Slashdot Mirror
The Formula for a Successful Sitcom
indylaw writes "A team of scientists commissioned by British satellite channel UKTV Gold has developed a mathematical expression to predict the success of TV sitcoms. Using the formula [((R x D + V) x F) + S]/A, they determined that "Only Fools and Horses" and "The Office" are the best of British comedy, while "According to Bex" (which is being adapted for CBS in the fall and will star Jenna Elfman) scored in the bottom five."
It's a joke.
And I usually like British humor. Strange, that.
Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
So long as her boobies jiggle when she does it, I could care less....
Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
Need I say more
---- Go ahead, mod me down, I'll just post it again and you lose your mod points.
Yeah, I don't think you meant to factor in Wit as an additive feature....
This is usually the problem with such a formula. It isn't the discovery of any kind of fundamental feature of the sitcom, it's just an attempt at an explanation of why the CURRENT set of sitcoms are good or bad.
My formula looks like this:The real problem is that humor is FAR harder to write than drama (ask anyone who has written both successfully), and so getting good writers is far more important for a sitcom than it is for a drama. Not that it's not hugely important for a drama, just moreso for a sitcom.
Um, the "nothing" in your little pattern there /is/ the payoff. The boss says something that would get you fired in any office in the civilized world, and the guy/gal he says it to just stares at him. That's the joke. The lack of a laugh track may be making it hard for you to decide when to laugh.
Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
Seems like an interesting pile of horseshit, as it usual for these "mathematical formula for ..." stories.
... nope, I'm drawing a blank). The only things left are "Verbal wit in the script" and "Number of times someone falls over or is injured" ... is Only Fools and Horses really that much wittier than Blackadder? Does The Office really have that many more pratfalls and injuries than Fawlty Towers?
Can someone explain to me how exactly Blackadder and Fawlty Towers scored so relatively low compared to The Office and Only Fools and Horses? Are Edmund or Basil notably less "Recognisable" or "Deluded" about their grandeur than Del or David? Certainly there are about the same number of successful plans, and at least the same level of difference in social status (Edmund is to Baldrick as Del is to
I think it's nice that they've come up with a half assed justification to prefer their favourite comedies, but it really isn't significantly less subjective than asking a random person whether they like the show or not.
Jedidiah.
Craft Beer Programming T-shirts