http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/arizonaliving/articles/0912countdown0912.html

Sitcoms ditch laugh tracks
Randy Cordova
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 12, 2007 12:00 AM

The sound of other people laughing suddenly seems old-school.

Sitcoms without a laugh track or a chuckling studio audience appear to be the norm these days. This fall, NBC's two-hour block of Thursday sitcoms features no kind of laughter, unless the characters suddenly start guffawing on screen.

For some reason, sitcoms with laughter just don't seem as hip or as cutting edge as sitcoms without. This season, the very traditional Kelsey Grammer/Patricia Heaton show Back to You is filmed in front of an audience, as were his Frasier and her Everybody Loves Raymond. The show feels very familiar, and it's not merely the presence of the two leads.




Then you have the sharp and clever Aliens in America, which is satirical and bright and edgy and has no laugh track. It's also the funniest of the new crop of comedies and seems fresh and original.

Among the season's other new sitcoms, only The Big Bang Theory is filmed in front of a studio audience. Carpoolers and Samantha Who? aren't.

Cavemen is being overhauled, so there's no word on what the final product will be like.

You know how awkward it is to watch a comedian who doesn't get a laugh? It can be the same with a TV show. And so although a good comedy doesn't need sweetening, it couldn't hurt a bad one. Carpoolers is painfully unfunny; the sound of canned laughter might make it less grim.

Good idea - if you can't have a live audience, go without a laugh track. It's worked before.

NBC has no sitcoms that are filmed in front of a studio audience.

That's all I have to say.

;)

NBC has no sitcoms that are filmed in front of a studio audience.

That's all I have to say.

;) i know; they have 3. :crazy:

I prefer comedies without laugh tracks now, you can actually watch the show without those ridiculous aukward pauses until the audience quiets down, my favorite current sitcom Corner Gas has never had a laughtrack, and i sure dont miss it, I can make my OWN laughtrack!

I prefer comedies without laugh tracks now, you can actually watch the show without those ridiculous aukward pauses until the audience quiets down, my favorite current sitcom Corner Gas has never had a laughtrack, and i sure dont miss it, I can make my OWN laughtrack!
Yes. Corner Gas is a great example of how laugh tracks are not needed because the show is just so damn funny and hilarious. God, finally a show that is not a reality show, it is not a game show, IT IS GREAT. I swear, I am so thankful for WGN bringing us this charmer. IT IS HILARIOUS!!!! :lol:

:) Most Canadian sitcoms have no laugh track.......of course, some werent all that funny to begin with! :lol: ( Of course Corner Gas IS funny! )

I kinda like the laugh tracks, some comedies seem boring without them. The Office for example is boring without a laugh track. The laugh track is classic and fits the old comedies from the 60's. I think it worked for The Flintstones imo.

I kinda like the laugh tracks, some comedies seem boring without them. The Office for example is boring without a laugh track. The laugh track is classic and fits the old comedies from the 60's. I think it worked for The Flintstones imo.

I agree. I like to think I have a good sense of humor on my own, but a whole audience laughing along with you, validates your own laughter somehow.

I've been at a comedy movie, and there were maybe only 12 people in the theater. The smaller the group, the less laughter. I've been the first person to laugh out loud at a funny moment, then I notice the rest of the audience begins to laugh aloud also. There's something about sharing the experience, that changes the mood.

When I watch Earl or The Office, I find myself smiling or giving a small "Hunh!" now & then, but it's never a laugh that comes from the gut. I can be mildly amused at everyday situations all day long. But when it comes to being entertained on TV, I miss those knee-slappin' belly laughs I used to get from "Everybody Loves Raymond, Fraiser, I Love Lucy" etc. :happyface

But then how do we know what's supposed to be funny?!;)











Seriously, it doesn't really matter much to me, as I quit watching "new" shows years ago.

I could care less if there was a laugh track or not. Actually, I would rather a laugh track in sitcoms, just because when I'm laughing, it seems like I have someone to laugh along with. Plus, I only watch a few sitcoms without a laugh track.