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WELCOME…to the online Sitcom course. Written by Chris Head. www.chrishead.comBy the end of the process you will have: developed your characters and the situation, written the treatment, written the first ten pages of script, plotted the rest of episode one and in outline planned the series.

Please read through these three introductory pages (using arrows below).

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THE COURSEWork through the five modules. Each one contains tasks for you to complete. Within the modules are links to additional documents stored on a public Dropbox folder which you can view or download to keep.

There are also links to external sitcom clips on YouTube and links to tutorial clips I have recorded and put on Vimeo.

Click on a module above to access the course content

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PURCHASESYou will need to have two sitcom episode to refer to in the plotting module:

Blackadder 3 Ink and Incapability. If you don’t have access to the episode you can buy it here for £1.89.

Fawlty Towers The Kipper and the Corpse.If you don’t have access to the episode you can buy it here for £1.89.

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- Close to reality.- Laughs of recognition.- The world is believable.- No audience laughter.

REAL WORLD

MODULE 1: SITCOM WORLDS

- Still laughs of recognition.- But more exaggerated.- Further from reality than 'real world' sitcoms.

HEIGHTENED REALITY

- Even more exaggerated and simplified.- Things occur that couldn't really happen.- Shades into surrealism.

SKETCH WORLD

Which sitcom world does your show take place in?

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- Close to reality- Laughs of recognition- The world is believable

REAL WORLD

MODULE 1: SITCOM WORLDSWhich sitcom world does your show take place in?

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Examples: Royle Family/ Outnumbered/ RevComedy comes from the rightness, the truth, of the observations. It epitomises the characters and the world. Observation and exaggeration creates the comedy. It's laughs of recognition. The dialogue is natural – avoid jokes! (Although a way round this is to have one character who is a joker like Jim Royle.)

It's believable and credible as a world. This must be maintained. Avoid easy laughs that undermine the overall world.Royle Family clipOutnumbered clipRev clip

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- Close to reality- Laughs of recognition- The world is believable

REAL WORLD

MODULE 1: SITCOM WORLDSWhich sitcom world does your show take place in?

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Examples: Royle Family/ Outnumbered/ RevFirst two both family sitcoms, Rev covers family and more centrally work. All are non-audience sitcoms. Don't have a studio feel, no laugh track. Close to documentary realism in look and feel. All warm-hearted shows with an affection for the characters. Appeal to a wide audience, truthful comedy, laughs of recognition with subtle exaggeration.

The key differences are: Outnumbered is middle-class rather than Royle Family’s working class. Rev mixes classes. Class is a central issue in sitcom. Outnumbered and Rev are South east rather than north. All have a strong sense of place. Improvisation is used in Outnumbered.

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- Close to reality- Laughs of recognition- The world is believable

REAL WORLD

MODULE 1: SITCOM WORLDSWhich sitcom world does your show take place in?

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OTHER REAL WORLD SITCOMS:

The OfficeThe Thick of It2012W1ACurb Your Enthusiasm.

Watch video

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- Still laughs of recognition.- But more exaggerated.- Further from reality than 'real world' sitcoms.

HEIGHTENED REALITY

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Examples: Only Fools/ Dinner Ladies/ Ab-FabProbably the most common area for sitcoms to operate in.This is a simplified and further exaggerated version of the real world. The laughs are still emotionally truthful and we recognise the world, but it's more stagey and typically with an audience. The script is more joke driven than a real world script.

ONLY FOOLS & HORSES/ DINNER LADIES Close to a real world show, but compared to a truly real world show like Royle Family or the Office it can be seen that the world of these shows is simpler and more exaggerated. Both are warm-hearted shows. Only Fools clipDinner Ladies clip

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- Still laughs of recognition.- But more exaggerated.- Further from reality than 'real world' sitcoms.

HEIGHTENED REALITY

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Only Fools is another family sitcom, the original idea was for it to be about an all-male family. Their work does of course come into it a lot too. Working class and Peckham, London. Note how it's also very rooted in its place. (As is the northern working class Dinner Ladies.)

