// BAD EDUCATION AUDIENCE PLEASURES //

4a)

Friday Night Dinner

• Commissioned by Channel 4 and produced by Robert Popper.
• They are aimed at people, more so families with older children. But also people aged 15-25.
• It is usually aired on Friday nights at around 9/10pm. It is on after watershed as the show contains sexual references and strong language.

Bad Education

• Commissioned by BBC Three, and produced by Pippa Brown.
• This show is aimed at school teenagers, as the situation of the comedy is linked to their age range. (14-20)
• The show is generally aired on Tuesdays at a time around 10pm (after watershed). This is due to the strong language and sexual references.

4b)
         In the sitcom, narrative resolution is used to give a story to each episode, so that the episode before and after have no effect on the episode – so that new viewers do not need to catch up in retrospect. The way narrative resolution is used, is by giving the main character a situation, in which something usually goes his way until he is caught out on what he was doing. The reason why this satisfies us as an audience is because it gives us a good idea of how the episode is going to finish – so we slowly watch it all unravel itself. Another way that the show satisfies us, is by making the main character an exaggerated rendition of what most normal people are like – allowing him to be relatable to the audience so that the story can be understood, this helps build a strong connection with the audience watching the show at the time. However, a lot of the characters are not likeable, as the show tries to give the perspective that everyone is against him, and when he messes up – everybody laughs to make the mistake a kind of ‘cringe-comedy’. The show also tends to create suspense towards the end of the episode, as when the moment gets closer and closer, you recognise the situation and slowly see the main character get caught out in his situation. Another way the show allows us to connect to the storyline and the characters is to make each one clearly identifiable. One example of this is “The Logical Smart One” who is responsible and the only stable one in the class room who is represented through Jing. The main character, Alfie Wickers, is the character that most people relate to the most. However, the reason why he is the most relatable character is because he is sarcastic, optimistic and impulsive – the attributes of a lot of the people that watch the show, along with the decisions he makes even though they may seem stupid sometimes. Most of these separate attributes for each character are seen commonly within many UK Sitcoms, as it allows characters to be identified easily. These shows are usually broadcasted after watershed, such as Friday Night Dinner, as they include rude language and adult references. These are included as this is the style of comedy that the show portrays, meaning it will be broadcasted at adult times.