Which comedy DVDs let you kill laugh tracks?

[S. Gomez]

I can never stand watching M*A*S*H without the laugh track. That's how I always saw it. Anything else just feels... weird. The scenes in the OR never had a laugh track to start with, so it doesn't feel so strange to not have them in there; but there's a few episodes (the finale among them) that never put them in, and they always bugged me a little. I know it shouldn't, but there ya go.

Though I was watching the last two seasons recently and there seemed to be a glitch on an episode, because the laugh track came on just as the joke was being said and by the time the punch-line had been delivered the laugh was over!

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I'm pretty sure that Red Green used a laugh track, actually, despite the fact it was filmed in front of an audience, especially over the pre-taped segments. I think they probably dubbed-over or enhanced the studio audience reactions, that's how it's always sounded to me.

No, Red Green did not use a laugh track. It was always the studio audience.

ITL and Bob: You're lucky...you got the Red Dwarf DVDs that had the remastered FX, didn't you? All we got were the originals.

No, those abominations got their own seperate release...which I'm thinking about picking up anyway, just for the new Grant/Naylor commentary tracks.

 

[RandyS]

Contrary to popular opinion, laugh tracks are not insulting to our intelligence, and do, in fact, enhance the humor.

I don't see how it enhances the humor when we are essentially being told what's funny - told when to laugh. If we need to be reminded when something is funny, then it *isn't* funny, IMHO.

I say it enhances the humor because I don't think we are being told what's funny. I don't need to be told what's funny and what's not either. I am perfectly capable of thinking for myself.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I say it enhances the humor because I don't think we are being told what's funny. I don't need to be told what's funny and what's not either. I am perfectly capable of thinking for myself.

I'm sure most viewers *are* capable of doing so. But the existence of the laugh track is evidence that the networks don't agree. They think we need to be told when to laugh, which is why they put laugh tracks on.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I say it enhances the humor because I don't think we are being told what's funny. I don't need to be told what's funny and what's not either. I am perfectly capable of thinking for myself.

I'm sure most viewers *are* capable of doing so. But the existence of the laugh track is evidence that the networks don't agree. They think we need to be told when to laugh, which is why they put laugh tracks on.

I believe the thinking behind laugh-tracks is that some people need "permission" to laugh, they find it easier to laugh in concert with others than on their own. Hence the laugh-track 'making' things funny.

 

[ToddPence]

The DVDs of Chris Elliot's "Get a Life" series have this option.

 

[veridia]

Contrary to popular opinion, laugh tracks are not insulting to our intelligence, and do, in fact, enhance the humor.

I don't see how it enhances the humor when we are essentially being told what's funny - told when to laugh. If we need to be reminded when something is funny, then it *isn't* funny, IMHO.

Studio audiences are definitely better, I admit. I wonder why they're not more widely used. (I assume that if a show does use one, they will say so? "This show is filmed before a live audience" and all that.)

I disagree, no one is telling you anything. It's suggesting to you what is funny, it's up to you to feel it or not. Me, I find Seinfeld utterly hilarious, it has a laugh track, in fact I couldn't imagine the show without a laugh track since it adds to the show.

Friends, on the other hand is totally not funny, and whenever they play a laugh track it makes me quite aware of that fact to the point where the laugh track itself is actually funny because the jokes are totally not funny.

Personally, I think Scrubs would be better if it had a laugh track instead of those lame cartoon sound fx.

Again, either you find it funny or you don't. Humor is strictly a matter of personal taste and I don't fault anybody for liking Friends.

 

[veridia]

I can never stand watching M*A*S*H without the laugh track. That's how I always saw it. Anything else just feels... weird. The scenes in the OR never had a laugh track to start with, so it doesn't feel so strange to not have them in there; but there's a few episodes (the finale among them) that never put them in, and they always bugged me a little. I know it shouldn't, but there ya go.

Though I was watching the last two seasons recently and there seemed to be a glitch on an episode, because the laugh track came on just as the joke was being said and by the time the punch-line had been delivered the laugh was over!

Laugh tracks are great because if you laugh with them, you get that cool feeling of syncronicity that everyone agrees with you that the joke was funny. It's a nice feeling of harmony.

Needless to say, I do not get along well with contrarians.

 

[Michael]

Me, I find Seinfeld utterly hilarious, it has a laugh track, in fact I couldn't imagine the show without a laugh track since it adds to the show.

I have to agree: The laugh track just belongs to Seinfeld. I'd argue that you can't just leave it out. It wouldn't be the same show. It was produced with the laugh track in mind. You can't just erase it now.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I disagree, no one is telling you anything. It's suggesting to you what is funny, it's up to you to feel it or not.

The only way a show should be "suggested" to be funny is if it actually IS funny. That's how they should do it. If artificial means must be used, then how funny could it really be?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I disagree, no one is telling you anything. It's suggesting to you what is funny, it's up to you to feel it or not.

The only way a show should be "suggested" to be funny is if it actually IS funny. That's how they should do it. If artificial means must be used, then how funny could it really be?

Unless it's not artificial, like Red Dwarf, or IT Crowd, amongst others, and it's a studio audience.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I disagree, no one is telling you anything. It's suggesting to you what is funny, it's up to you to feel it or not.

The only way a show should be "suggested" to be funny is if it actually IS funny. That's how they should do it. If artificial means must be used, then how funny could it really be?

Unless it's not artificial, like Red Dwarf, or IT Crowd, amongst others, and it's a studio audience.

Agreed.

 

[jeff lebowski]

Laughter is contagious, that's why they include it.

People can laugh for no other reason than hearing other people laughing.

This is a well known psychological phenomenon.

I don't think it has anything to do with the networks thinking we're too stupid to laugh.

 

[cultcross]

Laughter is contagious, that's why they include it.

People can laugh for no other reason than hearing other people laughing.

This is a well known psychological phenomenon.

I don't think it has anything to do with the networks thinking we're too stupid to laugh.

This is why - I find the Simpsons (early-mid seasons) hilarious, absolutely genius. But I rarely laugh out loud. Friends, which is often much less funny, gets loud laughs out of me - and its because of the laugh track. The laugh track has a psychological benefit, it makes actually laughing seem more natural, because 'other people' are laughing too.

 

[wamdue]

how would people know when to laugh if you don't have a laugh track

come on human beings are really thick, in my experience they even need to be told what to order at a drive thou.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

You wouldn't catch shows like Corner Gas with laugh tracks, would you?

Oh well. Provided we make the distinction clear between a laugh track (which is entirely fake, machine-generated laughter) and a studio audience (which is real people laughing), then I suppose it's fine if shows use the latter.

 

[Worf412]

Oh well. Provided we make the distinction clear between a laugh track (which is entirely fake, machine-generated laughter) and a studio audience (which is real people laughing), then I suppose it's fine if shows use the latter.

*whew* I'm glad that you came to this decision, baba. I had Hollywood on hold for the length of this thread, and they were waiting with anticipation to see how you would decide this issue.

I've just told them you've OK'd a studio audience laugh track. They say thank you.

 

[thestrangequark]

I kind of have a horrible feeling that the Friends DVDs let you add more canned laughter.

I'm sorry, I don't have much to add to the conversation, but this made me spit out my tea!