Abstract
This chapter analyses Friends’ use of style, space and set design, proposing that multi-camera sitcom may achieve an aesthetics of intimacy. Informed by interviews with John Shaffner, Kevin S. Bright and James Burrows, the chapter’s focus lies with Monica’s iconic apartment, and how intimacy here is constructed through an emphasis on rich texture and the particular placement of the couch, which enables a creative engagement with space for the performers. The chapter uncovers how notions of intimacy are reinforced through carefully managed change for the set design and an accumulation of meaning for long-term viewers. The authors then propose that multi-camera sitcom offers a particular mode of address, a regime of looking in, which facilitates an intimate viewing experience. Overall, they suggest that multi-camera sitcom is productively understood as facilitating the potential for a style that is no less complex than ‘cinematic’ single-camera production, requiring and rewarding detailed attention.
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Television
All in the Family (1971–1979), USA: CBS.
Cheers (1982–1993), USA: NBC.
Columbo (1968–1978, 1989–2003), USA: NBC, ABC.
Dharma & Greg (1997–2002), USA: ABC.
Ellen (1992–1999), USA: ABC.
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005), USA: CBS.
Frasier (1993–2004), USA: NBC.
Friends (1994–2004), USA: NBC.
How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014), USA: CBS.
Law & Order (1990–2010), USA: NBC.
Mad About You (1992–1999), USA: NBC.
Maude (1972–1978), USA: CBS.
Mom (2013–present), USA: CBS.
New Girl (2011–2018), USA: Fox.
Rhoda (1974–1978), USA: CBS.
Scrubs (2001–2008, 2009–2010), USA: NBC, ABC.
Seinfeld (1989–1998), USA: NBC.
The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019), USA: CBS.
The Comeback (2005, 2014), USA: HBO.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996), USA: NBC.
The Honeymooners (1955–1956), USA: CBS.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–1977), USA: CBS.
The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–2010), USA: CBS.
The Office—An American Workplace (2005–2013), USA: NBC.
Will & Grace (1998–2006, 2018–present), USA: NBC.
Film
Minnelli, V. 1955. The Cobweb. USA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Welles, O. 1941. Citizen Kane. USA: RKO Radio Pictures.
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Knox, S., Schwind, K.H. (2019). The One where They Look at Monica’s Apartment: Style, Space, Set Design. In: Friends. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25429-2_4
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