The Eight Characters of Comedy
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Ian Johnson
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Definitely a wise buy this. It does what it says on the tin , as it were, and gives you eight very recognisable characters of comedy. They were always there; you just didn't think about them. It is written about American comedy programmes but it is equally applicable to British ones. The British just tend to focus on class differences a bit more. The book is written mainly for actors and then for writers. It also gives good comedy writing information before it discusses the eight characters of comedy. I reckon you could use this book to write a comedy in a mechanical way. You could select which comedy characters you wanted; attribute the various characteristics to them, ask them what they want and watch the plot develop.The Eight Characters of Comedy is a very clearly written and easy to understand book; you know what to do after having read it.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although targeting the American Sitcom market this book is very useful to any prospective sitcom writers in this country.
It's easy to see famous UK sitcom stars in the examples he gives for each sitcom archetypal character.
He explains with great passion, humour and understanding what is needed to create a potentially great sitcom character.
Altogether one of the more useful books I've purchased in my quest to write some funny stuff.
My recommendation is BUY IT NOW.
It's easy to see famous UK sitcom stars in the examples he gives for each sitcom archetypal character.
He explains with great passion, humour and understanding what is needed to create a potentially great sitcom character.
Altogether one of the more useful books I've purchased in my quest to write some funny stuff.
My recommendation is BUY IT NOW.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Anton McLeod
Format:Paperback
THIS is a good book. It is meant for actors AND writers, and I am both, and therefore well placed to gauge all it has to offer. This book will help you choose, and orchestrate (Egri vocab), and shape comedy characters, and help you to keep them true throughout a story (writing). In acting, so often scripts seem barren of detail, so it's hard to know who the hell the character is, but this book helps to impose a finite though liberating attribute list for each character type, and you'll therefore always be able to fashion appropriate character behaviour regardless of the situation or storyline confined within.
It won't write your stories for you, nor get you up on stage or in front of camera, but this book will help you arrive at funny, viable characters (writing), and give you the knowledge and confidence that you are performing your character truthfully (Stan'i vocab).
Many books are 'jack of all trades,' dissipating and spreading themselves thin, but this book capitalises upon the close relation and synergy between acting and writing. (It is no accident that formal theatre arts courses include writing classes.) That said it is more than worth the price if you are at present only into one of said disciplines...
It won't write your stories for you, nor get you up on stage or in front of camera, but this book will help you arrive at funny, viable characters (writing), and give you the knowledge and confidence that you are performing your character truthfully (Stan'i vocab).
Many books are 'jack of all trades,' dissipating and spreading themselves thin, but this book capitalises upon the close relation and synergy between acting and writing. (It is no accident that formal theatre arts courses include writing classes.) That said it is more than worth the price if you are at present only into one of said disciplines...
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Bryan Parry
Format:Paperback
This book is great. It gives fantastic tips for actors and writers. Without being too gushing, it's everything I hoped for.
"Actors... AND writers...?"
Yeah, I was dubious about how effectively it would handle either in handling both. But, as Sedita points out, there is a close correlation between acting and writing. Me, I'm a budding writer, not an actor, yet I appreciate even the actorly advice he gives in this due to the connection between the two disciplines. Furthermore, I have to repeat myself: the handling of both acting and writing in no way compromises the quality of either; acting and writing are both well covered.
The Eight Characters of Comedy
The best bit of this book is the title and the reason I bought it: the eight characters of comedy. Each chapter deals with a different character ("The Logical Smart One", "The Lovable Loser", etc), gives examples and extracts from real comedies, outlines character traits of each and how they interact and pair up with other characters of the eight.
If you wanted to, you could use this book to mechanically create a sitcom. Not that you would be guaranteed success, mind; creating a successful sitcom comes down to some serious alchemy. None-the-less, you would probably be able to create a half-decent comedy by fully absorbing the lessons of this book (and that's something, at least).
I particularly found the chapters on the eight characters useful as a lens through which to view the characters I had already created. That is, as opposed to using it to create characters in the first place. By using this "lens", I have gained a greater insight into my characters, and these are insights I am finding invaluable.... Read more ›
"Actors... AND writers...?"
Yeah, I was dubious about how effectively it would handle either in handling both. But, as Sedita points out, there is a close correlation between acting and writing. Me, I'm a budding writer, not an actor, yet I appreciate even the actorly advice he gives in this due to the connection between the two disciplines. Furthermore, I have to repeat myself: the handling of both acting and writing in no way compromises the quality of either; acting and writing are both well covered.
The Eight Characters of Comedy
The best bit of this book is the title and the reason I bought it: the eight characters of comedy. Each chapter deals with a different character ("The Logical Smart One", "The Lovable Loser", etc), gives examples and extracts from real comedies, outlines character traits of each and how they interact and pair up with other characters of the eight.
If you wanted to, you could use this book to mechanically create a sitcom. Not that you would be guaranteed success, mind; creating a successful sitcom comes down to some serious alchemy. None-the-less, you would probably be able to create a half-decent comedy by fully absorbing the lessons of this book (and that's something, at least).
I particularly found the chapters on the eight characters useful as a lens through which to view the characters I had already created. That is, as opposed to using it to create characters in the first place. By using this "lens", I have gained a greater insight into my characters, and these are insights I am finding invaluable.... Read more ›
By Beach Buff
Format:Paperback
From an aspiring writers perspective i found this book to be very informative and also very entertaining. The one-liners used as examples from various TV shows had me rolling about the floor! great insight into what makes a character tick and how the different types of character all play off each other to generate some great comedy. If your planning a career in television this book not to be missed.
Format:Paperback
I have just finished reading this and it's amazing how it makes you look at sitcoms differently. You start to see how almost all sitcom characters are based on the archetypes Scott Sedita sets out. Once you start to slot the characters you know into these archetypes, it becomes easier to understand how the comedy works and what makes some combinations of characters inherently funny.
Sedita talks about American sitcoms, a lot of which I didn't know, e.g. The Honeymooners, All In The Family, Hogan's Heroes, The Mary Tyler Moore Show (and lots more), but I still found the book very useful as it's easy to look up clips on youtube of any programmes you're not familiar with. Also he gives bits of dialogue from the shows as examples in the book. He also talks a lot about the sitcoms I HAVE seen, e.g. Seinfeld, Friends, Roseanne, Will & Grace, Cheers, etc.
I think this book is as useful for writers as it is for actors, especially if you're still in the planning stages.
Sedita talks about American sitcoms, a lot of which I didn't know, e.g. The Honeymooners, All In The Family, Hogan's Heroes, The Mary Tyler Moore Show (and lots more), but I still found the book very useful as it's easy to look up clips on youtube of any programmes you're not familiar with. Also he gives bits of dialogue from the shows as examples in the book. He also talks a lot about the sitcoms I HAVE seen, e.g. Seinfeld, Friends, Roseanne, Will & Grace, Cheers, etc.
I think this book is as useful for writers as it is for actors, especially if you're still in the planning stages.
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
REALLY INFORMATIVE BOOK
well written, if a little dated perhaps in some of its references. funny in itself in parts, but good as a starting point for keen beginners like me. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Catriona Liddle
5.0 out of 5 stars
My boyfriend loved it!
I purchased this book for my boyfriend after reading the great reviews.
He is amateur comedy writer and absolutely loved it and read the whole thing in 1 day. Read more
He is amateur comedy writer and absolutely loved it and read the whole thing in 1 day. Read more
Published on 7 Mar 2011 by Kirsty
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome book.
I was a little wary at first, buts its been a great help in polishing my sitcom and defining stronger characters. Well worth buying.
Published on 19 April 2010 by D. Ocean
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