MovieChat Forums > The Ranch (2016) Discussion > Why is the laugh track still a thing?

Why is the laugh track still a thing?


Don't tell me when I should be laughing. Just make me laugh.

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It just feels right.

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It's not a laugh track. They film in front of a live audience. It was the way That 70's Show was done and both Masterson and Kutcher knew they work well that way.

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The live audience is considered too a laugh track.
There are big signs "Laugh" or "Applause" to tell you what to do and when.
Is staged and fake either way.

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I've been to a few tv tapings in Los Angeles and I have never seen signs that say laugh or applause...people laugh because it's funny....

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I was shocked when the first 'laughs' arrived

I've never heard such fakery.

What a terrible show.

Just woeful.

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I thought it was funny as hell made me laugh.

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I think Big Bang is just as guilty, if not more to use their laugh track.

There was a TV special that mentioned the reason they use laugh tracks is to get you to laugh as well. You're more likely to laugh if someone else already is.

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I agree. The big problem with laugh tracks is that, not only do they tell you when you're supposed to laugh, but they can interrupt the flow of the action.

Granted, there have been some great comedies that have used laugh tracks, but with more and more comedies that don't use them, their days are probably numbered.

The Office, Community, Parks & Recreation, Man Seeking Woman, Happy Endings... great shows that don't use them at all, and don't need them. Happy Endings, for instance: HIGHLY underrated show, cancelled way before it should have been, no laugh track because the show simply moved too quickly for one.


Revenge is a dish best served cold.
-- Klingon proverb

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