Update: In answer to my question; Sports Night is the closest thing I’ve found to a multi camera show that became a single camera show.
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I’ve been watching How I Met Your Mother lately, and for some of its lameness, it is kind of a cool show. But where does the lameness come from? It’s the four cameras filming it, and the studio audience watching and laughing at it.
Which got me thinking, why has a traditional multi camera sitcom, like How I Met Your Mother, never built a “fourth wall”, lost the studio audience and just matured into a single camera sitcom.
I know Scrubs did an episode that parodied the traditional sitcom by filming part of the show in front a studio audience, I would just love to see it done the other way round, I think it would be a fascinating evolution for a show to change that dramatically, and a chance for a show like How I Met Your Mother to grow a little, and give the writers and directors a chance to expore different aspects of the story.
5 replies on “Has a multi-camera show ever gone single-camera?”
I very much doubt this is filmed infront of a live studio audience. It’s far too convenient (sp?) when they stop laughing as soon as the next line is about to be said, in most comedies the laughter will be ending after the next line has begun. I think it would work better without the canned laughter as it’s far too fast-paced.
The other thing that lets it down are those two teenagers at the start. They can’t act for shit!
I do sorta like how i met your mother but I much prefer such shows as Scrubs, Arrested Development, My Name is Earl and Kath and Kim, which I believe are definately the future of tv comedy. However i am not writing off tradition sitcoms, The New adventures of old Christine, Still Standing, Less than Perfect and the first 2 seasons of Hope and Faith are hilarious.
The BBC series Red Dwarf went through a few incarnations, I believe it began without an audience, then gained one, then lost it again.
HIMYM isn’t filmed in front of a live audience. It’s filmed with multiple camera’s sure, but in a closed set. After the show is edited together it’s shown to an audience and the laugh track is recorded. I personally disagree with your statements cause for a multi-camera show it’s surprisingly different and good. It’s a single-camera comedy stuck in the multi-camera world. It’s fine and sure it would be nice to see it with one camera, I like the broken 4th wall as I peer into these people’s lives. Works for me.
I think this show is amazing. It has a perfect plot and everything. I think this show will be future comedy of TV. It is halarious in many ways. I think HIMYM will go on for quite a few seasons and in the last season reveal who Ted’s wife really is.