Why Do TV Shows Use Laugh Tracks?

[@rea8585]

How weird would it be if dramas would have sob tracks

[@NickMattia44]

Or if horror shows had scream tracks... It's weird to think about

[@almostideal1306]

@@NickMattia44 In horror shows its the characters that scream, so they do, kind of.

[@TheHomerowKeys]

There are audio cues for scares or sadness/crying. Like silence before a jump-scare making us feel uneasy and therefore heightening the pay-off scare. Also, with sadness/grief, typically music will swell louder, ambient noises boosted a bit, and shots shown typically stay still or slow to try and pull you further into that feeling. With laughter, we all feel a little reluctant to laugh sometimes, which is why there are things put in place to ease an audience into allowing themselves to relax. It's why we have comedians open for musicians. Getting people to laugh and enjoy themselves (to let loose) is an important part of entertainment. There just aren't many better ways to let an audience laugh, especially a solo audience when watching at home alone or just a few people, than hearing laughter. The best way to make it register that it's okay for you to laugh is hearing others laugh. No body likes to be unsure to laugh, or be the only one laughing at a joke, because then you get that hot-fear of shame questioning both yourself and the joke you laughed at.

[@x.adam1]

They don't need sob tracks since they already have that depressing suicidal music.

[@UniquelyAdequateMusic]

@@almostideal1306 they could videos on youtube with sobs added

[@otakuribo]

Imagine if The Big Bang Theory replaced it's laugh track by flashing on-screen one of those old audience response signs that said "LAUGH NOW" and "APPLAUSE" after every line of dialogue

[@maisiesummers42]

BBT is filmed in front of an audience.

[@eve36368]

@@maisiesummers42 it could be a special effect use for like a special episode Sheldon would've wrote. it would accentuate his unreliable narration.

[@deaththekid922]

@@maisiesummers42 then those people have extremly terrible sense of humor

[@maisiesummers42]

@Judge Dredd Nothing to do with my hearing or the purple elephant that lives in my fridge. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hp2bnmVsqLWVma8

[@rishabbomma9361]

Eve Kohley dude the series Sheldon is really bad compared to other shows like community(Skip Gas Leak year), parks and rec(All of them), first 4 seasons of the office

[@tiki2976]

I don't even notice laugh tracks unless they're inconsistently applied. Then, it's super cringy...

[@UnionParkPlumbing]

I feel sitcoms used it as a crutch though when the jokes started going downhill though

[@EzENerde]

though

[@TheMohan1986]

They have evolved the craft to character reactions to these 'jokes', where the other characters smile or chuckle to themselves. Like canned laughter, they are cues to elicit laughter. But also, with every instance of habit formation, they alter our perception. In this case, our elicited cue laughter comes to associate those images with what we come to find funny. And so, our minds become more synced with this type of humour which allows them to slowly add in other more subliminal messages or to keep creating the same rubbish content and we somehow consuming them because our tastes have become rewired. Binge watching is definitely a symptom of this phenomenon.

[@SuddenJeff]

There's also a modern laugh track replacement. Every time Jim looks at the camera in The Office, that's a laugh track. When you hear a little musical stinger at the end of a line in Scrubs, that's a laugh track.

[@gars129]

Black-ish has it too. Sometimes the music starts and the characters realizes hes made a Punchline.

[@Budabaii]

Varghese Manakalathil no shit? He was stating that they serve a similar purpose. Not that he mistook a stinger for laughter.

[@G360LIVE]

I'd like to see that video on horror movies. Also, I'd like to see a video on the Wilhelm Scream. Keep up the great work! :)

[@MatthewStinar]

The Wilhelm Scream is a fascinating piece of culture.

[@morgantherat]

And so hard to not hear once you recognize it, which can become a bit of a distraction when it's used a lot, like in LotR

[@G360LIVE]

@@morgantherat It can also be distracting when it's not used. For example, I was watching a Steven Seagal movie last night, and when he threw a guy off a train (yes, Under Siege 2), I thought to myself, "That would've been a great place for a Wilhelm!"

