The real difference between British and American sitcoms.

[Rellik San]

This is written by a British guy and I'm sure I'm going to get told I'm wrong and British sitcoms are so much more amazingly written.

But here's the truth, there are just as many that rely on slap stick as much as they do perceptive humour: Only Fools and Horses, Hallo Hallo, Ain't Half Hot Mum, Some Like it Hot, Blackadder, Some Mothers Do Have Them, Teachers, Spaced, Coupling, Red Dwarf all of them very funny, but not all of them are particularly clever.

Conversely for American comedies which are often perceived as puerile in comparison, here's a few for consideration: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Frasier, Seinfeld, Arrested Development, (forgive my lack of examples but I'm sure there's more). All of which are incredibly funny and incredibly clever.

So what's the real difference?

Perception... more specifically audience perception; British sitcoms tend to take a more close up view, the perceptions of the audience are filtered through those of the characters, as such we disgusting archetypes play out, prejudices laid bare and a general snark and cruelty otherwise missing from American shows, but the cause of this, why these people are found funny and amusing, is that everything is filtered through their petty perceptions, the world is seen through the lens of their eyes and the humour is derived from their reactions to it; be it Blackadders utter contempt for all below him or Simon Casey struggling to adapt to life as an adult.

American sitcoms in my experience, focus not on the oddities of the internal, but the quirky nature of the external, the audience perceptions are left upto them as these scenes play out more like a traditional play, we're removed and detached, so we find we're not laughing at their quirks in self recognition, but more laughing at how awkwardly they handle a situation. The point isn't to be in the characters shoes and laugh unintentionally at ourselves but to laugh as things we've all seen out friends do and situations we've all seen played out and mishandled.

Both are perfectly valid forms of comedy, neither is superior to the other, as with all things it comes down to taste, but I'm just tired of the old arguments about British comedy being better written: it isn't, it's just different.

 

[shootthebandit]

I just dont find american sitcoms as funny. I just cant explain why. They just arent


Only fools and horses not being clever. John sullivan was one of the best comedic writers ever and only fools and horses had some really clever gags. Usually one big gag that was
Set up from the beginning and revealed at the end to flip the episode on its head (porridge was the same)

Id say one thing that makes british sitcoms better is the characters and the lack of laughter tracks. I liked dell boy and rodney, I liked fletch from porridge and a lot of other characters. Modern american sitcoms have such bland characters. Like the umpteenth charlie sheen sitcom where charlie sheen plays charlie sheen and doesnt even change his name or big bang theory "lets play halo" *Hahahahaha* "pennys hot" *hahahaha* "we like science" *hahahah*

 

[Lieju]

Isn't the main difference that the British sitcoms tend to have much shorter seasons (or series) and end before overstaying their welcome?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Isn't the main difference that the British sitcoms tend to have much shorter seasons (or series) and end before overstaying their welcome?

That's true of British shows in general, not just sitcoms.

 

[AnarchistFish]

It's a cliché but I think it's true that British humour is more willing to be self-deprecating than American humour. I think it's one of the main reasons why The Apprentice has been so successful. We can laugh at ourselves but we also like seeing others fail too, and our humour is generally pretty dry too.


I find American humour too wet. Too chummy almost.

 

[Queen Michael]

Nah, it's Ricky Gervais that's the real difference, and that's too bad for all the Americans out there but what are you gonna do?

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I find British comedies have created a fine art out of making the protagonist likable while not making them traditionally 'good' people.

Delboy is the ultimate example: a lying, conniving cheat and professional fraudster who will emotionally blackmail his own family to get his way, but his tragic upbringing comes through so often in his dealings, that it really reflects him not as a villain, but as an unfortunate product of a crap life, and because of that you may laugh at him getting his dues whenever his dodgy deals fall through, but you really do secretly want him to succeed and become rich.

As was stated in the original post, this archetype is really strong in British comedy: Blackadder, the Brittas Empire, Dad's Army, Father Ted, Red Dwarf, Faulty Towers, Open all Hours, Porridge...

The most prominent alpha male character is often an absolute selfish, hypocritical arse, and we love to see that kind of person fail (especially if it is because of issues created by their own personal flaws) but behind the caricature there is usually an underprivileged or unlucky background that explains why they are so demanding or disgusting - Often explaining their flaws as more an outcome of their social placement and responsibilities, rather than personal malice or maliciousness, making their actions tragic.

