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Laugh Tracks
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Posted by: JimSpence

Since I'm able to get CBS-HD now, I've found myself watching it more. And have discovered again why I don't like to watch sit-coms. The stupid laugh track. They are really really really annoying. :down:

Posted by: boywaja

didn't we just do this thread over in happy hour?

I find I need to turn off surround sound on the TV otherwise the laugh track in sitcoms and the crowd noise in sporting events becomes a bit much.

Posted by: JimSpence

I didn't see it in HH.

I guess no one is laughing. :)

Posted by: TivoGeezer

I think most sitcoms are now taped before a live audience and do not use "laugh tracks". Most comedies I have seen which are not, like "Curb Your Enthusiasm", do not have any laughter at all.

Posted by: doom1701

You want annoying laugh tracks? Watch an old episode of Scooby Doo. Cartoons should not have laugh tracks--there's no way the filmed it "before a live studio audience".

My wife was watching Scooby Doo the other night. The laugh track made me want to hork.

Posted by: devdogaz

Shows like Scrubs, Malcolm in the Middle and Arrested Development are the best comedies on TV and one of the main reasons is the lack of a laugh track. I don't understand why the networks continue to churn out the same old sitcom crap with canned laughter

Posted by: cheerdude

1st season of Sports Night ... uugh....

Posted by: jones07

Because the networks have done intensive studies, And they have shown 56.3% of the audience do not know what's funny. And needs a Laugh Track to tell them what's funny and when to Laugh.

I made that percentage up
:D

Posted by: JimSpence

Even if the show is taped before a live audience, they get some of the most obnoxious laughers I've ever heard. Also, why is it that when you hear a laugh it is the same one heard earlier in the show. And, I swear I hear the same laugh across different shows.

P.S. Your percentage is too low. :)

Posted by: DeDondeEs

One thing I have noticed is on awards shows like the Grammy's or American Music Awards, when a musical act is performing I think they add sounds of the audience cheering and screaming. During the last Grammy’s there were some acts performing and the audience sounded like the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, but then they show a shot of the audience, everyone is just sitting there, no clapping or anything.
Also when a show has a live studio audience they usually plant "paid laughers" in the crowd. These are people paid to laugh during certain lines to get the rest of the audience laughing. If you listen to a show with this you can usually here one guy laughing before and louder than anyone else.
The laughing on Friends is really annoying. The thing that drives me nuts are the stupid facial expressions the cast members make to each other at the end of the scene while the audience is laughing before the segway to another scence. Like Joey will say something like "I thought the Pope was Jewish" then laugher erupts and Joey will stand there shrugging his shoulders for 5 seconds at Chandler before going to another scene.

Posted by: itsmeitsmeitsme

Hey Doom is horking like barfing????

Posted by: TeeSee

It's been like this all your life, Jim. You haven't gotten used to it by now? LOL (<--No pun intended)

I don't mind the laughing per se but it's the hysterics that the audience seems to go through over the lamest jokes that I find annoying. The Letterman audience must be given a handful of crack before the show because they're constantly applauding and cheering at things that Dave says that are (maybe) just amusing. He has to stop talking for them to finish, which makes the show plod along at times.

But I really don't mind laughter in a show if it doesn't interupt the flow of things. That does, however, seem to be less common these days.

Posted by: jeff125va

quote:
Originally posted by doom1701
You want annoying laugh tracks? Watch an old episode of Scooby Doo. Cartoons should not have laugh tracks--there's no way the filmed it "before a live studio audience".

My wife was watching Scooby Doo the other night. The laugh track made me want to hork.

I never really noticed that until I saw that episode of South Park with the guys from KORN. It was basically a Scooby Doo spoof and they had the laugh track. (keep in mind I was like 8 when I watched Scooby Doo and didn't notice)

Posted by: trainman

quote:
Originally posted by TivoGeezer
I think most sitcoms are now taped before a live audience and do not use "laugh tracks". Most comedies I have seen which are not, like "Curb Your Enthusiasm", do not have any laughter at all.

Even when shows are taped before a live audience, they still "sweeten" the laughter. I've closed-captioned sitcoms before the final audio mix is done, and there is often a big difference between the anemic chuckles I hear and the uproarious, riotous laughter you hear when the show is broadcast.

Posted by: JimSpence

Yeah, I know that the laugh track has been there since the beginning of TV. But, I pretty much gave up on sit coms over the last couple of years. Have just gotten back into a few because of the HDTV. To bad you can't skip the laugh tracks. :)

Posted by: SparkleMotion

quote:
Originally posted by doom1701
Cartoons should not have laugh tracks--there's no way the filmed it "before a live studio audience".

Sometimes a filmed sitcom is shown to a roomful of viewers who all have headphones on to hear the show. They are miked and their laughter is mixed into the show's soundtrack before airing.

So I supposed they could do the same thing with a cartoon. Of course, since the laughter on Scooby-Doo is practically identical every time, it's pretty clear they DIDN'T do this...but it certainly IS possible to have real, organic laughter on a cartoon soundtrack.

Posted by: scooterboy

What I find just as annoying as the laugh track in sitcoms is the ridiculous volume of the background music in some of the dramas. 24 and Without A Trace come to mind. Sometimes I have to hit the Instant Replay button multiple times because I just can't make out the dialogue above the damn music.

Posted by: Todd

As I've said before, I just tune it out. I couldn't tell you what sitcoms have laugh tracks and which ones don't....

Posted by: vman41

I hate it when the live audience applauds wildly at the first appearance of each of the show's principal actors during the taping. Having the actors stand around receiving adulation takes you totally out of the 'situation' that the comedy is supposed to be built on.