not only are the acknowledging its a show, showing the audience, interacting with the audience, bringing in guests and referencing their shows and them talking about this as a show... but now talking about the girl who plays Candice....BEING IN ANOTHER SHOW!!
I don't totally think its working.... but gee its a pretty ballsy.
I don't think there has been a live sitcom in a long long time. The closest thing is SNL. They can break the 4th wall anytime. It's something unusual and weirdly compelling.
shareYou cant include SNL, Coaan etc as they are live shows. This is a sit com. lots of shows have been filmed in front of live audiences... happy Days, Seinfeld but they kept the wall intact. Last EP when the sister kissed Scott foley, one of the cast said that was not in rehearsal.
shareyou also can't include "filmed in front of a live audience"...
They're edited heavily with the writers trying different lines when they don't get the required laughs.
I do wonder if the Scott Foley kiss is as spontaneous as it is presented or if that line about being not rehearsed was actually rehearsed.
Quite frankly, SNL is really the only comparison. SNL has scripts. It's just structured differently. I can't think of the last live-broadcast sitcom. After the success of "I Love Lucy", I don't think anybody try returning to the live format.
They do it the time! For my taste, they break the 4th wall a bit to often. But you know, it's a live show. They need to exploit it and play with the concept.
It's a really fun show! Wish I could watch it live here in Norway.
Plenty of other shows have done similar fourth wall breaks. Fresh Prince comes immediately to mind
Rot in Hell Elmo Bloodwhatever ~ SkeksisGirl
Oh, its been done since the early days of t.v.
But I cant remember a show doing it to this level... even saying Candice is an actress and mentioning one of her other shows! That's unheard of.
Personally, I love when they break the wall. I find it funny and lighthearted.
shareMrs Brown's boys (an Irish sitcom ) shown on the BBC regularly breaks the fourth wall also when they mess up the dialogue of a crew member buffers up it gets incorporated into the show.
shareIt's Garry Shandling's Show.
And they also did a live episode, on the night of the 1988 presidential election, giving out real results, all within a sitcom.
I was definitely going to mention The Larry Sanders Show, not only talking to us, but to the studio audience as well and making references to the fact that he was in a Show.
I think that was a real First: Breaking the 4th Wall.
People on TV have been talking directly to the Camera ( to Us ) for a long, long time.
George Burns would have a conversation with Gracie Allen, and as they would start to walk away, he'd turn to the camera and say something like "I can't wait to see how this works out."
Talking to us and acknowledging that he knew he was in a Show, not depicting Real Life.
His TV Show was in the early 50s, I think. I don't know of any before that. Radio?
So, no studio audience = Breaking 3rd wall?
Did not watch a lot, but understand that Will Smith did a double take on Fresh Prince when his Aunt, being played by a new actress walked into scene? He didn't say anything, but he definitely let us know his Aunt was not the same actress. -- Still 3rd wall?
Frank Underwood speaks to the camera (to us), but I don't think he's acknowledging that he is a Character in a show. That's more like a Shakespeare character letting the audience in on something.
I think House of Cards is Breaking the Second Wall, speaking to audience in character, through the camera, or looking at the Audience, like rolling your eyes in a movie.
Shakespeare's soliloquies Broke the First Wall speaking to the audience on-stage, but in character.
Modern Family and other "Mock-Docs" ( Parks & Req., the Office) talk to us, but are commenting on their 'Real Life' as the character, so I don't know if that counts as breaking any Wall.
But where does leave Undatable stand standing?
They show you the studio audience, but do they talk to them? - No wall broken, just showing audience.
They refer to being on TV, but do they talk / communicate with Us? A side-long glance? - No wall down.
They have referred to actor's other roles, but you could squeeze that into question #2.
It's a live show that is self-referential; it's fresh & funny & NEW! ? But I can't see any broken walls.
I keep seeing Meta, "It's so Meta!" - I don't know what that means. 'Self-Referential'?
Feel free to correct me, I'm just taking guesses here.
Last Man Standing has done alot of 4th Wall breaking.
share