Celebrity Juice

1. What are the codes and conventions of a comedy TV panel show? 

Limited Characters – There will be only a few main characters in the sitcom, to allow character development and adds the pleasure of familiarity.

Limited Sets – In most sitcoms there are limited sets that are used, containing 2 or 3 main sets and in every episode the people are in one of the rooms. 

Catchy theme tune – Sitcoms always start with an opening theme tune, bread uses a catchy theme tune at the beginning which would get into your head and would help the audience recognise the program.

Canned Laughter - Canned laughter is where something is done purposely to prompt the audience to laugh.

Use of Catchphrases – Use of catch phrases is where in the sitcom there is a catch phrase that is used over and over again in each episode where the audience will start to recognise it, for example on Fiends Joey has the catchphrase ‘ how you doin’.

Linear narrative that uses equilibrium, disruption – Linear narrative is where it is about everyday life then something happens which they have to solve to change the equilibrium and then the problem is sorted but it isn’t the same.

Use of Small social groups, e.g. family, friends, work – The Inbetweeners is an example of a small social group for example the program is about a small group of friends. Each character would have a distinct personality from each other which would show throughout the sitcom.

One Liner – A one liner is usually a throw away remark which is mainly used in a modern sitcom. The one liner joke is made in one sentence and is often observational to an event that has just happened for example in the Simpsons when Homer does something wrong he would use the one liner ‘D’oh!’

Situation – In sitcoms there is sometimes a situation not in the location but in the sense of being trapped for example in Porridge they are trapped in prison, My Family they are trapped by the family, in Only Fools and Horses they are trapped in Peckham and in Red Dwarf they are trapped in space.

Story lines – Story lines are rarely ongoing and always come to a resolution in the in a sitcom for example there is always closures at the end of them.

Transgressive humour - Sitcoms are usually on after the 9 o'clock watershed, therefore they usually contain offensive jokes and are produced by channels that are well known for these types of channels.


Celebrity Juice has been on TV since the 24th of September 2008, and has been on TV ever since. There has been a total of 18 seasons and each have a range between 8 and 16 episodes 

 Car Share - Audience Pleasures

• Transgressive humour - Adult jokes such as 'butchers meat' and 'dogging'

• Predictability - Audience know how a character will react and find it funny

• Snowballing - Jokes get bigger & bigger as the episode progresses

• Exaggeration - Over exaggerated moments, story lines and reactions makes it seem mre interesting.

• Juxtaposition - Among characters to make story line funnier 

• Same setting- Makes audience know whats going to happen, more aware of surroundings which makes them more feel included.

Episode One - The show gets us involved with the show in order for us to learn how the characters act and teaches us their characteristics. Also, their is the snowballing joke about how urine was spilt.

Episode Two - In this episode their is the snowballing joke about 'dogging' and then you meet Ken, Kayleigh's next door neighbour, adding laughter and amusement

Episode Three - In this episode you meet Ray, who works with them as a fish monger. The comedy  comes through the smell of laughter and how they are start making remarks about him in Japanese, until they find out he speaks fluent Japanese. The Transgressive humour of 'fat shit' adds comedy to the audience

 Situation Comedy - Car Share

The show is written by Peter Kay, Sian Golbson, Paul Coleman and Tim Reid, and has won numerous awards, including Best Comedy Show at the 2016 National Television Awards.

Codes and conventions of sit com:

• Family- General characters of sitcoms in order to allow a wider age variety .

• Audience - Relates to audience.

• Realism - Realistic storylines but it exaggerated through humor, adds empathy.

• Timings - Length of programme and how often- on at 9:30 due to transgressive humor.

• Sets - Often have one place that is seen as the main set and used most frequently.

• Stereotypes - Recognisable characteristics, reletable to audience, makes them feel in the moment.

• Simple narrative - Balanced narrative, then loss of stability, then a resolution.

• Cast - Regular characters and uncommon characters to make audience relate- adds humor.

• Canned laughter - Prompts the audience to laugh.

Car Share is aired on BBC1 at 9:30pm on a Friday. The first episode had 6.85million viewers, along with another 2.5million that watched on BBC iPlayer.

The type of audience pleasures you need to write about in the exam include:

• narrative pleasures such as those of narrative resolution, 
• character identification, snowballing narrative, suspense, comedy, and so on
• pleasures of recognition, familiarity and anticipation
• pleasures of difference-within-repetition
• performance unpredictability and spontaneity
• transgressive pleasures
• specific pleasures associated with performers or personalities.

 Walliams & Friend Research

• Who commissioned the programme?

          Shane Allen and Gregor Sharp

• Who produced it?

          BBC

• What audience is it aimed at? Why

It is linked to an older audience due to the transgressive humor that is used as older people would be able to understand and would find it more appealing. Also, the transgreesive humor isn't suitable for younger viewers.

• Why is it on at that time and on that channel? Link to 'type' of comedy and target audience. Is it on after the watershed? Why?

It is on at 9:30pm in order to gain the most amount of viewers, as its target audience are older people and if it was aired earlier then the target audience are more likely to be unavailable. Also it is a time where the older audience would be in bed, so it would be an ideal show to watch at that time. It's on BBC as it is a mainstream channel and has a high standard f comedies, and they are very well known for their comedy. It is on after the watershed due to the certain humor that is used and is inappropriate for younger viewers.

• Which category is Walliams & Friend in the Audience Demographic?

I would say that the show falls under the categories B and C1.
http://lcmedia2.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/audience-demographic-categories.html

TV Comedy - Codes and Conventions

'Walliam's & Friend'

• Canned Laughter- Used for a recorded show which contains the sound of the audience  This is often used after a joke, which is typically when the audience is about to laugh.

• Variety of drama sketches- Sketches such as parodies that the actors undertake. For example the 'Middle Class Jeremy Kyle' show.

• Repetition- Used to make the characters seem more idiotic or make the scene more funny. For example, when the two girls are on the bench and one continuously repeats 'back in the day', which makes the audience more entertained due to the large scale of repetition.

• Parody- A pardoy is something that is like an orignal, but is changed into their own. For example, 'Sherlock Holmes'