One of the main characteristics of TV sitcoms is their episodic nature. After all, we would be quite perplexed if we were to watch a sitcom, only to find, it only had one episode. However, the presence of episodes is not necessarily what makes most sitcoms episodic. There are several characteristics that make most sitcoms (but certainly not all), fall under the episodic label. First off, most sitcoms end about where they begin. It is not often that we see a sitcom take great twists and turns to make the sitcom into something new. Although things may change during episodes, the overall order of the world is often the same as in the beginning. Generally they follow the same predictable plot development. A problem is developed and introduced, the characters try to solve the problem, the issue is resolves, and everything is back to normal. This resolution usually contains a lesson or statement within it that raises and answers a central question. Furthermore, there is not much character arc. The status of the characters at the end of an episode is not far from where it was at the beginning. All of these common sitcom characteristics allow us to label most sitcoms as episodic.
One of my favorite sitcoms that this can be applied to is Full House. Full House follows about the same general plot structure during each episode, and in the end, one or more characters learns a lesson. Many times these lessons raised questions about family life or domestic issues. Although the characters status, age, and view of the world changed slightly over the years that full house ran, for the most part, from one episode to the next, the characters were static. These characteristics clearly make Full House an episodic show.
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