What has happened to the laugh track? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

ClassicComedyFan2 · 07-09-2002, 03:47 PM

As many of you know, many 50s and 60s sitcoms used a laugh track (most of them the same one) that weren't filmed in from of a live audience. More and more, this became less common, and now, besides (and I'm guessing) Sabrina the Teenage Witch, no new sitcoms do. Does anyone know why this is? Laugh tracks do wonders for shows, IMO.

PS: I think toons should bring back the laugh track like the ones in Rocky & Bullwinkle and the older Scooby-Doo(s) shows too

Brian Damage · 07-09-2002, 04:29 PM

Quite simply, the funny & good shows don't need them. Shows should be able to draw natural laughter from an audience and not manufactured by a machine telling you what's funny. I've noticed that more and more sitcoms are even doing away with a live audience like Wonder Years, Malcolm in the Middle and Scrubs. Laugh Tracks are Evil!!!

LOL As far as cartoons go, I think a laugh track would ruin a show like The Simpsons. That's just my opinion.

SBTB Geek · 07-09-2002, 05:27 PM

When I was small I used to think "laugh tracks" were weird because they always laughed on the jokes that I thought were stupid or didn't get.

Will and Grace Fanatic · 07-09-2002, 06:54 PM

It use to bother me that some sitcoms don't use laugh tracks or have live audience to have the laughter. But now it doesn't bother me. I still love and watch Malcom in the Middle, Lizzie McGuire, and Scrubs without the laugh track.

Another sitcom that I think probably used a laugh track was Full House. They had to some of the jokes weren't funny enough to have the studio audience laughing.

JT · 07-09-2002, 07:32 PM

Umm, exactley why would they use a laughtrack if they were taped in front of a live studio audience? I never heard Donna Reed or Carl Betz say "The Donna Reed Show is taped in front of a live studio audience." I never heard Jay North say "Dennis the Menace is filmed before a live studio audience!" I never even heard Shirley Booth yell "HAZEL IS TAPED WITH LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE REPONSES!!!" Not ALL sitcoms are taped in front of live studio audiences. I mean, I think they would tells us if the show was, but I never heard them say it, nor have I seen it in the closing credits. So maybe if the shows were taped in front of a live studio audience, they would get the response. Plus, I don't think they knew about live studio audiences back then.

Brian Damage · 07-09-2002, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JT
Umm, exactley why would they use a laughtrack if they were taped in front of a live studio audience? I never heard Donna Reed or Carl Betz say "The Donna Reed Show is taped in front of a live studio audience." I never heard Jay North say "Dennis the Menace is filmed before a live studio audience!" I never even heard Shirley Booth yell "HAZEL IS TAPED WITH LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE REPONSES!!!" Not ALL sitcoms are taped in front of live studio audiences. I mean, I think they would tells us if the show was, but I never heard them say it, nor have I seen it in the closing credits. So maybe if the shows were taped in front of a live studio audience, they would get the response. Plus, I don't think they knew about live studio audiences back then.

I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners were done in front of a live studio audience. As a matter of fact, I think Lucy was the first show to use it?!?

TV Guy · 07-09-2002, 09:43 PM

Even with the shows that are/were filmed before a live audience, the live audience laughter is sometimes "sweetened" with canned laughter, if a joke didn't get the response that the producers thought it should get. The later "Lucy" shows resorted to sweetening, according to several sources.

Most of the old Screen Gems shows in the 60s, like "Donna Reed", "Hazel", and "Dennis the Menace" were one-camera shows that were not filmed in front of an audience, and had the laugh track added later. There's even one episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" where they forgot to add the laugh track, and the episode plays without laughter to this day (it's the one where Tony puts Jeannie on a budget).

I Dream of Jeannie · 07-09-2002, 10:24 PM

Episode 127 " Never Put a Genie On a Budget" is the only episode of IDOJ that doesn't have a laugh track. I think this episode is funny but I can't laugh at it, because there isn't anyone else laughing with me! Weird ughhhh.

JT · 07-10-2002, 02:10 PM

The episode of Kate & Allie called "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" didn't have any studio or canned laughter at all, but I guess that's because the episode was mostly set on the streets of New York, and it was a sad episode.
The episode went like this:
Allie, Kate, and Kate's boyfriend were cleaning out the kitchen closet, when Jennie (Allie's daughter) called because Allie needed to rush a permission slip down to Jennie's college. Allie was still in old, rag clothes, and was dirty, but she took a cab thinking that it wouldn't take too long. When she got to the college, she forgot her purse in the cab, and she was stuck in an unfamiliar part of town where she was treated like homeless people. Very, very sad episode.

