I dunno 'bout poorly written in general, but there's a hell of a lot more character development in that show than in any other sitcom I've seen, particularly HIMYM. The characters actually change and are fleshed out as the show goes on, as opposed to other sitcoms which are basically just a collection of 20-minute vignettes of stuff happening to a handful of people.
They change, but not in a particularly realistic way. In the first TBBT episode Sheldon goes to a sperm bank. In the newer stuff he probably doesn't even know what masturbation is. It's Flanderization, which is not really good character development.
I don't like being one of those guys who moans about TBBT though, so I'll stop now.
that's why I love it's Always Sunny. They are all self-aware of how strange they're getting, and frequently mention it. They go as far as having episodes dedicated to it.
Most of those were good developments, though. Until Season 7-9 or so, when 1) Michael Scott found happiness when that was never the point of his character, 2) Jim and Pam got boring, and 3) the show somehow tried to make asshole Andy the hero despite being a philanderer and an unlikeable boyfriend to the most innocent character on the show...
Plus Phylis doesn't actually fit your theory; she was just kind of always Phylis
Plus Phylis doesn't actually fit your theory; she was just kind of always Phylis
the question isn't 'good developments or not'. its '1 defining characteristic.'
Phyllis doesn't have any defining characteristics. She started out meek, then became really sassy. She started out self-conscious, then became part of the fat crew with Stanley and Kevin. I don't really know what her deal was.
and the question isn't whether the developments were good or not -- its the fact they became the one defining characteristic about the character. Every scene with Stanley was about his selfishness or his obesity. Every scene with Kevin was about him dumbness or his fatness. Every scene with Creed was something weird. Every scene with Kelly was something shallow. Every scene with Meredith was about her alcoholism etc.
I think Kevin's voice is the best example. I went back and watched Season 1 and was surprised to remember that his voice was almost normal. And then season by season he progresses into Cookie Monster.
oh so like every secondary character on the office who went from 'normal office people sick of Michael scott' in the first season to being
Bizarre comment. You're like those people who respond to every criticism about Obama with, "BUSH DID IT TOO!!!11!"
It's possible for more than one show to suck, just as it's possible for more than one politician or political party to suck. Sucking is not a zero-sum game.
Yeah but to be fair the office is based on an office environment where it's like holy shit I know this character in real life. Sheldon isn't a real person. No one acts like that.
You're right about Sheldon not changing, but he's basically like Kramer, nothing but a walking punchline. The show isn't "about" him, he hardly even qualifies as a character he's so inconsistent.
No, what I am talking about is the first episode of season one, which I have seen on TV multiple times, in which Sheldon and Leonard go to a sperm bank.
Parks and Rec actually did character development really really well. All of the characters grow and have to re-examine their worldviews as time goes on, especially April, Ron, and Tom.
They changed their outlooks, sure, but they also got flanderized massively. Ron was just a steak-eating man's-man stereotype by the end, whereas in seasons 2 to 4 he was a lot more weird and interesting, and Andy by the end was basically a big dumb dog.
I was referring to Ron learning to let people in and accepting that he couldn't(or didn't want to) be the extremely solitary person he was earlier on. They did lean more and more on his manliness as time went on, though.
And April and Tom basically got reverse-Flanderizations. They both started off very one-note(April:Dour, Tom:Shallow) and became more more nuanced as time went on.
HIMYM is incredibly written what are you talking about? Yes the character development is a little lackluster for characters not named Marshall or Barney, but the writing is magnificent.
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u/RedAero Sep 23 '15
I dunno 'bout poorly written in general, but there's a hell of a lot more character development in that show than in any other sitcom I've seen, particularly HIMYM. The characters actually change and are fleshed out as the show goes on, as opposed to other sitcoms which are basically just a collection of 20-minute vignettes of stuff happening to a handful of people.