I've got a theory about why ...
Question: I've got a theory about why so many people are down on sitcoms nowadays. It seems like ever since
Seinfeld ended, half-hour comedy series have become increasingly mean-spirited.
Will & Grace isn't about situational comedy; it's about making fun of other people. It's not about laughing with the characters; it's about laughing at them. Mean-spirited comedy certainly has its place, and there were times I found shows like
Will & Grace,
Malcolm in the Middle etc. funny. But now they just wear on my nerves. What do you think? And do the new comedy shows you've been praising fit (or not fit) into this theory?
Answer: What's so great and encouraging about the early success of
My Name Is Earl (most notably) and
Everybody Hates Chris is that they manage to be both edgy in tone
and somehow sweet-natured, and they're not drowning in self-conscious irony.
Earl pokes fun at its lowbrow characters (see my recent
Review), but is inherently good at heart.
Chris benefits from
Chris Rock's sardonic point of view, but is at its best when acknowledging the power of family. Even
How I Met Your Mother, which veers too easily into the sophomoric at times, is grounded by the romantic yearning of its main character (well played by
Josh Radnor), even if his wackier pals tend to upstage him. I'm still reasonably confident that show will survive its first-season growing pains and will reward CBS' and our patience. The other new comedy on my "fall favorite" list, Fox's struggling
Kitchen Confidential, is a much more adult — read "sophisticated" and/or snarky — show, and because its characters aren't as easily likable (although
Bradley Cooper has earned his leading-man stripes), it would have a tougher time catching on even if it weren't so poorly scheduled.
On another comedy front, here's this from Don: "I tuned in to My Name Is Earl this past week for the first time and was pleasantly surprised that it was not your traditional sitcom. By traditional, I mean the typical stage setup of almost everything happening in one's living room with a live audience or laugh track. Which brings me to my question: Is there a name for this style of sitcom? There seems to be an influx of narrated sitcoms/series, including the humorous narration done by Ron Howard in Arrested Development. Have you noticed this as well?"
It's kind of hard not to notice the voice-over trend this year. Almost everyone's doing it, not only on comedies, but also in a number of dramas. When used appropriately, it gives the writers much-needed shorthand for exposition, and helps create an identification with the main character. When overly or badly used, it comes off as pretentious and annoying (see Night Stalker). As for what the Earl-style show is officially called, these are known as single-camera comedies, shot and edited as if they were film,s not (in the case of most soundstage sitcoms) like plays.
