# Drama vs. Comedy



## J-Sun (Jan 16, 2015)

I saw a few seconds of a couple of sitcoms recently and was reminded of how awful, IMO, sitcoms have become in the last few (or many) years. I used to watch quite a few comedies and probably not all that many dramas. Now I watch nothing but dramas - or at least hour-long shows with a major dramatic component though I especially love humor in some of those dramas. I was just wondering how chronsfolk were on this issue and what they thought about it. If you don't watch much comedy, do you think it's a personal age/generation thing or something intrinsic to the comedies or something else? If you do, what do you think of them and what are the ones you think are good and why?

Also, is this a regional/access thing? I only know US network TV but I'm curious about any and all of it.


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## HareBrain (Jan 16, 2015)

I'm almost the opposite. I get my drama from reading fiction. TV drama is easy to pick holes in, either for accuracy or plot contrivance, whereas comedy, because it's meant to be absurd, doesn't suffer from this. Also, it's shorter, half an hour usually, and easier to fit into one's day. And if you miss an episode, it often doesn't matter. Plus it feels good to laugh.

There are a few drama series I love, but sometimes I can go a whole week without watching any, whereas most days I watch the daily Simpsons episode (only one per day airs on the UK freebie channels).

That's not to say that most comedy isn't poor, though. But there's just enough of the good stuff around to keep me happy.


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## Mouse (Jan 16, 2015)

I like drama and comedy in the same shows. Like Being Human (the proper, original UK one) for example.


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## HareBrain (Jan 16, 2015)

I forgot to say I watch documentaries probably more than either.


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## AnyaKimlin (Jan 16, 2015)

I like stories which include both.   When I was on my forum I said Inspector George Gently and New Tricks include more comedy than a modern sit-com seems to.  But apparently I am working with the BBC for a further year (I found out today) so I do need to watch more sit-coms.


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## J-Sun (Jan 16, 2015)

HareBrain said:


> most days I watch the daily Simpsons episode



One thing I probably didn't make clear enough was that I was meaning only currently airing shows (or at least very recently). The Simpsons still are (and always have been and always will be, it seems) so it counts but the "daily" part indicates reruns of them so it just reminded me - not your total viewing habits but "Considering only [current] drama and comedy, I watch..."

*Mouse* and *AnyaKimlin*, you sound like me. I was trying to think which dramas I watched didn't have a strong element of humor and could only think of one - _The Blacklist_ (the one I only watched intermittently at first and am still not deeply invested in though though I may yet get there). Even there, the main bad/good guy can be humorous in a weird way but it's pretty humorless overall. Of course, more important than comic elements is that nearly as many are SFF shows, too.


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## AnyaKimlin (Jan 16, 2015)

Well it looks like I'm getting a chance to write another one   My crack at a WW1 went down OK but I'm going to miss the 100 year anniversary so thinking about a distillery with an angel mob


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## Cli-Fi (Feb 4, 2015)

I can name all the comedies I watch off the top of my head and on one hand too: Modern Family, The Goldbergs, The Simpsons, Mike and Molly and technically Storage Wars. 

I can't even begin to write down how many dramas I watch, Chuck however held a special place in my heart for attempting to be both at the same time.


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## Michael Colton (Feb 4, 2015)

I entered nearly all drama but there is a caveat: I still rewatch a whole slew of old sitcoms and the like that have been over for years. For current shows, I do not watch much but when I do it is always drama. (Unless you count Elementary partly comedy?) But the older US shows that have been off the air for years, from Roseanne to Will & Grace, I regularly rewatch many of those. But no current comedies.

From my personal perspective on the entire topic, I do not think much has changed. Comedy television shows were cathartic for me growing up so those particular shows like Roseanne hold a special place in my heart. I doubt I would enjoy them so much if I were older when I first saw them. Will & Grace I think is an exception, because that sh*t is just funny I don't care how old you are. The only current comedy I enjoyed from time to time is Modern Family, but I have not put it on record. I have limited viewing time for television these days, so I am a bit picky.


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