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fandomhigh2010-06-07 03:32 pm
chosehumanity) wrote in fandomhigh2010-06-07 03:32 pm
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The Birth of TV Comedy, Monday
"We've been talking about a lot of genre characteristics up until now," Mitchell started. They were back in the classroom - he figured he'd gone through on his end of the bargain, so they could go somewhere more projector-friendly today. "But technically this class is supposed to be about comedy history, so we'll try and narrow it back down to that. The 1950s!" He jotted the number on the blackboard. "Famous for many things - aprons, the nuclear family, the Cold War and the onset of television programmes."
He gave that one a moment to sink in. "TV was a new medium," he continued, "Everyone thought it was a little terrifying, really. And the times were already very moderate-- boring, suburbian, whatever you want to call it. The last thing a succesful TV show wanted to do was rock the boat, especially in the States. So there were very strict guidelines for a TV comedy, if it wanted to go anywhere. It had to show this ideal of American society, where the parents were always kind and the children were usually well-behaved. Prime example? The Ways of Weasel. Some of you must've seen it before. Black and white, simple, every episode's the same: young lad gets in trouble, and suffers the consequences. Our audience is educated, and we move on to the next one."
He stretched. "Family values. Really, it wasn't an age any more innocent than our current one, but the telly sure knew how to hide it. We've already talked about I Heart Heather before - that's the same thing. Though Weasel was unique for focusing on the children, rather than the parents. More often, you'd see something like Folks on Honeymoon - two couples, some zany schemes, some threats of domestic violence--" A pause, as he tilted his head and spoke, lightly, "Maybe not so nice. Still, whatever you can say about what they were all about, even if they made Mary Tyler Moore seem dark and gritty, they did invent some of the great comic tricks of our time. Double-takes, comedic body language, all that stuff: it came to be in these shows."
"Anyway, so much for the 50s," Mitchell finished, grinning a little. "Now I want to see the sketches you came up with two weeks ago. I'm sure you'll dazzle me."
He gave that one a moment to sink in. "TV was a new medium," he continued, "Everyone thought it was a little terrifying, really. And the times were already very moderate-- boring, suburbian, whatever you want to call it. The last thing a succesful TV show wanted to do was rock the boat, especially in the States. So there were very strict guidelines for a TV comedy, if it wanted to go anywhere. It had to show this ideal of American society, where the parents were always kind and the children were usually well-behaved. Prime example? The Ways of Weasel. Some of you must've seen it before. Black and white, simple, every episode's the same: young lad gets in trouble, and suffers the consequences. Our audience is educated, and we move on to the next one."
He stretched. "Family values. Really, it wasn't an age any more innocent than our current one, but the telly sure knew how to hide it. We've already talked about I Heart Heather before - that's the same thing. Though Weasel was unique for focusing on the children, rather than the parents. More often, you'd see something like Folks on Honeymoon - two couples, some zany schemes, some threats of domestic violence--" A pause, as he tilted his head and spoke, lightly, "Maybe not so nice. Still, whatever you can say about what they were all about, even if they made Mary Tyler Moore seem dark and gritty, they did invent some of the great comic tricks of our time. Double-takes, comedic body language, all that stuff: it came to be in these shows."
"Anyway, so much for the 50s," Mitchell finished, grinning a little. "Now I want to see the sketches you came up with two weeks ago. I'm sure you'll dazzle me."
Listen to the Lecture
Re: Listen to the Lecture
Bod scribbled a few notes down, smiling every so often as he did. He wasn't much of a smiler by nature but sometimes it was warranted.