Laugh Tracks: The Evolution of Humor

For the record, none of this should be taken as actual fact, but rather just one of my many pop-culture theories. I am sure I could spend time researching the history of the laugh track, but instead I skimmed a Wikipedia article on it, found that I generally didn't find what I wanted to find, and now I'm forging ahead with my own opinions.

In my mind, laugh tracks on Sit-Coms should have been officially buried on May 6, 2004. That's when the last episode of Friends aired. Friends gets grandfathered in simply because when it started in 1994, most comedy shows had a laugh track.

The last time laugh tracks were acceptable, people dressed like this.

Growing up with Full House and Family Matters, laugh tracks taught me how to get jokes. In fact, most shows for children have canned laughter because kids need to be taught when to laugh at words. So much comedy for kids is physical comedy, so they are visually cued to laugh, but when shows rely primarily on dialogue, some jokes might be beyond the development of a kid's brain. Laugh tracks help them know...hey, this is funny, enjoy it. And if you have or know any kids then you've probably had them excitedly repeat jokes from TV shows to you. They are proud to get the joke and they want to share it. That laugh track was probably vital to their understanding it. SO...before I go totally off on laugh tracks, please know that I recognize they have their place.

But prime time comedies are not that place.

The laugh track tells us she's funny, not obnoxious.

It used to be that in order to be culturally informed, you had to watch hours of news, or Entertainment Tonight, listen to the radio, or read newspapers and magazines. But now you just have to have a Twitter, a Facebook feed, or a nearby teenager. Getting the headlines is so easy. In fact they come at us fast and furiously, but rarely is there a need to actually read or explore a topic. In other words, it's not hard to get the culturally relevant jokes that show up in our comedies these days. For example: I didn't watch the VP debate a few weeks ago, but I know that Biden laughed in a cocky way and that Ryan didn't really go into detail with his answers. I knew this from what I saw on Facebook. So when SNL did a spoof of the debate last week, I felt fully informed and got the jokes. It's a shallow existence that allows us to know very little about A LOT of topics and still come across generally informed. Which is horrible for having an educated point of view or being able to discuss any given topic of importance...but is GREAT for our TV watching.

The only show I like as of right now that has a laugh track is Two Broke Girls. Which by the way, is a really great show even with the enhanced laughter. Think of shows like 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Community, Parks and Rec, The Office, and even Cougar Town, The Middle, and Modern Family. None of these shows have laugh tracks even though they cover very different types of characters and plots. I like to think of this as more educated TV, or at least TV that gives a little credit to their viewers. These shows know that we don't need the laugh track anymore. But even these shows don't escape giving us clues that they want us to laugh at something. The laughter has been replaced by little musical trills, documentary style glances at the camera, or flashbacks in some cases.

Did I do that funny thing causing mechanical laughter to ring through the sound stage?

There are petitions to get the laugh tracks removed from shows like The Big Bang theory, which carries an interesting mixture of audience. The jokes are often sophisticated and scientific in nature, so the audience with those leanings doesn't need the cue. But the audience that watches a group of socially awkward nerds interact and likes the easy funny flow of the show,  doesn't mind the track. It will be interesting to see if a show ever attempts to transition between the two. Because truthfully, laugh tracks are more than just about making an audience laugh, they are there for transitions and comedic timing too. Adding one or taking one away would mean changing the filming style, the writing, and the acting. For proof of this check out 30 Rock's live shows where there is audience laughter as opposed to their week to week rhythm. It's a noticeable difference in the way they do things.

Now I've equated education with no laugh tracks and said that I like shows with no laugh tracks. I realize that I might come across as a snob with that kind of reasoning. In order to prevent that assumption, I would like to point you to exhibit A: my blog two days ago where I confess to watching over 20 hours of TV weekly, as well as exhibit B: my post last month where I defend Honey Boo Boo. We all have our vices. I happen to hate laugh tracks, but when Ramona gets drunk on Real Housewives of New York, I cannot look away! Believe me, I know I am no better than anyone else...laugh track or not!

Maybe this isn't something you notice, but I challenge you to watch your favorite comedies this week and pay attention to the things that make you laugh. Was there a pause in dialog? Was there a laugh track? Was there some other cue? Do you watch any shows with laugh tracks? Do you watch any without? What's your general feeling about canned or enhanced laughter? Or do you have an actual life and haven't bothered to put any time into thinking at all about such things....