entertainment

At 70, sitcoms stand firm against wave of TV changes

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I wonder why the sitcom has never caught on in Japan? Is it because most of the shows here only run for 12 weeks and then end? The actors don't want to be typecast?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Sitcoms work in Britain with seasons of six episodes.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I saw a sitcom in Japan once. In one 'season' it went from comedy to semi-action to tear-jerking drama and then evaporated from the small screen forever. My Japanese wife thinks it's because Japanese don't like comedies as much as tear-jerking dramas. She thinks ET was popular because the ending evoked tears (He's going home?!). Titanic the same.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

When I asked my friends about this their actual reply was "do you mean for kids?"

In Japan, "sitcoms" are for little girls, replete with themes like the creepy/grumpy and the underappreciated mom. Kids here start watching that as early as three years old. They're called "shōjo manga" or what Americans call "slice of life" anime.

The most popular example is Chibi Maruko-chan, which according to wikipedia sold 31 million copies in paper form. Despite this, adult (again, mostly women) well into their old still enjoy these anime sitcoms.

Little girls get bored of this and graduate to dramas.

In America, do very young kids watch very popular sitcoms where the non-super-powered heroes concern themselves with the everyday problems of the whole family for a whole 30 minutes? When I think of Spiderman, Peanuts, GiJoe, Barbie, TMNT, Spongebob ... nope.

That's not to say a genius comedy sitcom can't suddenly appear, but when you think about how few television stations there are and the powers that control them you're more likely to see this happen on Youtube first.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I cant see Japanese inventing sitcom like shows, with perhaps one exception & that would be based around the office, because that's where far too many people here live............& that would have to be made into a rather dark/black comedy, not particularly good for chillin out, assuming you can(if your living in Japan!)

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japanese do like conversational banter - almost the whole television schedule is made up of it, so you might think that there was a role for American-style quick-fire comedy, like Big Bang. But it would be difficult to merge that kind of humour with situations that Japanese relate to; it would end up in slapstick.

I think that there could be more room for sitcoms like The Office where everyday situations and societal norms are challenged, by the proverbial nail that stands up yet fails to be hammered down.

Looking back to the original Mr Bean comedies of the 90s, it was loved in Japan, in part because of the clowning aspect but also because of the idea of someone who does not fit in society properly. He tries to live within social norms but fails utterly to do so. That is the aspect that really appealed in Japan beyond the clowning around thing.

There is an aspect of Japanese society that could be brought out in dramatic comedy but it is still untapped. Television producers here are too nervous to try anything new and will keep in producing the same superficial rubbish for ever.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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