TMC
08-08-2017, 08:27 PM
For those unacquainted to the term...:
Flanderization (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Flanderization) is "the act of taking a single (often minor) action or trait of a character within a work and exaggerating it more and more over time until it completely consumes the character. Most always, the trait/action becomes completely outlandish and it becomes their defining characteristic. Sitcoms and Sitcom characters are particularly susceptible to this, as are peripheral characters in shows with long runs."
For example, on Friends, Joey went from a little dumb, but otherwise normal at the start of the show, to a blithering idiot who can't add or subtract or tell left from right at the end. Monica went from being a classic type A personality to a neurotic control freak. Chandler went from a normal straight guy who enjoyed beer, pizza and Baywatch but was occasionally mistaken for being gay (http://decider.com/2017/08/08/gay-panic-sitcoms/) to a ridiculously feminine man who hates the NFL and made out with guys in college.
So what shows avoided Flanderization most successfully? What sitcom kept their characters well-rounded and "normal" over the course of multiple seasons?
Flanderization (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Flanderization) is "the act of taking a single (often minor) action or trait of a character within a work and exaggerating it more and more over time until it completely consumes the character. Most always, the trait/action becomes completely outlandish and it becomes their defining characteristic. Sitcoms and Sitcom characters are particularly susceptible to this, as are peripheral characters in shows with long runs."
For example, on Friends, Joey went from a little dumb, but otherwise normal at the start of the show, to a blithering idiot who can't add or subtract or tell left from right at the end. Monica went from being a classic type A personality to a neurotic control freak. Chandler went from a normal straight guy who enjoyed beer, pizza and Baywatch but was occasionally mistaken for being gay (http://decider.com/2017/08/08/gay-panic-sitcoms/) to a ridiculously feminine man who hates the NFL and made out with guys in college.
So what shows avoided Flanderization most successfully? What sitcom kept their characters well-rounded and "normal" over the course of multiple seasons?