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More of a ponderance really, but there it is. Anyway, I've been thinking now and then about tv shows, comedies in particular. With the exception of certain cartoons, like Simpsons and Family Guy, good comedies cannot remain the same. By this, I mean that there must be character growth in the long run for the show to be "good". I'll explain.
I've never been particularly fond of the Seinfeld show. I watched it growing up, but I could only watch it for so long before I started to be very sick of it. I can't really watch it anymore. I never really knew why that was until someone pointed out that beside the fact that none of the characters had any real morals, they never grew as people. I realize that the point of the show was indeed nothing, but that in itself is the very problem. The characters go through situation after situation, yet they never mature, never grow up, never change position in life or learn any lessons. If something never changes in life, then it becomes stagnant. That is the nature of life. Incidentally, that is why I now think that the final episode of the show is quite fitting. It ticked a lot of people off, but it actually makes me think a little less of the show, because finally, though it took years, change took hold of the characters. No way they could come out of such a situation without some kind of maturity that they so desperately lacked.
In the opposite direction, I look at Friends. It had just as many crazy situations, often without a lesson being learned there either, but not always. The characters actually grew as the show progressed. They learned life lessons, they bonded with people. They went through heartbreak, love, and family. Even death in some cases. One can look at episodes from various seasons and see a progression. That's what makes a show good, though some might disagree. There is a bit of taste involved in all such things.
Ironically, no comedy show that has growth and maturation in it can remain quite as funny as it was in the beginning. Or perhaps I should say, it cannot remain humorous in exactly the same ways. In the beginning of a comedic show, it's often just a lot of banter and the occasional slapstick. However, as a show grows through the years, it tends to start maturing in tone. The jokes often become...deeper maybe. They have more impact and more involvement in the lives of the characters. Life tinges humor a bit more darkly.
Anyway, my train of thought has derailed. All for now.
I've never been particularly fond of the Seinfeld show. I watched it growing up, but I could only watch it for so long before I started to be very sick of it. I can't really watch it anymore. I never really knew why that was until someone pointed out that beside the fact that none of the characters had any real morals, they never grew as people. I realize that the point of the show was indeed nothing, but that in itself is the very problem. The characters go through situation after situation, yet they never mature, never grow up, never change position in life or learn any lessons. If something never changes in life, then it becomes stagnant. That is the nature of life. Incidentally, that is why I now think that the final episode of the show is quite fitting. It ticked a lot of people off, but it actually makes me think a little less of the show, because finally, though it took years, change took hold of the characters. No way they could come out of such a situation without some kind of maturity that they so desperately lacked.
In the opposite direction, I look at Friends. It had just as many crazy situations, often without a lesson being learned there either, but not always. The characters actually grew as the show progressed. They learned life lessons, they bonded with people. They went through heartbreak, love, and family. Even death in some cases. One can look at episodes from various seasons and see a progression. That's what makes a show good, though some might disagree. There is a bit of taste involved in all such things.
Ironically, no comedy show that has growth and maturation in it can remain quite as funny as it was in the beginning. Or perhaps I should say, it cannot remain humorous in exactly the same ways. In the beginning of a comedic show, it's often just a lot of banter and the occasional slapstick. However, as a show grows through the years, it tends to start maturing in tone. The jokes often become...deeper maybe. They have more impact and more involvement in the lives of the characters. Life tinges humor a bit more darkly.
Anyway, my train of thought has derailed. All for now.
