BeeR Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Just wondering if anyone else thinks these are one of the most idiotic inventions ever and you'd think would be obsolete by now - talk about a dumbing down: "OK this is how funny this is; laugh this much now." uh please let me decide that - FYI that doesn't influence me one way or the other in the slightest and if anything is annoying and inclines me to like it less. And twice recently I was watching a sitcom where they (gasp) dared to have a serious moment...and the laugh track is rolling. If anything I think a funny moment is funnier - at times in fact much funnier - when it just hits me vs being hit over the head about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SayItAintSoJoe Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Just wondering if anyone else thinks these are one of the most idiotic inventions ever and you'd think would be obsolete by now - talk about a dumbing down: "OK this is how funny this is; laugh this much now." uh please let me decide that - FYI that doesn't influence me one way or the other in the slightest and if anything is annoying and inclines me to like it less. And twice recently I was watching a sitcom where they (gasp) dared to have a serious moment...and the laugh track is rolling. If anything I think a funny moment is funnier - at times in fact much funnier - when it just hits me vs being hit over the head about it. It's also kind of weird when you watch a show for years that has a laugh track then all of a sudden they have an episode without one because they are on location some where. The Brady Bunch in Hawaii comes to mind. The silence following the punchlines is sort of eerie after you've been programmed by the laugh track after so many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 It's also kind of weird when you watch a show for years that has a laugh track then all of a sudden they have an episode without one because they are on location some where. The Brady Bunch in Hawaii comes to mind. The silence following the punchlines is sort of eerie after you've been programmed by the laugh track after so many years. I was thinking the exact same thing. My kids watch the Disney channel a lot. One of their favorite shows is Wizards of Waverly Place. It can be entertaining at times. Not too long ago they showed a Wizards of Waverly Place movie, and the lack of a laugh track really stood out to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 is a real life laugh track like Ed McMahon ok loved the Caranack where Ed repeated everything and Caranack put a curse on'm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 (edited) It's also kind of weird when you watch a show for years that has a laugh track then all of a sudden they have an episode without one because they are on location some where. The Brady Bunch in Hawaii comes to mind. The silence following the punchlines is sort of eerie after you've been programmed by the laugh track after so many years. Which is exactly why they have them and are here to stay. Quite simply, too many shows that are supposed to be funny aren't funny. BeeR, they don't want you to decide what to and not to laugh at. They're much rather just remind you to laugh all the time. It's the same reason that you can often tolerate a bad movie more if you're sitting in the theater full of people. You get sort carried along for the ride. On the other hand, when you're at home on the couch, the movie has to rely on it's own merits and often fails. Do they annoy me? Absolutely. Are they the most idiotic invention of all time? Quite the opposite, because they're effing genius and anything but obsolete. Way cheaper to roll the laugh track than to hire funny people and good actors to actually make a show funny on it's own. I'm rather certain that they do more good than harm in terms of making a show seem funnier. At least to most people. Can you imagine how many relatively successful sit-coms would have totally bombed without a laugh track? Edited May 21, 2011 by detlef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I always thought it was funny when shows continuously used the same laugh track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I always thought it was funny when shows continuously used the same laugh track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 And now you don't like laugh tracks. Waiting for the "Flowers are nothing more than colorful weeds thread." keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby's Hubby Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 (edited) Seinfield comes to mind ... I do appreciate the shows that were "filmed before a live audience" Edited May 21, 2011 by Scooby's Hubby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I always thought it was funny when shows continuously used the same laugh track. Speaking of which, I remember first hearing a track on "I Love Lucy" that had a distinctive woman's voice saying "Uh...Ohh!" right before some gaff was going to happen. They used that track for 20-30 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Which is exactly why they have them and are here to stay. Quite simply, too many shows that are supposed to be funny aren't funny. BeeR, they don't want you to decide what to and not to laugh at. They're much rather just remind you to laugh all the time. It's the same reason that you can often tolerate a bad movie more if you're sitting in the theater full of people. You get sort carried along for the ride. On the other hand, when you're at home on the couch, the movie has to rely on it's own merits and often fails. Do they annoy me? Absolutely. Are