At that point where we’re naming healthy and delicious snacks we have stretched the analogy too far.
I’ve never actually seen a full episode of TBBT so as far as I’m concerned it’s the corner of a sandwich that doesn’t contain all of the fillings.
The difference is,laughter is earned at a comedy gig.
If a comic isn’t funny, the palpable silence is downright awkward (as an audience member) and I can’t begin to imagine how it feels for the comedian knowing XXXX many people are staring at him and thinking he’s a tit and are about to start heckling him.
Also: I don’t recall ever watching a sitcom that had someone in the room laugh 30 times during it. Or 15. Or 10.
You’ve been going out of your way since near the start of the thread to defend the use of laughter tracks in BBT, continuously rolling out the same trite and easily debunked arguments in their favour.
Enough.
Just started watching it in reruns, never thought wife would like anything kinda of geeky, well she has falling in love with Sheldon. Never seen an episode until a week and a half ago, im more of a discovery watcher, but really have falling in love with the show to.
Hi Sheldon! I’m sorry I typed “laugh track” instead of the more accurate “live audience with coached responses” but as others have already pointed out, it still sounds fake and lame. I’ll take my own laughter at geniunely funny stuff over an audience prompted to laugh at tired old zingers and recycled one-liners.
Yes, the laughter is earned at a comedy club, but they use the same techniques that Big Bang Theory apparently uses: They have several warmup comedians, they try to encourage a vocal crowd, they grease the wheels with alcohol, and they have an audience that is generally predisposed to like the comedian. Once all those factors are taken into account, the comedian is much more likely to get laughter than if he had just come in cold and started performing to a random group of people.
Different people laugh at different things. Get a big enough crowd of people, and you’re more likely that you’ll have some people laugh at most of the jokes, which is all you need (plus the aforementioned “sweetening”, obviously).
“Easily debunked”? This isn’t a scientific proof, where you can use X Y and Z to prove that laugh tracks are somehow “bad” or “wrong.” Some people like laugh tracks, and some people don’t. There is no right or wrong here. You’re providing examples of why you think laugh tracks are bad, and I’m providing examples of why I think they are good (in some cases). Are you really expecting that you’re going to definitively prove that laugh tracks are bad? Good luck with that.
Again, you’re talking about different styles of comedy. Some comedians provide lots of one-liners, some provide stories, some are cheerful, some are depressed, some allow a buildup and release of laughter, and some (like Steve Martin) don’t allow the audience pauses to laugh, just to see how that changes the reaction. But again, one style isn’t inherently better than the others.
I’m sure a lot of the negative reaction to laugh tracks has come from the canned, pre-recorded laughter used for decades, so I thought it was relevant to point out that shows don’t really use that anymore. You’re not going to convince people that they shouldn’t enjoy BBT because it has a laugh track, any more than you can convince someone that they shouldn’t enjoy black-and-white movies because color movies obviously have so many more colors.
No they don’t.
They have several warmup comedians,
I’ve never been to a comedy gig with warmup comedians. I’ve been to plenty of comedy gigs that had lesser known comedians on before the headline act, but that’s nothing to do with ‘warming up’ the crowd. Same deal with concerts.
they try to encourage a vocal crowd
Eh? What comedians encourage a vocal crowd? I’ve been to see a lot of the top comedians live (George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Jack Dee, Bill Bailey, Dylan Moran, Tommy Tiernan, Dara O’Briain, Billy Connolly and Eddie Izzard to name a few). I’ve been to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh and the Cat Laughs in Kilkenny.
You’re talking nonsense.
they grease the wheels with alcohol
That’s nothing to do with Comedians, that’s the hosts having a huge mark up on alcohol sales and using it as an additional revenue stream.
and they have an audience that is generally predisposed to like the comedian.
Duh.
the comedian is much more likely to get laughter than if he had just come in cold and started performing to a random group of people.
A great comedian is one who can do exactly that.
Different people laugh at different things. Get a big enough crowd of people, and you’re more likely that you’ll have some people laugh at most of the jokes, which is all you need (plus the aforementioned “sweetening”, obviously).
As has been already pointed out many times, the majority of ‘laughter’ in the BBT isn’t made after jokes.
“Easily debunked”? This isn’t a scientific proof, where you can use X Y and Z to prove that laugh tracks are somehow “bad” or “wrong.” Some people like laugh tracks, and some people don’t.
Your examples of how this is a genuine laugh track and not in any way forced, is perfectly natural and is there because a live audience genuinely laughs that way at TBBT is easily debunked. And has been many times in this thread.
Your many analogies have been debunked previously in this thread.
There is no right or wrong here.
Yes there is, you’re emphatically wrong.
You’re providing examples of why you think laugh tracks are bad, and I’m providing examples of why I think they are good (in some cases). Are you really expecting that you’re going to definitively prove that laugh tracks are bad? Good luck with that.
I never said laugh tracks are bad. Please try to address my points and not go off on tangents arguing against imaginary points I did not make.
Again, you’re talking about different styles of comedy. Some comedians provide lots of one-liners, some provide stories, some are cheerful, some are depressed, some allow a buildup and release of laughter, and some (like Steve Martin) don’t allow the audience pauses to laugh, just to see how that changes the reaction. But again, one style isn’t inherently better than the others.
