is there really such thing as a sitcom curse, many actors and actresses have become massive hits on sitcoms and yet havent gone on to any real success. there are few exceptions such as larry david, jennifer aniston and woody harrelson to name only a few but for the most part they fade away. i have hardly heard of jerry seinfeld since the show finished and the only real success kelsey grammer has had was on another sitcom. so do you think that there is such a thing
ummm, what's a sitcom? urbandic says nothing of value, webster says "situation comedy" Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
oh ok, haven't seen any, but I doubt there's a curse Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! maybe the actors just get used to that "situation comedy" (still wondering what it is) and become good for nothing else
I don't think there's a curse. I think the actors either get typecast or they just get used to playing the character type they became successful at. Sure, Alan Alda has gone on to other things, and he's quite good at them, but no matter what he does, you still look at him and think "Hawkeye". Richard Mulligan will always be "Burt Campbell" from "SOAP" (anyone remember that show?). Billy Crystal still plays the character of "Jodi" from that same show, only not gay. It's more of an industry imprint than a curse. It's been a long time since I've seen an actor who is able to take on any role and make it believable, you know, where you can start the movie saying "Hey, that's the guy who played..." but finish the movie having forgotten that earlier role completely. My brother says he saw Steve Martin in a seroius (and villainous) role, and it only took a few minutes for him to forget he was watching "that wild and crazy guy", but I don't know what movie it was.
With the typecasting, it's a huge uphill battle for those former stars. In its heyday, Seinfeld was what everyone loved and so the exposure that Kramer, Elaine and George all got was phenomenal because they were on everyone's mind on a weekly basis. People that watched Seinfeld and loved it (that includes me) associate that actor with that character precisely because it's being reinforced like that every week. So when they go and do something else, it's hard to hang with them because you might chuckle, then say, "Yeah, but go back to being Elaine--that's what works for you." Kind of reminds me of that quote from Dennis Miller when he was talking about Kriss-Kross (remember them? they were little kid rappers that wore their clothes backwards), he said, "Yeah, it's fun now, kids. But save your money because the ride ends soon."
A situation comedy is a TV series. Half hour vignettes set in a "situation" which is used as the source of jokes. Some ancient American classics that may be in circulation in other countries... "I Love Lucy" (1950s): a willful, wacky lady is married to a Cuban musician who mispronounces English words in humorous ways and takes life very seriously. "Gilligan's Island" (1960s): A boat full of friends and their families is shipwrecked without communication on an island that easily and comfortably supports life but is never visited by other people. "All in the Family" (1970s): A cranky, opinionated, politically conservative white male chauvinist with no education and a modest job and his timid wife who doesn't really understand life very well live with their strong-willed daughter and her politically liberal husband, both college educated, next door to a very successful and prosperous black family. "Cheers" (1980s): A bunch of people hang out in a bar. (Can you tell that I haven't watched all of these myself?) "Roseanne" (1990s): A fat, loud, irreverent lady and her fat, sweet, gentle husband raise two children in a small town. (I actually watched that one and loved it, but I can't come up with a more interesting description.) "Desperate Housewives" (2000s): All the women in a small neighborhood would have trouble coping with life it were normal, but their lives have really bizarre problems. Back to the topic of the thread. The "comedy" of a situation comedy is different from the "comedy" of film or theater. For one thing, they let you know when it's supposed to be funny by playing a "laugh track," supposedly to simulate the experience of being part of an audience. The jokes are forced, the "situations" are contrived, the characters are caricatures, and there is no drama. Actually that has changed slowly, important characters die, and the storylines have become intricate enough that some shows are now one hour. Still, the type of acting required in a situation comedy is much different from that required in other theatrical forms, and apparently few actors have both talents. Sitcom actors play supporting roles in movies, and movie stars do guest appearances on sitcoms, but there are very few people who have real careers in both media. Actors in soap operas, another TV-unique form of entertainment, have a similar problem. (A soap opera is a daily, hour-long melodrama with a huge cast of main characters whose everyday lives are followed in elaborate detail.) They have one day to prepare and tape a show, so there are limited rehearsals and they try to recover from minor on-camera errors. This skill is not very useful in movies. Interestingly, both soap operas and situation comedies are holdovers from the days of radio. They are both primarily dialog, although sitcoms also use sight-gags.
Three children. Four if you count both Beckys! (Five if you count whatshername (Roseanne's sister) Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!)
i was tempted to correct this as well. you could also include the younger daughter's boyfriend as well, if i remember correctly he lived with them as well toward the end of the series.
Sitcoms suck. They all look alike. The prevalence of fat guys being married to slim, pretty ironic women is the most ridiculous of all. I haven't watched a sitcom since Seinfeld was sweeping the ratings in the mid-90's. Except for "Absolutely Fabulous" on BBC America once in awhile, sitcoms are over for me.
re Roseanne, but I still to this day have never seen the last episode. Does anyone know the name of the last episode? Have you seen "Still Standing"? If you pay close attention, I think it might be "Roseanne" reincarnaded. It takes place in Illinois. They have three kids, two girls and one boy. There is the sister-thing going on. They basically make the same wise cracks. They are just a little bit upper class than the Connors. What do you think? And by-the-way, I loved "Soap" too and "Abousolutely Fabulous". Just had to mention that. Sorry, now back to the original topic.
Sorry about the Roseanne thing. Ab Fab was great. Much British comedy sits well with Americans, including some of the sitcoms. We've lately been expanding the genre beyond live action. Animated sitcoms, including "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill" and "Duckman" (starring Jason Alexander of "Seinfeld") are/were exceptional. And then there was "Dinosaurs!", that wondeful prime-time showpiece of Muppetry.
I didn't care for "Dinosaurs". I saw the first one and thought "Great. It's H.R. Puff'n'stuff's blue collar neighbors." My mother and my brother liked it, though. "Soap" and "WKRP In Cincinatti" were the ones I watched, but I prefered action-oriented TV, like "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Starsky & Hutch". But before I forget, there was a sit-com that I watched as often as I could; "Hogan's Heroes". Sgt. Schulz was the inspiration for my successful avoidance of office politics. I was surprised when I learned that, of all the characters on that show, Colonel Klink and Sgt. Schulz were the two that were based on real people. Of the prisoners, Richard Dawson's character was my favorite, but I can't remember the name now. Damn!
WKRP was one of my all-time favorites. Loni Anderson didn't hurt at all, but I really enjoyed the milieu of a radio station. Good writing, sympathetic characters, the occasional serious issue like the fatal stampede at the Who concert or the preacher who wanted them not to play "Imagine." Dinosaurs strove to be more than a sitcom. It hit us in the face with a lot of Big Issues. The series finale left us all in tears, an undisguised parable about messing with the environment and what really killed off the dinosaurs. Baby Dinosaur: "Daddy, what's wrong? Why is everybody so sad?" Earl: "Well son, they put Daddy in charge of the world... and he didn't take very good care of it."
