Are Mockumentaries Saving the Sitcom?

I am not 100 percent sure if it is because I like sitcoms that are shot in the “Office-style” mockumentary fashion, but I have grown exceedingly fond of two shows in recent weeks.
One of course is “Modern Family,” which I thought was just OK when I saw the pilot. But the various characters have been fleshed out in recent episodes. For many people, including myself, it is hard to get too “involved” in any sitcom’s first couple of episodes. I even remember not being that crazy about “Seinfeld” at the beginning.
All too often sitcom characters are just trite stereotypes, who never develop any unique qualities or depth. But as I have watched “Modern Family” the past few weeks, several of the family members have evolved into truly interesting personas.
For me the first was the father, Phil Dunphy, who tries so hard to be a cool dad to his three children. His efforts are incredibly lame, yet they are infused with a touch of reality that any father of teenagers can easily relate to today. I look forward in each episode to his little “chats” with his kids, as well as his explanations to the cameras.
Then there is the gay couple, Mitchell and Cameron, who at first seemed to be the epitome of every gay character stereotype. But again in recent episodes we have learned more about them, with Cameron displaying a street-wise toughness (while dressed as Fizbo the clown) and then demonstrating an intricate knowledge of football strategy after revealing the fact that he was a starting tackle for his University of Illinois football team.
I could go on down the line, as I find myself growing increasingly fond of each and every member of the three interlocked families. And at the end of each episode I find myself strangely satisfied at how the craziness displayed in that show plays out, such as everyone jumping in the pool with their clothes on this week.
Then there is another mockumentary style show, “Parks and Recreation,” now in its second season. Produced by the same company that created “The Office,” and starring SNL alum Amy Poehler, the show debuted last year and was somewhat amusing. But this year I think the show has matured, as once again the evolving characters give the series both the warmth and humor that a sitcom requires to develop an audience.
Last season Amy’s character, Leslie Knope, was almost cartoonish in her portrayal of a buffoonish mid-level bureaucrat in a small Indiana town’s Parks Department. But this season she has borrowed some of the feminist sass that she demonstrated in many SNL skits over the years.
In this week’s episode she tells a stripper whom she dubs “Seabiscuit” (don’t ask why she was in a strip club in the first place) that the lady should seriously “reconsider her profession.” And last week, while on a testosterone-driven hunting trip, her over the top reactions to a sexist park ranger produced a sequence worthy of her absolute best SNL impressions.
As with “Modern Family,” several of the supporting characters have also developed interesting and unique personalities, such as the bored intern, April, or the blustery, somewhat macho boss, Ron Swanson, who plays off Leslie’s feminism perfectly.
The fact that my three current favorite sitcoms aired on broadcast networks all employ the same mockumentary-style technique is probably not a coincidence. The asides that all the characters make to the cameras give each of them the opportunity to flesh out their personalities and to allow the audience the chance to really get to know and appreciate them.
(Does anyone do such asides better than Dwight Schrute on “The Office?”)
Thinking back, I wonder how some of my favorite past sitcoms might have been even funnier had they employed the same mockumentary technique. Can you imagine Edith Bunker defending to a camera some of Archie’s racist rants? Or Lou Grant explaining his reasons for keeping Ted Baxter on as his news anchor?
I realize that the mockumentary cameras really make little sense, especially in a sitcom set at home, such as in “Modern Family.” But it sure beats the heck out the senseless laugh tracks that many shows still employ even today.