[@stevieinselby]

If a laugh track is done well then most people won't be able tell that it is canned and not from a live studio audience. It is only noticeable - and therefore only a problem! - when it is obtrusive through being too loud, too long, too badly cut in and out, or applied at times when the script and delivery really didn't merit that amount of laughter. Unfortunately some sit-com producers have all the self-control of a magpie in a glitter factory and don't recognise the value of understatement!

[@JosephScarbrough]

_Finally!_ A video discussing the laugh track that _isn't_ all about "The laugh track was invented to tell us when to laugh because studios think viewers are too stupid to know when something is funny!" This is, perhaps, the most straight-forward and accurate video discussion about the laugh track I've seen yet. Great job.

[@Jilliiette]

The Big Bang Theory’s laugh track is why I can’t watch it. It’s uncomfortable. Most of the. Don’t bother me though.

[@daviderenda9211]

You're not loosing out much

[@JosephScarbrough]

It's not a good show anyway.

[@GlitchRodgers]

Trust me, it's even worse when the laugh track is missing.

[@nathanbombardo]

i dont know why so many people like the show

[@anayateh9996]

It's a good show when you don't have anything else to watch

[@maisiesummers42]

The long-running British sitcom, Last Of The Summer Wine, was often filmed outdoors. Because it was a comedy, they would inject pauses where they thought the laughter would be. Rather than use a laugh track, they would get an audience into a movie theatre. Stars of the show would provide some warm up, and then they'd screen the episode. They're record the organic audience response to the episode, and then use that same response in the broadcast. They simply overlaid the audio recording of the audience over the episode. Most of the time this worked as expected. The writers knew their audience, so the scripted pauses for laughter often worked. Sometimes not so much, and sometimes too well. For the most part, the audience response went unaltered. Only in cases where the laughter ran too long and threatened to drown out the next bit of dialogue did they make a minor adjustment.

[@Laurabeck329]

That's also how IT crowd, Red Dwarf, and Monty Python's Flying Circus were recorded.

[@sidecarcn]

Yes. I worked on Last for the last two series.

[@Hallows4]

Do an episode on the Wilhelm Scream!

[@stephaniesummer2663]

Hallows4 That would be such a great video

[@shebahammy]

Person: *sits in couch* Fake Audience: AHAHUAHUAHHAHYAHYAHUHSXHKHGBUHCR

[@heydude4193]

Well... nowadays I genuinely hate them. Outside of cheap cable TV shows (which you covered), they don't really exist anymore. Most originals on Netflix, for example, don't use them. I haven't actively watched a show with a laugh track in years and going back to one was terrible. I feel like there should be studies done with those that stop exposing themselves to laugh tracks. You tend to react to something differently depending on what you're exposed to.

[@danzinoraswitch3896]

Agreed. Brooklyn 99 doesn't have a laugh track, and it's the most recent TV show I've watched. Once an episode of King of Queens came on after that and I couldn't stand the laugh track.

[@JamieHannema]

When your just watching TV and then your ears start to focus on the laugh tracks and it gets super annoying

[@jdnelms62]

Another important point is that despite a live audience and a three camera setup, most sitcoms still have to do multiple takes. Audiences that typically laugh hard the first or second take, are not laughing so hard by the third and fourth take even though they are encouraged to so. Often the laughter heard in broadcast was the authentic laughter recorded at the first take, mixed with the video of a latter take in which the audience had gotten tired of laughing at the same joke. Live TV shows such as talk shows or game shows are shot in real time, meaning there is a ticking clock on the wall and the actual studio recording time is the same as the broadcast. Extra takes are extremely rare. In an episode of NBC's Tonight Show for example, the audience will be seated at 3:00 pm. Typically the audience is entertained by a set comedian until 3:30 at which time the host often comes out to greet the audience and take questions. Actual show recording begins at 4:00 pm and the show ends exactly at 5:00 pm. During commercial inserts, the band entertains the audience. Sitcoms are a whole different story. Modern sitcoms although only 19 minutes in length without ads, often take several hours to shoot and audiences wear out after the first hour. In some cases, a sitcom can become a living hell for an live audience. An audience will be seated around 3:00 pm, the show begins at 4:00, but due to multiple takes, and set arrangements, the audience may not be able to leave until long after 8:00 pm or later. This happened to my girlfriend and I back in 1998. We had tickets to see an episode of NBC's Just Shoot Me. We were stuck there for over six hours and eventually demanded to leave since we had already missed dinner reservations.

