Oh, Rob!

You want to know a good way to learn how to write dialogue?  Watch a really well-written sitcom.  The lines are crisp, efficient and still manage to convey character.
As a child of the 70s, I was definitely influenced by sitcoms:  M*A*S*H*, All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Odd Couple, Barney Miller, and The Dick van Dyke Show (this last one I discovered in syndication).


Of all these shows, The Dick van Dyke Show shines with a natural style of dialogue.  While it can be goofy and slapstick, it never falls into the line-line-joke, line-line-joke formula of other sitcoms.  The actors stay light on their feet, giving the show an effervescent quality.
Laura:  Rob, if I thought that you sent this boat here to trap me …
Rob:  Oh, honey, I ordered this long before we did the sketch.  This is what gave me the idea.  Honest.
Laura:  Rob, I tried not to open it, I really did, but I – I guess I’m just a pathological snoopy-nose!
Rob:  Oh, honey, everybody’s a snoopy-nose.  We all like to know what’s inside things.
Laura:  I guess so.
Rob:  Why, I know so.  You know something?  I’m very, very curious about something right now.
Laura:  What?
Rob:  Well, I’m wondering how long we’re going to keep on with this polite talking before we get down to serious kissing!
Laura:  About three seconds.
Rob:  Three?
[Rob looks at his watch]
Rob:  One, two …
Laura:  I forgive you!
[they kiss]
[excerpt from “The Curious Thing About Women” (1962)]
Instead of maintaining a stony-faced decorum, the characters are allowed to banter and to laugh at each others' jokes -- which is more like real-life interactions than some of the sarcasm-laden approach of other sitcoms.  
Mel (exasperated):  Rob!
Rob:  Buddy!
Buddy:  Sally!
Sally:  Mel!
Mel:  Rob!
Rob:  Sally!
Sally:  Buddy!
Buddy:  Go ahead, Curly.  It's your turn.  Say "Rob."
Mel:  Rob!
[Buddy and Sally applaud drolly.]
Buddy:  Beautiful.
Sally:  Oh, wonderful, wonderful.
[excerpt from "Who Owes Who What?" (1962)]

The show makes me smile.