Thursday, September 1, 2011

"What the What?"

This is a Liz Lemon replacement curse. I love Liz Lemon.


Here’s the thing about TV sit-coms: They are a fantastic study of character. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my dramas too…but here’s the thing about comedies: character is all they have. There is NO PLOT. The entire success of the show is based solely on its characters.


Think about this show. Its whole premise was a ‘show about nothing.’ And yet, it was really a show about something. It was a show about characters that were so real, or unreal, that we LOVED them. Try this one, or this one, or—I recently discovered this one.


When you feel like your characters are too flat. Watch a little TV. I dare you. You’ll find yourself caring so much about made up people. That’s right…they’re not real. And yet, we are completely transfixed.


What do you do to fortify your characters.


And in the meantime, if you’re ever having a Liz Lemon moment like—I don’t know—there’s lettuce in your hair. Just make sure you maintain her character response:


“Norts!”


Also, there may or may not be a prize for anyone who can name my shows. This will require much procrastinating as you get distracted watching episodes of each link.

3 comments:

  1. Arrested Development is my all time favorite TV show.

    I've never thought about it before, but you are spot on about characters in sitcoms. I am going to notice that constantly now.

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  2. I love TV--and Seinfeld! I have to say I love Suits. It's sort of a drama, and sort of a comedy. Such smart writing.

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  3. Elana, thank you for taking time to post on my blog. You're the BEST! Really. The best!

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