The Three Camera Calcification: The Death of the Sitcom

Every new television season comes with new shows. It’s inevitable, part of the process, but the fun really doesn’t start until, after a long few weeks of premieres, the networks have to sober up and look at their scripted “one-night-stands” in the harsh light of ratings and feedback. This is when heads begin to roll, but in this slaughter, where the promising either don’t fulfill their promise or have enough time to do so, a few of the weaker links always fall through the cracks- such is the case with NBC’s “Whitney.”

Bawdy, crass, formulaic, and stale, this self titled show spotlights the talents of comedian Whitney Cummings and is a droll affair playing in the classic three camera, laugh track addled style of so many sitcoms before it. But, what makes this little gem stick out is the company it keeps in NBC’s Comedy Thursday lineup- “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Community,” all single camera shows, with two of them being in faux-documentary style to boot. To put it simply, “Whitney” is the most red-headed of red-headed stepchildren.

Though performing modestly in the ratings as of the writing of this article, it can be said that “Whitney” was a fossil before it even glowed off of people’s TV screens (or is it officially computer screens nowadays?). With a structure as old as radio, the sitcom, or “situation comedy,” has been a staple of television for so long, and with so little change to its structure, that it can’t help but look haggard in comparison to these new single camera shows, which range their comedy from parody (NBC’s “Community”) to almost pathos (FX’s “Louie”).

So, what went wrong with the sitcom? When did it begin its ever plummeting spiral into mediocrity? Sure, the laugh track (pre-recorded laughter added to the show in post-production) can be blamed at least for taking the innocence out of the process and allowing the material to grow weak, but shows like “Happy Days,” “The Odd Couple,” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” were all “sweetened” with the canned giggles in one way or another and the writers and performers still felt an obligation to the live studio audience to be funny- an extra effort that shows marvelously on the screen.

What is probably more the case is that the populace have just outgrown the format and, with their lack of caring, it has calcified on its own. “But,” you say, “how can this be true when “Two and a Half Men” and “How I Met Your Mother” still do so well?” “Okay,” I answer, “What is the definition of well? Ratings? Awards? Culture Recognition?” Sure, the sitcom is still the leader when it comes to what is watched in comedy, but, when you look at the ratings, they also, for the most part, come from the same place, CBS- the most watched broadcast network and the last clinging to the sitcom format, while the others have almost all but abandoned it for the single camera comedy. It only makes sense that the most watched network in television, who’s entire comedy line up are sitcoms, would come out ahead, but don’t forget DVR streaming either, which is the modern way to watch a show at a later time, as its ratings have single camera sitcoms farther up in their ratings and even taking the top comedy spot much of the time.

But let’s move on to the awards. The typical sitcom, while still getting recognition in acting categories, hasn’t won an “Outstanding Comedy Series” award in six years, which could have been eight if not for a mercy win for “Everybody Loves Raymond” upon its ninth and final season. Along with that, the sitcom format is only present in one nomination every year, while single camera shows fill the rest of the list. Even worse, a sitcom hasn’t won “Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy” at the Golden Globes in the last 14 years, as most of the wins went to cable comedy programming, who were the early adopters of the single camera format with shows like “Sex and the City.”

Finally, culture recognition- what shows are people talking about around the water cooler? Of course, you’d have to live under a rock to not have heard of “Two and a Half Men’s” Charlie Sheen debacle but A. that was all Sheen and B. it has only gained the show a negative connotation and a new audience eager to see them fall on their faces with the new “Sheen absent” season. That’s like rooting for the beast at a bull fight while it has a sword already in its hide. He will fall, but we want to see how long it will take. No, the buzz that goes around seems to be centered on the past evening’s “Modern Family” or the quips of an awkward Liz Lemon on “30 Rock.” I can’t remember the last time I heard someone quote a sitcom for a laugh, but I can watch a hit song shoot up the iTunes download charts after having it sung on “Glee” the night before.

So yes, the sitcom structure still putters along in jalopies like “Whitney,” but we are also seeing them slowly pay the price for a lack of originality. Sure, ratings right now are high enough for lazy TV producers to continue their onslaught of lazy sitcoms, but the internet generation doesn’t buy the preprogramed essence of this ancient formula and their laugh tracks. They don’t like to be told what’s funny, but like to tell others, as they tweet and Facebook their way from TV show to TV show and become the most discerning audience television has ever seen.

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