Chuck Lorre’s Big Bangin’ Sitcoms

The decline of comedies has not stopped Chuck Lorre who has many successful shows under his belt. His style seems to come from the past (especially with the trends of 30 Rock etc). Despite the criticism he garners for not conforming, he effectively juggles two highly rated comedies. Lorre’s sitcoms follow a conventional set up in which multiple cameras are used to get the action of punch-line jokes from characters with contrasting qualities built off stereotypes. Lorre’s signature includes the classical sitcom setup, characters that are polar opposites, and characters that are the epitome of their stereotypes.

Chuck Lorre began his career as a musician without much success. When asked how he made the leap from musician to sitcom producer, Lorre said “I was always enamored of telling stories as a songwriter, and it was a natural inclination to make them funny.” After starting out as a writer for animated series, Lorre got his break as producer for Roseanne. He has gone on and created the shows Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Dharma and Greg, Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. Even with success, Lorre is known for being angry and lashes out at those who disrespect his shows. At the end of his sitcoms a vanity card is quickly shown in which you can read about Lorre’s rage against critics. His hot temper has resulted in him leaving/being fired from both Grace Under Fire and Cybill after clashing with the shows’ stars. Some of Lorre’s frustrations are embodied in his characters. Evelyn (Charlie and Alan’s mother) on Two and a Half Men is a critical, cold and unlikeable character that is based off Lorre’s mother (who he hated). Despite his rage, Lorre has created a formula for likeable characters whose stories play out in the traditional sitcom arrangement.

The common format of a Chuck Lorre show is the use of the classical sitcom setup. The show is driven by punch lines and is taped in front of a live studio audience using multiple cameras. Newer comedies, like The Office, use a pseudo documentary, single camera setup (which uses many takes) and uses dry comedy. Multiple camera comedies require less takes because many cameras capture different characters at the same time. The shots are edited together later. In an episode of Two and A Half Men titled “The Pink Things with the Coconut,” Charlie comes into the house drunk and yells to the car outside “thanks for the ride,” and then turns and says “and for getting me home too.” Chuck Lorre shows often pause for laughter while showing a medium close up (a shot of a person from the chest up) reaction shot (a shot of a character’s reaction to the dialogue) of the person hearing the punch line. In the reaction shot of this scene Alan looks mad. In The Big Bang Theory episode “Vartabedium Conundrum”, Leonard is being scolded by his girlfriend and when she leaves he delivers the punch line “why do I feel like I just got a prostate exam?” A medium close up shot is then shown of Penny who is smiling while the audience is laughing. The jokes derive from stereotypical and opposing characters.

Another staple of Chuck Lorre’s shows are characters that are polar opposites. In Dharma and Greg, Dharma is a hippie and Greg is conservative. In the opening song Dharma is blowing bubbles and dancing, while Greg is trying to read a stack of papers. In Two and a Half Men, Charlie is a womanizer while Alan is a woman repellent. In the episode “Winky Dinky Time” Charlie gets Alan a prostitute because Alan cannot find a girl for their double date. In The Big Bang Theory, Penny is a pretty airhead, while Leonard and his gang are all geniuses. In the episode “The Gothowitz Deviation,” Sheldon tries to train Penny to exhibit behavior he likes by using tricks. Penny does not realize this and is trained like a dog.

Lorre uses extreme stereotypes in his shows. In The Big Bang Theory Penny is the cool, but ditzy girl, who never understands the jokes. Leonard and his friends are dorks. They make scientific jokes, play video games, and love Star Trek. In the episode titled the “Bat Jar Conjecture,” Penny quizzes Sheldon and Leonard to see who is smarter by asking questions about pop culture, and the two guess using Star Trek characters. In Dharma and Greg, Dharma is a liberal hippie while Greg is a conservative lawyer. In the first episode, Dharma takes Greg to different places and impulsively decides to get on a plane to get pie; while Greg keeps repeating that he has never done anything like this before. Greg is often seen wearing a suit, following a schedule and working. Dharma wears eclectic attire, is a yoga instructor and is spontaneous. In Two and a Half Men, Charlie is the stereotypical bachelor who drinks all the time, wakes up at noon, and sleeps around. Alan is the epitome of a loser who lives with his brother, repels women, and is awkward. Charlie often reminds Alan that he is a loser, which always shuts Alan up. In the episode “I Always Wanted A Shaved Monkey,” Charlie tells Alan that if he wanted his opinion he would ask his ex wife and Alan says he would ask one of the many women Charlie has had sex with if he wanted Charlie’s opinion.

Chuck Lorre's Success shows that the sitcom is not dead. Despite problems with his temper in the past, he effectively juggles two shows by using the classical sitcom setup, in which his characters provide comedy with their stereotypical and opposing qualities.

Works Cited

Littleton, Cynthia. "Chuck Lorre." Variety. 20 July 2009. Variety, Web. 18 Oct 2009.

Rice, Lynette. "It Hurts to Laugh." EW 8 Jan 2007:Web. 24 Nov 2009.

Roush, Matt. "Chuck Lorre." TV Guide. 28 July 2008. TV Guide, Web. 18 Oct

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