Talk:Sketch comedy

So, I was thinking, this topic is about "sketch comedy" not "sketch comedy television shows." Should we make a distinction? Should the television shows just be a subset of the entry? I think it might also make sense to talk about some of the famous sketch comedy troupes from different cities, even if they don't have a show that was on television. Thoughts?

Lukwam 19:23, 2004 Mar 19 (UTC)

How's this? Adam Conover 22:22, Mar 22, 2004 (UTC)

I removed "most often performed in half-hour television shows" because that's not actually the case -- there are many more live sketch comedy groups operating right now than there are television shows. I also removed the reference to "The Fast Show" regarding running characters because they are by no means the only group to use running characters, nor are they pioneers of such. If there's a problem with this, maybe we should discuss it? (Thank you, though, for editing my clumsy wording.) — Adam Conover † 02:54, May 11, 2004 (UTC)

I put the reference to the Fast Show in for several reasons.

• It illustrates the point about running characters.
• It is one of the most successful sketch shows ever.
• It's a small gesuture that, shock horror, implies that somewhere outside of the US exists.

If your concern is that it isn't the only show with running characters then add two more shows.

It is certainly true that stage sketches are a rarity in the UK in comparison to the TV stuff. The sketches that are performed on stage are liable to be improv.

The Fast Show ref. was first there in a different context all together but you saw fit to remove it when you expanded the intro, for some reason. --bodnotbod 09:33, May 11, 2004 (UTC)

How's this for a compromise: Since so many shows/groups are being listed as examples already, why don't we take a different tack with this particular point, and instead list notable characters? (By the way, I have no prejudice against The Fast Show -- I just didn't support including the reference in that manner, since it made it look like the Fast Show invented running characters.) — Adam Conover † 21:37, May 11, 2004 (UTC)

Go for it. Sorry for my tetchy tone yesterday - had been at my desk for too long and lacked a bit of perspective. Had some beer since then. --bodnotbod 21:13, May 12, 2004 (UTC)

No offense taken. :) Tell you what -- since I don't know any of the characters from the Fast Show, why don't you add one and I'll go on from there. — Adam Conover † 03:14, May 13, 2004 (UTC) (P.S.: Beer is good. Real good. I think I'll go have one right now.)

OK. Done. --bodnotbod 18:31, May 13, 2004 (UTC)

Skit redirects to this page. Are "sketch" and "skit" truly synonymous? --Feitclub 01:51, Mar 31, 2005 (UTC)

Not really as far as I know - while they both are humorous "scenes", skits are usually meant as a name for interludes on hiphop-albums. I'm not totally certain about this, though. -mrbartjens 11:13, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Many people use skit and sketch interchangeably, although it's usually the amateurs that refer to them as skits. Leadpipevigilante 11:24, 4 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

I think skit shouldn't redirect here, since they're not the same thing, and a lot of people don't know that. If people get redirected, then they'll get the idea that they are the same/mean the same thing.

Cub Scouts do skits. --Chris Griswold (☎☓) 17:06, 29 September 2006 (UTC)Reply

The page intro claims that sketch comedians distinguish between skits and sketches, but the only citations were to the dictionary definitions of those words. I removed those citations because they don't support the sentence's claim — plus the dictionary doesn't even support the sentence's definition of "skit". The sentence now needs a citation. Colintedford (talk) 04:17, 18 August 2024 (UTC)Reply

I realize that we need a section which deals with the fact that amateur groups do sketch comedy, and it's not just on TV, but this section is all over the place. It's way too general, and doesn't really inform about anything (except, I would say drag is an important point to keep). Leadpipevigilante 11:24, 4 November 2005 (UTC)Reply

Persanlly, I like the way this page has been set up. No changes nessecery. However, and there is always a however, perhaps tv sketch comedy and radio/stage sketch comedy SHOLD be two diffrent pages, and Sketch comedy" just a disambiguation page. But in my book, this is in no way urgent. P.S: Please forgive the appalling spelling.

I've created Wikipedia:Notability (comedy) to help editors in deciding the notability of comedy- and humor-related articles. Please help hammer it into shape. --Chris Griswold (☎☓) 08:56, 15 September 2006 (UTC)Reply

As this article, and its adjoining article List of sketch comedy groups have listed comedy groups by their nationality and medium (radon, stage or TV), do you think it would also be wise to list, or at least make reference to the different genres of sketch (etc Pythonesque/Surreal, Parody, Linear, Recurring characters, Gross-out humour, Word play, Topical and Constructed). Yes, yes, I know most sketch shows will cross-genre, but so far all that links them is their structure. Wha’ya think?

I don't think it's a good idea. As you say, many span genres, and genre can at times be a very subjective thing. --Chris Griswold (☎☓) 14:20, 6 October 2006 (UTC)Reply

The article as it stands is atrocious. The tone is unencyclopedic and it's unreferenced. I will be going through soon, cleaning up what I can, and removing what needs to be gone. --Chris Griswold (☎☓) 06:28, 20 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

I'd like to find room in this article to focus on the comedy sketch form itself (meaning the elements and structure of a single sketch); Comedic_sketch redirects to Sketch_comedy, which right now is really about actors performing sketch comedy revues on stage, television and radio. Or should it be in a separate article? Drench 17:03, 22 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Good idea. Do you have any sources for this? --Chris Griswold (☎☓) 21:50, 22 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

All I have are notes from my time at the Second City Training Center, which I suppose means I can't cite them. I'll see if I can find other sources before writing anything. Drench 14:30, 5 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

Why skits are unnecessary Skits have been scientifically proven to downgrade presentations by 15 percent. If doing any sort of presentation it is recommended that skits be completely left out, as it is not in the best interest of the group as a whole grade-wise. Instead, powerpoint reading keeps things simple and are much more effective. - from the leading researcher in presentaion sociology, Dieter Hiemlich, MIT and Cambridge University alum AA, BS, MB BCh, MD, PhD, etc.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.39.133.133 (talk) 19:53, 5 December 2007 (UTC)Reply

I removed the claim that The Red Green Show is the longest running live action comedy in the world. It was removed from the shows page after being refuted there.Blackskyshining (talk) 07:54, 18 February 2010 (UTC)Reply

  This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 10 January 2023 and 4 May 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Bluemarker06 (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Highspeed2, Englishexaminer.

— Assignment last updated by Mgferris13 (talk) 22:01, 3 April 2023 (UTC)Reply