AUDIENCE PLEASURESGCSE Media Studies: TV Comedy

Learning Objectives:

To be able to…

• Explore the audience pleasures

of US sitcoms.

• Compare US and UK sitcom

audience pleasures.

SJS: Research, Teamwork

TV Comedy Sub-Genres

Sitcoms Sketch shows

Panel shows Stand-up

Exam Information

• You need to study two television comedies in two different ways, so you can explain:• How and why they were scheduled on British television

• The audience pleasures of the two programmes

• The exam questions will ask you• Either to compare the two comedies

• Or to examine one comedy in detail

• This means you need to study the comedies in enough depth to that you can write about one programme in detail, and you will need to know the similarities and differences between them.

Exam Information

• You will need to create two case studies on two comedy programmes of your choice.

• It is probably a good idea to pick two programmes that are:• Of a different type

• Aimed at different audiences

• On two different sorts of channels

• Offering different audience pleasures

• Examples: QI and How I Met Your Mother; Have I Got News for You and Friends; Gavin and Stacey and 8 Out of 10 Cats.

Audience Pleasures

• Regular timeslot

• The narrative and problems are always resolved at the end of the programme

• Intertextuality (the shaping of a text's meaning by another text).

• Use of celebrities

• Different types of humour

• Relatable characters and situations (so we can also laugh at

ourselves/friends)

• Audience escapism

• Audience feels superior to characters as they never learn from their mistakes.

• Easy to watch (30 minutes long and self-contained episodes mean audience

can ‘dip’ in and out of series).

• Pleasure gained from resolution at the end of episode

• Social and family issues often used (audience can relate to)

• Themes are easy for audience to understand

• Warm mode of address - everyone can watch and enjoy.

• Familiarity (e.g. Catchphrases)

• Predictability – For example: audiences know character

US Sitcom Examples

• New Girl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1NDNFZGY7k

• Friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3k18-LmaxM

• Do the audience pleasures of US sitcoms differ from

British sitcoms?

How I Met Your Mother

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0btS4kVGcI

• How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that originally

ran on CBS from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014. The

series follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his group of

friends in Manhattan. As a framing device, Ted, in the year

2030, recounts to his son and daughter the events that led him

to meeting their mother. The show ran for nine seasons, with a

total of 208 episodes.

• In the UK, HIMYM is broadcast on E4. The series has now

ended, but repeats are broadcast several times a day on E4 as

part of its stripped scheduling.