A sitcom is usually 22 to 30 minutes long. The stories are divided into episodes that contain one or two major stories that are started and concluded within those 20-something minutes. Every 3 sentences of so, there's a joke that audiences are supposed to respond to by laughing. Laugh tracks are added so people can know when to laugh. The problem I have with this format is that I don't see how one can add one or two stories into a 22 minute show without them being unrealistic. Plus the fact that every character has a ridiculous side - there are no heroes in sitcoms!

A soap opera - which usually runs weekly and lasts for an hour - has an ongoing, complex plot that emphasizes relationships and ends in a cliffhanger each week. If you miss one episode you won't be able to enjoy the ones afer that, so you have to invest a lot of your time in a soap to enjoy it at all. I think a soap opera needs to be like the hottest thing on TV or else it will gradually lose viewers over time.

A plain TV drama also lasts about an hour and may have lots of action or lots of pure drama, but unlike the soap opera each episode tends to stand alone. I like it because the one hour you have gives you more time to tell a complete story. Also, you don't have to tell a joke through your script every 20 seconds. However, I wonder if it'll be hard to get a network to dedicate one hour to a new TV show.

So, if you are a TV producer trying to produce the next big Nigerian TV dramatic show, which forma would you choose? Would you create a 30 minute sitcom, a 1 hour soap opera or a plain episodic tv drama?

I prefer TV dramas because u get complete story
and u don't lose the plot
But I hate soap operas because it drags on for long time and sometimes you wonder what the plot is all about.

TV dramas. That way they can follow the format of short stories. You can get a lot across in such a short time and still have an interesting story.

Soap operas are like extended heart attacks. They could be very agonising ( and annoying!). Sit coms: when they are funny, they are very good, when they are not, they are horrid.

Wow, it seems as if our opinions are unanimous. Anyone producing a TV show would know what to do. Thanks!

I'd vote for Sitcom's

Soap's freak me, incredibly long (and boring in the end) as far as I am concerned in the end.

TV drama's? ok.

But Sitcoms do it for me.

Have you considered a hybrid approach?

For example, you might have a drama/sitcom which is aired in self-containing episodes, but which have a running theme to them. This way, you can still enjoy the drama/sitcom even though you've just joined in, and you get hooked because of the long running themes.

That makes sense.

Thanks for your answers!

Actually i love sitcoms especially when they are beautifully written but the problem with sitcoms is that what makes me laugh might be dry to other people so they have to be carefully written or could go wrong.

TV dramas are really good but soaps tend to become boring as time goes on especially when you miss one or two stories. but i love dramas coz you can tell a conclusive story after watching a particular episode unlike soaps.

However i think TV dramas with a little bit of humour are the best. kinda like grey's anatomy.

I agree with you. Good examples: Desperate Housewives, Buffy. Nothing beats Friends and Seinfeld, though!

Seun, you watch desperate housewives in Nigeria ? Na waa ooh.

seun from ur xplanation bout sitcoms and the 30mins timing then what do we call Solitaire cos its 30min but the story actually continues and its not commedy inclined.

Above all I think I like TV dramas and sitcoms cos it just passes the message and lessons learnt and then ends. U can decide to miss lots of series and still get along

Some people believe that in this era of TV on DVD and digital video recorders,
it is no longer necessary to round up each story in an episode,
since viewers can now catch up just by watching the DVD or the copy they taped.

sitcoms rock especially with the laugh tracks and all like the real sitcoms like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Cheers but they are new formats like The Office which is quite funny. i have completed 13 episodes of a Sitcom which to the different opinions i have sampled are very funny i'm looking for who to partner to shoot it.

Thanks seun...now i know the difference
wow 2006