Weak characterization? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Dogma66603 · 03-20-2004, 11:57 PM

Is it just me or does this show have pretty weak character development?

Ant-Lox · 03-21-2004, 12:52 AM

Yeah the characters are stuck in the same place. I always wanted Deacon to quit the Truck job and get another Job, or Doug goes over to UPS or Fedex or something.

vhshunter · 03-21-2004, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ant-Lox
Yeah the characters are stuck in the same place. I always wanted Deacon to quit the Truck job and get another Job, or Doug goes over to UPS or Fedex or something.

They had 1 episode where Doug tried to get a job with another company.

Fedex & UPS won`t let them use their names. They wanted to use UPS instead of IPS.

lee9372 · 03-21-2004, 02:03 AM

Doug and Carrie are not realistic couple.
They are really not belivable. Their income can't
afford their lifestyle( 2 story house, new car, several
television and other stuff) even with credit card charges
and loans.

Doug's character is full of contradictions. Although Doug's domestic life is constantly in turmoils, he somehow keeps his
job at IPS. His constant arguments and fights with Carrie
hardly affects his job performance. This is too unbeliable.

Carrie's character is full of contradictions. Carrie is short-fused with almost everyone, yet Carrie infinitely tolerates Doug's obnoxious behaviors.

HuntingtonM15 · 03-21-2004, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lee9372
Doug and Carrie are not realistic couple.
They are really not belivable. Their income can't
afford their lifestyle( 2 story house, new car, several
television and other stuff) even with credit card charges
and loans.

Doug's character is full of contradictions. Although Doug's domestic life is constantly in turmoils, he somehow keeps his
job at IPS. His constant arguments and fights with Carrie
hardly affects his job performance. This is too unbeliable.

Carrie's character is full of contradictions. Carrie is short-fused with almost everyone, yet Carrie infinitely tolerates Doug's obnoxious behaviors.

That's why it's a TV show.

Janice · 03-22-2004, 03:30 AM

The King of Queens really is strictly for laughs, much like ELRaymond or Still Standing. I don't see a lot of tender moments or strong character development. That's fine with me because I just know it's that type of show and it's just so funny.

Shows like Coach, Roseanne and Wings went deeper into their major characters...into their childhoods, character history, etc.

Dogma66603 · 03-23-2004, 06:56 PM

It just gets kind of irritating that the characters have no depth. Their just put into the setting and the same types of situations happen to them over and over again. Even when Doug got another job, it all just goes back to normal again. And now that we've seen Carrie without a job, nothing's really changed. This show is just really generic and clearly doesn't take place in the real world, and that goes even farther than the clear mismatch that is Doug and Carrie. They say they're so in love and that's why they're together, but the truth is, they fight all the time and Doug doesn't exactly have a good personality for Carrie to go for instead of looks.

Janice · 03-23-2004, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dogma66603
It just gets kind of irritating that the characters have no depth. Their just put into the setting and the same types of situations happen to them over and over again. Even when Doug got another job, it all just goes back to normal again. And now that we've seen Carrie without a job, nothing's really changed. This show is just really generic and clearly doesn't take place in the real world,

I agree, and I don't mean to sound simplistic, but this is just the type of show that it is. Character development is close to nil.
Some sitcoms take time to flesh out their characters. On Coach, the relationship between Hayden and his daughter was played out as was his relationship with his girlfriend....they broke up, etc.
Roseanne put much emphasis on Roseanne and Jackie's difficult upbringing, and on Roseanne's troubled relationships with those around her. On Wings, the show was rich with flashback stories of the Hackett brother's struggles as children with their mother abandoning them, as well as Joe's strained relationships with Brian and Helen.
On these shows and others like them, some of the episodes drove me to tears. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was another show that put emphasis on character development.
King of Queens isn't a character driven show, and this is by design. I'm sure this was decided in the planning stage of the series. A similar type show is Still Standing. Played stricktly for laughs.

Dogma66603 · 03-23-2004, 10:09 PM

That's a real let down.

Doesn't it bother anyone that we know as much about Carrie and Doug in the 1st season as we do now?

HuntingtonM15 · 03-23-2004, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dogma66603
That's a real let down.

Doesn't it bother anyone that we know as much about Carrie and Doug in the 1st season as we do now?