I don’t know why you have to so aggressively and stupidly defend the level and type of laughter tracks used in TBBT, but for some reason you do.
I was at a Dylan Moran gig in Belfast. One girl kept laughing at every thing Dylan Moran said while the rest of the room laughed occasionally - there was literally just one person out of the 2000 there laughing at everything the comedian said. Everyone around her ended up staring at her wondering what the fuck was wrong with her, and even Dylan Moran ended up pausing briefly and looking up at her wondering what the fuck was wrong with her.
This is a sitcom right? silly tv? did not think it was worth this much thought lol
how long has this been going? That has to impact on the writing over time as in most tv shows. I used to watch it religiously when it first came to the uk (a couple of years back iirc?) and liked that they seemed to have done at least some research, what with all the geek in jokes and references etc.
Maybe the series got a bit poor, or over time i just didn’t find Penny’s role in the series that believable, but whatever it was i hardly watch it these days. Also it can feel a little bit ‘racist’ sometimes with it’s depictions of Howard (‘the jew’) and Rajesh (‘the indian’), or is that just me? The geek centric humour and references were all gold for the most part.
Yeah, I just consider it just another American sitcom with ‘dumb’ type of humor, and with a tendency of laughing AT characters. Not my thing, but that’s it.
I suppose if all this discussion on the internet happens (and it doesn’t with so many previous sitcoms) is because the series is about a group of geeks/nerds.
Have you ever talked to a comedian? That’s exactly the reason they have opening acts and lesser-known comedians: to warm up the crowd! You get someone up there who tells a few jokes, gets the audience comfortable and laughing, and gets them ready for the main act. That’s the entire reason that they’re up there.
Multiple choice: Which of the following phrases do you hear comedians say on a regular basis?
A. “How’s everyone doing tonight?”
B. “Give it up for Bobby Schmidt!”
C. “It’s great to be back here in San Francisco!”
D. “Shhhh!”
E. “Please hold your applause.”
F. “Keep it down!”
Again, have you ever talked to a comedian? They will tell you that anything that makes the audience more comfortable and relaxed is good for the comedian. This includes having alcohol flowing, as well as more subtle things like having the microphone at a comfortable level, or making sure that the house lights are low so people don’t feel self-conscious about laughing.
Yes, a great comedian could come in cold and make people laugh, but they almost always have a warmup act anyway. A great athlete could also run a marathon without any preparation, but they always warm up anyway.
Sometimes people laugh at the character, or the delivery, or the context. Again, the same thing happens with standup comedians. Listen to any comedy album to see an example of this.
I never said any of those things. Of course it’s not natural; it’s a taping of a live TV show! The lighting is artificial, the stage is artificial, and the situation is artificial. (For one thing, people generally don’t listen to the same jokes multiple times in a row.) So yes, of course the audience laughter isn’t perfectly natural, but it’s not-natural in the same way that laughter is during other live comedy shows.
But did he ever say, “Excuse me ma’am, but you need to stop laughing so much. This is a comedy show”? Of course not. And I’ve been at shows where the audience was enjoying themselves so much that they would laugh at the most ordinary comments, because of the mood of the room and the delivery. Again, listen to any comedy album. Or talk to a comedian.
Speaking of not convincing others…
So the laugh track I always hear when I’m watching Breaking Bad isn’t canned?
I always get mine fresh, either that or flash frozen.
I’m not trying to convince anyone that they should enjoy Big Bang Theory. I acknowledge that some people are annoyed by laugh tracks, or the style of comedy. But I also don’t frequent threads about shows I don’t like, and tell people why they shouldn’t like them either.
How I Met Your Mother does an interesting thing for a “laugh track”. They film the show without a live audience, but then show the episode to an audience and record the reactions. It comes off feeling less “canned” even though it’s likely they are doing the same thing as other sitcoms (warmups, “laugh the loudest” contests, etc). Allows them to get that authentic first-exposure laughter.
As for BBT, I’ve only seen the first season, but I found it enjoyable. Earlier in this thread it was quoted that the audience is set up to be in Penny’s shoes and to laugh at the characters. I’d argue that Leonard is also provided for that purpose. He’s a “nerd”, but more of the straight-man nerd. Someone to be tormented by the more exaggerated characters while also being more believably awkward.
Again, this is just from watching the first season. A series tends to have to keep pushing their characters to more extremes every season (“nerd” evolves into “super-nerd”. “awkward” evolves into “painfully inept”, etc). So that observation may not apply to more recent seasons.
Was I doing that? I’m pretty sure all my posts were my opinion. In fact, I think I started this string of thought with the following:
It’s the laugh track. I can’t stand it.
I’ve helpfully accentuated the relevant part.
I think the laugh track of BBT is so commented because laugh tracks in general at a double edged sword.
If you like the jokes, then the laugh track will enhance them. If you find the jokes unfunny, the laugh track will jarring, embarrassing, artificial, etc. Because so many people dislike the humor in the series, the laugh track is more commented than usual.
Comic stores are in an uproar over the promo for this week’s BBT.
From one of the Kirby Krackle members and co-owner of Seattle’s Comic Stop:
Top rated comedy that has humor that people dislike. Interesting concept.