Jan042005
Some Hugs, Some Learning
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.
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