The Situational Comedy is an established staple for nearly every television network these days. A quick peruse of any TV guide will reveal that various 'Sitcom' titles appear across our screens every single day, and why not? Sitcoms are a genre whose narratives are grounded in reality and everyday scenarios, but which are played out with just enough humour and comedic overplay to help the identifying audience appreciate the lighter side of the parallel lives unfolding before them. The sitcom operates with a very basic narrative structure and simple set of guidelines. Characters are based on real human traits, with some aspects of personality accentuated for comedic effect. The setting, more often than not, is a parallel of the real world and each plot focuses on the way the characters overcome relatable and realistic trials or problems. Inevitably the realism is often eschewed to add comedic value, but ultimately these shows are grounded in reality and offer viewers the chance to see fictionalised versions of themselves or people they know dealing with situations they have encountered in their own lives. For a genre that boasts so many unique titles keeping things fresh could be a potential pitfall. Fortunately there is more than enough variation in the sitcom's source material - real life - to counter this and give each series a fighting chance at maintaining treading some new ground. Some re-treading of old paths
is inevitable, though, and viewers of multiple examples may find a smack of familiarity between episodes from different series'. This is especially true for plot, as certain events in a sitcom world are just too juicy for the creative teams to ignore. With that in mind, we've compiled a list of five generic sitcom plots that you'll have seen several times before, and are likely to see again as new series' take up the observational reigns. So, without further ado, let's get the ball rolling...