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS is more family (this time an all female family – mother, daughter and grandmother). And we're into the territory of friendships too. But now the tone and the subject matter is more adult and more extreme. Ab Fab clip

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- Still laughs of recognition.- But more exaggerated.- Further from reality than 'real world' sitcoms.

HEIGHTENED REALITY

MODULE 1: SITCOM WORLDSWhich sitcom world does your show take place in?

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OTHER HEIGHTENED REALITY SITCOMS: Fawlty TowersFriendsFrasierMiranda is too with ‘meta’ touches. (The looks to camera for example are the meta bits.)Of the darker, more adult kind: Peep Show, Inbetweeners. These are non-audience (so less gag driven) but despite this I feel they are ‘heightened’ and not ‘real world’ like The Office, due to them pushing the situations and characters to grotesque extremes.Watch video

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- Even more exaggerated and simplified.- Things occur that couldn't really happen.- Shades into surrealism.

SKETCH WORLD

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Examples: Last of the Summer Wine, The IT Crowd, The Young OnesLast of the Summer Wine is another friendship show as is The Young Ones but we are now into Sketch World, with old men going down hills in baths and students being blown up. There aren't any real, serious consequences. (Imagine if Nanna in Royle Family went down the hill in a bath. She‘d be hospitalised and treated for senility. That would be a real world treatment of it.)IT Crowd is back to work situations, but this time it’s cartoon. Simple characters, absurd situations. All OTT and unbelievable. Shading at times into surreal. IT Crowd clipThe Young Ones clip

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- Even more exaggerated and simplified.- Things occur that couldn't really happen.- Shades into surrealism.

SKETCH WORLD

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Note that Summer Wine has a strong sense of place but IT Crowd and Young Ones are more generic places. Sketch World shows also generally have an audience.

Something that links Ab-Fab, Peep Show, Inbetweeners, Summer Wine is sexual frustration. (Think about where the sexual dimension is in your show, even if it is abackground theme.)

Sketch world develops fully into the surreal when we are in a parallel world where anything is possible. Mighty Boosh is a classic example as is anything sci-fi like Red Dwarf.Mighty Boosh clip

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- Even more exaggerated and simplified.- Things occur that couldn't really happen.- Shades into surrealism.

SKETCH WORLD

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OTHER SKETCH WORLD SITCOMS

Father TedLab RatsToast of LondonBlack Books

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MODULE 1: SITCOM WORLDSWhich sitcom world does your show take place in?

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With your own sitcom ask yourself: where is it set in the country (be clear in your own mind and maybe even state the place), what’s the social class, where is the sexual tension, do you feel warm towards your characters or do you feel contempt, is it an audience show, how adult is the subject matter?

Also it is really important to establish the world it takes place in:REAL WORLD, HEIGHTENED REALITY, SKETCH WORLD (see previous page for full descriptions). Knowing this really defines the kinds of laughs you go for. For example I was doing a session on someone's sitcom and they wanted it to be a real world show. They had an idea of someone in the office dying at their desk and no one noticing for a week. This could work in sketch world. Would be a stretch for heightened reality, but not at all credible for real world.

It was though based on a true story! In the real situation, the person died at their desk late on Friday night and wasn't discovered until Monday morning. Now this is credible – it also literally happened. So that's how you'd have it for a real world script.

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MODULE 1: SITCOM WORLDSWhich sitcom world does your show take place in?

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Having worked through the Sitcom Worlds module now please answer these questions relating to your own sitcom.

Questionnaire

If you are undertaking the interactive version of the course please email your answers to:

chris+submissions@chris-head.com

Remember you can upgrade to interactive at any time.

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CREATING CHARACTERS

MODULE 2: CHARACTERS

In this module you will develop your central characters. It can be extremely beneficial to spend significant time working on who your characters are and creating a fertile dynamic between them before you do any writing.

In this section we will uncover my simple model of sitcom characters that is very useful as a guide in creating your own. First of all go through this worksheet.