[@evilotto9200]

Laugh Tracks stuck around solely to fuel "Inappropriate Laugh Tracks" videos. Also a fan of "Unnecessary Censorship". How about a video on bleeps and bad dubs? -My name is Buck and I like to party

[@RangerRuby]

Origin of Everything: *Why do TV shows use laugh tracks* Me: *Wait...Those are fake?*

[@biblegirl]

Not on every show

[@EASJR1991]

@@biblegirl some shows that use real Studio audiences even allegedly also use laugh tracks in order to make up four times where the laughter is too quiet or non-existent.

[@otakuribo]

Imagine if horror movies had scream tracks. Imagine if tear-jerkers had crying tracks. Imagine if suspenseful thrillers had rapidly-pounding heartbeat tracks. ... 🤔

[@TheHomerowKeys]

Those are all pretty solo feelings. Laughter is different because it is a bit communal. We all laugh more when we're with people. This makes it different from things we tend not to do around other people as much, like cry.

[@AHHHHHHHHHHHHl]

Imagine if boring movies had yawn tracks.

[@kittnchops]

😂😂😂

[@eve36368]

Actually they kind of do with (instrumental) soundtracks/backing instrumental music. Seriously, "National Treasure" with Nicholas Cage is practically an opera but without attempts to sing. And around that era they started mentioning how dramas with no music are high quality writing. A lot of pulsing type music actually does play in suspenseful scenes.

[@uncreativelynamedchannel5887]

Elliot Grey A lot of movies actually use that third one.

[@willyjoerockhead]

Back in 1990 i saw the movie "House party" and the theater had a full audience...laughing all through it. The movie was the best i thought...A couple of months later i took my girlfriend to see it and we were the only ones there. It just wasn't the same.i realized that It was the audience that made it great.

[@LetsTryVlogging365]

Remove the laugh track fro. Big bang and you just have the creepiest creeps ever being horrible to each other and to women even more so 😒

[@CallieMasters5000]

Are you commenting on her "fro" hairstyle or is this a typo? ;-)

[@MoWuggets]

Fro

[@gtfghj3267]

Fro

[@tusharg2751]

i noticed this today after reading. Fake laugh in Big Bang Theory, FRIENDS, etc all sitcoms. OMG.

[@smittywerbenjagermanjensen9217]

a theremin video would be great.

[@atomicevolution54]

I'd love to see an episode about the Theremin!

[@singinwithceline]

Ed Wynn helped invent the studio audience?! How awesome is that?! Love him!

[@marjoriemorris5849]

I had a drama professor who mentioned in class discussion that if you want the audience to laugh, you pick up the pace of the dialogue and the action on stage; and if you want your show to be less comedic but more dramatic you slow the pace down. I also remember a director of a local theater production saying that planting an audience member to laugh prompts the rest of the audience to laugh. To me that meant the audience needed to be informed of what was funny, not necessarily to be a permission slip for laughing.

[@fionafiona1146]

Japanese TV still has "appropriate reactions" on screen, it still helps people to relax and show emotions.

[@tahersyed2191]

Yay

[@BestOnThursdays]

That shelf...I kinda want it... I also want to move that camera cuz I feel like it's going to fall

[@BryanLeeWilliams]

If laugh tracks really were useful, they'd be put on movies. I still would prefer no laugh tracks.