The more I think about it, the more many of these correspond to the 'Greek Tragedy' protagonist archetype, where someone is brought to ruin through an outside force manipulating their personal flaws. It just gives many of these comedies a heart that the more pure caricatures (generally) seen in American comedy posses.

 

[shootthebandit]

snip

I think that youve nailed it on the head. Dell boy is a lovable rogue along with fletch from porridge. We really shouldnt like these people but we cant help wanting them to succeed

sitcoms tend to be a family or friendship circle. These groups have a different dynamic than in the US. American sitcoms seem too buddy buddy whereas british tend to involve a lot of banter

Reginald.D hunter (a black american comedian) says that british people tend to use a lot more irony and subtext and subtlety

 

[ReservoirAngel]

I think it's an attitude thing when it comes to where the humour is derived from. In American sitcoms by and large the humour comes directly from whatever contrived situation ends up happening within 20 minutes, but in British sitcoms it seems to focus more on how the characters make arses of themselves while dealing with it.

Take my favourite example, Fawlty Towers. It's never really about what actually happens, all the humour comes from how Basil and those stuck with him just have to try and deal with it and always seem to end up making it worse. The famous example being the Germans episode. In an American show the joke would be "oh look at the Nazi references, how awkward" but in Fawlty Towers you're actively encouraged to look at Basil making a monstrous tit of himself and just make fun of him for how he's failing at dealing with something so bloody ordinary.

I mean, the fire alarm sequence in that episode is classic. On it's face, "a fire alarm drill needs to happen but the guests are being annoying about it" is not funny. Not at all. The humour comes from watch Basil explode about it as the situation devolves around him largely because of him exploding about it.

This is why my favourite American sitcom is Frasier. Because yes it's a comedy of contrived shenanigans but so much of the comedy is about watching a person or people who are supposed to be really smart just making utter morons of themselves. If Frasier and Niles weren't such foppish arses that show wouldn't be anywhere near as funny because it wouldn't go so against perception when you see them acting like utter morons. And they wouldn't act as much like morons because it's their posh idiocy that usually causes the problems that could have been easily avoided if they had a lick of common sense or street smarts between them.

 

[New Frontiersman]

Both are perfectly valid forms of comedy, neither is superior to the other, as with all things it comes down to taste, but I'm just tired of the old arguments about British comedy being better written: it isn't, it's just different.

This is my attitude about pretty much anything. Enjoyment is subjective, so why waste time arguing about what's better?

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

What about adding Steptoe & Son to the list. Very old but i find it hilarious. Also Absolutely Fabulous Bottom, Brass Eye and The IT Crowd. Though i an English, so could be biased. lol. But i do love Fraiser alot, the boxsets are rarely out of my dvd player and the USA version of The Office is pretty good also.

Could also be that Brit dont have that much money thrown at them. Also they only make 6 - 9 episodes per series so that ensures the quality. I think alot of American shows get watered down alot due to the 24 episode rule. Must be difficult for writers. So maybe its just quantity over quality.

Then you have characters. I like Big Bang mostly for Sheldon and how he reacts to things. A lot of other shows i watched just arnt funny, or its like the show is telling me what i should be laughing at like How I Met Your Mother - have no idea why that show is so popular.

 

[FPLOON]

I think, for me, it doesn't matter if the sitcom is from America or from the UK, if the humor comes more from the character(s) than the situation said character(s) end up in, then I would end up finding that funny...

Some of my favorite "sitcoms" are The Mightly Boosh, The IT Crowd, The Office UK, Louie, Maron, and Arrested Development because of how much the characters make up the show more than the situations themselves... The situations are usually caused by just the characters being themselves most of the time...

I will say this, though... Some of the American sitcoms I've seen really like to find some sort of balance to their overall cast/setting while the British sitcoms I've seen seem to not care too much about balance in general... It's not about which ones have "live studio audiences" or not, but about if you can naturally find what's going on funny or not regardless... (Besides, the best ones with "live studio audiences", I believe, are the "sitcoms" that are actually sketch comedy shows, anyway...)

 

[Someone Depressing]

Really, I think this is because British sitcoms tend to be more realistic; more down to Earth.

