# Did "The Flintstones" Originally Have A Laugh Track? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098 "2009-08-28T23:25:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/1 "2009-08-28T23:25:04Z")
I’ve looked on the web and have seen conflicting stories. For instance, Wikipedia says that it had a laughtrack but when Ted Turner bought the rights to it he removed the laugh track. I’ve also seen it in places that say it didn’t have a laugh track and they put one in for the reruns. The DVDs have a laugh track. Anyone know the _real_ straight dope? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/2 "2009-08-28T23:58:07Z")
I can definitely confirm it had a laugh track at some point. No, I don’t have any proof, but I do know I’ve never read anything about it, so I’m confident it’s not a memory I just made up. I’m actually more surprised that it may have not had a laugh track at some point, as I’ve never heard it without one. ETA: Wikipedia confirms it (well, within Wikipedia standards). The show originally had a laugh track, it was removed at some point, but has been restore in most episodes since: > **[The Flintstones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstones)** > > The Flintstones is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the Rubbles. It was originally broadcast on ABC from September 30, 1960, to April 1, 1966, and was the first animated series to hold a prime-time slot on television. > The show follows the lives of Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their pet dinosaur Dino, even... ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/3 "2009-08-29T02:00:25Z")
I remember it from the original run, and it had a laugh track. All comedies did in those days. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/4 "2009-08-29T02:57:03Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > All comedies did in those days. That’s even better proof than a memory. It would have been \*really \*strange for it not to. Though a cartoon, it was created for TV, and like the Jetsons, Huckleberry Hound, and other prime-time cartoons, it had a laugh track. _The Simpsons_ was groundbreaking in not having a laugh track. I remember friends who I otherwise consider to be intelligent having no idea when to laugh at _The Simpsons_. I guess it took a while to get used to the sense of humor for some people. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/5 "2009-08-29T14:39:31Z")
I don’t remember that Huckleberry Hound (and the other Hanna Barbara short cartoons) had laugh tracks. But I do think that the half hour shows which originally aired in prime time, The Jetsons, The Flintstones and Top Cat, did have the laugh track. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/6 "2009-08-29T15:26:05Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I’ve looked on the web and have seen conflicting stories. For instance, Wikipedia says that it had a laughtrack but when Ted Turner bought the rights to it he removed the laugh track. > > I’ve also seen it in places that say it didn’t have a laugh track and they put one in for the reruns. > > The DVDs have a laugh track. > > Anyone know the _real_ straight dope? > [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > … ETA: Wikipedia confirms it (well, within Wikipedia standards). The show originally had a laugh track, it was removed at some point, but has been restore in most episodes since: > [The Flintstones - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstones) I have nothing to offer in this discussion (I was too young to remember, and memories are often wrong anyway). But I’d like to point out that, when someone posts an OP that says, “Wiki says this, is it true?” it’s not particularly helpful to quote Wiki in confirmation. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/7 "2009-08-29T16:46:09Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I remember it from the original run, and it had a laugh track. All comedies did in those days. But weren’t some filmed in front of an audience, so that the “laugh track” was simply the audience’s reaction, while others had “canned laughter” added later? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/8 "2009-08-29T16:56:11Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > I have nothing to offer in this discussion (I was too young to remember, and memories are often wrong anyway). But I’d like to point out that, when someone posts an OP that says, “Wiki says this, is it true?” it’s not particularly helpful to quote Wiki in confirmation. 😃 Listen, I can’t recall my exact thought process at the time, but I may have though the OP didn’t quite fully understand Wiki on it. Any any rate, the part you quoted was a mere addendum, added after the fact, merely to support what I already knew. I don’t see why you’re making a big deal of this, particularly when I was just trying to help. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/9 "2009-08-29T17:08:52Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But weren’t some filmed in front of an audience, so that the “laugh track” was simply the audience’s reaction, while others had “canned laughter” added later? They did have to add the canned laughter to the animated programs. I was in the studio audience for one of those one time, and believe me, if they had relied on our reactions to watching the artist draw each frame, it would have been a **snore** track. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/10 "2009-08-29T18:12:40Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Listen, I can’t recall my exact thought process at the time, but I may have though the OP didn’t quite fully understand Wiki on it. Any any rate, the part you quoted was a mere addendum, added after the fact, merely to support what I already knew. I don’t see why you’re making a big deal of this, particularly when I was just trying to help. Relax, it was a mild teasing at best. You have to admit it is kind of funny. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/11 "2009-08-29T19:42:45Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Relax, it was a mild teasing at best. You have to admit it is kind of funny. Not really _shrugs_ ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/12 "2009-08-29T19:47:06Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > They did have to add the canned laughter to the animated programs. I was in the studio audience for one of those one time, and believe me, if they had relied on our reactions to watching the artist draw each frame, it would have been a **snore** track. “Very few cartoons are broadcast live. It’s a terrible strain on the animators’ wrists.” ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/13 "2009-08-29T20:21:02Z")
I understood the Wikipedia article, but I do realize that it’s not always accurate, especially when it comes to non-important things like cartoons. I was looking through reviews (on Amazon) of the DVD release and it says various things about the laugh track. Evidently the DVD release weren’t the originals as it says some episodes have the laugh track, some don’t and some have a new laugh track substituted in. Which means the original masters weren’t available to make DVDs ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/14 "2009-08-30T01:14:20Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But weren’t some filmed in front of an audience, so that the “laugh track” was simply the audience’s reaction, while others had “canned laughter” added later? Even sitcoms filmed before a live audience had a canned laugh track added to “sweeten” things. Some of the laughs may have been genuine, but audiences don’t always laugh when you want them, and they may not mic well. I won’t say that all of the audience’s reactions were left out, but a the laugh track would be added electronically in post production. Look at the end credits. If you see “Glen Glenn Sound,” it means a laugh track was used (they had the most up-to-date equipment). ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-flintstones-originally-have-a-laugh-track/508098/15 "2009-08-30T03:43:21Z")
All you have to do is watch a few seconds on Youtube to realize that, yes indeed, they did use a laugh track.