LOSE the 'laugh-track' - Sullivan & Son (2012) Discussion

[–] exatera 12 years ago

I can't believe there are sitcoms that still use it. And it's only the really weak ones, have you noticed?

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[–] IdreamofTV 12 years ago

The last show that used a laugh-track that I thought was hilarious was King of Queens or Everybody Loves Raymond.

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[–] exatera 12 years ago

Yeah, but they both started in the 90's, and back then that was how everybody did it.

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[–] PHlL 12 years ago

back then, the studios weren't so cheap that they filmed all their shows on 1 camera.

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[–] dan6pitcher 10 years ago

That comment alone removes all credibility from your post. Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens were both terrible shows, even worse than Sullivan & Son. Big Bang Theory gets a ton of flack, but it's certainly better than those shows. Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier, Cheers, Just Shoot Me, NewsRadio, That '70s Show, Lucy, etc. All of those had laugh tracks. This whole "I hate Laugh Tracks" nonsense is just another one of these things that hipsters all parrot to make themselves feel smart and cool and unique even though they're all carbon copies of each other.

I don't love laugh tracks, but I don't hate them either. They have been in plenty of wonderful shows and plenty of terrible ones, so I don't see them as a factor in the quality of a program.

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[–] Yorke71 10 years ago

I think you guys are talking about different things. The O.P. is using "laugh track" to refer to fake laughs added to shows like "How I Met Your Mother" and "Whitney", as opposed to only using live audiences like Cheers and (mostly) Raymond. I have no idea whether this show adds laughs or not, but unless they're handing out free drinks I can't imagine the audience is having that good of a time.

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[–] jddonigan-668-303295 10 years ago

Why would shows use laugh tracks with live audiences?

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[–] jwinhold 10 years ago

Last Man Standing has a live audience. They do really well! I think S & S has an audience too.

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[–] exatera 10 years ago

Are you serious? This crap is still on?
Well, color me surprised...

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[–] mikecart1 12 years ago

Recent shows that refused to use laugh-track:

The Adventures of Pete and Pete
Arrested Development
Bored to Death
Community
Cougar Town
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Everybody Hates Chris
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Linc's
The Middle
My Name Is Earl
The Office
Parks and Recreation
Scrubs
30 Rock

Funny how all these shows are 10x better than this trash. (LOL - insert laugh-track)

The Prettiest Girl In The Milky Way Is Neytiri!

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[–] exatera 12 years ago

What's Linc's? Are you sure that's the correct title?

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[–] WarpedRecord 12 years ago

That's hilarious! It made me laugh more than this show did.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] mike12348 12 years ago

They used live audiences instead of those laugh tracks that have the same laughs at every joke in every episode.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] Taylorfirst1 12 years ago

I am an avid TV watcher and have been all my life. I don't get it. I don't even notice if there is a laugh track or not. I fail to understand why some people get so excited about it.

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[–] EpsilonX 11 years ago

I haven't seen married w/ children or fresh prince in ages so I don't recall, but Seinfeld and Home Improvement definitely have laugh tracks.

Also, How I Met Your Mother is an example of a recent sitcom that's funny and has a laugh track

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[–] NoJeansBob 11 years ago

Wow, sorry to reprimand you guys, but you know nothing of which you speak. This show DOES shoot in front of a live studio audience and the laughs are recorded naturally. If a joke doesn't work, they don't punch in a fake laugh track; they call cut and the writers re-write the joke then and there. Then, they give the actors their new lines and the do the scene with the re-worked joke, all while the audience watches. If the audience doesn't laugh, it's just an opportunity to refine the joke, so think of them as the gauge for how funny it is. They are not prompted to laugh by any other means than the merits of the jokes themselves. I was in their soundstage today at Warner Brothers. Its format is the same as The Big Bang Theory, Two And A Half Men, same as Friends used to do it....in front of a studio audience that's over 200 people strong. The tickets are free by the way, so maybe you might like to go to www.tvtickets.com to put your name on the list and go watch an episode being shot.