I can't say that it bothers me. I don't find it any less funny just because the characters aren't well developed.

glenny · 03-24-2004, 07:58 AM

It's kind of like SEINFELD. Just a fun show about "nothing".

Brian Damage · 03-24-2004, 10:57 AM

I agree. It doesn't really bother me about character development because this isn't that type of show.

Janice · 03-25-2004, 12:44 AM

We may have spoken too soon. Tonight's episode went below the surface of Carrie and her father's relationship. It was a funny episode and nice to see Carrie tell her father how he hurt her while growing up.
I felt bad for Arthur. The ending was sweet when he described how he felt about his little girl to her on the phone, thinking she was someone else.

HuntingtonM15 · 03-25-2004, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Janice
We may have spoken too soon. Tonight's episode went below the surface of Carrie and her father's relationship. It was a funny episode and nice to see Carrie tell her father how he hurt her while growing up.
I felt bad for Arthur. The ending was sweet when he described how he felt about his little girl to her on the phone, thinking she was someone else.

I agree. It was nice seeing Carrie being emotionally effected tonight.

glenny · 03-25-2004, 07:33 AM

Now with Carrie having a new job; lets see where the show goes from here.

03-20-2004, 11:57 PM	#1
Dogma66603 Banned Banned!! Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 24, 2003 Posts: 330	Weak characterization? Is it just me or does this show have pretty weak character development?

03-21-2004, 12:52 AM	#2
Ant-Lox Cloud Watcher Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2004 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,824	Yeah the characters are stuck in the same place. I always wanted Deacon to quit the Truck job and get another Job, or Doug goes over to UPS or Fedex or something.
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03-21-2004, 02:03 AM	#4
lee9372 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 04, 2004 Location: houston Posts: 7	Doug and Carrie are not realistic couple. They are really not belivable. Their income can't afford their lifestyle( 2 story house, new car, several television and other stuff) even with credit card charges and loans. Doug's character is full of contradictions. Although Doug's domestic life is constantly in turmoils, he somehow keeps his job at IPS. His constant arguments and fights with Carrie hardly affects his job performance. This is too unbeliable. Carrie's character is full of contradictions. Carrie is short-fused with almost everyone, yet Carrie infinitely tolerates Doug's obnoxious behaviors.
	Last edited by lee9372; 03-21-2004 at 10:41 AM.

03-22-2004, 03:30 AM	#6
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	The King of Queens really is strictly for laughs, much like ELRaymond or Still Standing. I don't see a lot of tender moments or strong character development. That's fine with me because I just know it's that type of show and it's just so funny. Shows like Coach, Roseanne and Wings went deeper into their major characters...into their childhoods, character history, etc.

03-23-2004, 06:56 PM	#7
Dogma66603 Banned Banned!! Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 24, 2003 Posts: 330	It just gets kind of irritating that the characters have no depth. Their just put into the setting and the same types of situations happen to them over and over again. Even when Doug got another job, it all just goes back to normal again. And now that we've seen Carrie without a job, nothing's really changed. This show is just really generic and clearly doesn't take place in the real world, and that goes even farther than the clear mismatch that is Doug and Carrie. They say they're so in love and that's why they're together, but the truth is, they fight all the time and Doug doesn't exactly have a good personality for Carrie to go for instead of looks.

03-23-2004, 10:09 PM	#9
Dogma66603 Banned Banned!! Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 24, 2003 Posts: 330	That's a real let down. Doesn't it bother anyone that we know as much about Carrie and Doug in the 1st season as we do now?

03-24-2004, 07:58 AM	#11
glenny Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 21, 2001 Location: New Jersey Posts: 951	It's kind of like SEINFELD. Just a fun show about "nothing".

03-24-2004, 10:57 AM	#12
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	I agree. It doesn't really bother me about character development because this isn't that type of show.

03-25-2004, 12:44 AM	#13
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	We may have spoken too soon. Tonight's episode went below the surface of Carrie and her father's relationship. It was a funny episode and nice to see Carrie tell her father how he hurt her while growing up. I felt bad for Arthur. The ending was sweet when he described how he felt about his little girl to her on the phone, thinking she was someone else.

03-25-2004, 07:33 AM	#15
glenny Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 21, 2001 Location: New Jersey Posts: 951	Now with Carrie having a new job; lets see where the show goes from here.