do the french have sitcoms?

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n.wants to know

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:35 (twenty-two years ago)

answer the question seriously or hilariously!!

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:35 (twenty-two years ago)

first person to mention ozon has to watch his next film

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:37 (twenty-two years ago)

"Ozon All Hours"

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:38 (twenty-two years ago)

(O NO!)

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:38 (twenty-two years ago)

"why did jacques chirac cross the road?"

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't really want to know that badly, btw.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:40 (twenty-two years ago)

They don't need sitcoms: they spend their evenings sitting at cafes, discussing theory; engaging in passionate romances; or learning to play the oud with their Arab friends.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:41 (twenty-two years ago)

In short--they live!

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Like the killer bees in that film.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:42 (twenty-two years ago)

"jacques fucks women"

― the surface noise (electricsound), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Funnily enough I have just this evening been talking with an ethnically Egyptian Frenchman who is sick of the U.S. and moving back to Europe next month (though London, rather than France).

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, that's not that funny really.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Au contraire, I think that it has all the makings of the Great French Sitcom plot.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:46 (twenty-two years ago)

it's the totality of the first episode!

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:47 (twenty-two years ago)

http://frenchfilms.topcities.com/1990_Green_card.jpg

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:47 (twenty-two years ago)

That is an American romcom. Get off the thread.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:48 (twenty-two years ago)

"In France, we do not fuck with a dog in the bed."

(More or less word for word quoted in a sex column regarding pets.)

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:49 (twenty-two years ago)

That is an American romcom. Get off the thread.

Directed by an AUSTRALIAN. We can't have that!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:49 (twenty-two years ago)

"Get Oud of Denver"

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Anyway, they have sex farces, not situation comedies.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

In France, we do not fuck with a dog in the bed.

Ah, the much bootlegged Joni Mitchell outtake.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

A sex farce becomes a sitcom if it runs weekly.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:52 (twenty-two years ago)

(I know this from bitter experience)

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

no dog in the bed = no sex farces, as i understand every word and symbol in this post

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Anyway, they have sex farces, not situation comedies.

To the French, isn't sex part of the situation?

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Everybody Hates Rémond

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

A sex farce becomes a sitcom if it runs weekly.

Touche!

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

They don't need sitcoms: they spend their evenings sitting at cafes, discussing theory; engaging in passionate romances; or learning to play the oud with their Arab friends.

Where do I sign up?

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:55 (twenty-two years ago)

ici ->

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:57 (twenty-two years ago)

merci, monsieur

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 00:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I changed my mind and now my screen is covered in tippex.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Is that what that substance is?

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:02 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.reel.com/content/boxart/vhs/46002.GIF

― kephm, Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:06 (twenty-two years ago)

second person to mention ozon gets to watch ALL HIS FILMS!

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:08 (twenty-two years ago)

i shd have said that earlier

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Who is. . . he?

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Don't get existential on me, Rockist.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:10 (twenty-two years ago)

rockist was the third, so needn't worry

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I was trying to avoid saying his name before finding out if I wanted to see all his films.

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:12 (twenty-two years ago)

"Une famille bourgeoise classique va être bouleversée par les highjinks qui ensuivrent"

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:13 (twenty-two years ago)

"haie-jinques"

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Is that Spanish?

― Rockist Scientist (rockistscientist), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:15 (twenty-two years ago)

you're thinking of "hay jinques"

anyway i think any French sitcom would have to pale next to the way they act 24/7!! it's nonstop eyerolling and bustling in and out of rooms over there

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:23 (twenty-two years ago)

*enter gendarme w/o trousers*
maid: "ooh la la!"
*prolonged audience hilarity*

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:26 (twenty-two years ago)

haha but in France the gendarme wouldn't fight to keep his composure, he'd make a sly joke or something - it's no fun without the humiliation!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:34 (twenty-two years ago)

the stakes are never so high that you can't back down in France; in the end the world is a cosmic joke anyway. comedy requires utter commitment with no return ticket

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:40 (twenty-two years ago)

on the other hand, my last two posts are wild generalizations which fall apart upon the slightest inspection! *trousers fall down* *audience howls*

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:43 (twenty-two years ago)

"c'est vrais, mes copains!"

http://www.thebuzzbin.com/boxes/psi2.jpg

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 01:43 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.kinema.com.br/estrelas/jerrylewis3.jpg

― Allyzay, Wednesday, 26 November 2003 02:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"Un Gars, Une Fille" rox!

― cybele (cybele), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 03:13 (twenty-two years ago)

i really like orzon, and am impressed with the ambiguity and hardness in his work, plus 8 women is a masterpeice of french pop. whats the hating mr sinker?

