You are watching Season 5 of your favorite sitcom when suddenly you get an uneasy feeling. What’s wrong? The teenage kid of the married couple on tv is just doing the same routine they have been doing for five years. It used to be hilarious. What changed?
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| CUTE |
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| CREEPY |
This is why THE SIMPSONS, BOB’S BURGERS, and KING OF THE
HILL manage to succeed where other sitcoms fail. The children don’t have to age so they never
become too old to engage in child-like behavior. A 30 year old Bart Simpson saying “Eat My
Shorts” and idolizing a clown isn’t funny….it is kind of depressing and creepy.
Unfortunately, until science creates children that don’t
age, kids on tv will get older naturally and their previously cute behavior
will become creepy. I guess you could
always recast every few years like soap operas.
But I don’t know if I want there to be a voiceover at the beginning of
Season 5 of THE GOLDBERGS that says “The part of Adam Goldberg is now being
played by Jerry Weinstein.” What
happened to the previous actor? Did he
die? Does he have a disease? Is he being forced to sign autographs at some
convention in Wisconsin? As a viewer I’m
glad I don’t have to watch a 20 year old act like a 15 year old, but as a
naturally anxious person I’m going to fear for the previous actor’s safety.
A better solution is to create sitcoms with arcs and a set
number of seasons in which to tell a story.
Vince Gilligan knew that BREAKING BAD was going to be six years because
he had a specific story to tell in a set amount of time. Plus, no one wants to
follow the adventures of an eighty year old meth dealer. That might be even more depressing than a 30
year old Bart Simpson
