GCSE Section B - Additional research to improve your knowledge

Additional Research and Practise

Learning Objective - To develop and deepen our understanding of different comedy programmes for Section B of the exam.

Remember, the comedy questions of the exam are Section B. Section A is about Action Adventure.

• You will get two comedy questions
• Question a will be about scheduling
• Question b will be about audience pleasures
• Both questions are worth 15 marks each
• You should aim to spend about 10-15 minutes answering each question, so 30 minutes maximum for this section
• You may be asked to write about one OR two programmes in each question, so you need to be prepared for this

Use these lessons to practise answering both questions and to gather enough information on a range of comedy programmes for you to use in either question. Do NOT only research one TYPE of comedy - research a variety…

Comedies you could research:

Sitcoms:

• The Simpsons
• Friends
• The Big Bang Theory
• How I Met Your Mother
• The Millers
• Two and a Half Men
• Modern Family
• Outnumbered
• The Vicar of Dibley
• Only Fools an Horses

Stand Up:

• Live at the Apollo
• Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow
• Russell Howard’s Good News
• Any stand up show by a single comedian: Alan Carr, Jimmy Carr, Billy Connelly, Peter Kay, Lee Evans, Al Murray etc. These are usually one off shows and you will need to make sure it is on TV at some point!

Quiz/Panel Shows:

• QI
• Celebrity Juice
• Mock the Week
• Have I Got News for You
• 8 out of 10 Cats
• A League of Their Own
• Never Mind The Buzzcocks
• A Question of Sport

Other Comedy Shows

• Benidorm (Comedy Drama)