Is There Still a Place for Sitcoms in Today’s World? 情景剧如今还有市场吗？

杰克·伯恩哈特 唐毅

The sitcom’s gig might be over， with audiences’ lust for comedy being served by competitive baking shows and reality TV.現场演出的情景剧也许不会再有了，颇具看点的烘焙秀和真人秀满足了观众对喜剧的渴望。

By Jack Bernhardt

It’s always the stupidest questions that stick in your head. Does Vin Diesel1 mean “Wine made out of petrol” in French？ Do Shetland ponies2 feel inadequate compared to regular horses？ Do Henry Bolton3 and his racist girlfriend actually exist， or are they just very active figments of Nigel Farage4’s imagination？ The one that has been going around my head recently is one that’s borne out my own insecurities about my career choices， and it’s one that’s been nagging at my brain since I caught the last few minutes of the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special5： what’s the point of sitcoms today？

That’s unduly mean to Mrs Brown’s Boys， really—I know that Brendan O’Carroll has worked hard developing the character of Mrs Brown， almost as hard as the rest of the cast has worked on developing ways to avoid the British tax system. The existential “what is the point of sitcoms” crisis was less triggered by the quality of the episode， and more by the achingly traditional end credits， where Mrs Brown leads the cast in bows to the studio audience.

For all of its weirdly subversive touches—Mrs Brown frequently breaks the fourth wall， seemingly aware that she’s a character played by a man trapped in a BBC One sitcom， like a particularly confusing episode of Black Mirror6—the show is inherently old-fashioned， with most of the jokes coming out of broad stereotypes. It mimics the old 1970s and 80s sitcoms of Are You Being Served or Hi-De-Hi in joke structure， characters and set pieces， and that reinforces a pernicious idea： that sitcoms are something that belong to the past， a relic of a bygone era like flared trousers or consequences for politicians who lie.

This is a perception that isn’t exactly challenged by the BBC. In 2016， they launched the new Sitcom Season with a promotional campaign that harked back to the past—complete with Michael Fish inspired weather backdrops and cheesy font. All that was missing was a couple of hushed-up sexual assault cases and we would have been right back in the 1970s for real. The retro style was to “celebrate” the fact that the BBC was rebooting a bunch of old sitcoms—Are You Being Served， Porridge and Keeping Up Appearances， among others—in a move that definitely didn’t make the sitcom feel any younger. There’s nothing quite like being told that the industry you’re attempting to crack into belongs in the 1970s. Which of course is why I decided to focus on working for the business of the future—writing for print media.

So then， what is the point of sitcoms today？ On the surface， this is relatively simple to answer—to create new and original comic characters， and to spawn a series of catchphrases that look good on mugs， T-shirts and adverts for taxes.

But in recent years， comic characters and catchphrases that permeate the national consciousness haven’t come from sitcoms， but from reality TV like Gogglebox7 and Love Island8. June and Leon9 were effectively a classic comedy duo that eclipsed most sitcom couples， while Chris and Kem’s rap was the Let’s Get Ready To Rumble of 201710. What is the point of the sitcom if we’re getting all our jokes from competitive baking shows and programmes where Jo Brand11 watches a competitive baking show？ What if British society’s desire for dumb stories， outrageous characters and silliness for silliness’s sake is being sated by Joey Essex12 and that guy from Made In Chelsea13 who sounds like he always has plums in his mouth？

As a result， many sitcoms seem to be shunning the concept of jokes altogether. Three of the most brilliant “sitcoms” of the past two years have been praised for being dark， compelling and dramatic， ahead of being funny： the pilot for Fleabag14 ends with the revelation that Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s best friend is dead; series three of Catastrophe15 is an unflinching look at the devastating alcoholism and infidelity of Rob Delaney’s character; and arguably the most celebrated episode of Inside No 916 （Sheridan Smith’s heart-wrenching performance in The 12 Days of Christine） has more mystery， intrigue， sadness， heartbreak and pain more than it has actual jokes.

These are all fantastic programmes， but if a show is making you cry more than it’s making you laugh， is it still a sitcom？ Are we destined to have two types of sitcoms： one with jokes， but stuck firmly in the 1970s; and one modern， but really more of a drama where people occasionally say funny things？ Does the joke-heavy， modern sitcom have a place in the world？

Just as I was asking myself these pretentious questions about my own craft， in danger of thinkpiecing myself into oblivion， I watched something that reminded me just what makes sitcoms so great. Derry Girls17， the Channel 4 sitcom by Lisa McGee， appears at first to be a gritty look at life in an all-girls Catholic school during the Troubles18—but in reality it’s just a wonderfully funny show packed with so many gags （particularly those centred around the suspected bomb on the bridge that ruins everyone’s commute） and beautifully written characters （the best being Michelle， who watched Pulp Fiction over the summer and declares that saying “motherfucking” is her new thing）. It wasn’t afraid of making jokes， or being dumb and over-the-top—in fact， it embraced it， because it knew that the characters and the writing were strong enough to pull them off.

