‘'Er Indoors’: The invisible other in sitcom by Chris Ritchie

Abstract

ABSTRACTComedy has always used invisible characters, but in certain sitcoms these characters give indications of the protagonist's sexual and social shortcomings, such as Captain Mainwaring's wife in Dad's Army, the mother-in-law in The Fall and Rise Of Reginald Perrin, 'Er Indoors in Minder, Norm's wife in Cheers and Niles' wife in Frasier. These five invisible characters are there (or not) for comic effect, but there is rank underlying misogyny involved. The reactions given by these protagonists when discussing these invisible others simultaneously suggest their innate unhappiness and admits a failure to organize a fulfilling coherent relationship. In another example, Mrs Slocombe's discussions of her ‘pussy’ in Are You Being Served? are an integral part of her comic identity that again illustrates social and sexual failures and amplifies her naivety. In Friends (Warners 2004), Ugly Naked Guy who lives opposite the ‘stick insects’ Rachel and Monica points up their bodily concerns. More positively in Seinfeld, given changes in everyday life and comedy, Kramer has a friend called Bob Sacamano who indicates a richer social life outside the confines of the sitcom's usual quartet, and in the British sitcom Miranda the protagonist's mother continually refers to her husband and their somewhat adventurous sex life — much to the horror of Miranda. In this latter example, the Invisible Other gives the mother a fuller sexual identity denied most mature sitcom characters. This article will discuss the positive and negative aspects (though mostly negatives) of the Invisible Other.