Starting in the middle is very much the mantra, as it should be. And I like the initial idea of them fleeing to a remote Scottish island without internet access. But how they can then set up a tech bunker in a warehouse and mine for crypto and run an IT business without internet access may be a stretch. I think the real comedy here would be for these kids to lose everything they ever had - cybermobility - and have to learn to live with public phone boxes that don't work, go to a strange physical entity called "a shop", discover that alcohol can only be acquired in a place called a pub (but not on Sunday) - and even find out that food is stuff that can be pulled out of the ground. Deliveroo up here is the nickname of Mary, the island's only midwife. Not to mention the weird, wonderful yet cynical characters called "local people" who have always lived perfectly well without tech. No - you can't call up Esteo in Brazil any more, but word has it that Jack Laurie a couple of miles down the road has a wireless room and transmitter. And then perhaps at the end of episode six, there's a knock on the door from a very official and serious looking American...
Nicely done. The answer is in the title really : sitcom = situation comedy. The situation is everything, and it is the one constant. Events, and even characters, may change, but the situation - from the homes of the people in Love Thy Neighbour, Rising Damp, Dead Pixels or George & Mildred, the office in IT Crowd, the regular locations of Only Fools & Horses to the work locations of Brooklyn 99 or Superstore - stay the same. Situation, situation, situation.
Hey, just wanted to ask, writing a sitcom just for practice, idea is: A group of 5 new college students become friends as they deal with funny situations, strange teachers, and the craziness of their first year. Now the question is, in a sitcom is it necessary to have funny lines in every dialogue? As In my 1st ep there is no funny dialogue till 3-5min.
You really do need to bear your reader or audience in mind. If it's a comedy, but it's not funny for at least 3-5 minutes, are you really expecting them to stick with it. Would you? People make up their minds really fast. Time is precious and they don't want to waste it. So you really do need to make sure there's plenty of laughs in the first five minutes. And you really don't need to set up stories, plots and situations as much as you think you do.
I ran into this problem earlier this year. Having the inciting incident be the setup for multiple ongoing episodes rather than a plot point in itself exposed how it could only work as a contained story.
Starting in the middle is very much the mantra, as it should be. And I like the initial idea of them fleeing to a remote Scottish island without internet access. But how they can then set up a tech bunker in a warehouse and mine for crypto and run an IT business without internet access may be a stretch.
I think the real comedy here would be for these kids to lose everything they ever had - cybermobility - and have to learn to live with public phone boxes that don't work, go to a strange physical entity called "a shop", discover that alcohol can only be acquired in a place called a pub (but not on Sunday) - and even find out that food is stuff that can be pulled out of the ground. Deliveroo up here is the nickname of Mary, the island's only midwife.
Not to mention the weird, wonderful yet cynical characters called "local people" who have always lived perfectly well without tech. No - you can't call up Esteo in Brazil any more, but word has it that Jack Laurie a couple of miles down the road has a wireless room and transmitter.
And then perhaps at the end of episode six, there's a knock on the door from a very official and serious looking American...
Thanks James, this was very helpful.
Nicely done. The answer is in the title really : sitcom = situation comedy. The situation is everything, and it is the one constant. Events, and even characters, may change, but the situation - from the homes of the people in Love Thy Neighbour, Rising Damp, Dead Pixels or George & Mildred, the office in IT Crowd, the regular locations of Only Fools & Horses to the work locations of Brooklyn 99 or Superstore - stay the same. Situation, situation, situation.
What about Red Dwarf not being in Red Dwarf for 2 seasons?
@@experi-mentalproductions5358 That's actually a glitch in the matrix, and a pretty big one at that...
You really know your stuff! I learned so much. Lmk when you come out with a course !
Hello! Sorry I didn't spot this earlier. I do have a course: jamescary.samcart.com/products/writing-your-sitcom-video-course
You could also start reading my new blog on Sitcom Writing: thesitutationroom.substack.com
Hey, just wanted to ask, writing a sitcom just for practice, idea is: A group of 5 new college students become friends as they deal with funny situations, strange teachers, and the craziness of their first year.
Now the question is, in a sitcom is it necessary to have funny lines in every dialogue? As In my 1st ep there is no funny dialogue till 3-5min.
You really do need to bear your reader or audience in mind. If it's a comedy, but it's not funny for at least 3-5 minutes, are you really expecting them to stick with it. Would you? People make up their minds really fast. Time is precious and they don't want to waste it. So you really do need to make sure there's plenty of laughs in the first five minutes. And you really don't need to set up stories, plots and situations as much as you think you do.
I ran into this problem earlier this year. Having the inciting incident be the setup for multiple ongoing episodes rather than a plot point in itself exposed how it could only work as a contained story.
Sitcoms shouldn't have character development? I know this is for the pilot but would you say that's generally true?
Yes. Definitely true! In fact, I'm making a new video on that subject! It'll be out at some point. Sorry it takes so long!
can you suggest a book on writing sitcom
Yes! This one! jamescary.samcart.com/products/writing-that-sitcom
Also available for Kindle on Amazon.