In the end， the simplest answer is the best one： the point of a sitcom is to make people laugh， and create hilarious characters that you could watch do pretty much anything and still be entertained. And in reality， there are plenty of recent British sitcoms that do that： Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum， Roisin Conaty in Gameface， Charlie and Daisy May Cooper in This Country19， Guz Khan in Man Like Mobeen20 and Asim Chaudhry in People Just Do Nothing are all unique and brilliant comic creations that can only exist through sitcoms. The sitcom is not dead—we just need to get its reputation out of the 70s and celebrate the great writing and performing talent we have today.

你脑海中总有些愚蠢到极点的问题挥之不去吧：范·迪塞尔在法语里的意思是“汽油做的葡萄酒”吗？与普通的马相比，设得兰矮种马会自惭形秽吗？亨利·博尔顿和他那个有种族偏见的女友是确有其人，还是压根儿就是奈杰尔·法拉奇凭空想象出来的？自从看完《布朗夫人的儿子们——圣诞特辑》后，我脑子里便久久萦绕着一个问题，这个问题更是印证了我对自己职业选择的担忧，那就是——当今情景剧意义何在？

实际上，提出这个问题对《布朗夫人的儿子们》有点儿过分苛求了。我知道布伦丹·奥卡罗尔已尽力演绎布朗夫人这个角色，几乎和剧组其他那些想方设法逃避英国税收制度监管的演员一样卖力。当今“情景剧意义何在”的危机大多并非由该剧质量引发，更多是因为片尾按例播放演职员表时布朗夫人带领所有演员向演播室观众鞠躬致谢，看了让人心酸。

《布朗夫人的儿子们》采用了颠覆传统的手法，颇不寻常——比如布朗夫人常常打破角色限制，似乎知道饰演她这个角色的是被BBC1台的情景剧（就像那部让人晕头转向的电视剧《黑镜》）不幸困住的男演员——尽管如此，这部剧本身还是很老套，其笑话大多是直白的套路。那些笑料的结构、角色和固定套路模仿的是七八十年代的情景剧《百货店奇遇记》以及《你好呀你好呀》，这样做其实会强化一个有害的观念：情景剧都是过去年代的事，就像喇叭裤或政客们撒谎被揭穿的糟糕后果，都是过去时代的遗物。

而BBC并不想挑战这种观念。2016年，BBC开启了新一季情景剧，推广活动还是过去的样子——总是被迈克尔·菲什激发出灵感的天气背景和俗里俗气的字体，一个都没落下。唯一消失不见的是一两件已被掩盖的性侵案，除此之外全是70年代的东西。这股怀旧风是为了“纪念”吧，BBC正在重启一大堆旧剧，其中包括《百货店奇遇记》《粥》《维护面子》等。这一举动显然没有让人感觉情景剧年轻化。还有什么比有人告诉你说，你削尖脑袋想要挤进的行业属于70年代更让人难受呢？这当然也是我决定专注于未来的行业——为纸媒写作的原因。

那么又回到这一问题：当今情景剧的意义何在？表面看来，这问题回答起来并不太难——要创造崭新的、前所未有的喜剧人物，要大量产出夺人眼球的金句印在马克杯、体恤衫或征税的广告上。

但是近年来，渗透国民意识的喜剧人物和金句并非来自情景剧，而是来自真人秀，如《电视匣子》《爱情岛》。琼和利昂是常常让大多数情景剧搭档都黯然失色的经典喜剧二人组，而克丽丝和肯姆说唱的是《2017，我们准备好了》。试想一下，如果我们所有的笑话都来自颇具看点的烘焙秀和有乔·布兰德观看有看点的烘焙秀的那些节目，情景剧还有存在的意义吗？如果英国大众就喜欢愚蠢无脑的故事、怪里怪气的角色、为博傻而博傻的段子，这种欲望通过乔伊·埃塞克斯或是《切尔西制造》里那个说话总好像嘴里塞着李子的家伙而完全得到满足，那又怎样？

结果，许多情景剧似乎完全放弃了搞笑的念头。过去两年有三部情景剧受到追捧，并非因其笑料，而是因其暗黑的风格、引人入胜并富有戏剧性的情节而广受好评：《伦敦生活》的试播集以菲比·沃勒-布里奇最好的朋友死亡告终;《大祸临头》第三季坚持不懈地反映毁掉罗伯·德兰尼生活的酗酒和不忠问题;堪称《9号秘事》最有名一集的“克里斯蒂的12天”（希尔顿·史密斯在其中的表演打动人心）情节神秘复杂和悲伤心痛多过搞笑。

这些剧集都非常棒，但是如果一部剧集的泪点比笑点多，那还是情景剧吗？难道我们注定只有两种情景剧，一种让人发笑却固守70年代的形式，另一种属于现代，但其实更像舞台剧，只是偶尔来点儿插科打诨？令人时时捧腹的现代情景剧在世界上还有一席之地吗？

