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Post by Cali on Mar 24, 2013 21:44:21 GMT 1
It's a difficult decision for me, since I grew up watching Sitcoms with laugh tracks. Plus some real quality TV employed the use of them, such classics coming to mind being 'Seinfeld', 'Married... with children', 'A Little Bit of Fry and Laurie', etc. And yeah, it worked.
But still, it's not the laugh track that made them great. Plus, when I think about it critically, I kind of can't help but feel the whole concept was designed to insult my intelligence. I mean, I read that apparently the phenomenon was controversial from day Uno. Plus recent sitcoms I love, such as 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', 'Arrested Development', and 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' proved to me that we can do without.
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Post by Mister Buch on Mar 24, 2013 21:53:02 GMT 1
I know everyone hates laugh tracks, but I like 'em!
Comedy is an odd thing and I can never understand how it works. But watching a bunch of jokes and hearing other people laughing just seems more comfortable to me than hearing them with no reaction. With sitcoms, at least. Some of them. I don't know, I can't get my head round it. In many cases I just think the laugh track helps. I suppose it creates the illusion of being in company and not feeling pressured to laugh yourself? But why I find that welcome in Seinfeld and the silence welcome in Curb Your Enthusiasm I'll never know.
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Post by Warhammer Gorvar on Mar 24, 2013 21:56:14 GMT 1
I agree with Buch. I think subconsciously it helps the person watching the show know when to laugh and not feel alone while doing it. Also the people on that track? Probably died 60 years ago. ... The dead are laughing with you...
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Post by jklinders on Mar 24, 2013 21:58:10 GMT 1
I can live without them but I see the point that Buch and Gorvar raised here.
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Post by Warhammer Gorvar on Mar 24, 2013 21:59:37 GMT 1
My god...I said something that made sense. I;m worried guys...
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Post by CAPT Issac R. Madden on Mar 24, 2013 23:01:21 GMT 1
I voted "meh". Mainly since it's a matter of style. Done properly, the laugh track is an asset. Done poorly, and it's irritating as hell.
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Post by Warhammer Gorvar on Mar 24, 2013 23:18:07 GMT 1
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Post by Clint Johnston on Mar 25, 2013 6:38:19 GMT 1
I like them. but not for any reason I can define.
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Post by lieden on Mar 27, 2013 9:49:35 GMT 1
Aren't they, like, a strictly American thing?
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Post by Warhammer Gorvar on Mar 27, 2013 12:22:28 GMT 1
Nope, plenty of Flemish Dutch Belgian shows i watch have laugh tracks, although its dwindling now and its reserved more for sketches rather then sitcoms.
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Shaider03
Gunnery Chief
My love for Tokusatsu will never die.
Posts: 80
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Post by Shaider03 on Jul 11, 2013 3:52:21 GMT 1
I really don't like laugh tracks especially when shows throw them in almost after every line. I'm sorry but comedy is hit and miss not every damn joke will get a strong reaction. Its supposed to be a very organic experience not a binary one. Look at an episode of Married with children that use's an actual audience. Their reactions are real and actually sell a joke or funny moment. Now look at an episode pf Sabrina The Teenage witch. They use laugh tracks constantly when a lot of those joke's are lame as hell. You can't even snicker at them since the constant use of laugh tracks gets to distracting and feels forced.
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Post by spookyjacobs on Jul 11, 2013 5:15:35 GMT 1
I think laugh tracks are fine for older shows. Maybe it's just because I grew up with them, but they just seem to work more for shows like Cheers and the like than they do for modern television. These days it just seems like such an outdated concept, especially when there are shows that have great humor that don't use or need a laugh track. I could watch every single episode of the Big Bang Theory and I probably wouldn't laugh as much as I would if I were to watch one episode of Arrested Development, Veep, Shameless, or other current comedies that don't use laugh tracks.
Shows like that just kind of put other programs that feel the need to tell me when to laugh to shame in my opinion.
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