Misused: Dramedy

What defines the difference between a dramedy vs. any movie/show which contains both funny and serious parts? I see many examples which are just standard adventure or action shows, not what I would consider dramedy's

• One Piece and Naruto are very standard Shōnen manga. They are focused on adventure and therefore contain both drama and comedy at different times.
• Same problem with Teen Titans and Ben 10 They are adventure series.
• I have similar reservations about listing The Flash (2014) although its maybe a little closer
• Ciaphas Cain is also sci-fi adventure, not dramedy

I feel that listing adventures or superhero series like these misses the point. We wouldn't list The Avengers as a dramedy even tho it has some serious drama and some funny parts.

A dramedy is basically a variation of a tragicomedy, right? I am not entirely sure how to define that, but I feel its something different from "any film which contains some serious and some funny parts"

Personally, I wouldn't list any series or movie which you couldn't put "drama" as its genre on redbox.

• Breaking Bad... ehhhh... isnt this more of a straight drama?

• 2 Broke Girls And this is pretty much just a sitcom. I mean, every sitcom has some serious moments but not necessarily "dramedy" (disclaimer havent watched since season 1)

• Futurama? South Park''? Ok I dont really watch South Park but isnt mostly comedy?

edited 15th Aug '17 10:02:33 PM by PistolsAtDawn

Opening.

I agree that it is very much mis-used. Before a clean-up I performed things were even worse, listing things like The Simpsons, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, and more. I can't really see Futurama and South Park as "dramedies".

Textbook examples of "dramedy" i'd say include: Scrubs, The Breakfast Club, and Stand By Me. All three are a even mix.

edited 18th Aug '17 6:18:59 AM by WhatArtThee

Futurama and South Park are straight-up comedies.

The Flash (2014) is obviously not a dramedy, despite being Lighter and Softer than its parent series Arrow.

Futurama might qualify as a Dramedy since it plays its drama straight frequently enough.

edited 18th Aug '17 8:01:50 PM by Karxrida

Even if we say that Futurama is dramatic enough, it still has the sci-fi adventure problem. its not really a personal drama. I would personally want to adjust the description of Dramedy to specify that it must be a genre-drama, not just contain drama- and specifically mention that action, sci-fi and superhero series rarely qualify.

Drama as a genre is defined by stories focusing on character development, intense emotions and inner conflict as the primary source of plot. They can be combined with other genres- crime drama or medical drama. And sure, you could have a superhero drama (some episodes of Daredevil on netflix would probably count as superhero drama) but most aren't. If the "saving the day" plot is clearly more important than the personal drama in terms of what the story focuses on its not a drama.

i.e. Even if the comedy and drama are equally balanced with each other if both are clearly subservient to the adventure story, its not a dramedy.

I propose adding something along those lines to the definition, and then doing a cleanup. The definition already points out that it must be a comedy, not just contain some comic relief, so it probably needs to point out that it needs to be an actual drama, too, not just contain some serious scenes.

edited 18th Aug '17 10:26:16 PM by PistolsAtDawn

Futurama has some dramatic elements, but only a few episodes equally mix comedy/drama ("The Why Of Fry" comes to mind).

I propose removing the exmples i listed in the opener, and that the following paragraph be rewritten as such, and the second paragraph added.

Note that a dramedy is not just "drama with some comedic elements" or "a comedy with some serious moments." It must contain about equal parts drama and comedy. Elements of comic relief can appear in all but the very darkest dramas, and most stories have at least some serious elements. Because of this, expect to see them get lumped in with the sitcoms come award season (this can actually serve as a litmus test for if a show is dramedy or straight drama — can you imagine it being nominated in the same award category as a sitcom?)

While many stories contain both comedy and drama, a true Dramedy must belong to the genre of Drama- defined by stories focusing on character development, intense emotions and inner conflict as the primary source of plot. Scifi, action-adventure stories, superhero stories and Shōnen adventures rarely qualify as Drama. Even if the comedy and drama are equally balanced with each other, if both are clearly subservient to the adventure story, its not a dramedy.

And if anyone has any other examples which should be removed, go ahead and list them. Im not familier with every example listed

edited 29th Aug '17 12:09:00 PM by PistolsAtDawn

Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Sonic X, Sailor Moon, and Yu-Gi-Oh all don't really fall under "drama", just typical Shonen.

Is Full House/Fuller House a dramedy? I thought they were straight comedy. I think The Office is straight comedy as well.

All the video games in the section are like action/adventure. Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend Of Korra/Generator Rex are as well. Total Drama is mostly straight comedy, it's a send-up of reality TV and the drama of it.

I removed a bunch of stuff- i could only remove things im familier with, tho.

If youre not sure, for comparison, think about things which are clearly dramedeys, like Juno, M*A*S*H or Scrubs. Bojack Horseman. Or any number of Romcom/Dramas.

A series can be Action/Adventure or fantasy and qualify, like i would say Buffy the Vampire Slayer probably counts. but think about those examples and ask yourself if Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs in the same category.

Heres a list of things i removed for not being Dramedys.

• Fairy Tail
• Fruits Basket
• Fullmetal Alchemist -
• Digimon
• Dragon Ball Z
• One Piece
• Naruto
• Sonic X
• Sailor Moon
• Yu-Gi-Oh!
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V

• The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye

• Kung Fu Panda
• The first two Ice Age movies.

• It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

• Ciaphas Cain
• The X-Wing Series novels during Aaron Allston's run

• 2 Broke Girls
• Breaking Bad
• Fuller House
• Full House
• The Flash (2014)
• Community {plain comedy)

• Jak And Daxter
• Kingdom Hearts
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
• Super Paper Mario
• Ratchet & Clank
• Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Unleashed

• Ace Attorney
• Higurashi: When They Cry
• The Order of the Stick

• Adventure Time i thought about this one, but while it does have a lot of dark elements and can be very weird/funny, its rarely a character drama, its more horror/comedy at its darkest
• Futurama
• Over the Garden Wall
• Recess
• Rick and Morty
• Sonic The Hedgehog
• Sonic Underground .
• South Park -
• Steven Universe .
• Teen Titans -
• Total Drama -
  • Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race
• The Venture Bros.

edited 1st Sep '17 12:19:03 PM by PistolsAtDawn

I'd keep Steven Universe, Over The Garden Wall, Rick and Morty, and Teen Titans.

^ i could see Over the Garden Wall, maybe, but the other three are basically the exact misuse im talking about. theyre all adventure series, not dramas.

i mean, maybe someone else can weigh in on this, but i feel like dramedy is a genre. Scrubs, bojack horseman, and MASH, do these belong to the same genre as teen titans and steven universe?

I think this thread can be wrapped up, definition has been modified

edited 1st Nov '17 3:15:00 PM by PistolsAtDawn

Locking per New Year Purge.