Generic Research: 'Party' - Pilot Episode

Party Series 1 Episode 1

Web Page: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b00r7l7j
'Party' begins in the middle of a conversation that has multiple references to events that have happened prior such as the character 'Elaine' leaving the group. The audience not knowing such details is used for humour as the extent of any damage caused is left up to interpretation. This use of in media res serves to naturally develop character dynamics and allows the audience to develop their understanding of their relationships independently rather than outright state them through stilted introductions which perhaps would be a more obvious technique to use in a pilot episode.


The cast features three men and two women - the women are played straight while the men are serving comic relief functions. Their backgrounds are not explicitly stated in the show but the cast are all white and it is implied that they are all from the same socio-economic background - students from working class/lower middle class backgrounds. They are all socially progressive and left-leaning but their political leanings are used in humorous manners for obvious reasons considering the basis of the show.


The show opens with a music track that lasts around 15 seconds which gets softer as more audio elements are added in. At 5 seconds, one of the cast members says the name of the show at which point the audience applause and cheer until the track ends. There is a transition to dialogue with a soft sound effect.


The show uses laugh-tracks at regular intervals and is entirely designed around setups and punchlines leading into a laugh-track. This is a typical convention of sitcoms.


The early minutes of the show largely use a single extended metaphor for comedy. The metaphor used is one of a plane as the party they have created is "left-centre-right" wing and so they are "inside the plane". The misunderstandings that arise from this metaphor is largely the source of the humour in the initial scenes.


Sound effects are rarely used as the characters are static and in an empty room. They are only used when characters physically move around.