The Courtesans - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

vashti1999 · 01-21-2006, 02:56 PM

Did anyone else feel like this was a weird episode as you were watching it? It was like the laugh track machine broke down that week and they had to rely on the studio audience to actually provide the laughter, and they didn't really laugh. There were humorous lines where you would expect laughter and it was silence. It seemed like the audience warmed up a little in the second half, but for the most part, this episode had a strange feel to it.

PashminaDietrich · 01-21-2006, 04:09 PM

Well, during the first couple of seasons, Danny Arnold actually did rely on the unpredictable studio audience reaction before switching to a more controllable laugh track. This is probably one of the episodes where it shows the most.

sara · 01-23-2006, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PashminaDietrich

Well, during the first couple of seasons, Danny Arnold actually did rely on the unpredictable studio audience reaction before switching to a more controllable laugh track. This is probably one of the episodes where it shows the most.

I read that the real reason that they started using a laugh track wasn't because of unpredictable audiences. It was because Danny Arnold was such a perfectionist that many times they wouldn't finish shooting until 4 or 5 in the morning. I think they only shot about 5 episodes in front on an audience

catlover79 · 08-31-2008, 12:57 AM

I read somewhere that the ABC censors did NOT want this episode to air. However, the ratings for this episode were high and convinced ABC to renew the series at the end of 13 weeks. How about that?

01-21-2006, 02:56 PM	#1
vashti1999 NY METS - #1 Forum Fanatic Join Date: Oct 14, 2003 Location: The world's greatest city - New York City Posts: 11,404	The Courtesans Did anyone else feel like this was a weird episode as you were watching it? It was like the laugh track machine broke down that week and they had to rely on the studio audience to actually provide the laughter, and they didn't really laugh. There were humorous lines where you would expect laughter and it was silence. It seemed like the audience warmed up a little in the second half, but for the most part, this episode had a strange feel to it.
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01-21-2006, 04:09 PM	#2
PashminaDietrich Oh no, she's baaack Senior Member Join Date: Jul 20, 2003 Location: north of Arlen, south of Southfork, and stuck in the middle with you... Posts: 1,733	Well, during the first couple of seasons, Danny Arnold actually did rely on the unpredictable studio audience reaction before switching to a more controllable laugh track. This is probably one of the episodes where it shows the most.
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08-31-2008, 12:57 AM	#4
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,382	I read somewhere that the ABC censors did NOT want this episode to air. However, the ratings for this episode were high and convinced ABC to renew the series at the end of 13 weeks. How about that?
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013