The Laugh Track Thread

[D'Snowth]

Why don't shows have regular audiences?

There's a few different factors as to why, usually it's because it's not cost-feasible to accomodate a live audience, other times it's because audiences disrupt the show by either overreacting or underreacting, but apparently the main reason nowadays is because producers apparently don't want to have a "big audience" sound on their shows, which is why a lot of shows today, either live or laugh track, sound like only a small handful of people are watching.

 

[minor muppetz]

I recently read on TV Tropes that the first few episodes of Dinosaurs originally aired with a laugh track, before it was dropped and removed from reruns, home video releases, and Netflix. Anybody know whether this is true? Anybody have copies of the versions with laugh tracks?

 

[Mo Frackle]

I recently read on TV Tropes that the first few episodes of Dinosaurs originally aired with a laugh track, before it was dropped and removed from reruns, home video releases, and Netflix. Anybody know whether this is true? Anybody have copies of the versions with laugh tracks?

Brian Henson confirmed this in a behind the scenes documentary. ABC insisted on using a soundtrack, which Henson and co. didn't want. I can't recall how they convinced ABC to drop the laugh track.

 

[Drtooth]

You can always tell when a sitcom uses a Laugh track wrong. If they have a almost rhythmical use of joke/laugh/joke/laugh with no pause for plot and dialogue. Cough cough cough The McCarthys cough cough.

 

[D'Snowth]

Part of the problem today too is laugh tracks really have no distinction to them, they all kind of sound the same, droll, "intelligent" laughter, but the thing of it is, it supposedly has to do with audiences becoming more "sophisticated" as opposed to back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, where audiences laughed as loud, as hearty, and even as silly as they wanted to, and that was also reflected in laugh tracks back in the day, where you could have soft chuckles and snickers, and gut-busting guffaws, even THE MUNSTERS frequently had shrieks and big, "WWWWHHOOOOAAAA!"s Nowadays, the laughs are all subdued and generic-sounding... of course, part of it too is apparently a lot of producers today have this phase going on where they wanted to avoid having a "full studio audience" sound, without doing away with an audience sound completely, and honestly, having laughter down to the sound of a whisper can be even more annoying that having laughs too loud and boisterous.

 

[Schfifty]

I'm surprised no one has brought up game shows in this thread yet. I take it that not a lot of people here watch game shows?

But yes, game shows used them, too. If you watch episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud from the early 1990s, you'll tell there's laugh tracks and canned applause in nearly every episode. They taped at CBS Television City back then, which had an "applause machine" that had tracks for applause, laughter, "oohs", and "awws" as well.

 

[D'Snowth]

Just about everything you see on TV is sweetened in some way or form, even award shows and pageants are sweetened as well. There's a video compilation on YT of a certain canned laugh that's heard frequently on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - I've heard that same laugh on CONAN before as well.

 

[mr3urious]

I'm surprised no one has brought up game shows in this thread yet. I take it that not a lot of people here watch game shows?

But yes, game shows used them, too. If you watch episodes of Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud from the early 1990s, you'll tell there's laugh tracks and canned applause in nearly every episode. They taped at CBS Television City back then, which had an "applause machine" that had tracks for applause, laughter, "oohs", and "awws" as well.

Wheel made it painfully obvious with an instance of the infamous "Megaword" category (basically one long word with a lot of uncommon letters, with bonus cash for using it in a sentence) in that it took so long to play that you can tell that the same groaning sound after each incorrect letter was heard over and over. I can't find it on YT anymore, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

 

[Schfifty]

Wheel made it painfully obvious with an instance of the infamous "Megaword" category (basically one long word with a lot of uncommon letters, with bonus cash for using it in a sentence) in that it took so long to play that you can tell that the same groaning sound after each incorrect letter was heard over and over. I can't find it on YT anymore, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Yeah, it was the 3/15/1995 episode with the OXIDIZED puzzle. It can get a bit aggravating hearing the same fake groan over and over again. It gets to the point where it seems like there's no live audience at all, and that it's just Pat, Vanna, Charlie and the three contestants in the studio.

Actually, now I'm wondering: when did CBS stop using their applause machine? I can't think of another game show that used it after the 1994-1995 seasons of Wheel and Feud.

 

[Drtooth]

Just about everything you see on TV is sweetened in some way or form, even award shows and pageants are sweetened as well. There's a video compilation on YT of a certain canned laugh that's heard frequently on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - I've heard that same laugh on CONAN before as well.

How I Met Your Mother didn't need it. I don't see why it even had it in the first place.

Though, considering the last episode, they should have had a "BOOOOO" track. With an added "I was saying Boo-urns."