Television is not just the medium by which sitcoms are brought to us. In many cases, it provides the storylines that define the nature of the show. This should not come as a surprise considering the fact that most sitcoms are about families—and much of the action takes place within the families’ homes. As described in the lecture, television is always implied in sitcoms. Characters sit on their couch facing the camera and discuss what they are ‘watching’. Countless storylines have been based around this. Colin Tate described the television as a domestic medium in that it acts as a home appliance. He also described TV as a campfire because it is the place where people typically tell stories to each other. This would mean that within the home, television acts as ‘modern fireplace.’ Families gather around it and converse. It is therefore a perfect instrument in sitcoms, because they are generally about families conversing.
I generally don’t watch sitcoms, so like I did in a previous blog post, I’ll talk about The Simpsons. This show is probably the best example of television acting as a source of plot, because the show is almost entirely based around TV. And not in a good way. The Simpsons is a critique on the modern American family. Even in the opening credits, when everyone else is playing outside on a beautiful day, all the members of the family rush home to watch the television. Bart and Lisa’s favorite show, ‘Itchy and scratchy’ pokes fun at the violence children are subjected to on TV. Fictional news anchor, Kent Brockman has poked fun at countless broadcast journalists for everything from swearing on TV to simply being drab. The absence of television within the Simpsons would be simply be fatal to the show.
Here's a great clip of Homer poking fun at late night TV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJPyk4QFyJ8
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