Heloooo I'm having trouble designing a new and unique(as possible) sitcom and need some ideas to get me going.

Im a complete no0b and have no ideas on what makes an effective location and situation and if this has to be believable or has to be socially appealing.

Please help!

Thanks in advance!
 

Hi Jake, welcome to the site. I'm going to move this thread over to the Writers' Discussion forum, where you'll get a better response.
 

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Take a dollop of 'situation' and mix it up with 500g of characters. Add 3kg of swears, and season with a soussan of demographic suitable internal rupture triggers. Et voila, you've got a murder hit!
 

That wasnt helpful
 

There are some good notes about sitcom writing at Robin Kelly's website:

http://www.robinkelly.btinternet.co.uk/sitcom1.htm
 

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"'Reality,' sa molesworth 2, 'is so unspeakably sordid it make me shudder.'"

 

Oddly, the situation part of sitcom counts for little. It's the characters that make the show. After all, the writers of Red Dwarf say that it's just The Odd Couple but in space. And when Rimmer left, the chemistry of the show was fatally injured (imo). Lister NEEDS Rimmer and vice versa. Wherever they be set.

So get your characters first. Give them reasons to be allies and also enemies. Frasier and Niles are always trying to outdo each other but are allies when set against the 'uncultivated masses'
 

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Quote: SlagA @ May 9 2008, 7:25 PM BST

Oddly, the situation part of sitcom counts for little. It's the characters that make the show. After all, the writers of Red Dwarf say that it's just The Odd Couple but in space. And when Rimmer left, the chemistry of the show was fatally injured (imo). Lister NEEDS Rimmer and vice versa. Wherever they be set.

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But you could argue that you would at least need a situation which would isolate them and force them into close confinement. Situation is important imo since you are always responding adapting to your environment.

Didn't we have this debate already??
 

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I just don't know.

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Quote: ian_w @ May 9 2008, 7:33 PM BST

But you would at least need a situation which would isolate them and force them into close confinement.

View original

Agreed, that's where the 'situation' comes into play. But it's the characters that provide the show's dynamics and often create those very same situations because of who they are. The characters drive the story because they have a distinct and unique response to certain situations.

Maybe I've fudged the area between situation (the weekly dilemma) and premise (the world in which the characters live). If so, apologies.


 

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Well, the mistake was mine then, as I assumed situation to mean the characters' world.
I suppose where the situation might come into play big time is when the show needs to market itself around the pilot/first series stage, when people will know nothing of the characters but may well be drawn into the show by the premise?
From my own experience, I was drawn to Red Dwarf as soon as I saw the trailors for it (as a kid), almost soley because it was set in a spaceship and I loved anything to do with space. If it was set on a desert island eg. I don't even know if I would've bothered watching.
So thinking about the situation is I think important when it comes to capturing an audience.

Actually maybe it's even more important than I think. I wonder how many RD fans for instance are also sci-fi fans?
 

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I just don't know.

A forum for novelists, short story writers, poets, playwrights etc. Feel free to join in!
The Writers' Lodge
 

Would it be easier to think of a location, then character, then situation?
 

Quote: jake28 @ May 9 2008, 8:02 PM BST

Would it be easier to think of a location, then character, then situation?

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I don't think anyone could really tell you what will be easier for you.
Just try both and see which one fits you.
 

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I just don't know.

A forum for novelists, short story writers, poets, playwrights etc. Feel free to join in!
The Writers' Lodge
 

The character should come first - it's a common misconception to think - 'Hey... there's never been a sitcom set in a roller disco before!' but if the characters you place there are flat then it's not gonna work. 9/10 times if you think up a couple of interesting people then the location/situation leaps out (imo)

* Hmmm... roller disco... that may just work...*
 

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Moomin Papa is BUFF!
 

I think the location, the situation and the characters are all interdependent with each other - they all have to mesh to make it work.

If it's a good idea then those three elements will arise from the basic premise, rather than thinking of one element first and then trying to shoehorn it into one of the others.
 

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I think jake should scrap the idea if he's no idea
 

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It;s for a media exam :/