We haven\u2019t watched many sitcoms this semester. Or maybe I should clarify; I do not think we have watched many sitcoms that are similar with the type we are comfortable with in America.\u00a0 We all have our favorite American sitcoms, as well as the shows we could stand to see leave the airwaves. But as far as I can tell, with my limited knowledge of British sitcoms, there are not many similarities between the \u201csitcoms\u201d from each nation.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Benidorm <\/em>provided me with a curveball at the end of the episode we viewed. I was not expecting there to be so much drama amongst all the families, especially in a \u201csitcom\u201d. \u00a0In American shows, such as The Middle<\/em>, Modern Family<\/em>, How I Met Your Mother<\/em> and Parks and Recreation, <\/em>the end of an episode usually results in some sort of cleanup of all the issues that had arisen. \u00a0<\/em>A touching voice-over, a new relationship or peace between two enemies often leave the viewer with a sense of happiness and wonder as to what might happen next, but this was not the case in Benidorm<\/em>. British comedy, Benidorm<\/em> included, seem to have a slightly darker sense of comedy. I am not saying this is bad, but just different than the family friendly comedy that would be seen on American broadcast networks. For example, the daughter deciding to leave the grandmother out in the sun after bickering with her throughout the morning was a funny incident but probably not the type of cruel humor one would find in America. This is not to say, however, that a more risky cable network does not provide this content, but ITV is a terrestrial station not a satellite one. This is what sparks my interest, a family could sit down to watch this and find marital troubles that would go beyond the understanding of an eight year-old.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Based on the other comedies we have screened, Benidorm <\/em>is not much different from British humor in that it doesn\u2019t slap you in the face with a joke like most American humor. I am not saying this is a bad thing, just not what I am use to. I found Benidorm <\/em>to be interesting and I laughed a few times, but the ending sort of left a bad taste in my mouth because I was not expecting the drama. Had I gone into this episode with the genre of \u201cdramedy\u201d in my mind I may have reacted differently, but this, again, could just be my Americanized sense of humor speaking out of line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We haven\u2019t watched many sitcoms this semester. Or maybe I should clarify; I do not think we have watched many sitcoms that are similar with the type we are comfortable with in America.\u00a0 We all have our favorite American sitcoms, … Continue reading