Exam Practice B322 Q.4 (b)

"Compare the audience pleasures offered by two comedy programmes. Give examples from the programmes."

     The two comedy programmes The Inbetweeners (2008~2010, E4) and QI (2003~ , BBC2) provide the audience with different types of pleasures due to the differences in their audience and ethos. When compared, QI is considered more mainstream because of its wider range of audience although highly concentrated over the 30 age mark. It can easily appeal to more people and is therefore broadcast on BBC as well as having reruns on other channels as well.

     The audience pleasures that QI provides is directly linked to the PSB values of BBC: to inform, entertain, and educate. Although QI's main objective is to entertain the audience through portraying Alan Davies as a lesser being, it also educates the audience through obscure information and unexpected answers. This creates a passageway to another audience pleasure that The Inbetweeners lacks, active communication. QI stars a number of participants who are looking to find the correct answer to the question that Stephen Fry asks, which can then be indirectly engaged by the audience at home. By getting certain answers correct, the audience is more likely to be attracted to the show's momentum and get involved. Although this is true, the audience as well as anyone on the show rarely get answers correct and are bound to feel a lack of knowledge. Because of this, the audience pleasure cannot be successfully achieved without Stephen Fry's welcoming attitude, and taking a softer approach to people's futility.  

     The Inbetweeners on the other hand provide pleasure to its audience in a completely different manner. To start with, it is a comedy that focuses on a niche-audience of older teenagers and young adults. It is also mainly targeting the male population as the storyline is based around typical teenagers in a school life. This age group is uncommonly interfered by any other because the show contains language which is very disturbing. This has been done so that the show seems as realistic as possible for the audience. The main audience pleasure gained from The Inbetweeners is relations with the characters. People watching the show are often entertained by situations which they can relate to from their school life and laugh at the characters because they know how it feels to be in their shoes.

'Gladiator' Opening Sequence

     In the opening sequence of 'Gladiator', narratives which fit the genre of action and adventure take place. First of all, the representation of characters and the two opposing sides make it clear who are the 'good' hero and who are the villains. When the Roman soldiers are being shown, there is a sense of respect and admiration around. This can be seen from how the soldiers address their leader; with gentle bows and suitable behaviors. The Romans also move in an orderly queue and preparing for battle, which shows the human side of the battalion. It is rather obvious who the main 'hero' in the opening sequence is because of the way he is dressed and acts. He has an unlikely good - looking face for a warrior and wears additional clothing above his platebody. He also gives orders in a ruling manner which presents him as someone in a high status. This makes the audience feel supportive towards the Romans and the hero in the pack. The German opposition on the other hand, have old - fashioned kit and act in a disorganised barbaric way. They produce intimidating sounds and have uncomforting images, quite different from the Romans. Their disorientated looks is stereotypical narrative

     There is combat involved, which is also a typical action and adventure narrative. As the Germans show up, suspense starts building up and the spectacular scenery provides what is a battlefield for the armies. There isn't alot of speed and motion prior to the battle which shows how calm the Roman soldiers were. The Germans decapitate a Roman messenger which hints that the people there are in jeopardy. This makes the audience feel nervous and more attracted to further events that would take place in the film.

Mission Impossible Opening

     Mission Impossible 2 is an Action and Adventure film which also carries some characteristics of a thriller. The opening sequence involves a scene where the main character is climbing a cliff with bare hands in a uncivilized place. The narrative in the screening fits the genre of action and adventure. First of all, the background of the opening creates a sense of suspense and nervousness. For instance, when the character jumps from one rock to another and slips to the edge of the cliff, a bird's eye camera shot is used to emphasize the height in which the character is in. This makes the audience worry and makes them feel like part of the film. Also, there are many wide shots to show to the audience the basic image of what kind of place the character has been placed in. The ambient sound of panting additionally presents motion and difficulty in the action involved. 

     Secondly, a message is delivered from a helicopter to the main character, presenting him with a mission to look for a certain item with help of a civilian around the area. This is very typical of an action and adventure genre film because the message for-sees an adventure that lies ahead of the character. This makes the audience think about what lies ahead and makes connection with the events presented prior to the message. At this point, the audience get the idea that the character is the hero in the genre because he has been chosen for the task. Additionally, he is good - looking which is typical of people on the 'good' side. At the end of the opening is an explosion of the message which is another typical event in an action and adventure film.    

About 'The IT Crowd'

     The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, and produced by Ash Atalla. Set in the London offices of the fictional Reynholm Industries, the show revolves around the three staff members of its IT department: a geeky genius named Maurice Moss, the workshy Roy Trenneman, and Jen Barber, the department head/Relationship manager, who knows nothing about IT.

Moss and Roy, the two technicians, are portrayed as socially inept geeks or, in Denholm Reynholm's words, "standard nerds". Despite the company's dependence on their services, they are despised, ignored, and considered losers by the rest of the staff. Roy's exasperation is reflected in his support techniques of ignoring the phone in the hope it will stop ringing. He expresses his personality by wearing a different geek T-shirt in each episode. Moss's wide and intricate knowledge of all things technical is reflected in his extremely accurate yet utterly indecipherable suggestions, while he demonstrates a complete inability to deal with practical problems like extinguishing fires and removing spiders.

Jen, the newest member of the team, is hopelessly non-technical, despite claiming on her CV that she has "a lot of experience with computers". As Denholm, the company boss, is equally tech-illiterate, he is convinced by Jen's interview bluffing and appoints her head of the IT department. Her official title is "relationship manager", yet her attempts at bridging the gulf between the technicians and the business generally have the opposite effect, landing Jen in situations just as ludicrous as those of her team-mates.

Being a situation comedy, the audience of ‘The IT Crowd’ gain entertainment from everyday situations that revolve around the main characters of the show. They are enlightened by the stupidity of the people in the sitcoms and take an upper ground, as smarter people. The show can be watched without much thinking about situations as the sole purpose of the show is to entertain the audiences. 

About QI (Quite Interesting)

QI (Quite Interesting) is a British comedy panel quiz show created and co - produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panelist Alan Davies. Most of the questions are extremely obscure, making it unlikely that the correct answer will be given.

Stephen Fry as the host, takes an omniscient position where he leads the show knowing the answers to the questions presented throughout the game. He then decides whether he will deduce or award points depending on how interesting the answer given is. Alan Davies is shown on the show as a permanent member whilst the other 3 people are swapped around every show. He is the centre of humourous abuse, and also is the first person to give a wrong answer to lead the show. 

Because of the show's expectation that hardly anyone would be able to give a correct answer without significant prompting, it instead encourages sheer interestingness, which is how points are mainly scored. Negative scores are common, and occasionally even the victor's score may be negative. As the contestants in the show are generally 'destroyed' of their existing knowledge, the audience gets a confidence boost and is embraced by it. They feel they are in a 'smarter' position, and along with the humour get to enjoy the show.