[@tahersyed2191]

Yay

[@unnamedchannel1237]

Makes every clip where they are used unwatchable

[@regionfuego6]

They don’t put it on movies because is easier to laugh in a large group, which is usually how people watch moves(at the cinema) unlike how we watch series (alone at home)

[@blameitoncapitalism]

What a stupid way to argue. These are completely different medium. It's like saying "if balls were actually useful, they'd be using it in boxing." Like. Two different sports, dude.

[@TheOther19]

Laugh tracks are annoying, especially when they get too loud and can't hear the actor's lines

[@victoriagemma3263]

It's so weird that the people in the past thought that it was a good idea when we now hate it.

[@Marcissus]

Explain the origin of this channel

[@tahersyed2191]

Yay

[@markidesade.]

A theremin episode would be interesting! Like, in general: from its creation to how it became associated with certain emotions and genres.

[@HannibalFan52]

The creators of 'M*A*S*H' didn't want a laugh track, but the studio insisted. However, they reached a compromise, in that the laugh track was never used in scenes in the operating theater. There were at least a couple episodes that dealt with such serious topics that the laugh track was omitted altogether. If I recall correctly, the DVDs give viewers the option of whether or not to watch with the laugh track.

[@richardstern7158]

A great way to compare the effects of a laugh track is the British comedy Red Dwarf. For the first 6 seasons it has a laugh track. For the 7th season some episodes were missing a laugh track when originally broadcast and it was added in later. The mini series Red Dwarf: Back to Earth has no laugh track. Since the characters, situations, and style of humor remain pretty consistent it makes a great comparison to see what it would be like with and without a laugh track. With is definitely better. The ones without feel really strange.

[@AspienPadda]

'Inner awkward turtle' 😻

[@tahersyed2191]

Yay

[@enidan_]

I love that you have used laugh tracks yourself for this episode :D

[@kitchensinkchronicles3272]

honestly i love sitcoms and laugh tracks just make me nostalgic for what i watched growing up. it's like adding a bit of familiarity to new shows. i am completely aware that that makes me like them more at no fault of the show itself but goddammit let me enjoy things

[@kaylaglaze6277]

When i hear the laughing in the back of tv shows its sooo annoying but now that i think about it it would be very weird without it

[@HamzadesUS]

I hate laugh tracks so much. Like if you’re not funny putting people laughing will definitely not help.

[@Dayglodaydreams]

You should do an episode on that time disabled people marched on Washington. Maybe the origin of disability rights.

[@kirarasmom4274]

Ya, disabilities people still have no rights. Includes invisibility health problems like neuropathic pain like Fibromyalgia and Pundenal Neuralgia.

[@kirarasmom4274]

Everyone thinks disability benefits is paid to laxy immigrants.

[@codenamexelda]

The comment on how big studios don't understand humor actually made me laugh, well done.

[@LuinTathren]

Oh! I'd love to see about the theremin and mysterious/scary situations. There's a British show called Midsomer Murders that uses a theremin to play the opening. I always thought it provided a great atmosphere to the show.

[@rosebudgirl1857]

I love your videos so much! And I swear you always answer questions right when I'm wondering them. One of my favorite shows, One Day At A Time, has a new season out today so I have been re-watching it. It has a laugh track and I literally thought "I wonder why shows have laugh tracks? I need to check if Origin of Everything has a video on that" and here it is! Keep up the great videos. :)

[@lillpita]

This is my new favorite channel!!!

[@michaellast1385]

The fake laughing track drives me insane! That 70's show is one of the worst

[@alexakaa.charlesross8919]

I usually don't mind laugh tracks but I agree with you That 70s show often overused it

[@DonaldDrennan]

There is a certain laugh track that I remember hearing on multiple TV shows that sounds mechanical, usually at the end of the laughing (fade out period). I was looking for a recording of this.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Laugh tracks are also probably needed when they do multiple takes of a scene, or the actors or technical crew mess up, because no study audience is going to roar with laughter when they've heard the same line done 5, 10 or 20 times before they get it right for recording.

