…or “studio audience” laughter. Would it suck?
And is there any technology available that might make that experience possible?
…your favorite classic TV “SITCOM,” is how I wanted it to read.
Don’t have to imagine. I used to own a copy of MASH* on which many of the episodes had a laughtrack-free alternate audio. It worked better with the later episodes than the earlier ones, which I think is a result of the evolution of the show and how it was directed. The first couple seasons where typical zany comedies, and the filming was done with pacing that allowed gaps for the laughs, so routinely there’d be these periods where nothing was happening for a full one or two seconds. Later on, they got better at using that time for reaction shots or other non-verbal activities so the pause was less obvious.
I recently poped into my father in law’s house when he was watching MASH. And while I was initially excited to watch the show (I hadn’t seen it in years) I found the laugh track seriously off-putting. To such an extent that I couldn’t finish the episode.
I’m sure it didn’t bother me in the day, but it sure as hell does now.
You can remove the laugh tracks with editing but it ruins the pacing of the show because the actors pause for laughs
[quote=“Garak, post:5, topic:829464”]
You can remove the laugh tracks with editing but it ruins the pacing of the show because the actors pause for laughs
[/QUOTE]It sure does!
NOBODY expects the Korean Inquisition!
Laugh tracks work if the show is genuinely funny… and you’ll hardly even notice it because you’ll be laughing over it. It just sort of enhances your own reaction. See - “All in the Family”.
On the other hand if the show is horrendously unfunny, the laugh track comes across as painfully disingenuous, and just exacerbates the cringeworthiness. See - “Two and a Half Men”.
[quote=“Garak, post:5, topic:829464”]
You can remove the laugh tracks with editing but it ruins the pacing of the show because the actors pause for laughs
[/QUOTE]This.
One of this nice things about listening to or watching live comedy is that the actors sometimes start to say their line but have to stop to let the laughter die down. Pacing for a live audience is different to pacing for a laugh track is different to pacing for no laughs.
Hogan’s Heroes is a completely different show without a laugh track. In the past, even lines like “Open up, zis iss ze Gestapo!” always got a chuckle or two.