Laughter may or may not be the best medicine, but it sure is something that the young and old equally crave for. We find out about the various ‘sit coms’ or situation comedies, that have tickled the ribs of the science geeks as well as the backbenchers with a plethora of situations, we all can relate to.
Breaking barriers with comedy
Right from the inception of Television, comedy has been an inevitable part of family-time, from Pinwright’s Progress during the late 1940s to the recent Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai on Indian television. Agreeing with this, Ravi Kumar, and an avid watcher of sitcoms, says, “I have watched many sitcoms right from the ones made in the 60s to the present and can say that comedy breaks the barrier of cultures and races.”
Sitcoms usually portray the life of an ordinary family or a bunch of friends and picks out the flaws and accentuates them to a supernatural degree. Many sitcoms also play upon the racial backgrounds of people. For example, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that featured Will Smith as the protagonist, hilariously depicts the interaction between the ‘white folk’ and the ‘Afro-Americans’.
For 9 to 90-yr-olds
Sitcoms have come a long way from being youth-specific to the ones that can be related to by other age groups as well. While youngsters prefer watching shows that have elements of stand-up comedy and dry humour, older generations have been hooked to shows that have slapstick comedy and stereotypical representations. Murali Krishna, a retired bank employee says, “Mumbai Calling and Outsourced are two of my favourite shows. It’s a pity that they have stopped production.”
On the other hand, a show that is a hit among youngsters is That 70s show, which features a group of American teenagers and an exchange student from the Middle East puts forward the teen issues of dealing with angry, as well as crazy parents.
“When I go home late, I just relive the scenes of That 70s show in my mind and all my worries simply vanish,” jokes Aneesh Arun, a student. And then there are shows that appeal to everyone alike. In such cases, language is not a barrier as long as it’s a relatable experience.
We are talking about The Big Bang Theory, which has provided entertainment starting at physics. One of the most popular sitcoms of today, it has taken its audience through a roller-coaster ride of unending laughter. Who knew science could be this funny? Agreeing with this is Ishan Reddy, an engineering student, who shares his ‘Big Bang Theory’ experience, “I thought this show was like a documentary or something. Only when I was told otherwise did I watch it, and believe me, when the pilot episode ended, I was clutching my stomach so hard, afraid it would split.” Another popular show Two and a Half Men, is a big hit among the young and the middle-aged.
All time favourites
Manohar Lal, a 50-year-old public sector employee, recalls, “Wagle ki Duniya is one amazing show I used to watch during the 80s. When it was re-aired on POGO, I made my whole family watch it and they loved it.” While this is Manohar’s all-time favourite show, Sandeep D, an engineering student, loves watching some other Hindi sitcoms. According to him Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai is the best show ever. Among the American sitcoms, Friends is a household name among Hyderabadis. A show featuring proportionate amounts of stand-up as well as situational comedy, it ranks as the best sitcom ever, opines Sreekar Reddy, an engineering student. He says, “I love the way things turn at the drop of a hat in Friends..”
Sitcom - A stepping stone
Many Hollywood actors have become famous due to their success on the small screen — Will Smith, Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Aniston being the obvious examples. Will Smith, a rapper in the 80s would not have probably become the I Am Legend star, if not for his starring role in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The rest about Will Smith, is, as they say, history. In a similar fashion, Friends and That 70s Show proved to be the establishment of Jennifer Aninston and Ashton Kutcher repectively.
Watch it all in a click
Due to torrents, a type of file sharing, being widely criticised and made illegal in several countries, people have switched over to watching these shows online. “I was disappointed when torrent files were not available on Piratebay anymore. That’s why I had to watch the latest episodes of various shows online. It saves a lot of disk space as well,” says an optimistic Aditya Bhargav, an enterprenuer from the city. Various online portals such as ‘watchseries.eu’ and ‘tv-links.eu’ provide faster streaming and special premium access accounts. “Due to my high internet speed, I can watch any sitcom from my home or office with just a click,” says a relieved Aditya.