Once you have spent some time going over the worksheet, considering the questions raised, watch this video.

Who are the characters in your sitcom?

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AUTHORITY/ ASPIRANT/ FOOL

MODULE 2: CHARACTERS

The – as I term it – ‘authority, aspirant, fool’ dynamic appears in many (maybe even most) sitcoms. The authority is a flawed dysfunctional figure. The fool is usually a pretty simple soul, bouncing backs from the knocks they receive. And stuck in the middle is the aspirant who wants to get away but is stuck between the other two.

The aspirant is the protagonist, the one the audience identify with. They feel hemmed in by the shortcomings of those surrounding them but is blind to their own shortcomings.Read more

Who are the characters in your sitcom?

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THE TRAP

MODULE 2: CHARACTERS

The characters are repelling each other and yet are compelled to stay together. This (as Marc Blake terms it) is The Trap. They cannot get away. They are mutually dependent. Go back over the worksheet and think about what is keeping each of the trios trapped together.

What is keeping the trio TRAPPED in your sitcom? Money/ family/ something physical/ co-dependency…? In Blackadder Goes Forth it’s the war. In Porridge it’s Prison. Only Fools is family. IT Crowd: they can’t get a better job. Tim in the Office it’s inertia and also his attraction to the receptionist…

Who are the characters in your sitcom?

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PERSONA/ SHADOW

MODULE 2: CHARACTERS

When creating your characters, it is useful to think in terms of PERSONA and SHADOW. The PERSONA is the face they want to present to the world, the way they want to be seen. The SHADOW is all the stuff that contradicts and undermines the persona. Often the character is largely unaware of their shadow.

The comedy is in the gap between how they see themselves (persona) and how we see them (shadow). For instance, Alan Partridge’s persona is charming, funny, relaxed and fashionable… his shadow is petty, humourless, vindictive, neurotic… We the audience see something the character doesn’t. This is dramatic irony in a character.Alan Partridge clip

Who are the characters in your sitcom?

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PERSONA/ SHADOW

MODULE 2: CHARACTERS

Now turn your attention to your emerging AUTHORITY figure in your sitcom and for that character complete the worksheet. The persona is all the positives that they see about themselves - the shadow is all the contrasting negatives that they are oblivious to or in denial about - but that are seen by others.

This concept of persona/ shadow is a very useful one and you can apply it to all your characters. Essentially the bigger the gap between how they see themselves (or how they want to be seen) and how others see them the better! This is where the funniness lies. Now answer these questions about your characters.

Who are the characters in your sitcom?

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WRITING EXERCISE

MODULE 2: CHARACTERS

Write a speech for your aspirant that they are delivering at an awards ceremony. They have won something. If yours is a workplace sitcom it should be easy to think of an award they might win. But even in a domestic or friends sitcom they might have won a community award say or an prize for something artistic they have done. Note: it can work well if the award is a really small thing but they are treating it as a big deal. And it can be funny if they are runner-up or if it's a bronze award.In the speech they have veiled digs at the authority – and outright digs at the fool. They are taking the opportunity to settle scores. Basically they think it's all down to them and no thanks to the other two. Everyone who thought they'd never amount to anything have been proved wrong.

Who are the characters in your sitcom?

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MODULE 2: CHARACTERS

Having worked through the Characters module now write biogs of your central trio and any key periphery characters. Here is an example for the estate agents sitcom that I am going to be developing alongside yours. Think about how the descriptions reflect the qualities of the authority/ aspirant/ fool character types.

Write a description of your characters in the above format. If you are undertaking the interactive version of the course please email your character descriptions AND the speech to:

chris+submissions@chris-head.com

Remember you can upgrade to interactive at any time.

Who are the characters in your sitcom?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

This is the document that sells your sitcom. Writing it will also help you define exactly what the show is about.

TREATMENT

It is very good practice – before you write a word of dialogue – to fully work out the plot. * Fawlty Towers was plotted on the backs of wallpaper rolls.