[@RosheenQuynh]

As an Aspie, my brain doesn't always understand jokes and sometimes it takes a moment for my brain to get them. But these sitcoms with laugh tracks always allow me to slightly turn off my overactive mind and just embrace something funny. I ADORE most sitcoms with laugh tracks, always will. Some laugh track sitcoms I've seen and/or loved are: I Love Lucy, The Addam's Family, A.L.F., Family Matters, Fresh Prince, That 70's Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, George Lopez, Sister Sister (been forever since I've seen it, though), The Amanda Show, All That, Keenan and Kel, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Suite Life On Deck, That's So Raven, Raven's Home, Last Man Standing, Outmatched... I could go on. I don't get why people hate them, I can't get enough of them (I don't automatically like every sitcom I come across, of course).

[@SeanLamb-I-Am]

In a lot of the shows around 1980 there was always that one laugh recording with some lady making a squawk noise that sounds something like "hwhwaaawk!". I can't find a sample of it now, but just writing about it has that squawk running through my head again.

[@rachaellauren5118]

I think laugh tracks are not always innocuous because it's somewhat prescriptive to viewers that the joke is funny and you should laugh. But what if the joke is misogynist or perpetuates toxic attitudes toward masculinity? The Big Bang has a lot of humor like this, which plays into well established stereotypes and tropes that targets gender in a variety of harmful ways. Would the joke be as funny without the laugh track telling us to laugh? Would we stop to think about what the joke is targeting more deeply?

[@cherisenunez2530]

Please oh please please please pretty please make that Theramin episode!!!!! One of the coolest and most underrated instruments ever created, it doesn't just show up in horror flicks or sci-fi alien stories; one of it's coolest uses was a recent concert performance of The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel. It truly is a magic box ad the musician playing it looks like a straight up wizard.

[@XRaym]

Theremin episode : funny, cause I just made few research about that few weeks ago ! The first orchestra movie which uses it, the first film which uses it as in front instrument, and the films which brings their UFO symbolic to the audience (They come from outspace & The day the earth stood still from 1951)... there is a lot to say ! With special mention to how it is use in Mars Attack with the yodel like melody with theremin which actually kills the aliens.

[@ericbarnes8]

I love the psychology of things. Thanks for the video. Hopefully you can make the next

[@philsaspiezone]

The British sitcom, Only Fools and Horses series has a laugh track, but the specials didn't but were edited in when on DVD. The end of each programme the 7 series had an applause track at the end like it was done in a theatre

[@sidecarcn]

