A Cultural Exchange and The Evolution of the British Sitcom

Some American influences are responsible for change, as well as changes within British society itself. Within British society, there has been a change in the demands of what viewers wanted. Media companies try to give people what they want. “Right before the turn of the millennium, a small but noticeable shift was occurring in British TV, and it was most certainly not being shown on BBC1. A small batch of unrelated shows began emerging that were written by and directed towards the youth of the British middle-class” (Sawdey). A new generation of directors began to emerge and they knew what people wanted. The middle class has been the main target audience because they simply are the people who watch the most television.

America has borrowed certain concepts, such as with The Office, but the show took a while to catch on. The show was a sensation in the UK, and when Greg Daniels’ American version was aired, it did not do so well at first. One reviewer claims that “Perhaps I am just a silly American who loves to hear British accents, but everything these people say is made funnier by how they say it. The American version that is unfortunately on its way will certainly fail, even if the words are recited verbatim” (Cale). I believe this idea stems from the belief that nothing can beat an original work. Many times remakes of a show do not come out as well as the original, because they just appear to be carbon copies. However, in all fairness, the American version is not identical to the British version. The cultural jokes of the British version are replaced with jokes that Americans will understand. Additional influence of British sitcoms can be in the creation of the BBC America. “BBC America's programming pushes the boundaries to deliver high quality, highly addictive and eminently watchable programming to viewers who demand more” (BBC America). The creation of this station exemplifies an increased demand for British television. The opposite has been true to, where many American sitcoms like Seinfeld have been brought over to British audiences. Overall, I would argue that there has been a relatively equal exchange in terms of media material between the US and Britain.

British sitcoms have progressed with changing times in society. Fawlty Towers follows the classic sitcom format featuring a set of characters that are stuck together in a situation from which they cannot escape, usually family or work. During the course of an episode events will occur that might disrupt or cause difficulties to this status quo, but by the end we are always back where we started. In the 1990s, the genre was reinvigorated with sitcoms like Keeping up Appearances. The shows succeeded by adding a bit more of a creative flair to the traditional sitcoms. It pursues laughs through realism of their characters rather than jokes or plot. Sitcoms now reflect the viewer's different experience of the media; no longer does television have a privileged position, but seems part of everyday life. Around the start of the new millennium, British sitcoms chose to take on controversial material by dealing with racism and prejudices more heavily. Sitcoms have had an important influence on British life. They have made us think about ourselves by making us laugh at our own absurdity. Good sitcoms are a kind of virtual reality, for they reflect the rhythms of everyday life, the pain of the human condition and, of course, the joy of laughter.