PLOTTING

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

TREATMENT

I’d now like you to write a first draft of the treatment. This will be a good way of pulling together the ideas we have been discussing and defining what this show actually is at this stage – you can always go back and revise the treatment as you learn more through plotting and writing.

Here is an example treatment for the sitcom Bank which was shortlisted in a BAFTA competition and picked up by a production company. It is a good example of a treatment format.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

TREATMENT

Have a look too at this shorter example treatment for Chain Gang . (A pitch incidentally tends to equate to a treatment plus some script – none of this is hard-and-fast though.)

There is no one fixed way of writing a treatment so find the form that suits your idea.

At the end of the course I will get you to revise this first draft treatment so that you have something you can send out.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

PLOTTING

A key discipline with sitcom writing is to work out the plot before you get into writing dialogue scenes. So the process unfolds like this:

CharactersSituationPlotScenes

Here we will look closely at plotting your first act as this will be the basis of your first ten pages that you will submit to the industry. You will also start thinking about the plot for the entire first episode.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

PLOTTING

Classically there are three acts to a sitcom:

ACT I: The problem.

ACT II: The escalation.

ACT III: The conclusion.

They are not usually of equal length. Act 1 is the set-up, act 2 tends to be the meat of it and act 3 can be relatively short.

On a commercial channel the break tends to come at the end of act 1.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

Story questions for the writer

What problem or issue will really push their buttons?

What do they all want out of the situation? Everyone must want something. Can their wants be in conflict or even better mutually exclusive?

What’s stopping each of them from getting what they want? Think both internal and external obstacles. This is where the plot momentum will come from.

The internal, self-sabotaging or self-unaware obstacles can often hold more interest than external obstacles over which the character has no control.

So what is your sitcom about?

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BAD LUCK IS NOT VERY INTERESTINGLet's think about our example estate agents sitcom project. An idea for a scene came up where a vital viewing was going badly wrong because the client had diarrhoea – she had to keep rushing into the toilet. In the original idea it was just random bad luck that she had it.

But as self-sabotage is funnier and more about character than just bad luck, we come on to asking how the estate agents themselves could have caused it. After some brainstorming, we hit upon the idea that they were serving canapés to potential buyers in the office. They used a dodgy caterer to save money – and that's what had given her the diarrhoea. So they had been the authors of their own downfall, rather than it being random bad luck. This is always much more satisfying. Later I will develop this simple idea into a plot. (This is plotting from a set-piece – see below.)

SCENES AND SETTINGSRoughly around 10-12 scenes. And as a rule of thumb, in traditional studio sitcom, three main internal sets and limited outside filming.

So what is your sitcom about?

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THREE APPROACHES TO PLOTTING

1.START WITH THE FINAL SCENE AND WORK BACKWARDS

Often employed with the kind of plots that end in total disaster for all involved. Think about the worst or most embarrassing situation for your characters to be in, then work backwards scene-by-scene to the start. Basically working out how to get them there.

This is how Peep Show is plotted. An exquisite humiliation is devised for the characters and then they work out how to plausibly get them there. Notice in Peep Show that Mark feels the pain of the embarrassment by far the most, so his discomfort is the focus of the plotting.

Even if you aren't going full-on with the plot backwards thing like Peep Show this approach will still be useful. You are always going back and forth in time when thinking through the plot.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

2. SET THEM A PROBLEM AND SEE HOW THEY DEAL WITH IT

With this approach you give your characters a problem that they may plausibly have to face in their world, and see how they deal with it. So you are not trying to think of a funny story, or even funny scenes initially, you are just thinking about challenges they could face.

Their dysfunctions, both individually and in their relationships, will create the comedy as they set about hopelessly trying to deal with the situation. Fawlty Towers was plotted this way. The characters were just given real problems from the hotel industry to deal with.

So what is your sitcom about?