Superbatboy · 07-12-2002, 03:03 AM

A Lot of shows use sweeteners. I especially notice that sitcoms circa 1989-1993 used the SAME sweeteners. So you would hear a laugh sweetener on The Golden Girls, and then hear the same laughs on like Roseanne or The Cosby Show. And I Love Lucy was notorious for using sweeteners. It doesn't seem like sitcoms do that anymore.

Will and Grace Fanatic · 07-12-2002, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Superbatboy
A Lot of shows use sweeteners.

What's a sweetener?

Lance Link · 07-12-2002, 06:08 PM

Sometimes I've heard the laugh track put in when it wasn't needed or when you heard it, you asked yourself What was so funny about that ? For example , on a Leave it to Beaver episode June asked Wally where Beaver was and he said upstairs. Next thing you hear is laughter . I think sometimes it's put in at the wrong time .

Sean Snow · 07-12-2002, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Will and Grace Fanatic

What's a sweetener?

It's the natural laugh of the audience with some laughing added in or the laughing of the audience is made louder to make it seem like the joke was funnier.

DarleneIllyria · 07-12-2002, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lance Link
Sometimes I've heard the laugh track put in when it wasn't needed or when you heard it, you asked yourself What was so funny about that ? For example , on a Leave it to Beaver episode June asked Wally where Beaver was and he said upstairs. Next thing you hear is laughter . I think sometimes it's put in at the wrong time .

I've noticed that on Beaver numerous times. They do put it in at the wrong spot.

One episode of 'The Twilight Zone' had a laugh track. It was the episode with Carol Burnett. It wasn't that humerous to me, and it just didn't seem like an episode of TZ. For the Carol Burnett fans out there, it was the episode where she has a guardian angel. Uh, I want to say it was either in season 2 or 3.

TMC · 04-02-2015, 01:55 AM

http://uproxx.com/tv/2015/04/laugh-track-history/

Quote:

Laugh tracks were needed for single-camera shows to make the audience sound consistent.

Today, a single-camera show refers to a show filmed without a studio audience that employs multiple angles with one camera. But when sitcoms began in the 1940s and 1950s, there was only one camera on the set. Several takes were needed to get a variety of angles, so the camera would stop rolling each time. But the audience would still laugh at the performance; that resulted in an inconsistent sound. Sound engineers used that as a great excuse to simply insert a solid laugh track when needed — and wanted; if a joke didn’t land as well as hoped, louder laughter was added as “sweetening.” Fun trivia to impress your friends: The first show to use a laugh track was The Hank McCune Show in 1950.

But around the ’60s, the laugh track started taking over the need for an audience completely and eventually replaced real people, saving costs on the production, but setting itself up — ironically — as a joke.

But despite their cheesy nature, laugh tracks actually improved shows for audiences.

Joke all you want, but a 1965 experiment proved that a show with a laugh track was interpreted as funnier than one without the added prompting. When Hogan’s Heroes premiered, the pilot was shown with a laugh track in some locations and without one in others. Ratings were higher in the locations who saw the version with the laugh track.

07-09-2002, 03:47 PM	#1
ClassicComedyFan2 Coolicious! Forum Regular Join Date: Sep 28, 2001 Location: AL, United States, Alpha Quadrant Posts: 698	What has happened to the laugh track? As many of you know, many 50s and 60s sitcoms used a laugh track (most of them the same one) that weren't filmed in from of a live audience. More and more, this became less common, and now, besides (and I'm guessing) Sabrina the Teenage Witch, no new sitcoms do. Does anyone know why this is? Laugh tracks do wonders for shows, IMO. PS: I think toons should bring back the laugh track like the ones in Rocky & Bullwinkle and the older Scooby-Doo(s) shows too

07-09-2002, 04:29 PM	#2
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Quite simply, the funny & good shows don't need them. Shows should be able to draw natural laughter from an audience and not manufactured by a machine telling you what's funny. I've noticed that more and more sitcoms are even doing away with a live audience like Wonder Years, Malcolm in the Middle and Scrubs. Laugh Tracks are Evil!!! LOL As far as cartoons go, I think a laugh track would ruin a show like The Simpsons. That's just my opinion.
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet* Last edited by Brian Damage; 07-09-2002 at 04:34 PM.

