The Comparison of Two Situation Comedies Essay Example
The television shows the writer has chosen to study are Friends and the Big Bang Theory. Each of these shows is a situation comedy otherwise known as a sitcom for short. Currently, the timeslot each show was/is aired at 8pm at night on Channel Nine. Reruns of the show Friends are now shown on Gem every week night and the Big Bang Theory has reruns on Go! On Tuesday and also Channel Nine at 6.30pm on weeknights. With the reruns of the Big Bang Theory, on the night that the new episode airs at 7.30pm they have a triple episode run of the show, starting at 6pm like the daily reruns. Both of these sitcoms have been produced by Warner Bros. but both shows also have another individual production company. The television show Friends is a Bright/Kauffman/Crane Production and the Big Bang Theory is Chuck Lorre Production.
Each of these television sitcoms has a wide range of distribution. Both of these shows are shown in America, UK, Pakistan, India, Canada, Spain, Italy, Japan, Korea and China. Friends had a fairly low budget when it first started at $70,000 but once it started to get record ratings (especially around the fourth and fifth seasons), they increased their budget. When the final season was in production the producers had a $12 million budget per episode, so a minimum of $250,000 million for just the tenth series alone. The Big Bang Theory had a fairly big budget in the first season compared to Friends. They had $750,000 per episode. Friends’ budget was gradually increasing until the final episode which cost the producers $20 million.
Sitcoms universally share a simular plot structure. The sitcom, has two or three different stories or plot points. Story A, Story B and Story C which are made to split characters into different storylines. The opening sequence of the show starts with all the characters involved in the plot line of story A. The opening sequence shows other or even all the characters in the show sometimes with the addition of guest stars.
Each of these television sitcoms has a wide range of distribution. Both of these shows are shown in America, UK, Pakistan, India, Canada, Spain, Italy, Japan, Korea and China. Friends had a fairly low budget when it first started at $70,000 but once it started to get record ratings (especially around the fourth and fifth seasons), they increased their budget. When the final season was in production the producers had a $12 million budget per episode, so a minimum of $250,000 million for just the tenth series alone. The Big Bang Theory had a fairly big budget in the first season compared to Friends. They had $750,000 per episode. Friends’ budget was gradually increasing until the final episode which cost the producers $20 million.
Sitcoms universally share a simular plot structure. The sitcom, has two or three different stories or plot points. Story A, Story B and Story C which are made to split characters into different storylines. The opening sequence of the show starts with all the characters involved in the plot line of story A. The opening sequence shows other or even all the characters in the show sometimes with the addition of guest stars.