As for many of the shows listed that don't have "laugh tracks", you were listing a lot of single camera comedies that shoot without audiences, like Modern Family and Curb Your Enthusiasm. They do their show in a 360 degree set without any public and they have to have the actors do the scenes multiple times; they switch camera angles between the takes so that after it's edited it looks like a multi-camera ordeal.

No one uses fake laughter anymore, at least not in this country. Not unless it's done tongue in cheek like that scene at the dinner table with Rodney Dangerfield in Natural Born Killers.

So, you understand? The laughter is real.

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[–] BillyBob72 11 years ago

NoJeansBob is correct. Steve Byrne was interviewed on local radio last week and said they indeed use a live audience but will re-write a line until it gets a laugh and he said they have an excellent warm-up act.

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[–] FourBlue00 11 years ago

They might shoot in front of a live audience, but that's not the laughter you hear when you watch the show. They've all said "filmed before a live audience," since the laugh track was first being used. I know you might think the laughs are actually from you and all the other mouth-breathers who had nothing better to do than sit in a soundstage all day, but the laughs that make it on television are pumped in after.

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[–] amarillo513 11 years ago

I know Seinfeld had a live audience, at least when they shot on set and not outdoors in the streets. I've seen an interview with the cast and Larry David that said they even had to ask the audience to tone down the cheers they'd give when Kramer would do his trademark entrance into Jerry's apartment. And Fresh Prince definitely had a live audience. There was even a behind-the-scenes episode where they showed the audience quite a few times and interacted with them. Not too sure about the other two you mentioned.

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[–] LTBrian 11 years ago

Agreed. Those shows listed by Mikecart1 are totally different in concept. They also use a lot of location shooting. Hope people understand the difference.

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[–] maysummers 10 years ago

I remember linc's that was my show

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[–] nathan515 12 years ago

I don't watch ANY shows with a laugh track. The last show I cared to watch with a laugh track was Married With Children....Now, with The Office, Parks and Rec, Arrested Development, 30 Rock, THE LEAGUE(best comedy ever lol), Reno 911 and MANY more. Those shows pull it off with ease and make you burst out laughing, and you dont need some fake laughing coming out of your tv speakers to help!

For Instance: The Big Bang Theory: I cant get into that show at all, but my brother loves it, and we KINDA have the same taste. It's like their characters are just way too over the top and unbelievable, and they need to force laughs. That one guy with the stupid hair is just way too annoying and weird, but not 'funny weird'.

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[–] jimbrown257 10 years ago

Pan to the audience?? What, like on a daytime talk show or a stand up special? That would be really weird. I think that would be more annoying than an annoying laugh track.

There is also that fact that, left to their own (without a laugh-track telling them what to think is funny), an actual audience wouldn't laugh very much at all when watching it (how many times do you actually ever laugh when watching a show with a laugh-track).

Lame shows like this need a laugh track or it seems weird. It's just a replacement for actually funny things. A lot of people will believe something is funny if they are convinced someone else thinks its funny.

Also, the natural laugh that would come from an audience (if the show was actually funny) wouldn't sound right for television. They need the consistent and timed laughs from the laugh track to mesh together with the story.

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[–] nutsberryfarm 10 years ago

i use a laugh track in my car. cops don't like it when i get pulled over for speeding, tho.

today's special: shrimp ceviche!

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[–] jimbrown257 10 years ago

I think I'd prefer using the "excitement track" that Married with Children had.

Remember how they had the one canned audience noise that was a guy going "YEAH!!" and it sounded like he was much closer to the microphone than all the other people on the laugh track?

I'd like to have that sound effect in my car. That way when the cop says "Where's the fire, son?", I can say something like "In your mom's crotch!" and the "YEAH!!" sound effect will make it seem not so bad.

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[–] maysummers 10 years ago

Lol

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] DaytonaBob 10 years ago

I agree. GET RID OF IT.

They who give up liberty to
obtain a temporary safety deserve
neither liberty or safety

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