This document summarizes common elements of family/comedy TV dramas. Typical narratives follow everyday families and exaggerate real-life events for comedic effect. Parents are often embarrassingly overprotective in front of children and friends. Episodes depict arguments and drama caused by visiting relatives over a day or two, mimicking real time. Character stereotypes include laidback dads and worrying moms from middle-class families. Siblings commonly argue while one is popular and the other bullied for humor.

1. Family/Comedy TV Drama

2. Examples/Clips:
• Modern Family (US)
• Outnumbered (UK)
• Friends (US)
• The Middle (US)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvlfNwe1UvY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYaG851TpXM

3. Typical Narrative
• Usually follows the lives of a typical everyday family.
• Events that happen are similar to those which happen in real
life except they are exaggerated so that it is more comedic.
• Parents are often shown to be really embarrassing in front
their children and their friends and often come across as
overprotective.
• There are often arguments within the family.
• When other family members come to visit, it usually causes
something eventful to happen within the family.

4. Common Representations
• They often encompass very stereotypical characters:
• The dad of the family is always laidback and has the job which
brings in the most money for the family whilst the mom is
usually a housewife and is the worrying, caring one.
• With the children, you often get one that is really popular at
school whilst the other often gets bullied as the stark contrast
between the two often brings a comedic element to the show.
Siblings are very often shown to argue with one another.
• Characters are usually of a middle or low class to make it more
relatable to viewers.

5. Verisimilitude
• Episodes are usually set over the course of a day/couple of
days which creates a sense of realism as we follow the events
of the family.
• This creates a greater sense of realism than other texts as it
makes it more relatable for an audience as things are shown
to happen over a similar period of time as they do in real life.

6. Codes of Conventions
• Step brothers is a good example of a family/comedy film. These types of films often
show the main characters hurting each other doing simple things like cutting the lawn
and tidying the house. Some storylines include slapstick comedy where hurting each
other innocently is found funny by the audience. As for the setting of the scene it is
mostly in the workplace or a realistic scenario such as the household. This allows the
audience to relate to the characters and their situation, for example in step brothers it
allows them to have the same sort of relationship as blood brothers.

7. Binary opposites
• Binary opposites are the way opposites are used to create
interest in media texts. For example is some films the theory
of good vs bad are used to make the sub genre more
interesting. Usually the evil character is doing things to make
fun or laugh at the other, at their own expense. Furthermore
other films can use the binary opposite of age which is youth
vs old age. The older is usually cunning and witty with their
comedy where the younger more naive character is usually
the victim of the elder's humour and falls for his stories or
jokes. A contrast between gender can also be shown in a
comedy film. Male characters in comedy's often make friends
with women and form a bond with them the female being the
more dominant in many cases.

8. Stereotypes and Archetypes
• Stereotypes-
• Main character-This character just lives to make fun of others (not
usually mean-spirited, like The Bully) or to find the humour in any
given situation.
• Bully- Despite the name, The Bully is often not an actual bully,
but is usually very unlikable to the audience. The bully constantly
attempts to dominate the others sometimes having a motive.
• The geek- The geek is usually dorkey by appearance and personality,
stereotypically wearing glasses and constantly being made fun of.
• The air head- This role is often referred to as a ditz and is usually a
women which is very gender stereotypical of the producers. Unlike
the dork the women is seen as good looking and well dressed
usually the youngest of the characters.
• The charmer- This can come in two forms being the player which
dates many girls and gets on generally with most girls they come
across. Where as they can be represented as an old fashioned
gentlemen which therefore receives a lot of attention off the
women.

9. Stock Characters
• The Heroic Coward: People who want to be heroic but are usually
too cowardly to do so, they nevertheless manage to pull themselves
together in situations that truly matter, or they do heroic deeds out
of fear of something even worse if they don't.
• The English Butler: often present if the main character is upper-class
or wealthy. Very proper, well-mannered, skilful, and loyal to his
employers and always comes to their aid when needed. Usually
speaks with a posh English accent and may have a dry sense of
humour or may be prone to making cynical remarks about his
employer’s behaviour.
• The Fool: a clown or joker who speaks in riddles and puns.
• The False Hero: A usually arrogant and not very intelligent individual
who is full of false confidence in their abilities
• The Fop: a person that tries to be highly fashionable and aristocratic.
• The Trickster: often supernatural or mysterious.
• The Comic Relief: Cowards who bring some humour into the plot,
though they can also prove to be heroic.