What I find interesting if how the US used the laugh track. Now in the UK at BBC Television center (same production practice for ITV). First: We never did 24 shows a year. The average was 6 and depending on the popularity of the program maybe a Christmas special. Now a number of programs even would skip a year meaning 6 shows were produced and then the following year none, because the cast was busy working on other projects. In some cases there was even a two year gap between series. Second the production schedule: At the old BBC Television Center as was LWT, Granada TV, Thames Television and the other ITV channels was the following. Monday - read through - 9 to 5pm Tuesday - read through or location filming if needed. 9 to 5pm or with location filming 6am to 5pm Wednesday - camera blocking/lighting/rehearsal on stage - 9 to 5pm Thursday - Full rehearsal with cameras doing it twice Friday (big day) - 9am lighting/sound/camera crew would show up at 9am and set up. 1pm cast and at 2pm one more run through. Then a break from 4 to 6pm. At 645pm the audience would be let on.715pm director or stage manager would introduce the cast and also tell the audience to look at the monitors for the location film inserts of is a scene was playing out on set that was not in view. Taping would begin at 730, also showing the titles to the program. A 28 minute sitcom had to be shot in 1 hour and 15 minutes. If there were technical problems and we ran late the pressure was on. By 10pm even if we were not finished the studio lights would be switched off and the technical crew would walk off. 10pm was the cut off time. Now for laugh tracks. The only time a laugh track was permitted as per BBC policy was for editing. If there was a break in between scenes or a retake had to get done. And they already got a laugh from the audience. to join the two bits a laugh track was used. But by BBC policy it could be no longer than 3 seconds. From the time a program was produced and edited, to keep the budget down. Many were shot and edited on average 2 weeks before transmission. In some cases as soon as editing was done the quad tapes were walked over to master control minutes before transmission was about to start. We had a few sitcoms that were also not shot on tape and not shot in front of an audience. Ripping Yards written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones was shot on location on 16mm and at Elstree Studios. Only 9 episodes of Rippiing Yards was made between 1975 and 1979. After each episode was filmed and edited. An audience was brought into BBC Television Center and the film was shown to the audience to get a reaction, recorded and added to the sound track. If a BBC program was found to have used a longer than 3 seconds of a laugh track and more than 2 times. The producer and director were penalized. As per BBC policy a laugh track was frowned upon, just as with ITV. What I found really odd. Was when I saw MASH in the US. I was surprised there was a laugh track. When MASH was shown on BBC 2 at the same time. The laugh track was removed. Why would you even add a laugh track to MASH. In the UK when we would get shows from the US at the BBC. I remember once talking to John Howard Davies a well known BBC television director. Who had directed episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Goodies, Fawlty Towers, The Good Life, Steptoe and Son and others. He said he doesn't understand why the Americans use the laugh track so much. Perhaps he said they are trying to make the programs funnier than they are. LIke why do 24. Spend your time writing 6 or 7 really good ones. It should be noted that in the UK most sitcoms for the most part would have the same writers for the full series. 1 or 2 and thats it. BBC writers who went to the US were always surprised they had a writers room. The script that was delivered on Monday was always same script that was shot by Friday. Back in 1997 I met David Croft in the BBC canteen. He was telling me when Jeremy Lloyd were doing Are You Being Served from 1972 to 1985, they did 80 episodes some series had 5 a year, some had 6 and some had 8 and plus 4 christmas specials. There was one break in production for 2 years, 1976 to 1978. Because the cast went on to do other series, films and theater. All they did was stop until everyone was free again. The latest example of this would be the BBC series Sherlock. Both main actors are busy with other projects. But there is a plan to shoot 2 maybe 3 new episodes. Since 2010 only 13 episodes were made. in 2017 production stopped, because Cumberbatch and Freeman were too busy. The BBC policy around laugh tracks is still in place today. So some new sitcoms decide not to bother with an audience. Funny story. In 1995 at a taping of One Foot In The Grave for the fifth and final series. Someone who has visited the US saw the use of a CBS show of an "applause" and "laugh now" sign. Well the controller of BBC 1 while walking around Television Center heard of then and walked to Studio 1. When he inquired who's idea these signs were. Fired him on the spot. The next day a memo went to all BBC producers/directors/audience booking/and crews. Saying that if he hears of anyone installing such a thing. They will have the same "unceremoniously sacked" in big bold letters.

[@ryanname2503]

That's why I'm glad I'm from the UK, vast majority of sitcoms use live studio audiences or have no laughter at all, laugh tracks ruin it but i think a lot of americans just prefer them because that's what they grew up seeing so it's more due to nostalgia of the shows they watched having it than it actually being better.

[@maryjennings4913]

A short lived show, from the 1990's, that never used a laughtrack, was SportsNight. It was way funnier WITHOUT it!!!!

[@Fool3SufferingFools]

Eddie Cantor and Ed Wynn had one notable predecessor... Will Rogers, who absolutely refused to appear on radio unless he could have an audience present.

[@homeschoolandhustle]

I like that you put a little button on the side of your overalls.

[@DarkPesco]

My wife has absolutely no sense of humor. I do stand up. I can't try new material out on her because she doesn't get jokes on her own. When she is watching standup she has the audience to cue her as to the level of humor of the joke. With this help she does get comedy but she requires the audience affirmation to feel free to laugh.

[@angryboi595]

The problem with the laugh track is that when it got popular the jokes in most sitcoms that used the laugh track were bad so its cringy and annoying when there is a random laugh track at a joke that doesnt even feel like one

[@danield4559]

Several Latin American countries like Argentina replace the laugh track with a crew of off-screen people paid specifically to laugh on command whenever the comedic situation merits a laugh. These people are known as reidores (laughers). A senior laugher signals others when to laugh.

