# Obvious things about a creative work you realize after the millionth time (OPEN SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117 "2009-07-24T13:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 284
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2023, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5667 "2023-11-13T23:39:32Z")
I’m sure there’s plenty of people who are unfamiliar with it. It’s a term I’ve heard in my group of friends often enough, and it’s weird to me that Gary Larson would have just happened upon an example of a single-camera sitcom and parodied that with single-cell organisms and the caption “single-cell sitcoms” without intending the reference. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5668 "2023-11-14T01:10:37Z")
Deconstructing the joke, how does the idea it is a single-camera show contribute to the humor? Single-camera as opposed to what? Three/four-camera shows? Is there some pop-cultural significance to those formats that would make a reference to it significant or even remarkable? I think there’s too much thought put in this for no purpose. What kind of shows would single-celled organisms watch? Bacteria situation comedies. What kind of bars would bacteria frequent? Single-cell bars. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f4/a7/76/f4a776b505cb20660a96c77c70063ff6.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f4/a7/76/f4a776b505cb20660a96c77c70063ff6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5669 "2023-11-14T01:46:06Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Is there some pop-cultural significance to those formats that would make a reference to it significant or even remarkable? Yes there is. I’m pretty sure something like TV Guide is where I first learned the term. Like soap operas are usually mutli-camera, for instance. It has a different feel than a single-camera set-up. Friends was multi-camera. Big Bang Theory was multi-camera. Though right now, I don’t think there are many, if any. > **[Multiple-camera setup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple-camera_setup)** > > The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on the set and simultaneously record or broadcast a scene. It is often contrasted with a single-camera setup, which uses one camera. > Generally, the two outer cameras shoot close-up shots or "crosses" of the two most active characters on the set at any given time, while the central came... Anyway, I may just have a disproportionate amount of TV nerds in my circle, but they will use “single-camera” and “multi-camera” sitcom when describing something I haven’t watched to me at times. If it’s not intentional, then I guess I found it funny because of some coincidence. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have found it humorous at all. So maybe I am overthinking it, but it’s what makes it funny to me, so I’ll prefer to believe it was intentional. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5670 "2023-11-14T02:09:37Z")
Since we know that explaining a joke always makes it funnier, here is a list of single-camera sitcoms. There are only about 300 in the list, so it is definitely obscure. > **[List of single-camera situation comedies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_single-camera_situation_comedies)** > > In television programming, the situation comedy or sitcom may be recorded using either a multiple-camera setup or a single-camera setup. Single-camera sitcoms are often notable for their enhanced visual style, use of real-world filming locations and in recent years, for not having a laugh track (most single-camera sitcoms from the 1960s contained a laugh track). Some, but not all, single-camera comedy series may also be classified as comedy-drama, a genre which blends comedic and dramatic elem... There. Already starting to get that chuckle bubbling up? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5671 "2023-11-14T02:38:49Z")
**I Love Lucy** was unusual in that it was filmed with 3 cameras instead of a single camera like sitcoms were done back then. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5672 "2023-11-14T02:49:11Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > she’s wearing the Heart of the Ocean necklace. And then, instead of using it for a Scholarship or something, the fool drops it in the ocean. > [@peccavi](#): > > Since we know that explaining a joke always makes it funnier, here is a list of single-camera sitcoms. For some reason, people think such a show is better. I dont get why. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5673 "2023-11-14T02:54:11Z")
I don’t think it’s a play on “single camera sitcoms”; apart from anything else, that phrase is too far removed from “single-cell bars” to be funny. I think it’s a play on “singles bars”. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5674 "2023-11-14T03:01:36Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > I think it’s a play on “singles bars”. Yup, that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5675 "2023-11-14T03:19:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes there is. I’m pretty sure something like TV Guide is where I first learned the term. Like soap operas are usually mutli-camera, for instance. It has a different feel than a single-camera set-up. Friends was multi-camera. Big Bang Theory was multi-camera. Though right now, I don’t think there are many, if any. Yeah, but what’s particularly funny about it? Is one format innately funnier than the other? How would that _feel_ contribute to the joke? Is there some irony involved? I think it is just coincidence. Larson’s comics are easy to find and he did a lot of bacteria/amoeba/single-celled jokes and in every single one of them the joke is on the single-celled aspect being ironically juxtaposed against our world. Perhaps in a multipanel strip and he was changing channels and chose that show over a multicamera show it might work. I just think it’s belaboring the joke. Larson is a better Jokesmith than that. The joke is fully realized and is consistent with his style just showing single-celled organisms would watch a sitcom about bacteria. See below for an example. > [@Askance](#): > > I don’t think it’s a play on “single camera sitcoms”; apart from anything else, that phrase is too far removed from “single-cell bars” to be funny. > > I think it’s a play on “singles bars”. Exactly. A simple punny reference. There’s no belabored meta reference in there, such as them serving single-malt whiskeys instead of blends. Just a quick, simple joke. [![](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/6/3/7/898637.jpg) ](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/6/3/7/898637.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5676 "2023-11-14T03:27:12Z")
I just realized that the guy who turns into Werewolf by Night is named Jack Russell. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5677 "2023-11-14T03:41:11Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > I just realized that the guy who turns into Werewolf by Night is named Jack Russell. I once worked with a guy who was a dog breeder. He was planning a new breed that would be a cross between Jack Russell Terriers and Beagles. I suggested he call his new breed Jackles. It took him a couple of minutes to get it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5678 "2023-11-14T04:34:18Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Yeah, but what’s particularly funny about it? Because it’s a pun/wordplay and I like wordplay. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5679 "2023-11-14T05:19:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Because it’s a pun/wordplay and I like wordplay. That’s kind of the issue. _Is_ it, really? It’s just complicating a joke for no payoff. Would someone consciously chose one program over another because of the filming format? And would that experience be shared by enough people that we could see the bacterium’s behavior in ourselves and derive humor from it? Is, “Haha, he’s watching a specific format of programming that has a vague reference to his single-celledness where they use a single camera to film a show more cinematically instead of with multiple cameras in front of a live audience.” funnier than, “Haha, he’s watching the same trash we watch, but played out by his own type of organism.” Because I can post MANY examples of his other strips where that is exactly the gag. It’s kind of like the worst MST3K type of joke. Just a reference for reference’s sake. The “wordplay” is “Bacteria Bunch.” I might see it if the comic was in a TV trade publication where they might get some obscure inside meta reference. But, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5680 "2023-11-14T06:55:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Anyway, I may just have a disproportionate amount of TV nerds in my circle, but they will use “single-camera” and “multi-camera” sitcom when describing something I haven’t watched to me at times. This might be generational. In the 80’s, laugh tracks, camera set-ups, and such were a constant topic of conversation. I don’t hear that much anymore. Nowadays it’s all about the CGI and locations. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5681 "2023-11-14T09:10:08Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > That’s kind of the issue. _Is_ it, really? I mean, for me, obviously yes. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5682 "2023-11-14T12:13:59Z")
There’s nothing wrong with a private joke and finding something funny on another level than might be intended. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5683 "2023-11-14T12:33:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And then, instead of using it for a Scholarship or something, the fool drops it in the ocean. If she sells it, it likely eventually becomes known she isn’t dead. Plus, some sort of ‘abandoning her old life’ motif. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5684 "2023-11-14T19:28:47Z")
What would you call a Bull Terrier / ShihTzu mix? Asking for a friend. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5685 "2023-11-14T21:42:37Z")
Bulltzu? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obvious-things-about-a-creative-work-you-realize-after-the-millionth-time-open-spoilers-possible/504117/5686 "2023-11-14T22:22:23Z")
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