73 A Short History of Sitcoms

Sitcoms—or situation comedies—have been around since the beginning days of television, frequently moving families. These early programs conveyed an image of American domestic life that became the yardstick against which many 1950s fami- lies measured themselves.

Premiering in 1951, “I Love Lucy” was not only one of the earliest family sit- coms, it also in many ways changed the face of television. This show was the first to be filmed and the first program to use three separate cameras, thereby allowing a much greater diversity of shots. And finally, it introduced a dizzy premise: Lucy, a scatterbrained housewife, trying to get into show business, always getting her husband, Ricky, into trouble.

These “I Love Lucy” innovations would be copied in many other sitcoms. They generally included a wise father always dressed in “typical” TV fan- ciered either unknown or nonentities a warm, supportive mother who always wore the same dress to work, and the Beaver,” were popular shows in this mold.

The unintended of the family sitcom replaced the lovable but idealized sitcom dad with a bigger, ill family.” This program was in many ways “All in the Family” ushered in the era of more preposterous but ultimately more realistic sitcoms that still are popular today.

73 情景喜剧简史

情景喜剧（sitcoms）自电视诞生之初就已存在，常以家庭为背景。这些早期节目传递了美国家庭生活的一种形象，成为20世纪50年代许多家庭自我衡量的标准。

1951年首播的《我爱露西》不仅是最早的家庭情景喜剧之一，还在很多方面改变了电视的面貌。这是第一部采用拍摄形式的节目，也是第一部使用三台独立摄像机的节目，从而实现了更多样的镜头。最终，它引入了一个荒诞的设定：露西，一个糊里糊涂的家庭主妇，总想进入演艺圈，还总把丈夫瑞奇卷入麻烦。

这些《我爱露西》的创新会被许多其他情景喜剧效仿。它们通常会设定一个穿着“典型”电视风格服装的睿智父亲，一个总是穿同一件衣服上班的温柔、支持他的母亲，还有《天才小麻烦》这类在此模式下受欢迎的节目。

家庭情景喜剧的意外转变，用一个更夸张、更病态的“家庭”取代了可爱但理想化的情景喜剧父亲形象。《全家福》在很多方面开启了一个新时代：更多荒诞但最终更写实的情景喜剧，这类剧至今仍受欢迎。