[@martini1094]

You know what's really funny? If you silence the laugh tracks! You just have these super long awkward pauses of silence where the characters are just staring in a single direction.

[@uzahoe1637]

I love being told sublimanly what's funny and what's not.

[@AllIsWellaus]

I really enjoyed watching M*A*S*H with their canned laughter over watching episodes that didn't. It did help that it was genuinely funny.

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

Totally disagree. The version shown without the laugh track feels more tonally consistent with the black humour that the characters share. Without the laugh track it feels like friends using humour to get themselves through a tragic situation whereas with the laugh track it feels more like a competition to see who can get the most one liners in. At least that's how it comes across to me.

[@freewheelingit]

A lot of times people in the audience are paid plants and are sat next to microphones. The audience is pumped up by a comedian, and then the show is filmed. They do add laughs, but like you said the mixer takes the clean laughter from the audience mic and bumps it up.

[@RandyJames22]

I still adore those laugh tracks on 70's cartoons!

[@MarionDoesIt24]

It makes me laugh sometimes when the shit ain’t even that funny

[@VolcanoEarth]

Somewhere on KZbin there is a segment of Seinfeld WITHOUT the laugh-track..and it seems awkward because the other cast members do not laugh at moments that the audience likely see as funny and a prolonged silence follows the gags.

[@rafaelbrgnr]

It would be interesting to see an episode about these horror screams that we see (or saw) in past times movies.

[@katestahla]

One thing (i heard this on a podcast, can't remember which one, probably invisibilia or radiolab or revisionist history) talked about laugh tracks, and how Fran Drescher used them to avoid her stalker from coming into the studio audience.

[@celtgunn9775]

I absolutely love the hourglass behind you. So much❣

[@storm_fling1062]

Wtf do we have 10 every second now

[@emmab1294]

Could you do one about crushes like anything about crushes

[@michrain5872]

At least it hasn't carried into the internet! *Recorded laugh track plays Wait, what was that? o,o *Recorded laugh, cheering and applause track plays

[@ByrdieFae]

Honestly... at this stage in my life I kind of find laugh tracks comforting. Comedy shows without them feel awkward, like I'm laughing at something that I'm not supposed to laugh at? Maybe there's something to the idea that a laugh track allows you to loosen up.

[@daviderenda9211]

I think it has to do with the way we're accustomed to. I grew up in Italy where comedies don't have laugh tracks, and didn't really watch much american shows until I was a teen, and they feel so foreign and robotic to me that I can't watch shows with them

[@VolcanoEarth]

Sometimes in shows there seems to also be a gasp-track and a generic audience-hushed-whispering that indicates something serious has just happened. I am not 100% sure they're entirely fabricated, but they seem to sound the same whether they're in Family Ties, Full House or Friends.

[@michaelWicker-k9d]

On the MASH DVDs you can shut the laugh track off. I wonder if other shows give that option.

[@5pctLowBattery]

It may seem counterintuitive, but if you have super oily skin, a cream foundation will handle sebum much better than lightweight liquid, which can almost start to pool with oil by the end of the day.

[@foxbearchillinbytheriver]

What about people with really dry skin?

[@5pctLowBattery]

Fox Bear not sure 🤔 I just notice how oily the host face look. I have the same oily skin issue.

[@eduardoramirezjr4403]

I just want to know the name of the woman who constantly belt out, “Oh, oh!” in nearly every episode of “ I Love Lucy”.

[@moonlitsonataa]

i love laugh tracks in old tv shows not the newer or modern ones though

[@BZAKether]

I love how parts when they talk about cringiness or abscense of geniue humor the "Bazinga" hat appears on the right....

[@TournavisTheBlind]

*character walks into room* laugh track: AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@TheDarkever]

Despite being somewhat a nerd, I simply cannot bring myself to watch The Big Bang Theory because of fake laughs. I resisted for 5 minutes and then had to stop watching due to how irritating they were. I guess it's because it's supposed to be ME as the spectator to decide whether to laugh or not. The idea that the show presumes to think what I should find funny is ridiculous.