― anthony easton (anthony), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 03:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Las personas francesa no tienen comedias situaciones porque no son personas que quieren chistes. Son personas muy serias que no gustan risas o sonrisas.

</estereotipo>

― Tenacious Dee (Dee the Lurker), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 05:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmmm, I've often thought about the differences in genres between Anglo-saxon and French TV. There are (or have been) French sitcoms, generally in the early evening slot, generally aimed at teenagers, generally very bad made on a 5 centime budget and they don't really penetrate the national consciousness. So I think it's fair to say the French don't really have sitcoms. ('Un gars et une fille' that someone mentioned above is a five-minute programme, so it doesn't really count, although it can be funny and it was successful).

There's plenty of comedy on French TV but just not the sitcom variety, I don't know why, but I think it's an interesting question. There are all sorts of genres that just haven't happened on French TV (there's no French Jamie Oliver-style programme for example, in fact no mainstream cooking programmes at all, but that's more easily explicable; talk shows have a completely different format in French; the evening news is structured quite differently, even the weather is different).

― Jonathan Z., Wednesday, 26 November 2003 09:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I liked Mr Henry and Ms Moreau in 'Thierry et Jeanne'.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 20:35 (twenty-two years ago)

2 french sitcoms were very good : H and La famille Guérin.

― Bruno- (Bruno-), Wednesday, 26 November 2003 22:17 (twenty-two years ago)

well to add to your point Jonathan, there are no weekly half-hour series in France, period.

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Thursday, 27 November 2003 10:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Of course the French have sitcomes. Havn't you guys seen Allo Allo?

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Thursday, 27 November 2003 11:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I've seen a French half-hour sitcom series, the Finnish TV was showing it a couple of years ago. Can't recall the title, though...

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 27 November 2003 11:58 (twenty-two years ago)

But it's true that the sitcom is a very American form of TV show, and doesn't necessarily fit into other cultures. For example, there have been few attempts to produce a Finnish sitcom, and only a couple of them were succesful enough to continue more than one season.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:00 (twenty-two years ago)

mange tout rodders

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:01 (twenty-two years ago)

But it's true that the sitcom is a very American form of TV show, and doesn't necessarily fit into other cultures

Oi! Give us back our TV heritage you cheeky Finn.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:10 (twenty-two years ago)

But it's true that the sitcom is a very American form of TV show, and doesn't necessarily fit into other cultures.

can you clarify this? what's specifically 'american' about it? 'friends' owes a lot to farce.

― enrique (Enrique), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Most sitcoms rely on sort of wordy humour, which fits into the sterotype of the talkative American. Finns, on the other hand, are sterotypically less talky, which is why physical/visual humour has traditonally fitted better into Finnish comedy. It's true that American sitcoms are very popular here too, but it would be weird to see Finns acting in a similar show. Even the succesful Finnish sitcoms differ from the "Friends" mould.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:42 (twenty-two years ago)

i'd like to see kaurismaki guest-direct 'friends' or even better '24'. but english humour is all about verbal wit too (ie oscar wilde/noel coward/erm richard curtis)

then you have the tres scandinavian 'fargo' of course...

― enrique (Enrique), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:44 (twenty-two years ago)

More examples: until recent years, there hasn't been any Finnish stand-up comedians, and stand-up is still a small phenomenon here.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:44 (twenty-two years ago)

You're right, Enrique, "Fargo" is much more similar to Finnish comedy than sitcoms. I wonder if the Coens were familiar with Kaurismäki while they were doing it.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:46 (twenty-two years ago)

hmmm -- i mean it is a scandinavian area, maybe it's just a shard thing? the coens being from minnesota. wonder if anyone's asked them though?

― enrique (Enrique), Thursday, 27 November 2003 12:48 (twenty-two years ago)

you know how men are always leaving the toilet seat up?

(that's the joke)

― steve mcbain (blueski), Thursday, 27 November 2003 13:16 (twenty-two years ago)

eight months pass...

there is a french version of the office-style workplace comedies whose only camera position is from the POV of a vending machine. various characters (the slutty secretary, the flaming gay guy, the nebbishy manager, etc.) come up to buy candy bars and coffee and have intermittently amusing conversations.

that damon wayans family sitcom is big there. so is "the nanny." by "big" i mean, they air in primetime. no one i knew actually watched these shows. perhaps it's for the provinces.

(the worst--i.e., best--thing on french TV was a reality show: "on a changé nos mamans.")

― amateur!!st, Wednesday, 25 August 2004 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

When I was a kid in Lyons, I used to watch this kid's show hosted by Dorothe, and apparently I was in love with her. I still have a couple of her records somewhere.

― n.a. (Nick A.), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 16:28 (twenty-one years ago)

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