What makes a series funny

Lots of discussion has been going on about Seinfeld vs. Mad About You vs. Frazier. Thought I'd add my two cents worth in about what I think makes a comedy series funny. (In other words, why Murphy Brown sucks:-) )

To be funny, a series must either have good, solid character development through dialogue, or be just totally off the wall. Development through dialogue means that the communication between characters is "realistic"; the characters actually communicate, and say humorous things that might be said in real conversation and that is relevant to the "situation" of the show. MASH, All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, and Cheers (to a lesser degree) all had this. You got to know the characters and care about them. They had real things to say and humor came from real life sarcasm found in everyday conversation. Bad comedy shows are ones in which the humor is all set up. I used to watch Murphy Brown now and then with a housemate who loved it. I found I could almost verbatim quote the dialogue before it was even said, simply because it wasn't communicative dialogue between people, rather it was set-up stand-up comedy put in a sitcom environment. (And bad stand-up at that.) That's the problem with most "comedy" sitcoms: the lines they speak could be transfered to any show, and they are meaningless. The other option is total silliness: The Simpson, Get a Life (with Chris Elliot). These are funny because the are intentionally stupid, and don't have any pretense of serious developmental dialogue. (Married With Children is like this too, if one doesn't mind its offensiveness.)

Seinfeld in some way covers both these criterion. The dialogue is realistic, in that it does deal with everyday topics, and there is character development. Indeed, the dialogue is precisely what makes Seinfeld funny. The silliness comes from the fact that complete goofiness is incorporated into everyday drudgery. (The Pez Dispenser, The Nose Job, etc.) Oh yes, I also like Mad About You; they say things to eachother I could see actually being said between recently married people. Frazier, on the other hand, is dangerously close to the set up sitcom a la Murphy Brown.

That's all

Mark

bonehead

      What character development?  I love "Seinfeld", but no one ever changes,
none of the characters have evolved.  I'm not saying thats bad; I think the
show is as funny as ever.  If you have seen "M.B." from the first year to now
you would know that all the characters have grown and changed in some fashion
of another.
      As far as a set-up comedy is concerned, where have you been, do we not
live on the same planet, all comedy is set-up.  And big deal if you can tell
what the dialogue is going to be on "Murphy Brown", I can do the same thing
with "Seinfeld".  What has that got to do with the show being funny?
      Finally, if you were watching "Get a Life" when it was on ... well, like
the show says...get a life.

nsC

"Never gonna happen my friend!"

In [email] (arnie) writes:

I have to agree with the first guy... _Murphy Brown_ is the most overrated piece of junk I've ever seen. Its "political satire" is just an endless series of silly jokes laced with topical references.

At its best, _Seinfeld_ is indeed about "nothing." When I first watched it, I felt it was like an update of _The Honeymooners_ (see some of my other posts for my "Kramer is Norton" theories).

I don't agree that character development is important. Remember, "No Hugging, No Learning." Precisely the point of _Seinfeld_ is that the characters NEVER grow. I think that this is why they've avoided (with the exception of Susan) long-term relationships for the characters.

Here's one thing about why I like _Seinfeld_ that I feel is overlooked: the subtlety of the direction by Tom Cherones. For the most part, they avoid broad-based laughs. For example, in an early episode, "The Revenge," when George slips his boss "a mickey," instead of going into a long physical shtick (which most shows would do), they cut to George in Jerry's apartment, where it's obvious he's unemployed. That kind of subtlety is rare on any show. Dave Platt [email] ------------------------------------

Oh, and I almost forgot one thing, fellow babies... BOOGER!