[@leonharmon5147]

Married with children had the worst laugh track

[@VolcanoEarth]

I think they lifted the audience-noise samples from some old 1970s recordings of Georgia Championship Wrestling

[@NatharaCS]

ANYTHING you've got on horror movies would be awesome - like if the idea of their popularity still correlates with societal anxieties still holds up? And anything on Theramins, too!

[@katsomeday1]

Great info! Please, do the theremin episode!

[@DSQueenie]

A lot of shows that people think have laugh tracks actually have live studio audiences.

[@justingould2020]

I find the laugh track is only an issue when it's forced onto something that is genuinely unfunny. Sitcoms aimed at pre-teen audiences are particularly guilty of this one.

[@ROBYNMARKOW]

Many of my favorite comedies don't have laugh tracks (so I'm able to laugh when I damn well feel like it👊. !)

[@Nooom91]

It would be interesting to study the reactions to laugh tracks depending on age or culture. I personally think you are only likely to respond positively to it if you were raised with those shows. As a young French person, it is not from my generation and not from my culture. Sure TBBT was on TV once in a while but I wasn’t widely exposed to this type of show. And it is the most cringy thing for me, even when I actually like the jokes.

[@StormsandSaugeye]

I never liked the use of a laugh track in MASH. Like I felt it kind of ruined some critical part of the show. So when I eventually came across a version without a laugh track I decided to give it a shot. *The entire show felt completely different and significantly better*

[@pizzahighfive2612]

Honestly, laugh tracks doesn't break a TV show whatsoever. Some shows excel with it. When I watch Friends, I literally do not notice the laugh track. But some shows suck at applying it.

[@Dee-jp7ek]

I’m not sure how to feel about this. On one hand they’re not using the same laughter over and over but they’re saturating the laughter so much that it all sounds the same anyway.

[@gars129]

Sitcoms have so much potential in a rich media industry like the US. Limiting them to a stage and a laugh track is criminal. Sure, All In the Family and Saturday Night Live justify it cause they are Stage Like and its great that these shows exist in the US, but in the 80s and 90s it became the default. Shows like Seinfeld can sometimes feel like they want to break free from the Multi Camera Stage set up (though the writing is meant to be Stage Like usually, thus requiring laughs). And a lot of kids shows like Wizards of Waverly place have no business having laugh tracks other than pure frugalty and greed, considering the show is neither theatrical nor purely a comedy, being a Fantasy Comedy with some Drama.

[@lulul0l039]

Audience and laugh track affects me a lot. Herd mentality of it is little embarrassing, but at least it helps me to kick back. Maybe *it is* just filled with nostalgia. I can't stand "just for laughs" anymore , but on average I associate laugh track with Nanny Fran, Prince of Bel Air, Keeping up appearances and Married with children.

[@hnifur]

I used to be able to sort of stand watching tv shows with laugh tracks but I can't anymore. At all. It's an immediate dealbreaker if I'm watching a show I haven't seen before. I just nope out of there as soon as I hear that laugh..... to me a laugh track never "fits" the show or is "done well enough" to not think about it. It's annoying and ruins the viewing experience 100% of the time. I absolutely despise it

[@emberowens2173]

I don't watch shows with laugh tracks. I don't need to be told when to laugh, thank you very much. Most of the time, the laughs aren't even after good jokes. Like the Big Bang Theory has a laugh after LITERALLY. EVERY. SINGLE. LINE/

[@janineharrison5186]

Always enjoy your videos!

[@decept387]

Keep em coming great channel😉

[@behzadoskouei4400]

With advanced technology I hope they give options to audience to remove the laugh tracks. Simply because sometimes they are used too frequently and get annoying. Just like closed caption. Imagine In a master chef program they broad cast frequent belching to indicate the food is getting more delicious , or for those with Mesophonia.