Plan B Forum

I just finished watching a PBS program on the career of Betty White. Said she has been working tv for 80 years. I learned she is the only female to win an Emmy for hosting a game show. Lots of memories of many good shows she was part of. BUT . . . .

Too many of the clips included a laugh machine. It over and over it struck me as a horrible addition. Yet it is nearly always there on tv sit coms.
Which makes me wonder if anyone in the executive offices of tv production companies is paying attention to 'Young Sheldon'. The show seems to be succeeding--and it has no laugh machine.

snailgate

Several of us posters think we are laugh machines.

The "Laugh Machine"

BP--I think the conventional wisdom is that people do not like to laugh alone--they like to laugh with others (if only to validate that it is funny) and people often watched TV alone, thus came the laugh track. There was a push after the 70s to film before live audiences, but the reactions of the audiences were worse than the laugh tracks, and a couple of articles I read said a lot of times the audience response was edited to make it more natural (I guess the people who went to a filming were lovers of the show, often star struck, and thought "What you talkin' about Willis" was the funniest line ever created. I don't mind shows without a laugh track/audience (and I haven't seen Young Sheldon, but there are others), but I wonder if the "experts" will continue to give us the accompaniment.

I’m not sure it’s just a matter of liking to laugh with others - I believe they’ve done psychological studies about the contagion effect of laughter.

I've seen some writing to that effect as well.

Contagions runs their course and immunity develops. Snailgate

It's like when Drumpf spouts off a ridiculous sophism, or does or says something slightly humorous. All the remaining White House staff members laugh, and guffaw, and tell the boss "that's a good one, Mr. President."

Meanwhile, once it gets out into the public domain everybody else asks what the fuck is wrong with this guy?

The art of sycophantry is very odd indeed.

One take on the laugh track:

History of the Laugh Track

Some I wouldn't have give much thought had I not been prompted here. Interesting reading.