoxious manager than progenitor Ricky Gervais did. That said Carell is still hilarious, managing to make the unfunny shtick of a middle manager hilarious. And if the show goes as long as it should, he’ll find something akin to the sadness in David Brent.
Selecting Greg Daniels to shepherd the American version of the show was the best move anyone could have made. Daniels previously worked on King of the Hill which had a tradition of using uncomfortable silences as well. The two shows are also similar in that they focus on real people in places far from media capitals New York and Los Angeles, with stories that reflect those people’s concerns.
From what I’ve heard the later episodes, which completely depart from the British scripts, are even better than this solid retranslation. Considering that the show will have one more main character to play with and more uniquely American issues (race will obviously play a far bigger role here than Britain), I have high hopes that this will be loved for it’s own merits.
Mar082005
Filed Under Sitcom
Fox recently reassured fans they have no plans to cancel Arrested Development Of course their message was recently deleted from the show’s website. So, many believe the reduction of Fox’s episode order to 18 make the prospect of a third season as certain as Tobias’ heterosexuality. Entertainment Weekly published an appeal to the cable networks to save Arrested, mentioning HBO, Showtime, FX and USA, but no Comedy Central, which would also be a natural home for the show.
If Arrested did jump, I think it’d be the first of many. We’re so fractionalized as audiences, how can something be funny in the broad ways the network’s need anymore? Across all ages and demographics, but still hitting that sweet spot of 18-34. I can see drama and reality lasting on networks for a while because we can all agree that murder, romance, crime and stunts involving horse bladders hold the same interest across the board. But comedy is either dependent on A) minutiae that have been well tread by previous shows or B) worldviews of what’s funny that are not necessarily shared by a large audience. With Arrested finding humor in a momma’s boy losing his hand to a seal due to his drunkard mother’s prayers to God to find a way to not send him to fight in Iraq, it’s safe to say the show is B.
On the other hand, on cable smaller groups of equal-minded audience member congregate and you can build comedies that directly appeal to them. The Daily Show at its best draws 2.4 million people, far fewer than Arrested Development’s average of 6.18 million. The two audiences, if it doesn’t overlap already, probably shares a similar view of the Iraq war and what can be mined for humor from it. The viewers that embrace shows like Arrested are on cable. I’d love for it to stay on broadcast, but Arrested best prescription for a long life might be to jump.
Mar032005
Filed Under Sitcom
In yet another article about the networks’ attempts to resurrect comedy, I didn’t read anything that gave me much hope that they’ve learned anything yet. There’s a reference to how Desperate Housewives is the most successful comedy is recent memory, which is rather irritating. Though I like the show, it’s not a pure comedy. It’s simply been placed there by execs because of award show competition (another reason why award shows are idiotic).
One thing that is worth modeling from dramas and reality shows is the idea of consequence, which is something few comedies have. I think network comedies biggest problem is that the characters are never affected by what happens to them on the show. They shrug off insults and embarrassments in as unrealistic manner as action heroes shrug off bullets. Perhaps more unrealistic.
I think the notion that we watch comedy for escapism can be very true. But this has traditionally been translated as likable characters who resolve their problems within a half hour. But as reality TV has shown, seeing unlikable people continue to be angry for insults both real and imagined is highly entertaining and very escapist. Constructing comedy with Omorosa-style villains might be exactly what works now.
Feb082005
Filed Under Sitcom
Great details on the process of making “Arrested Development” in the AV Club’s interview with creator Mitchell Hurwitz. Earlier I wondered just how Hurwitz’s time on the “Golden Girls” helped him with “Arrested.” He clarifies here that his (and Arrested’s) style of intertwined storylines and connecting disparate elements developed because he felt he lacked the “hard joke” style demanded by “Golden Girls.” The influence is indirect, but makes total sense to me now.
Mitchell often attributes “The Sopranos” as an influence and that too is made more clear here. Though it’s easy to see how characters like Gob and Buster are flawed, to Mitchell even Jason Bateman’s Michael is flawed, but in a sympathetic way like Tony Soprano. Hurwitz details insight into the character that reveals why this show is so dense. There is a lot going on with these people. Earlier in the interview Mitchell talks about how many writers use shorthand to create characters (in “Arrested,” a conservative brother and a liberal sister). What’s obvious after reading the interview is how many other creators stop there.
Also in the interview is the harrowing tale of how “Arrested Development” tested. The desire of executives to put their “no” in someone else’s hands has developed into a ridiculous attempt to scientifically monitor enjoyment by a simple dial. Though Hurwitz describes metering audiences as insane, but ultimately concedes that the process helped him discover the end of the pilot needed work. Even with that admission, it’s pretty obvious that losing these ludicrous meters would go a long way to improving mainstream movies and TV. Besides, such focus testing is notoriously ineffective.
Jan042005
Filed Under Sitcom
Two articles on comedy from this past Sunday’s NY Times (I know it’s late… I’m already breakin’ my resolutions), the first dealt with the sitcom “Golden Girls” being an unlikely incubator for comedic talent, with its former writers including Mitchell Hurwitz, creator of my and should-be-yours favorite show, “Arrested Development.”
There’s no real suggestion that anything in “Golden Girls” itself has been incredibly influential to sitcoms. “Golden” is just influential simply for giving creators like Hurwitz an opportunity to work on a show at a young age and learn storytelling. But “Arrested” doesn’t seem that close to “Golden.” Sure it’s got the “hug” and the “realization” as Hurwitz points out, but plotwise it’s “Seinfeld,” overlapping multiple threads to build to an ironic catharsis. The innovation is putting real emotions onto Larry David’s story construction (but not too much emotion, just enough to make it relatable).
Still, with the lack of sitcoms onair, and with many of the ones remaining of dubious quality, I’d kill for a “Golden Girls” simply as a place to give new writers their starts so they could build more “Arrested Development"s in the future.
Nov172004
Filed Under Sitcom
I just noticed that Arrested Development has begun naming episodes variations of “The One Where...”, exactly how Friends titled every episode in its 10-year run. Since most viewers never see these, the shift in titles is probably just a way to amuse writers who are probably grasping at anything to enlarge their audience.
One change I did notice in the last Sunday’s episode however: music under a conversation between Michael and Gob that seemed to be an attempt by the creators to indicate the audience “Hey America, here’s some heart for you!” Arrested Development has always had heart… and used music to express it, particularly in conversations between Michael and his son. But this one seemed to be a bit more ham-fisted, a concession to audiences who may find the bizarre family humor cold. It was jarring for me as a regular viewer, but it might be necessary to raise those ratings. It’s just kinda sad that we need laugh tracks to tell us to laugh and musical cues to tell us to care.
That said, the rest of the show has continued to amaze. It’s the funniest show on TV right now. If you haven’t seen it, watch it. And buy the Season One DVD. I’m going to keep repeating it until it’s Seinfeld level hit.
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