就在我冒着将自己批得一无是处的危险，用这些自以为是的问题质疑自己这个行当的时候，我看到了一部剧，这部剧让我想起了情景剧如此了不起的缘由。这就是由莉萨·麦吉导演并在第四频道推出的情景剧《德里女孩》。这部剧表面看来就是描写北爱尔兰问题时期一群天主教女校学生的真实生活，实际上情节非常有趣，笑料频频（尤其那些围绕放在桥上、妨碍上下班通勤的可疑炮弹的笑话），剧本人物塑造也非常成功（塑造最成功的要算米歇尔了，暑假里她看了《低俗小说》，于是声称“操他娘的”是她新的口头禅）。这部剧不怕讲笑话，不怕犯傻，不怕夸张——實际上，它正是极力去表现这些元素，因为它自信人物和剧本都够扎实，完全可以获得成功。

最后，其实最简单的答案就是最好的答案：情景剧的意义在于搞笑，创造一些奇葩角色，让你看到他们做一大堆傻不拉叽的事，你还觉得很乐呵。实际上，近来英国有许多情景剧都在这样做：比如迈克尔·科尔的《口香糖》，而《变脸游戏》中的鲁瓦森·科纳蒂、《英村二三事》中的查理和黛西·梅·库珀、《像莫比恩一样的男人》中的古兹·卡恩及《他们什么都没做》中的阿西姆·乔杜里等这些喜剧角色都是独一无二、光芒四射的，仅存于情景剧中。情景剧没有死——只是我们需要将其从70年代中拯救出来，要珍视我们今天那些精彩绝伦的剧本和才华横溢的演员。              □

（译者单位：东华大学）

1美国电影演员，制片人。主要作品有《拯救大兵瑞恩》《速度与激情》等。  2产于苏格兰设得兰岛的古老的矮种马。性格温顺，身体肥厚强壮，四肢短小，可在严寒的气候下生存。  3英国独立党领袖。其模特女友乔·马尼因在和友人的手机短信中抨击哈里王子妻子梅根·马克尔的非裔血统而受到多方指责。  4英国独立党前领袖，播音员、政治分析家。

5由BBC制作、本·凯利特执导的一部舞台剧，讲述一个满嘴脏话但又热情活波的母亲独自养大六个孩子的故事。这出剧在英国演出时，场场爆满，一票难求。  6《黑镜》由英国电视四台播出，至今已播出四季。故事以现代科技为背景，每集情节相互独立，表达了当代科技对人性的利用、重构与破坏。

7英国很受欢迎的一档真人秀节目。Gogglebox是英国人对电视机的俗称。这档节目是将电视镜头置于各个家庭，记录各个家庭观看电视节目时的表情和感受。因其真实地体现了普通民众的喜怒哀乐而大受欢迎。  8英国颇受欢迎的一档男女约会真人秀节目。节目组将6组互不相识的单身男女召集起来，扔在一个小岛的豪华别墅里待6周，不能使用手机，必须聊天交际，然后用摄像头记录他们24小时的举动。

9《电视匣子》中的一对老年夫妻，相伴60年，丈夫于2018年去世。这对夫妻最先出现在轰动英国的这档真人秀节目中并很快受到观众喜爱。  10这话最初出自美国拳击比赛报幕员Michael Buffer之口，原话是Let’s get to rumble，意思是“让我们准备好看比赛吧”。Michael經典的长音迷倒了许多拳击迷，从而成为他的粉丝。后来公司将此话注册，专供Michael使用，其他人不得使用。  11英国编剧兼演员，主要作品有《目中已无我》《要命》等。  12英国演员，主要作品有《埃塞克斯是唯一的生活方式》。  13 2011年首播的真人秀节目。  14菲比·沃勒-布里奇主演，2016年首播。  15 2019年1月首播的电视剧，故事描述一个爱尔兰女人与一个美国男人在英国伦敦相遇并相爱，但因文化差异，两人在一起生活并非易事。

16由大卫·科尔、吉列尔莫·莫拉莱斯导演，绅士联盟成员史蒂夫·佩姆伯顿和里斯·谢尔史密斯自编自演，联合BBC推出的一部英国黑暗喜剧。  17讲述四个生活在德里的天主教女校学生和一个来自英格兰的男孩的搞笑故事，一经播出就成为英国电视第四频道最受欢迎的电视剧。  18指北爱尔兰问题时期。始于1960年代后期，终于1998年4月10日签订北爱和平协议。

19 BBC伪纪录片式喜剧，BBC为深入了解如今英国农村地区的年轻人感到的前所未有的边缘化，在科兹沃尔德地区村庄跟拍了一些年轻人的生活，将他们的经历改编成了这部热门喜剧。  20讲述住在伯明翰的28岁的穆斯林小伙独自抚养15岁的妹妹的故事。这个剧集记录了他过去的犯罪生涯、友谊以及作为一个巴基斯坦穆斯林所面临的许多争议。