Blog Post 7-Episodic Sitcoms

There are three types of TV Sitcoms: serial, series, and episodic. Episodic sitcoms usually have a lesson of some sort and minimal character arc. They are usually predictable and viewers know the typical plot of the show. In episodic sitcoms, each episode is different. Something major or little can happen in one episode and then never be mentioned again in the whole season or entire show. Lecturer Colin Tain described this as "limited sitcom memory".

Episodic sitcoms are more popular within the comedic genre. Golden Girls would be an example of an episodic sitcom. Each episode has a new story and lesson that a particular woman in the group learns. In each episode, the four women (Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia) each go through something that teaches the individual, as well as the group, a lesson in life. Even though the issues are dramatic, the characters bring an excellent form of comedy to the show. For example, Blanche is made out to be the "promiscuous" one in the group, Rose is the "dumb" one, Sophia is the old, "wise" one, and Dorothy is the more serious, literal one. Each of these women deal with issues such as work and dating, and each of them bring lots of comic relief to each others' different situations each episode.

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