2. Annoying Friends
We've all got them, and we undoubtedly all feel bad about it. Somewhere within our circles of friends we all have that one (or perhaps more, if you're particularly unlucky!) person who makes it very, very difficult to be friends with them. More often than not this is through entirely unintentional behaviour or personality traits of theirs, but that unwittingness makes it even harder to deal with them. Sitcoms producers understand this situation; no doubt they have annoying friends of their own, and have mined it for comedy gold. Many modern sitcoms bring in annoying friends from their protagonist's past in order to put them in hilariously awkward situations. These scenarios can also be made all the more entertaining when the show's characters owe something to the annoying friend. In the case of 'Rules of Engagement', the annoying friend Liz (pictured) is more difficult to deal with as she is an old boss of main character Audrey. Since Liz gave Audrey her first big break in her career Audrey feels indebted to her, thus rendering ignoring her an unsuitable strategy. From here the laughs come from Liz's impositions on her life and Audrey's consistent attempts to distance herself from the annoying influence without it being obvious. And we've all been there, haven't we? Further excellent examples of the annoying friend can be found layered within other sitcom plots, such as in the father/son-in-law dynamic of 'Modern Family' where Phil tries desperately to win the approval of his father-in-law or even in some shows' recurring characters. The Simpsons' Ned Flanders may be the most well-known annoying friend of all in this cartoon sitcom!