Comments on: Laughs Tracks Being Used For Good, Not Evil

Laughs Tracks Being Used For Good, Not Evil

dhammond — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:31:02 -0800

By: dhammond

dhammond — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:33:11 -0800

personal opinion: the last two are the best

By: phaedon

phaedon — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:48:00 -0800

The Wire one was awesome. Nice post, you shiny eared motherfucka.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:55:27 -0800

I'm rewatching episodes of Exit 57, wondering how much better they would be without the distraction of a laugh track. Hopefully there's a special circle of hell reserved for its inventor, with laughs and hoots galore.

By: Avenger50

Avenger50 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:00:34 -0800

I'm afraid to watch the last two. I'm afraid you're wrong.

By: Foci for Analysis

Foci for Analysis — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:11:09 -0800

I laughed! I laughed! Oh god, I laughed simply because of the laugh track. :D :) :D :) :D

By: Joakim Ziegler

Joakim Ziegler — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:00:45 -0800

I went straight to the FOX News one. It did not disappoint.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:12:23 -0800

Me too. Worked really well.

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:31:34 -0800

Wow. I'm surprised, it really works!

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:38:12 -0800

What surprises me, although it shouldn't, is the quality of the "acting" in the Friday the 13th clip. Wow. Impressively, amateur-porn-ishly bad.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:52:58 -0800

The Friday the 13th one is the only one where the laugh track actually seems indigenous. But the Fox one is devastating.

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 02:41:19 -0800

Uwe Boll's movies work purely because they don't have a laugh track, though they are the perfect candidates for it. These are awesome. I hate laugh tracks with a passion. The biggest complaint I have with IT Crowd is the laugh track.

By: Your Time Machine Sucks

Your Time Machine Sucks — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:50:23 -0800

The laugh track for The L Word trailer pretty closely correlates to the actual outbursts of laughter in my household in response to SERIOUS BUSINESS L Word dialogue.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 04:02:34 -0800

The biggest complaint I have with IT Crowd is the laugh track. You don't seem to be the only one who thinks so. This is ironic since I believe the producers have gone to the expense of recording the episodes in front of a studio audience. I guess this approach does little to salvage things if the audience are sufficiently boozed up to laugh at anything - or just too high up in the final mix.

By: EatTheWeak

EatTheWeak — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:43:19 -0800

Sorry, but even with the laugh track, Mitt Romney's insane "Jihadist Caliphate" fantasy really isn't funny "ha-ha" -- i really hate to bank on mass bigotry, but I'm sure relieved the country's nervousness re: Mormonism will keep that human oil slick out of office.

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:06:36 -0800

The best part about this thread are the comments from people telling us whether or not it is funny.

By: zeoslap

zeoslap — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:27:33 -0800

Ha, the Fox News one is awesome.

By: teleskiving

teleskiving — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:29:47 -0800

Laugh tracks are the TV comedy equivalent of MSG. You wouldn't want to have them in everything, but they have their place. even with the laugh track, Mitt Romney's insane "Jihadist Caliphate" fantasy really isn't funny "ha-ha" Seconded. It's like the USA is some kind of weird alternate reality right now.

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:04:54 -0800

Surprsingly a laugh track actually does make Fox News funnier. But it'd be hilarious of they could also add Acme safes falling onto the commentator's heads.

By: blendor

blendor — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 10:50:56 -0800

haha, these are great

By: kcds

kcds — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:08:51 -0800

Growing up in the UK, M*A*S*H was aired without a laugh track - and I recall the humo(u) as being by turns poignant, ironic, and deep. When I later saw the exact same episodes in reruns in the US (with laff track), the humor suddenly seemed maudlin, schlocky and flippant.

By: CrunchyFrog

CrunchyFrog — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:23:36 -0800

By: OverlappingElvis

OverlappingElvis — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:58:24 -0800

The Wire is nuts with a laugh track. I think I might still watch it... maybe.

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:01:06 -0800

rongorongo typed "This is ironic since I believe the producers have gone to the expense of recording the episodes in front of a studio audience." You're right. I think that that was one of Linehan's main inspirations for the show. He wanted to forgo the new-sitcom route and create more of a 70s-style show, in which everything is filmed before an audience and you don't need to watch the episodes consecutively to get the plot. Knowing that the laughter is live, I like it.

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:02:30 -0800

I think you linked to the same video twice there, CrunchyFrog. I have seen the same joke done with other movies, but I can't look for them at work.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:50:38 -0800

Not nearly as good as the other one, but here's Stringer Bell with a laugh track (also NSFW).

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:37:24 -0800

Jeopardy should have a laugh track.

By: Neiltupper

Neiltupper — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:17:15 -0800

Speaking of The Wire, the last season of the best drama on TV starts on January 6.