So I don't know. I saw a clip on YouTube of a scene from The Big Bang Theory with the laugh track filtered out. It seemed really stilted to me. I saw the same clip with the laugh track, and I thought it was hilarious.
There's a new show on CBC called "Dan for Mayor". It's about a slacker who decides on a whim to run for mayor of some town called Wessex. And the whole time I was watching it, all I could think was that it was eerily like that first Big Bang Theory clip. The same stiltedness, like they'd written it with a laugh track in mind and then decided to skip it. And I get the feeling it would have been really funny and entertaining with the laugh track.
Which makes me wonder how freaking conditioned I am. I mean, I don't expect laugh tracks in real life. But then again, when I watch shows like The Mentalist and House and there are funny things, I laugh even without a laugh track. So is it the sitcom format, or is it the sitcom-style writing? Or did the actors just leave pauses because they expected a laugh track to be inserted, which made it seem weird?
Anyone have similar experiences with shows?
[ March 12, 2010, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: Lisa ]
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Sports Night started out with a laugh track, but then they dropped it. It was an improvement.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: So I don't know. I saw a clip on YouTube of a scene from The Big Bang Theory with the laugh track filtered out.
...*...wait, but The Big Bang Theory is filmed before a studio audience. Posted by jebus202 (Member # 2524) on :
Who probably don't laugh, cause it's not funny.
Posted by Raymond Arnold (Member # 11712) on :
Not having seen it, going off of Lisa's description, apparently it's only funny when there's a laugh track, so the studio audience would only laugh if they had the laugh track q'd up in advanced (how to you spell Queu?)
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
queue
Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :
I was watching some Nickelodean shows like Drake and Josh and iCarly wth my little cousin and they both have laugh tracks. Even with them I couldn't recognise a single joke or comic moment in iCarly that made me smile even with the laugh track. The laugh track in Drake and Josh was obnoxious, but I thought there were mabe a couple funny moments.
Does anyone know if It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has a laugh track? Thats the funniest show I watch, so I hope I'm not just being brainwashed.
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
I loved Arrested Development and I am pretty sure that had no laugh track. I also love big bang theory, but less so now that certain characters are a couple.
Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
I searched for the video in question on youtube (I tried to make youtube a verb but it wouldn't cooperate.)
I thought the scene was still funny. Maybe just in a different way.
But I probably wouldn't watch BBT without the laugh track. For the same reason I can't watch "The Office." I don't like humor based on awkward circumstances or characters who aren't aware that they're the butt of the joke. I feel like that laugh track, on some primitive level, gives me the permission to laugh at people when I'd ordinarily look away.
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
I'm trying to think of a single *good* show with a laugh track, and I'm drawing a blank. I mean, I enjoyed Full House, Family Matters, Saved By the Bell and the like when I was younger, but I guess that traditional sitcom humor just isn't my thing anymore. Trackless comedies like Scrubs, The Office, Community, and Parks & Rec, on the other hand, I find pretty hilarious.
Edit to add: Not that those shows don't use many of the same comedic devices as typical sitcoms.
Hmm....maybe the laugh track is a turnoff for me.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Shanna: I searched for the video in question on youtube (I tried to make youtube a verb but it wouldn't cooperate.)
I thought the scene was still funny. Maybe just in a different way.
But I probably wouldn't watch BBT without the laugh track. For the same reason I can't watch "The Office." I don't like humor based on awkward circumstances or characters who aren't aware that they're the butt of the joke. I feel like that laugh track, on some primitive level, gives me the permission to laugh at people when I'd ordinarily look away.
Maybe that's it.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: ... There's a new show on CBC called "Dan for Mayor". It's about a slacker who decides on a whim to run for mayor of some town called Wessex.
Tell me how that goes if you watch it. I'm kinda fence-sitting on giving it a try.
quote: So is it the sitcom format, or is it the sitcom-style writing? Or did the actors just leave pauses because they expected a laugh track to be inserted, which made it seem weird?
I dunno. Thinking out loud, how do you feel about movie comedies which don't usually have laugh tracks, your Austin Powers or Shaolin Soccer for example.
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
Okay, I just watched the BBT clip without the laugh track. I never really thought about why I'd grown tired of the typical sitcom format, but that pause for laughter really is the main turn-off. Another big one is the onstage-like atmosphere. Redo that scene correcting for those issues and you very well might get a laugh out of me.
Posted by rollainm (Member # 8318) on :
quote: Thinking out loud, how do you feel about movie comedies which don't usually have laugh tracks, your Austin Powers or Shaolin Soccer for example.
I don't know Shaulin Soccer, but movies like Austin Powers still have the punchline indicators that work in much the same way as a laugh track. It's interesting to contrast that with, say, Monty Python, where laughing at one funny will likely cause you to miss the next two or three (and thus making a great rewatch).
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Maybe that was the reason I didn't think "Dan for Mayor" was that entertaining. I really like the lead actor (Fred Ewaniuk) and I think he is usually comedy gold but it really felt a little flat to me. I hope it improves.
