It’s the only way I can get him to notice me!
Ah, the Wacky Neighbor syndrome! So many sitcom families have ridiculous, usually unwanted people living next door. So…why do they always keep their doors unlocked? Why don’t they call the cops when these people come barging in? And isn’t anyone ever afraid of getting robbed? A lot of characters who leave their doors unlocked live in cities!
How about the “Let’s give our star a chance to play a different role today” syndrome. They often say it’s a family member, like a cousin or something. Often it’s a guy now in drag as his female relative. Or they just find some other creative way to work it in.
When the ratings fail, have a wedding. When they fail again, have a baby.
When there is a Wedding Episode, something goofy and dumb always has to happen to make it climatic. Like the groom gets lost, or arrested, on the way to getting married, or some other idiotic thing that causes the wedding to be that much more Meaningful and happen in some bizarre location like a hospital or jail. This of course goes along with the Babies Being Born in Strange Places concept.
Insane bosses or coaches.
The “Main character falls asleep and dreams he/she is really an actor named __________ starring on a tv show called _____” trend. I haven’t seen it lately, but then I don’t watch tv much anymore. In the 80’s I saw this on at least 3 shows: Charles in Charge, Growing Pains, and Just the Ten of Us.
My personal favorites are the already mentioned Disappearing Family Member and Fast-Growing Baby cliches.
“Hey kids, meet your grandpa Murphy!”
“We have three grandpas already.”
“This one’s a great jazz musician.”
“They all are!”
-The Simpsons
No one ever laughs at anything. Characters trade wisecracks, bon mots, and zingers without ever cracking a smile.
From RENO 911! It’s actually about FBI agents, but it applies to time-starved sitcoms as well:
JONES: None of them go “uhm” or “uhhhh” or–
JUNIOR: Yeah, none of them say “like” either, you don’t hear “He, like, walked into the room…”
JONES: Yeah, we say that stuff all the time. It’s like they went to some sort of…special…vocabulary…grammar…
JUNIOR: Uhm, like they’re really educated.
JONES: Special school.
'nother one: Whenever a pregnant woman goes into labor, her husband gets appendicitis.
To be fair the whole premise of Friends was that Rachael sought out Monica, her best friend from high school who she hadn’t seen since high school, after her wedding fizzled.
Ross and Chandler were roommates in college and Joey and Phoebe were met during some post-college time.
Sounds pretty normal to me.
The Hawaii Trilogy: Was there even one sitcom in the 70s or 80s that didn’t do a three part commercial for the Hawaii tourism board?
The Camping Episode: The whole gang gets plopped in the woods, opening the door for dozens of possible subcliches: Getting defeated by some fish, getting poison oak in a humorous way, someone gets lost…etc…etc.
The Bowling Episode: The gang gets involved in a bowling challenge, with the losers having to perform some humiliating act in public. This is often recycled as the Softball Episode.
The Skiing Episode: The gang hits the slopes, and you just know someone is gonna break their ass and end up in a body cast.
And of course, they won’t be able to set up the tent, even after a long struggle. Or, they’ll will forget to bring the tent.
“I thought you brought the tent!”
“No, I told you to bring the tent!”
Which means they’ll be sleeping outside. Which means someone (whoever forgot the tent or ruined it in setting it up) will utter the line, “Look on the bright side; as least it can’t get any worse!” At which point it will thunder and start raining, right on cue. :rolleyes:
And then in the morning, whoever screwed up will be gone (Oh, no!), possibly eaten by bears or drowned in the lake. Everyone will eulogize him, when he suddenly appears with food and a new tent and lots of supplies, from the general store just over the hill. :smack: Lots of hugs all around.
“Eight Simple Rules” did this last season, with John Ritter playing Mr. Roper on Three’s Company.
Another one is the “quickie wedding.” A character marries someone they met yesterday or maybe last week. Cites: Blossom (Anthony), The Cosby Show (Denise) and Married with Children (Marcy, and the show gets double points for using Ted McGinley as the husband).
Extras are completely oblivious to the action that is going on in the foreground. I have seen so many examples of this. A common occurrence is in a restaurant, where you will see the characters acting like complete asses in a public setting, or someone will choke, vomit or do something that would surely attract attention from all the other diners in real life. Not in sitcoms. The people in the background continue eating and carrying on as if nothing unusual was happening.
I’m surprised nobody has yet mentioned the ubiquitous couch/TV smack dab in the middle of the living room. No house I have ever been in has had its furnishings arranged this way.
::raises hand sheepishly::
I do the couch in the middle of the room thing.
It’s my basement, but the same principle.
Don’t forget, this was the entire premise of Dharma and Greg!
Characters will only overhear other people’s conversations if the plot demands that they do. Otherwise, two people can have a conversation about a third person they don’t want to hear them while that person is standing ten feet away, completely oblivious to the whole thing. The ones speaking don’t seem to think that they might be heard, either.
A large group will sit at a dinner table, thoughtfully leaving one entire side emply for the camera. If one of the group has a short skirt on, she will sit at the end so that better leg shots can be taken. (ARE YOU BEING SERVED?)
The stairway is behind the couch and has a bend halfway up (ALL IN THE FAMILY, ROC, LUCY, etc. etc.)
Houses are always neat and tidy. Every family has breakfast together at a table in the morning.
High school gymnasiums have bleachers only four rows deep (HAPPY DAYS)
And the ultimate sign your show has already jumped the shark and is about to go to that Nielson box in the sky: The cast is talked into staging a variety show. (ONE DAY AT A TIME and many others)
Actually, I’ve developed a theory about that. See, I figure that the couch is pointed at the TV. Thus, my TV is connected to their TV and it’s through this connection that I watch the show.
I didn’t say it was a good theory…
I hate the “kids as little sociopathic brats” cliche - The offspring spend their entire time being rude, breaking every rule, and often commit felonies with no signs of remorse or regret. Meanwhile the adults on the show never once say boo about the kid’s terrible behavior. If anything, they blame themselves and just wish they could be better parents.
The classic line in all this is “C’mon kids, it’ll be fun!”
As in:
Parent: Let’s go to the circus
Kid 1: Piss off
Kid 2: I want to stay home and play video games
Kid 3: I don’t waaaaaant to
Kid 4: You’re a fat idiot, get out of my room
Parent: No really, it won’t be so bad. C’mon kids, it’ll be fun!
Many sitcom families also seem to have two staircases – one in the family room and one in the kitchen. This allows for more entrances and exits.
Howzabout Just a little party?.
This immediately turns into gigantic free for all that gets cleaned up just in the nick of time, before the parents return from Aspen. (Growing Pains, Family Matters, Saved by the Bell)
Also, Ross “met” Phoebe when he was about 12 – she was the thug who beat him up and stole his bookbag. This fact was revealed on an episode where she showed him she had held on to, and even treasured, the “Science Boy” comic he had written and illustrated.
On that note, Mad About You devoted an episode to the fact that Paul and Jamie had crossed paths several times before becoming a couple. They had first bumped into each other when their school classes both happened to be touring a museum at the same time. I’m sure other programs have employed this device.