Help me out Get Smart Fans! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TJL · 10-02-2006, 05:49 PM

I have a little bet with a friend concerning "Get Smart."

My friend insists "Get Smart" didn't have a laugh track, but I say that it did.

Anyone know the answer?

tv star collector · 10-02-2006, 06:33 PM

I don't see any mention of a laugh track in Joey Green's GET SMART HANDBOOK
(1993). I also have the GET SMART LP record album (with excerpts from the
show). It has laughter on it and, to me, it sounds like canned laughter (or
enhanced laughs with the volume going up at certain points). Since the show
was shot in several outside locations, I don't see how it could have been filmed
in front of a live audience. So my guess is yes, it used a laugh track. Does
anyone know for sure??

wheelie12 · 10-03-2006, 12:59 AM

watching some episodes now, yes it has a laugh track

TJL · 10-03-2006, 04:40 AM

Thank you, my friends!

I am now ten dollars richer.

TV Knowledge Fan · 10-03-2006, 03:55 PM

..."GET SMART" that didn't have a "laugh track" when originally telecast, and first shown in syndication during the '70s, 'TJL'. The three-part episode, "A Man Called Smart" [April 1967], which was originally planned as a theatrical feature, did NOT have a laugh track...but eventually, an alternate version with one DID turn up in syndication. The episode where Max is programmed to kill the "Chief" had none, either...but now, it does.

The show was NEVER filmed before a live audience! I believe NBC insisted on a laugh track for "GET SMART" because they didn't want to deviate from their other sitcoms using one at the time. It wasn't until "JULIA", in 1968, that NBC finally permitted a sitcom to be shown regularly without a laugh track (although NOW it has one in the current reissues).

TJL · 10-03-2006, 04:28 PM

Yeah, i kinda figured that the laugh track was added during the syndication years.

HelloLarry · 10-18-2006, 12:18 PM

GET SMART definately had a laugh track throughout its 5 seasons as it was shot on film.

I believe the MONKEES (in their second season '67-'68) was the first sitcom that didn't have a laugh track. I don't know if that required permission from the network or not (it was on NBC as well) but there are approximately 13 episodes in the second season that don't. The first one that didn't was titled Hitting the High Seas which was first aired on 11/27/67.

roseha · 04-28-2007, 12:42 AM

I think in those days the only sitcoms that didn't have laugh tracks were those filmed on a soundstage - for instance, the Dick Van Dyke show, which almost never had an outdoor scene. Obviously this wouldn't have worked for Get Smart, so I'm sure they just put in a laugh track like every other show of its type.

Honestly, as long as the show is good, I don't mind laugh tracks nearly as much as Network Logos and now those dreadful "Pop Up"s from other shows!

10-02-2006, 05:49 PM	#1
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,588	Help me out Get Smart Fans! I have a little bet with a friend concerning "Get Smart." My friend insists "Get Smart" didn't have a laugh track, but I say that it did. Anyone know the answer?
	__________________ "I think I'll stroll up to the front to see how the shooting's going..." - Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce Read my blogs! http://centralparkamisguide.com/ http://dvdcriticscorner.com Visit me on Facebook!http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=641138880 Hey, I do the tweet thing too! http://twitter.com/TomLevier My shop of handmade items! http://www.etsy.com/shop/ColdGarageCreations

10-03-2006, 12:59 AM	#3
wheelie12 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: May 04, 2004 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 16	watching some episodes now, yes it has a laugh track
	__________________ Ron

10-03-2006, 03:55 PM	#5
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	There WERE some episodes of... ..."GET SMART" that didn't have a "laugh track" when originally telecast, and first shown in syndication during the '70s, 'TJL'. The three-part episode, "A Man Called Smart" [April 1967], which was originally planned as a theatrical feature, did NOT have a laugh track...but eventually, an alternate version with one DID turn up in syndication. The episode where Max is programmed to kill the "Chief" had none, either...but now, it does. The show was NEVER filmed before a live audience! I believe NBC insisted on a laugh track for "GET SMART" because they didn't want to deviate from their other sitcoms using one at the time. It wasn't until "JULIA", in 1968, that NBC finally permitted a sitcom to be shown regularly without a laugh track (although NOW it has one in the current reissues).

10-18-2006, 12:18 PM	#7
HelloLarry Meathead Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 21, 2006 Posts: 273	GET SMART laugh track GET SMART definately had a laugh track throughout its 5 seasons as it was shot on film. I believe the MONKEES (in their second season '67-'68) was the first sitcom that didn't have a laugh track. I don't know if that required permission from the network or not (it was on NBC as well) but there are approximately 13 episodes in the second season that don't. The first one that didn't was titled Hitting the High Seas which was first aired on 11/27/67.

10-02-2006, 06:33 PM	#2
tv star collector I Love Susie Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2005 Location: South Carolina Posts: 4,487	I don't see any mention of a laugh track in Joey Green's GET SMART HANDBOOK (1993). I also have the GET SMART LP record album (with excerpts from the show). It has laughter on it and, to me, it sounds like canned laughter (or enhanced laughs with the volume going up at certain points). Since the show was shot in several outside locations, I don't see how it could have been filmed in front of a live audience. So my guess is yes, it used a laugh track. Does anyone know for sure??

10-03-2006, 04:40 AM	#4
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,588	Thank you, my friends! I am now ten dollars richer.

10-03-2006, 04:28 PM	#6
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,588	Yeah, i kinda figured that the laugh track was added during the syndication years.

04-28-2007, 12:42 AM	#8
roseha Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 20, 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 100	I think in those days the only sitcoms that didn't have laugh tracks were those filmed on a soundstage - for instance, the Dick Van Dyke show, which almost never had an outdoor scene. Obviously this wouldn't have worked for Get Smart, so I'm sure they just put in a laugh track like every other show of its type. Honestly, as long as the show is good, I don't mind laugh tracks nearly as much as Network Logos and now those dreadful "Pop Up"s from other shows!