Laugh Tracks

[Solid Snake]

I have to ask. How do you feel about laugh tracks in sitcoms?

Like I was mostly fine with the laughing when it was part of a live audience but I just find it weird and kind of annoying when it is nothing more than a staged laugh. Like we have to be spoon fed when to know something is funny to cue laughter. Then again, I have never been one to laugh while watching a sitcom so maybe I am the odd one out here lol

 

[Mustafar Reginald]

I don't particularly mind them but I certainly prefer series that don't utilize them (Malcolm in the Middle, Community, Scrubs, Curb Your Enthusiasm). And I also prefer the live audience approach if we're going to have the pacing determined by laughter as it ultimately provides more of a character to the audience I guess? Like, one of my favorite moments in Married . . . With Children is when Steve made his surprise return in the series 200th episode the crowd went ballistic, cheering for so long that Steve ended up looking at his watch waiting for the applause to end. But How I Met Your Mother was one of my favorite shows during it's early years, and it's one of the sitcoms I know that did use a laugh track out of necessity for the amount of cuts in an episode (though I've read that for the last seasons, they used a studio audience, recording their laughter as they watched the completed episodes then syncing the audio in post-production). So yeah, a laugh track is not a death sentence for me, though I prefer the single camera approach.

 

[CM Punk]

I don't mind them if they're used properly.
Some shows use it super poorly which makes it more noticeable on shitty writing and how unfunny the show truly is.
I'm looking at you Big Bang Theory.

 

[Solid Snake]

I'm looking at you Big Bang Theory.

 

[Mustafar Reginald]

I don't want to be mistaken for defending Big Bang Theory or anything and I don't doubt that perhaps they sweeten the sounds in post-production, but Big Bang Theory doesn't use a laugh track, it's a live studio audience.

 

[CM Punk]

I don't want to be mistaken for defending Big Bang Theory or anything and I don't doubt that perhaps they sweeten the sounds in post-production, but Big Bang Theory doesn't use a laugh track, it's a live studio audience.

That’s even worse

 

[Pop Tatari]

Quite a lot of English sitcoms do not use any kind of laughter track especially Channel 4 sitcoms which I cannot remember the last time they had one. As said there is a difference between a audience and just a laughter track in the archives. I prefer no use of either, people are intelligent enough(i hope) to work out what is funny, plus I like the idea of laughing at what you find funny other then anyone else. You do not need laughter in the background for comedy movies for example.