07-09-2002, 06:54 PM	#4
Will and Grace Fanatic be happy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 15, 2002 Location: seattle, washington Posts: 2,746	It use to bother me that some sitcoms don't use laugh tracks or have live audience to have the laughter. But now it doesn't bother me. I still love and watch Malcom in the Middle, Lizzie McGuire, and Scrubs without the laugh track. Another sitcom that I think probably used a laugh track was Full House. They had to some of the jokes weren't funny enough to have the studio audience laughing.
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07-09-2002, 10:24 PM	#8
I Dream of Jeannie Undisputed.......... Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 12, 2002 Location: Rebelling againist a group, defining a genre, and supporting Deidre -n- Drake and John and Marlena no matter what, and thanking Mr. Reilly for this magnificant storyline. Woohoo!! Life is good! Dee and Drake are bad. he he he Posts: 4,925	Episode 127 " Never Put a Genie On a Budget" is the only episode of IDOJ that doesn't have a laugh track. I think this episode is funny but I can't laugh at it, because there isn't anyone else laughing with me! Weird ughhhh.
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07-12-2002, 03:03 AM	#10
Superbatboy The Brandon Show Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 25, 2002 Location: California..USA Posts: 793	A Lot of shows use sweeteners. I especially notice that sitcoms circa 1989-1993 used the SAME sweeteners. So you would hear a laugh sweetener on The Golden Girls, and then hear the same laughs on like Roseanne or The Cosby Show. And I Love Lucy was notorious for using sweeteners. It doesn't seem like sitcoms do that anymore.
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07-09-2002, 05:27 PM	#3
SBTB Geek Smooth Moderator Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 21, 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,004	When I was small I used to think "laugh tracks" were weird because they always laughed on the jokes that I thought were stupid or didn't get.

07-09-2002, 07:32 PM	#5
JT Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 29, 2001 Location: USA Posts: 7,223	Umm, exactley why would they use a laughtrack if they were taped in front of a live studio audience? I never heard Donna Reed or Carl Betz say "The Donna Reed Show is taped in front of a live studio audience." I never heard Jay North say "Dennis the Menace is filmed before a live studio audience!" I never even heard Shirley Booth yell "HAZEL IS TAPED WITH LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE REPONSES!!!" Not ALL sitcoms are taped in front of live studio audiences. I mean, I think they would tells us if the show was, but I never heard them say it, nor have I seen it in the closing credits. So maybe if the shows were taped in front of a live studio audience, they would get the response. Plus, I don't think they knew about live studio audiences back then.

07-09-2002, 09:43 PM	#7
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	Even with the shows that are/were filmed before a live audience, the live audience laughter is sometimes "sweetened" with canned laughter, if a joke didn't get the response that the producers thought it should get. The later "Lucy" shows resorted to sweetening, according to several sources. Most of the old Screen Gems shows in the 60s, like "Donna Reed", "Hazel", and "Dennis the Menace" were one-camera shows that were not filmed in front of an audience, and had the laugh track added later. There's even one episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" where they forgot to add the laugh track, and the episode plays without laughter to this day (it's the one where Tony puts Jeannie on a budget).

07-10-2002, 02:10 PM	#9
JT Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 29, 2001 Location: USA Posts: 7,223	The episode of Kate & Allie called "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" didn't have any studio or canned laughter at all, but I guess that's because the episode was mostly set on the streets of New York, and it was a sad episode. The episode went like this: Allie, Kate, and Kate's boyfriend were cleaning out the kitchen closet, when Jennie (Allie's daughter) called because Allie needed to rush a permission slip down to Jennie's college. Allie was still in old, rag clothes, and was dirty, but she took a cab thinking that it wouldn't take too long. When she got to the college, she forgot her purse in the cab, and she was stuck in an unfamiliar part of town where she was treated like homeless people. Very, very sad episode.

07-12-2002, 06:08 PM	#12
Lance Link Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Jan 27, 2001 Posts: 224	Sometimes I've heard the laugh track put in when it wasn't needed or when you heard it, you asked yourself What was so funny about that ? For example , on a Leave it to Beaver episode June asked Wally where Beaver was and he said upstairs. Next thing you hear is laughter . I think sometimes it's put in at the wrong time .