Sit-com Essay

I'm going to be analysing Season 3 episode 1 of The Inbetweeners. My main focus will be on the main four boys and how their characters are represented, how the episode narrative was structured and the technical elements used during the episode.

Character Analysis
Usually in a Sit-Com the characters each take on a scorch of familial role even if the characters are not a family. I believe this is applied in the Inbetweeners.

• Simon has more of a fatherly role in the group. He is the one who is usually coming up with the smart comments for the others to take advice from. Since he seems to be the smartest, he comes up with the reasonable answers to problems instead of pointless suggestions made by the others for a laugh because of this he seems to be respected at least some what more than the others.
• Will has more of a motherly role in the group. Together with Simon he seems to be responsible of the other two members of the group who in comparison are very immature. Will tries to be the voice of reason to try and steer Jay and Neil away from trouble, even though it usually doesn't work, because he cares about them and feels responsible for them.
• Jay has more of a younger brother role in the group. He is always trying to get attention, be it from his friends or the girls around him, as he feels the world revolves around him. He is constantly telling lies about himself to make him sound the most interesting person in the group and so Neil will follow his role. He feels like he is a good role model for Neil but is actually a slightly bad influence.
• Neil is the trusting brother role in the group. He usually spends his time with Jay because he thinks Jay has done all sorts of stuff he wishes he could have done. Since Neil isn't as smart as Simon and Will, he always seems like he doesn't know what's going on. This usually means he turns to Simon for advice or Will to find a solution to the problems.

The reason they all work well together though is because they all share a trait of embarrassing themselves in front of people to try to get the girl. Jay pierces his ear because he thinks it will make him a model to get the girl, when that doesn't work he gets bugger earrings, all leading to a nasty infection. Neil offers to help backstage to try and see some girls naked but instead there are sheets that cover the girls and ends up with one of the male teachers truing to undress him. Will tries to stop the fashion show from happening but instead decides to join in after a pretty girl asks him to thinking it will get her to ask him out but instead she rejects him to his face. Neil does something similar and joins the fashion show but because of him rushing to get his speedos on he walks down the catwalk with his testicle hanging out in front of everyone's parents.

Narrative Structure
Sit-coms are closed narrative story lines meaning by the end of the episode the plot line has finished and the problem all solved. This sit-com has two major plot points between three acts.

The episode starts off with Act 1, that is the characters in their natural environment. This is basically the boys getting a ride to school now that one of them can drive, this also gives us an introduction as to what the show will be about as they mention the fashion show that is being held for charity. This continues on until plot point 1. Plot point 1 is usually when the 'problem' or 'conflict' is introduced, in the case of this episode it is a student called Alastair as he is announced to be returning to the college after being of sick for a year, this is a problem because the main four guys don't like him. Act 2 is all about them trying to deal with the problem or conflict, meaning they join the fashion show that Alastair is running and either try to help out or, in Will's case, try to get people to donate in a different way. This leads on to plot point 2. Plot point 2 is when something big happens towards the end of the program that isn't considered normal everyday action. For this episode, plot point 2 would be when Simon is asked to go down the runway in a speedo and unfortunately his testicle is hanging out of the side of the speedo. Act 3 is when Simon realises what has happened, he faces the consequences of those accidental actions and they go back to their natural environment.

Technical Elements
The technical elements in the episode consists of the basic cinematography and editing techniques. The shots used are shot reverse shots, mid shots and close ups. Shot reverse shots are typically used to show a conversation between two people close enough to the face to see the expression. Mid shots are used for conversation between more than two people to get them all in but still be close enough to get expressions. Close ups are usually used to make sure the audience is focused upon something they need to see, for example Neil's testicle when it hangs out of his speedos. The sound in the episode such as the people speaking, the fashion show music, sound of people walking or knocking on the door, all comes from on screen meaning it is diegetic sound. As for Mise en scene it starts with a cheap old car which shows that they are dependent on their parents and are still to immature to deal with everyday problems on their own. This is furthered by the fact that the sixth form college they go to is a part of a school so they are still surrounded by children.