# I can't watch sitcoms with a laugh track/studio audience **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 11, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271 "2011-08-11T00:17:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271/21 "2011-08-11T23:03:01Z")
> [@Hades](#): > > They never bothered me growing up, but not watching TV for a few years and coming back, they were jarring. I refuse to watch anything with a laugh track now. That’s exactly what happened to me. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271/22 "2011-08-11T23:05:40Z")
Without it how would you know when to laugh? I find on old shows, before my time it can help me. If I hear a big laugh and I don’t get the joke I can go look up the subject and figure out what they are talking about ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271/23 "2011-08-11T23:24:45Z")
SD column: **[Why do sitcoms have laugh tracks?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2218/why-do-sitcoms-have-laugh-tracks)** A previous thread: **[Can you watch shows with laugh tracks? Because I can’t.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11795444#post11795444)** > [@steronz](#): > > When you can feel like you’re laughing along with people, it can make the show more enjoyable. > … > As an experiment, someone should filter out all the laughter from a stand-up routine. It’s amazing how quickly something can seem non-funny when nobody else is laughing. I’m more likely to have an opposite problem. If I think it’s just mildly funny, and _you’re_ LYAO, my enjoyment is cooled by the thought, _I’m here with a moron_. Anyway, stand-up is normally filmed in front of live audiences. That’s pretty different from canned laughter. ---
**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 11, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271/24 "2011-08-11T23:51:52Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > When “Malcolm in the Middle” first started airing, I enjoyed watching it for a while. I couldn’t put my finger on _why_ exactly I liked it so much until I realized the show had no laugh track. It seemed fairly similar to other sitcoms, albeit without the voice-over narration, it just didn’t have that one annoying aspect of automated laughter. It seemed to give the show a much more authentic feel. When “Malcolm in the Middle” first started airing, it was one of the few [single camera sitcoms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-camera_setup) on the air, but since then, the single-camera setup has become common for sitcoms. Whereas single-camera shows are like films, three-camera sitcoms, which were the norm earlier, are more analogous to stage plays, and often are filmed in front of a live studio audience, and the laugh track seems a lot more appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271/25 "2011-08-12T01:08:17Z")
I can tolerate tracks for an exceptional show like _Cheers_, but on a middling series… nah. Not any more. NBC’s Thursday lineup has spoiled me. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271/26 "2011-08-12T01:15:56Z")
I don’t mind live audiences, but canned laughter certainly bothers me. _How I Met Your Mother_ has unconvincing canned laughter, as a live audience doesn’t work with their back-and-forth fast cutting style. I like the show, but the fake laughter just grates. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271/27 "2011-08-12T01:25:10Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Another vote for hating laugh tracks. This is why I can’t really watch _The Big Bang Theory_, which I think I’d quite enjoy if it weren’t for the hyuck-hyuck-hyucks all the time. QFT [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-watch-sitcoms-with-a-laugh-track-studio-audience/592271.md?page=1)