The Importance of Set Design

[Chambers]

Have you ever watched a show and thought to yourself:
the story is good, the characters are good...but something just isn't right? I've recently realized that the reason I haven't been able to get into many shows that I would expect myself to like is that the sets simply don't work. Examples of that would be Wings and Becker, which I have tried so hard to get into but just can't. The sets get in the way of the story. They're so cluttered and distracting that it interferes with character interaction and the story-telling. Of course, this is just MY opinion.

Cheers, Frasier and The Cosby Show, on the other hand, I think had great sets. They weren't too imposing, they actually helped tell the story, and they remained interesting and pleasant to watch (IMO) throughout the show's run. Out of the three, the "Cheers" bar is my favorite. Here's what an article from The BBC's Comedy Guide has to say about this set:

From this basic set of characters a masterpiece of comedy was created. But the series had another star: the set itself. Once the producers had chosen the Bull and Finch pub in Boston as the external setting for Cheers the task was on to re-create in a studio the inside of such an establishment. Because the bar area itself was to constitute practically the only set the series would use - Sam's adjacent office was also seen - the producers spent lavishly on it and art director Richard Sylbert and set director George Gaines were given licence to create a classic TV setting. The bar not only looked real but was extremely practical: the long counter meant that characters at opposite ends could be isolated in shots almost as if in separate sets. Likewise with the customer booths. However, when the plot called for it, a long shot could take in the entire set and once again place all the characters together. Simple but brilliant.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/ar...99000588.shtml

I'd be interested to know what other shows you think had great sets...or which ones had bad ones.

[barwars]

I think all of Norman Lear's shows had relatively bad sets.
Great shows none the less.... just bad sets.

I agree about the Wings set, even though I like the show.

And the Becker set.... maybe thats why I dont like it.

[factsoflife]

I think that as long as the set is large enough to allow characters to move around without bumping into each other i don't mind. Also as long as they fit the feel of the show. The visual image needs to match the characters personalities.

[Chambers]

Friends is another show I believe had a really good set. Not just the coffee shop, but the way both apartments were positioned so that the characters flowed easily from one to the other. The only suspension of disbelief required for the apartment sets was that you had to pretend the characters talking in the kitchen really couldn't be heard a few feet away in the living room.

[factsoflife]

Originally posted by Chambers
Friends is another show I believe had a really good set. Not just the coffee shop, but the way both apartments were positioned so that the characters flowed easily from one to the other. The only suspension of disbelief required for the apartment sets was that you had to pretend the characters talking in the kitchen really couldn't be heard a few feet away in the living room.

You know thats true. they were close together so in reality they probally could hear each other.

[barwars]

I think the Seinfeld set fits the criteria of a great set.
Nothing fancy, although nothing dull.

It was one of those sets that you could recognize in an instant.

[Chocoholic]

I disagree about Wings. I think it had a great set.

The Taxi set seemed really dark and dreary at times, but I think it went well with the show.

[Chambers]

I agree about the Taxi set. It matched the show really well - as did the Seinfeld set. And both worked despite the fact that neither one was exciting.

I think the easiest sets to build are for family sitcoms. You can't really go wrong with a living room, a kitchen and a few bedrooms. Can anybody think of a family sitcom that had a bad set?

[factsoflife]

Originally posted by Chambers
I agree about the Taxi set. It matched the show really well - as did the Seinfeld set. And both worked despite the fact that neither one was exciting.

I think the easiest sets to build are for family sitcoms. You can't really go wrong with a living room, a kitchen and a few bedrooms. Can anybody think of a family sitcom that had a bad set?

Hmm.. thats a tough task but i choose to accept it. lol... Everybody Loves Raymond. I think this sitcoms set stinks. Its too compacted. The kitchen and Living room are too close together and the thing looks so cheap like it was just thrown together. The actors are always pratically on top of each other during scenes. and they all look uncomfortable.

[H. E. Pennypacker]

Home Improvement had one of the greatest sets, that house had a great design, a different 'side-on' aspect to most sitcoms - and possibly the only sitcom set I've ever seen where the TV was real and facing the audience. No mean feat when you consider that TV flickers when filmed so they would've had to modify the television to eliminate flicker - the way they did with the live monitors on Star Trek Deep Space Nine.

Wings has an awful set you can't tell where anything is really - all the counters look tiny and too close together.

The Married with Children set was good and beleivable, they often featured the backyard and garage.

The Cheers set is beyond compare, I don't think there's anything else like it, compare the Bar in Love and War to the Cheers bar - there's no comparison - which would you rather spend time in. The same goes for Frasier's apartment, it's a masterpiece!

My problem with the Friends set is that look at Monica's apartment then look at Joey's they don't belong in the same building!

[Chambers]

Originally posted by H. E. Pennypacker
My problem with the Friends set is that look at Monica's apartment then look at Joey's they don't belong in the same building!

Haha I've noticed that! You could say the same thing about the two apartments on Will & Grace.

I thought of The Fresh Prince set. The kitchen was HUGE, but the living room was tiny....and this is supposed to be a mansion! Could have been a lot better.

The Nanny set worked, though. It looked like it could have been an actual New York mansion.

[barwars]

I think Diff'rent Strokes had a pretty bad set -- for such a good show.

[Pitooey]

I like the George Lopez set. I love to see the props.

On the Everybody loves Raymond set I wish they would change those curtains already....

[mt]

I think most of the time the set of a show is pretty important -- especially for bringing in new viewers -- but with some shows the set is less important. I agree Wings had a bad set, but I don't think that had as much of a negative impact on that show as it would have if it had been a family sitcom.

And I agree the sets on family sitcoms obviously would have been a lot easier to do, but those sets are also a lot more more important since the family's house would reflect the characters a lot more.

The family sitcom houses I like best are:
1. The layout (if not the colors) of the Brady Bunch house. (That house HAD to be great since the dad was an architect).
2. Frasier.
3. Growing Pains.
4. Who's the Boss?
5. Cosby.

And speaking of the Growing Pains house, it's going to be really interesting to see how it looks in the reunion that's airing in October.

[USTVFanFromUK]

Originally posted by barwars
I think all of Norman Lear's shows had relatively bad sets.
Great shows none the less.... just bad sets.

True but I'd argue that the Maude set is one of the best sets ever imo.