they the most idiotic invention of all time? Quite the opposite, because they're effing genius and anything but obsolete. Way cheaper to roll the laugh track than to hire funny people and good actors to actually make a show funny on it's own. I'm rather certain that they do more good than harm in terms of making a show seem funnier. At least to most people. Can you imagine how many relatively successful sit-coms would have totally bombed without a laugh track? You say that like it's a bad thing. All good points, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SayItAintSoJoe Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Seinfield comes to mind ... I do appreciate the shows that were "filmed before a live audience" The live audience was cool but it did get on my nerves when the live audience would applaud for 30 seconds the first time a popular character would appear in the episode. I noticed on Seinfeld when this was starting to happen with Kramer's first appearances. A couple of shows later it stopped. This made me think that the audience was getting told prior to the taping not to give the characters this sort of intro applause. I can't prove it, but it's a theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 The live audience was cool but it did get on my nerves when the live audience would applaud for 30 seconds the first time a popular character would appear in the episode. Happy Days is the poster child for this. Fonzie walked in and the audience squealed for forever. Show quickly went downhill when they started taping live. A hideously overrated idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SayItAintSoJoe Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Happy Days is the poster child for this. Fonzie walked in and the audience squealed for forever. Show quickly went downhill when they started taping live. A hideously overrated idea. That, and after Fonzie jumped the shark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Speaking of which, I remember first hearing a track on "I Love Lucy" that had a distinctive woman's voice saying "Uh...Ohh!" right before some gaff was going to happen. They used that track for 20-30 years! I always remember a distinctive laugh from MASH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I always remember a distinctive laugh from MASH I always wondered how they got all those people out to Korea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliaz Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 i was taking a sh*t today and it was like one nice, health log then a pocket of high pressure gas fired off and it sounded like a banshee screaming for about 3 seconds, then a smaller turd came out so it was all good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 That, and after Fonzie jumped the shark. ha - yeah, in fact that shows how desperate they were - I remember a few distinctive laughs on those tracks too. Also often those things IMO didn't even sound "real," ie not how a bunch of people laughing would really sound, if you know what I mean - just weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaterMan Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Two and a Half Men. Imagine that show without them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SayItAintSoJoe Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I just realized that one of the funniest shows on TV has no laugh tracks......Modern Family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Next Generation Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I carry around my own personal laugh track and play it in the office after I tell a joke. I'm quickly becoming the funniest guy in the office. I don't think this would have happened had I not utilized my own laugh track. <-------message board laugh track Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpholmes Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I just realized that one of the funniest shows on TV has no laugh tracks......Modern Family. Shows like Modern Family and Arrested Development are great because the jokes more often then not require a good deal of wit to get. The real humor is when you're watching either of these shows with others and everyone starts laughing but one person, who stares and says "what was so funny?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Happy Days is the poster child for this. Fonzie walked in and the audience squealed for forever. Show quickly went downhill when they started taping live. A hideously overrated idea. Slightly off-topic, but I remember watching a show about the filming of Saturday Night Fever and the fact that they could barely tape scenes in NY because Travolta was such a teenie bopper icon from Welcome Back Kotter. Wherever they went in NY to film scenes for the movie, there would be crowds of girls screaming the entire time. Must have been a freaking pain. "Um, do want your idol to be in this movie? OK then, shut the hell up!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Slightly off-topic, but I remember watching a show about the filming of Saturday Night Fever and the fact that they could barely tape scenes in NY because Travolta was such a teenie bopper icon from Welcome Back Kotter. Wherever they went in NY to film scenes for the movie, there would be crowds of girls screaming the entire time. So did you get his autograph or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I just realized that one of the funniest shows on TV has no laugh tracks......Modern Family. And the Office. That is the only show that consistently makes me laugh really hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.