2008 Woodie Awards
Canned yuks have no shelf life, so shelve them
Meryn Fluker - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: 80 Hours
Listen closely the next time you're watching "The Office." Between Kelly Kapoor's chirping and Ryan Howard's deadpan delivery, there's something missing: laughter. The laugh track, once a staple of sitcoms, is fading fast from the television landscape.
Good riddance.
Writers and producers have finally realized what intelligent viewers knew all along: No one needs to be told when to laugh. Some of the greatest sitcoms in history have used the laugh track (or in some cases, filmed before a studio audience so viewers could hear "real" laughter, which was often elicited by some sort of cue) - not that there's anything wrong with that. Such favorites as "Friends," "Roseanne," and "The Cosby Show" all used outside laughter to guide audiences, and they aren't less noteworthy because of it. But the format is changing - the people behind it are ignoring the past and, in doing so, finally trusting the audience.
Post-punch-line silence isn't a new idea. Show-runners have been experimenting with it for years, but very few had found success. Few half-hour comedies have maintained an audience and sustained a long run without a laugh track. Even critically acclaimed shows such as "Sports Night" (which started, and then disposed of, its laugh track) and "Arrested Development" couldn't find a large enough audience to embrace the show's rejection of a network comedy staple.
Intelligent television viewers - not an oxymoron - don't need audience signposting. This isn't to say that a show with a laugh track can't still be smart and subversive: "Seinfeld" proved that the traits can successfully coexist, but excess chuckling often serves to comfort viewers who can't make up their minds about what's funny. I'm perfectly aware of my sense of humor, and I don't need a laugh track or a studio audience as my flashlight to a joke's punch line. The only time outside giggles have helped me was when I didn't get the joke. Laughter may be contagious, but peer pressure doesn't elicit genuine laughter. I've been in a room full of drunken college students watching "The Blue Collar Comedy Tour," and no matter how much they howled, I couldn't squeeze so much as a smile out for Larry the Cable Guy. I also suspect that no amount of booze or intimidation could help that cause.
Good riddance.
Writers and producers have finally realized what intelligent viewers knew all along: No one needs to be told when to laugh. Some of the greatest sitcoms in history have used the laugh track (or in some cases, filmed before a studio audience so viewers could hear "real" laughter, which was often elicited by some sort of cue) - not that there's anything wrong with that. Such favorites as "Friends," "Roseanne," and "The Cosby Show" all used outside laughter to guide audiences, and they aren't less noteworthy because of it. But the format is changing - the people behind it are ignoring the past and, in doing so, finally trusting the audience.
Post-punch-line silence isn't a new idea. Show-runners have been experimenting with it for years, but very few had found success. Few half-hour comedies have maintained an audience and sustained a long run without a laugh track. Even critically acclaimed shows such as "Sports Night" (which started, and then disposed of, its laugh track) and "Arrested Development" couldn't find a large enough audience to embrace the show's rejection of a network comedy staple.
Intelligent television viewers - not an oxymoron - don't need audience signposting. This isn't to say that a show with a laugh track can't still be smart and subversive: "Seinfeld" proved that the traits can successfully coexist, but excess chuckling often serves to comfort viewers who can't make up their minds about what's funny. I'm perfectly aware of my sense of humor, and I don't need a laugh track or a studio audience as my flashlight to a joke's punch line. The only time outside giggles have helped me was when I didn't get the joke. Laughter may be contagious, but peer pressure doesn't elicit genuine laughter. I've been in a room full of drunken college students watching "The Blue Collar Comedy Tour," and no matter how much they howled, I couldn't squeeze so much as a smile out for Larry the Cable Guy. I also suspect that no amount of booze or intimidation could help that cause.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
don
posted 11/30/07 @ 2:10 PM EST
I guess some people think the office is really funny....guess I'm not there yet.
Post a Comment