I didn't watch Hiccups yet so I don't know how it turned out. It stars Fred Ewaniuk's former co-stars from Corner Gas - Nancy Robertson and Brent Butt.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Some studies seem to indicate that laughter is primarily a form of communication with others, and not just a solitary reaction to something funny. Which is why you're more likely to laugh when you're in a group (and the laughing makes things seem funnier, much like smiling makes people feel happier).
Laugh tracks (or laughter piped in from the studio audience) seem to simulate that, which makes it seem funnier.
--
When BBT first came out, it had been years since I'd watched anything with a laugh track, and I found it extremely annoying. I came back later and once I got over that, I enjoyed the show.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
There's a studio audience for the BBC Coupling show, and I like the laughter. Sometimes it's even handy when you don't realize there was a joke because of the accent (or the lack of an accent, depending on perspective).
Posted by Sean Monahan (Member # 9334) on :
quote:Originally posted by rollainm: I'm trying to think of a single *good* show with a laugh track, and I'm drawing a blank.
M*A*S*H?
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
Barney Miller
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mucus:
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: ... There's a new show on CBC called "Dan for Mayor". It's about a slacker who decides on a whim to run for mayor of some town called Wessex.
Tell me how that goes if you watch it. I'm kinda fence-sitting on giving it a try.
Well, I'll probably keep watching, just because the idea intrigues me. So far it's kind of cute.
quote:Originally posted by Mucus:
quote: So is it the sitcom format, or is it the sitcom-style writing? Or did the actors just leave pauses because they expected a laugh track to be inserted, which made it seem weird?
I dunno. Thinking out loud, how do you feel about movie comedies which don't usually have laugh tracks, your Austin Powers or Shaolin Soccer for example.
Haven't seen those. Though Blues Brothers and Animal House were awesome. And Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Posted by Dobbie (Member # 3881) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Sports Night started out with a laugh track, but then they dropped it. It was an improvement.
Then they dropped Sports Night. It was a bigger improvement.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The creators of MASH actually had a huge fight with the studio over the laugh track issue. The studio wanted a laugh track on everything. The creators didn't want one on anything. They compromised, and put a laugh track on everything except what takes place in the operating room.
Scrubs doesn't have a laugh track, and I really like it. They did an episode where they ripped on, and also celebrated, sitcoms, which used bright lights, multi-camera settings, and a laugh track, and I didn't really like it at all. Part of that was because they took it to a farcical extreme, and part of it was because that wasn't what Scrubs was about. It's not the sort of escapist humor that we look for in actual sitcoms.
I'm sort of half-enthused by The Office. I think parts of it are absolutely hysterical, but like Shanna, I'm utterly turned off by awkward humor. I cringe and turn away from the television. Watching other people be embarrassed to such a degree is uncomfortable, and certainly not funny. I'm not sure where that comes from.
I still think many shows with laugh tracks are funny, it's just a different sort of funny. Normally I would say that it's not particularly "smart" or "clever" funny in sitcoms that have laugh tracks, whereas shows many of USA's hour long programs are quite clever. But, I think Frasier was one of the smartest, most clever comedies ever on television, and it had a laugh track, and was awful riddled with pratfalls, embarrassing situations, etc. I guess sometimes if you do it perfectly, even that's enough to rise to the top.
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: But, I think Frasier was one of the smartest, most clever comedies ever on television
It had its moments of greatness. Niles and Frasier arguing...LOL
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:part of it was because that wasn't what Scrubs was about. It's not the sort of escapist humor that we look for in actual sitcoms.
I thought that Scrubs was at its best when it was just escapist humor. But then, it seemed like every time they tried to make a statement about anything important, I vigorously disagreed with what they were saying.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
The problem is there isn't a laugh track. There's a studio audience. So the actors pause. Those pauses feel stilted because it doesn't fit unless you can tell the reason for the pause happening.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head:
quote:part of it was because that wasn't what Scrubs was about. It's not the sort of escapist humor that we look for in actual sitcoms.
I thought that Scrubs was at its best when it was just escapist humor. But then, it seemed like every time they tried to make a statement about anything important, I vigorously disagreed with what they were saying.
They were ALWAYS trying to make a statement. Even when they tried to be escapist, they couldn't finish the episode without whacking you over the head with JD's voice over at the end of the episode where he tells you what lessons he learned that episode.
They weren't always profound statements of morality or really important topics, but every episode had a moral or lesson.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
quote:Originally posted by rollainm: ... still have the punchline indicators that work in much the same way as a laugh track.
This is true, but at least a different response to these indicators versus a laugh-track might differentiate between whether there is something specific about laughter or whether there is a need for just a social cue in general.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
I had to stop watching Scrubs while I was doing my internal medicine rotation because it was like re-traumatizing myself to watch.
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
quote:Originally posted by LargeTuna: Does anyone know if It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has a laugh track? Thats the funniest show I watch, so I hope I'm not just being brainwashed.
