Where’s sitcom all gone?
Plea for return of TV comedies
THE lack of great new British sitcoms to rival Fawlty Towers, Dad’s Army and Alan Partridge is no laughing matter, according to TV writer Steven Moffat.
Moffat blames “snobby” production companies for turning their noses up at the sitcom, leaving a gap in the television comedy market.
The screenwriter had a hit in the Noughties with BBC sitcom Coupling, about the dating adventures of three women, played by Gina Bellman, Sarah Alexander, and Kate Isitt.
He said: “I loved my days back on Coupling. I do think there’s a gap for that ... I don’t know why we stopped making sitcoms. People love them.”
Proof of that, he said, was Not Going Out, starring Lee Mack and Sally Bretton, which began in 2006 and has just finished its 13th series.
It is the second longest-running British sitcom behind Last of the Summer Wine.
Moffat said: “Not Going Out is a huge hit. But amongst chattering people, like ourselves, we don’t talk about it as much, but it’s a great show. Every time they put Dad’s Army on it wipes out everything else. I think the general public love sitcoms, and snobby people like, well, me, probably got a bit high-minded for them. “It’s well past time we brought back the audience sitcom. People love them.”
As well as being a former showrunner and head writer of Doctor Who, Moffat is also known for teen drama Press Gang and co-creating BBC drama Sherlock alongside Mark Gatiss, but his latest project is a play, The Unfriend.
Moffat said writing sitcoms helped him when it came to getting the live audiences for his play laughing.
He said: “I do think writing those sitcoms educated me a bit in what you have to do with a live audience... and how you make them laugh.”
He said his number one sitcom was Fawlty Towers, the 1970s BBC hit. He said: “Fawlty Towers is my favourite
sitcom. It’s the best thing ever. I’ve laughed more at Fawlty Towers than anything else, ever.”
But hapless hotel owner Basil Fawlty, played by John Cleese, is not his most-loved comic creation.
He said: “My favourite sitcom character is Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge, because I think the militant maintenance of quality in the presentation of that character is outstanding. Every single iteration has been superb.”
Despite the lack of sitcoms, Moffat believes Britain should be “proud” of the television programmes it makes.
Speaking on Times Radio, he said: “We do really well at it. It’s a tremendously thriving business.”