Chewing the Fat and Still Game, Scottish sitcoms known for a whole load of memes that never quite made it out of Scotland, talk about a lot of issues: Racism, vandalism in youth, the problems that come with old-age, pensionships and the social problems that come from it, sex, and being so close to death as a senior citizen, all while being realistic and funny. It's not particularly intelligent, but what is there is well thought out and relateable.

Keeping up Appearances, a more obscure but fondly-remembered sitcom, is about a higher-middle-class woman and her unloved husband, and the people they meet, along with her incredibly lower-class, slobbish, pay-check-to-pay-check sister and her husband. It wasn't as realistic or relateable as Still Game, so it never got as popular. But it still talks about many issues.

They also like having a horror/existential element to them. I don't watch too many modern sitcoms, especially family ones. Or oddball comedies. Or workplace comedies, which is why Bob's Burgers is the worst thing I've ever seen on television ever, period.

Honestly, Faulty Towers is the most American sitcom I've seen come out of Britian; mostly because it was inspired by American sitcoms, and a particularly unproffesional hotel manager working there. To the point where it would get two American adaptations that had a shorter life than what source material they had. They both sucked. Really bad.

Perhaps it's just something in our culture and humour, along with the way we see comedy, that makes them so special, while not neccesarily smarter?

Edit: British Brevity also has a part to play, I suppose. 6-12 episodes a season as opposed to 26-50 a season ensures quality instead of... My Life Me. Or Dads. or Moms. Or The Big Bang Theory. Or 2 1/2 Men. Or any other mediocre sitcom out there.

Absoloutely Fabulous is a very good example of a sitcom that didn't last long, yet is very fondly remembered. The only reason Still Game ran 5 seasons, and a new one is currently being made, is because it's just so insanely popular, and the only reason Keeping up Appearances got 5 is because it was also popular. So, I suppose the writers are given a little bit more elbow-room.

 

[Bad Jim]

Isn't the main difference that the British sitcoms tend to have much shorter seasons (or series) and end before overstaying their welcome?

Not quite. Red Dwarf, for example, had about 6 episodes per season, but there were at least 8 seasons. So they still did a lot of episodes overall.

 

[Callate]

What comes to mind for me first is lighting, camera, and make-up.

An apartment in Seinfeld, a coffee shop in Friends, a bar in How I Met Your Mother- everything is in wide shots, everything is in bright, studio lighting, everyone is made up with not a blemish on display or a hair out of place (unless a blemish or hair out of place is somehow a point of the scene).

Even in something like Red Dwarf which mostly takes place on space ships and has every reason to look artificially lit doesn't have the same kind of intense studio lighting and glamour make-up, and the cameras often seem to be closer to the characters, focused on them rather than waiting for someone else to come into the shot and introduce the latest hijinx.

I have to wonder if this doesn't in some way reflect on the OP's point about British sit-coms being more internal and character-driven and American ones being more external and situation-driven.

 

[Lieju]

Isn't the main difference that the British sitcoms tend to have much shorter seasons (or series) and end before overstaying their welcome?

Not quite. Red Dwarf, for example, had about 6 episodes per season, but there were at least 8 seasons. So they still did a lot of episodes overall.

That's why I said 'tend to'.

And even Red Dwarf had very short series.

 

[faefrost]

Isn't the main difference that the British sitcoms tend to have much shorter seasons (or series) and end before overstaying their welcome?

For all things there are exceptions. case in point "Are You Being Served?"

 

[faefrost]

Honestly I think the biggest thing that American's find appealing in British comedies and sitcoms is that that feel of "packaged made by a committee of marketing middle managers at a corporation" feel is less prevalent. Yes some American shows manage to feel original, like the writers gnawed through the chains and made a break for it. But there is just a far broader ocean of mush to wade through to find them. The smaller more intimate nature of the British television industry allows them to take a few more risks and deviate from the more homogenized themes a bit.

Of course this phenomenon also seems to reverse itself a bit in the non comedy genres. Particularly Action and Adventure shows. Once again there are stunning examples from both sides of the big wet puddle, but I think American TV comes off a bit more on top in comparison there. Just better production values and a free'er hand.

 

[Lieju]

Isn't the main difference that the British sitcoms tend to have much shorter seasons (or series) and end before overstaying their welcome?

For all things there are exceptions. case in point "Are You Being Served?"

Which still had only 5-9 episodes per series, which is still less compared to something like How I met your mother (20-24), Friends (24) or Simpsons (apart from the first season 25).