It does not, I just watched half an episode looking for one. it's Always Sunny is just one of the funniest shows ever made.
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I'm sort of half-enthused by The Office. I think parts of it are absolutely hysterical, but like Shanna, I'm utterly turned off by awkward humor. I cringe and turn away from the television. Watching other people be embarrassed to such a degree is uncomfortable, and certainly not funny. I'm not sure where that comes from.
I am the complete opposite. Awkward scenes in general just make me smile. I love the Office, and any movie by Christopher Guest. Movies like Lost in Translation and Broken Flowers are some of my favorites. Maybe it's because real life (at least my real life) has many more awkward moments than traditional movie-star moments. Maybe it's because I would rather see someone else having an awkward moment that I could relate to yet still be disconnected.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lisa: And the whole time I was watching it, all I could think was that it was eerily like that first Big Bang Theory clip. The same stiltedness, like they'd written it with a laugh track in mind and then decided to skip it. And I get the feeling it would have been really funny and entertaining with the laugh track.
That sounds like my reaction to the short-lived Dilbert cartoon that aired several years ago. There were all these dead pauses after every line that utterly killed any funny it might have had.
Posted by andi330 (Member # 8572) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: The creators of MASH actually had a huge fight with the studio over the laugh track issue. The studio wanted a laugh track on everything. The creators didn't want one on anything. They compromised, and put a laugh track on everything except what takes place in the operating room.
There were several episodes that had no laugh track at all. They were generally much more serious. I'm glad for the compromise. M*A*S*H would likely have been cancelled in the first year if they had put a laugh track in the operating room scenes. Can you imagine? It would have been horribly inappropriate. The jokes in there are ok, because you can understand that the doctors and nurses are trying to make their way through a horrible situation, but having a laugh track try to make it something the audience laughed at would not have gone over well IMO.
Posted by Sean Monahan (Member # 9334) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mucus: I dunno. Thinking out loud, how do you feel about movie comedies which don't usually have laugh tracks, your Austin Powers or Shaolin Soccer for example.
When you think about though, the movie audience is the laugh track. At least if the movie is funny and the audience is laughing. We all feed off each other. Those movies don't carry the same punch seeing them on television.
They don't have laugh tracks, but I always enjoyed watching That 70's Show and Everybody Loves Raymond almost as much for the audience laughter as for the show itself. The audiences always sounded like they were really laughing and enjoying themselves.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
Laugh Tracks don't interface well with me because the shows that rely upon them to emotionally 'cue' and intensify a humor response are pretty much always using the method to supplant humor that isn't really funny to me and are blowing out much potential for subtle or witty humor, sooooo
Posted by Herblay (Member # 11834) on :
BlackAdder had a laugh track, didn't it?
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
Red Dwarf used a combo of audience and laugh track.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Does a laugh track vs. live studio audience make much difference for y'all? I don't even know if I can tell the difference.
Posted by Stephan (Member # 7549) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Does a laugh track vs. live studio audience make much difference for y'all? I don't even know if I can tell the difference.
No. And I sat in a live audience once. They actually plant interns and such around to start the laughing. Not to mention big signs overhead telling you when to laugh.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by Stephan: And I sat in a live audience once. They actually plant interns and such around to start the laughing. Not to mention big signs overhead telling you when to laugh.
That varies. I've been to a few tapings, and while they all had someone to warm up the audience, many did not have plants (or if they did, the plants waited in line for over an hour with the rest of us, and were very good at blending in), cue cards, or neon signs. Some did.
And I haven't been in a studio audience in years and years. Those were younger, more carefree days. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Does a laugh track vs. live studio audience make much difference for y'all? I don't even know if I can tell the difference.
Without knowing that the show is actually taped before a live studio audience, it's hard to tell the difference. They can edit out the audience sometimes, or cut it short, or make it longer, when they want, so some are mixes of real and fake. I know that for MASH, they actually played the show to a real audience and recorded the laughter, which was used for the laugh track.
I'm not sure if there is a meaningful difference.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
OK. Because people seemed to be making quite the distinction here between the two. I was wondering why.
As far as I'm concerned, if I hear the show laughing at its own jokes, that show has a laugh track.
Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
Some comedies make it much more obvious that a laugh is expected; the dialogue specifically goes "da da da da da da? Da da da da da DA <BUMP> (ha ha ha ha ha.)" It's kind of like iambic pentameter. And with that laugh at the end missing, it almost literally feels like there's a beat missing.
Part of the genius of "Scrubs" is that many of the bigger laugh lines are followed by a cut or transition, allowing time for a laugh without making it feel like there's a forced pause in dialogue.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
Well, I just watched the second ep of Dan for Mayor. And I learned something. Apparently, expectations enter into it. I knew it was a sitcom, so I expected a laughtrack. But this time, I knew there wasn't going to be one, and it didn't seem so much to be missing.
Lot of funny moments. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I like it.
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