The Laugh Track Test

[Chambers]

We all know Cheers was filmed before a live studio audience and that the laughs were mostly geniune, but I'm going to use the term "laugh track" anyway.

My question:
Would Cheers be funnier without the laugh track?

I think most of the humor would be just as if not more brilliant without the laughs, particularly the more subtle jokes that the audiences seem to miss at first. When we're used to hearing the audience laugh, we tend to get confused when they don't and wonder whether a joke is actually funny. I've noticed that some episodes aired on N@N had stronger laughs than some of the ones on the DVD. I may be wrong, but I think that was done for some of these more subtle jokes. But if they did away with that, I think the show would actually seem funnier.

Then again, some of the jokes on Cheers provoke an almost Pavlovian response. Even if they're highly predictable, we still laugh if only for the comfort of routine. Perhaps without the laugh track we'd be laughing less at those.

Then there are certain scenes where the live audience actually ruins the comedic effect. I'm talking about scenes where the joke is only revealed to the TV viewers by a single camera shot. A prime example of this is the scene at the opera in "Diane Chambers Day." The audience roars with laughter upon seeing Cliff, Sam and Norm fast asleep. However, by the time the camera reveals that Diane is also fast asleep (the climax of the joke), the laughter has died down. I was really annoyed by that. Again, I think the show would gain a lot without that laugh track.

[ThirteenInchEscape]

always better to not have laughs, such as in Arrested Development or Malcolm in the Middle, I dont believe that Coupling has a laugh track either (sometims you dont notice if there is one or not), anyhow, I dont like to be told when to laugh.

[Petrie Malone]

Overall, I like the laugh track. (In Cheers and other sitcoms.)
Yes, laugh tracks can ruin the line after a joke, preventing it from being heard by the audience. But hearing the audience laughing reminds me I'm watching a sitcom and that its OK to laugh.

[Brian Damage]

Laugh tracks suck big time. Laughter should be genuine, not cued. That's why I hate crap like Gilligan's Island. It's all fake.

[barwars]

Canned laugh = bad.

No laughs = good.

Audience laughter = best.

[slackermonkey]

Audience laughter helps contribute some energy and excitement to a fast-paced show, but for more sophisticated, unique shows like "Arrested Development" or "Seinfeld," no laugh track works better.

[Chambers]

Originally posted by slackermonkey
Audience laughter helps contribute some energy and excitement to a fast-paced show, but for more sophisticated, unique shows like "Arrested Development" or "Seinfeld," no laugh track works better.

Do you mean slow-paced show? Because AD is rather fast-paced, whereas Cheers seems pretty slow (it's all talk, very little action).

[barwars]

Originally posted by Chambers
Do you mean slow-paced show? Because AD is rather fast-paced, whereas Cheers seems pretty slow (it's all talk, very little action).

Cheers (and Frasier) are more like plays than movies.... you can watch movies alone, and decide for yourself when to laugh, but nobody goes to a play alone.

[barwars]

Cheers and Frasier are my two favorite shows, but they are very slow paced, compared to series like Arrested Development, Seinfeld and Friends.

[slackermonkey]

Originally posted by Chambers
Do you mean slow-paced show? Because AD is rather fast-paced, whereas Cheers seems pretty slow (it's all talk, very little action).

No, I meant fast-paced.

I'll try to explain it better: a show like "Will & Grace" is a broader sort of comedy, with a lot of energy. The audience laughter helps escalate and keep that energy going, especially since the cast usually feeds off of the laughs and puts that into their performances.

A show like "Arrested Development," even though, yeah, it's fast-paced, is a more subtle, offbeat kind of humor that works better without a laugh track.

[Chambers]

Originally posted by slackermonkey
No, I meant fast-paced.

I'll try to explain it better: a show like "Will & Grace" is a broader sort of comedy, with a lot of energy. The audience laughter helps escalate and keep that energy going, especially since the cast usually feeds off of the laughs and puts that into their performances.

A show like "Arrested Development," even though, yeah, it's fast-paced, is a more subtle, offbeat kind of humor that works better without a laugh track.

ah ok, makes sense.

[ThirteenInchEscape]

for a while Seinfeld had people clapping everytime Krmaer walked in, that was terrible.

[slackermonkey]

Until they were smart enough to put a stop to it after a few episodes.

[AKA]

Originally posted by Brian Damage
Laugh tracks suck big time. Laughter should be genuine, not cued. That's why I hate crap like Gilligan's Island. It's all fake.

I agree with that. I used to hate M*A*S*H for the very same reason, until I was able to check it out on DVD sans laugh track.

Since then, it has become one of my favorite shows. I have all six seasons currently available on DVD, and I get to watch it laugh track-free whenever I want.

Laugh tracks simply insult one's intelligence.

[CliffClavin]

Sometimes they hire professional laughers & I hate that too.