Recently, I’ve caught myself wondering what happened to all the primetime TV sitcom gimmicks. Where’d they go? Who decided to nuke ’em? I mean, there’s nary an alien puppet, robotic little girl, strange alien child with the ability to freeze time, de-geeking machine or annoyingly “cute” child that is, in reality, two children to be seen anywhere. And don’t get me started on the lack of 14 year old M.D.s, supersuits sans instruction manuals, time-space-bending remote controls, freakishly-altered teenagers able to fly with the aid of cans of compressed air, people inhabiting the brains and lives of others in an unending quest to make it back to their own times and bodies, or super intelligent A.I.s restricted to the dashboard of Pontiac Firebirds.
This is a matter that demands immediate attention. Congress ought to be investigating this very serious issue, rather than wasting their time on stupid stuff like “ethics” “reform” and steroids in baseball. Somebody ought to write a letter or something. Seriously.
Whatever Happened To Primetime Sitcom Gimmicks?
Sounds like a pitch for a new reality show I’ve been developing: American Sitcom. Simon Cowell, along with Matt Damon and Lisa Kudrow, Judge people based on their sitcom pitches. The final 12 are picked and then given the opportunity to write 10 minute sketches (2 per show), with America voting for one or the other (double elimination). The final two get full size episodes (22 minutes) back-to-back, with a phone call to rate the first in between. The winner gets shipped over to London to work for the BBC…
Yes, that’s right. We in America loose. That’s keeping it real…
So basically “Project: Greenlight” for sitcoms? Interesting idea…
Best go get a copyright before they steal your idea.
I’m pretty sure there is a theoretical limit to the number of new sitcom ideas. You figure 60 years of TV x 3 networks x 20 shows per week x 22 episodes per year x 40 jokes per show = 3.1 million jokes since 1956. Can we get a physicist or something to look at this?
I started analyzing sitcoms a while back and found about 70% of all the laughs come from one of six generic joke types. Painting funny by the numbers… http://redneckmba.com/blog/?p=7