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3. START WITH SET-PIECES

Set-pieces are the big funny scenes that the narrative revolves around. In this method of plotting you set about writing as many of these set-pieces as you can think of. It's essentially like writing a series of sketches for your characters. You then choose, say, three and work out how you can thread them together in an episode. One Foot in the Grave was plotted this way. Graham Linehan also often takes this approach with his sitcoms.

These then are the three main approaches to plotting that I identify. Start to think now about which approach appeals (bearing in mind of course that there will be overlap between them):

1. Set them a problem.2. Start at the end and work backwards.3. Start with set-pieces.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

So in the first approach you think of a challenge they might have to face in real life (eg in the Fawlty Towers episode we will be looking at: a guest dies). Then you think of all the dysfunctional ways they try and deal with the problem and start building the plot that way.

It is of course real life that very often provides the starting point for plots, rather than pure fantasy. Some sources of ideas: Your own experience. Something read or seen in the media. By interview: you literally interview someone from the world you are writing about and pick their brains for story ideas. Yes Minister stories were sourced this way and John Cleese too met with people from the hotel industry. The informant is often paid with dinner!

In the second approach, you think where the story is building to (eg: In Blackadder III Baldrick burning Dr Johnson's dictionary and he and Baldrick having to rewrite it) and work out how to get them there. The third approach is to write a whole series of funny sketches or simple storylines for your characters then pick some to put together in one episode and then work out how to thread them together.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

INCREASE THE PRESSURE

You can also think about upping-the-ante. A simple classic example is that they are against the clock with a very tight deadline. In our estate agent example from earlier, we put the estate agents under pressure by head office announcing that the worst performing office in thechain was going to be shut.

So our estate agents suddenly had pressure to up their rate of house sales (which of course had always been poor – no sitcoms are about successful people!) So with that thought in mind, thecanapés then become part of their campaign to get more buyers in – which spectacularly backfires (literally).

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

Now watch the first Act of the episode of Blackadder 3 – see purchases page. Act 1 is up to the point where Dr Johnson leaves to go to Mrs Miggins’ to await the return of the dictionary and the Prince’s patronage. (When Blackadder re-enters to talk to the Prince Regent this is actually the start of act 2.) As you watch it consider:

* Dramatic irony - where we the audience know something characters don't. THERE IS LOADS OF THIS! * How all the jokes emerge from the situation and the story. * How every scene moves the story on. * And how by the end of this act the story is set up for the episode. The problem for the aspirant is established. * How there is conflict in every scene and how characters change their mind or shift their perspective. * How much is achieved in a short time. * How focussed it is on progressing the plot.Now watch this tutorial video.

As we go on to consider plotting acts 2 and 3 you might like to watch the rest of the Blackadder episode with those thoughts in mind.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

Now we move on to the first Act of the Fawlty Towers episode The Kipper & The Corpse – see purchases page. Act 1 is the first 12 minutes. Up to where Basil goes down the stairs after the doctor has been up with the dead guest – and Basil has a kipper down his jumper.

Now read this document where I unpack what is happening in Act I of this Fawlty Towers episode. 05 Fawlty Towers ACT I

Then read this document describing the whole plot of the Kipper & The Corpse episode.

Then go over this document where I further explore plotting act 1 through the lens of the estate agents sitcom I am developing alongside your piece:

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 3: TREATMENT & PLOTTING

Having worked through the Treatment and Plotting module now write up the treatment and the plot of Act 1. Not the script, just a scene-by-scene breakdown for the first ten pages approx. (Note: don’t write a ‘how they all met’ plot – do a story set in your established world.)

Act 1 of course won’t be worked out in isolation of the rest so feel free to also develop acts 2 and 3 – but we are focusing in particular on act 1 as that’s the section bit that you will write up as a script. If you are working interactively with me send to:chris+submissions@chris-head.com

Remember you can upgrade to interactive at any time.

So what is your sitcom about?

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MODULE 4: SCRIPTWhat happens at the start of your episode?

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INTRODUCING YOUR WORLD

The episode you are writing will introduce the reader to your world and your characters. Here are some key things to remember.

THE FIRST TEN PAGES

This is the crucial section of script that you will submit to the industry.

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MODULE 4: SCRIPTWhat happens at the start of your episode?

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INTRODUCING YOUR WORLD

It is a good idea to start with the situation deeply entrenched and stale – so write a 'this is how it all began' episode. That's not to say that shows never start that way; Spaced did for example as did One Foot in the Grave - but neither are great episodes. Things don’t really get going until episode two and you could start watching there quite happily.

It’s just that it can often be more effective if you plunge into the thick of it (Fawlty Towers for example didn’t start with the grand opening of the hotel). There is more scope for comedy when everyone is sick of each other and the situation! Read more on this in this document.

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MODULE 4: SCRIPTWhat happens at the start of your episode?

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INTRODUCING YOUR WORLD

Now watch the start of Fifteen Storeys High. (If you are new to the show have a look here.) This series opens with the main relationship still quite new but it is in place (it does show us the very start of the situation but in flashback.)

The main point I’d like you to note here is how much we learn about the characters and their relationship in the opening 90 seconds and how much is communicated visually. Read this for more on that.

And here is a video tutorial. If you have the first episode of Fawlty Towers (“A Touch of Class”) you will find that the world and the key characters are all introduced in the first couple of minutes.

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MODULE 4: SCRIPTWhat happens at the start of your episode?

MODULE 4

Now you have done the hard graft of working out the plot you can finally write the first 10 pages of your script (which can spill onto p.11). You will need to keep your comic world in mind and aim to get the tone right. First read the first 13 pages of this script of White Van Man. (heightened reality). With some large chunks of blank space in the text this amounts to around 10 pages. If you don’t know the show find out about it here. Read down to end p.13 which ends like this:We move/ crane up into the sky to see, unknown to DARREN, on the other side, OLLIE doing exactly the same. Neither aware of the connection with the other.FADE TO BLACKThis is Act I of the sitcom - where the dilemma for that episode is set-up. So the key thing is to build to that dilemma. This White Van Man script shows that clearly.

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THE FIRST TEN PAGES

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MODULE 4: SCRIPTWhat happens at the start of your episode?

MODULE 4

So what you are aiming to achieve in your first episode is to take it to that end of Act I point where all is set up.

Produce your script in TV format.

Have a look around for something that works for you. Here is an example. You might also consider Celtx.

You need to be tight in the writing and focused on what each scene needs to achieve to move the script forward.

THE FIRST TEN PAGES

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MODULE 4: SCRIPTWhat happens at the start of your episode?

MODULE 4

Having worked through the Script module now write up the first ten pages of script. Look again at the White Van man script. See how visual it is, how punchy the scenes are and how it keeps moving. For another example have a look at the first ten pages of the banking script.

If you are working interactively with me send to:chris+submissions@chris-head.com

Remember you can upgrade to interactive at any time.

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MODULE 5: WHAT TO DO NEXTWhat do you do with your sitcom now?

MODULE 5

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Now you have your FIRST 10 PAGES do a further draft of your TREATMENT and then you can get your work out to the industry. By all means complete the script if you wish but the industry these days do tend to prefer short pitches of a treatment and ten pages. If anyone is interested they will want to work with you in developing it or they will give you notes and then invite you to write more.

Read through this document on taking things forward. Then have a listen to this 30 minute tutorial on the topic.

Thank you for doing the course. I hope it has been useful. Please feel free to email any comments on what you liked and any suggestions for improvement. I also offer one-to-one tuition and development on sitcoms.

Best wishes,Chriswww.chris-head.com

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MODULE 1 MODULE 2 MODULE 3 MODULE 4 MODULE 5 RESOURCES

Resources

Video: John Cleese on writing Fawlty Towers

RESOURCES

Video: John Cleese on making Fawlty Towers

Website: British Comedy Guide Make It Area

Website: BBC Writers’ Room

Website: BBC Commissioning

Website: Channel 4 Commissioning

Website: British Comedy Guide production companies list