Laugh Tracks Just Aren't Funny Anymore

You're probably asking yourself what did I do to deserve this bounty. Two posts in the same week? You're not dreaming my friend. I have lots to say but my fingers are too slow to get it all down. Also I've been sleepy and a little sick. But when you're unemployed and have vast amounts of thoughts to share (translation: have crap to complain or rant about) the fruits are plenty.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with a little show called Sports Night. A wonderful show just by itself, but is more likely know as the show of (name of person) before they did (name of more popular show). I'll give you an example: Felicity Huffman's (though I love the actress in general) annoyed me as Dana Whitaker on the show before annoying me slightly less on Desperate Housewives. I swear I like the actress and her work, but I usually see her as a domineering mess of a character who should be a lot nicer to the men in her life. (P.S. Also love her husband William H. Macy. As far as I'm concerned, whatever role he takes is made better because of him.) Peter Krause was wonderful as Casey McCall (whose supposed to be a loose version of Craig Kilborn) before doing Six Feet Under. Even in the background you had Brenda Strong and Lisa Edelstein playing reoccurring roles on this show before they became Mary Alice Young, the voice of the Desperate Housewives and Dr. Lisa Cuddy on House, respectively. Sports Night was the critical gem of Aaron Sorkin before he hit awards and ratings gold with The West Wing. Josh Charles must be mentioned as Dan Rydell. Not so much because he's hit it big, but you always remember one of your junior high school crushes. He was on the original draft of my list of five. But when he stopped appearing regularly on my TV, I had to let him go. Where am I going with this?

During its first year the show had a laugh track. Or I assume that there was. I imagine it was a studio audience because it sounded like some were laughing but not everyone got it. It's possible some gaps were filled in with canned laughter at the less obviously funny places. But by the second (and sadly last) season, they realize they needed to let the audience figure out what's funny on their own. I have to say on first viewing I was not impressed. But after Comedy Central picked up the reruns I had tapes ready to record it. You watch it again and realize so much thought has gone into each bit. This is hilarious. How did I miss that before?

I saw this happen again with Arrested Development. I remember watching the episode "Bringing Up Buster" and thinking the show was stupid. What was everyone talking about? Then a marathon on FX helped me realize how much this show rocks. I thought maybe it lost it's footing in the second season, but then I knew what was going on. There is a certain strategy involved in truly appreciating this type of show. It's funnier the second time around. Because by then you're really paying attention and aren't distracted by keeping up with that silly plot thing. It has its blatantly obvious humor and its wait, rewind that, did I he just say what I think he did? humor.

[For those of you remotely curious I recommend you rent these shows and watch my personal favorite episodes "The Cut Man Cometh" for Sports Night (Season 2) and "Pier Pressure" for Arrested Development (Season 1). Watch it all if you can but make sure you see these ones if you just don't have the time.]

Seeing a show without a laugh track is more common now given the huge popularity of shows like Sex and the City, Malcolm in the Middle, Scrubs, The Office, and Arrested Development. (Okay I put that last in there because I adore that show and I remain sad that it had a Sports Night fate. But they both will live forever in my heart and on DVD.) It got compounded by animated shows like The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy. I just wouldn’t make any sense for a laugh track to be in any of these shows. Now that I think about it, I find that even the dramas I love (specifically Law and Order (and it's various offspring), House, Grey's Anatomy, ect.) have great jokes and moments to laugh at. I'm perfectly comfortable laughing even though there are no sounds to prompt me.

I hadn't realized how much I had adapted to shows without laugh tracks until I finally picked up the third season of Newsradio. I would spend hours reading quotes off of imdb and chuckle to myself. I could imagine Phil Hartman, Dave Foley and Stephen Root delivering these lines. So when I finally saw the episodes again, something was wrong. It felt unfunny. It felt like forced humor. I couldn't stand it. The laugh track was really distracting. Wait, that line wasn't that funny, why is the laughter so loud? Now suddenly I notice it everywhere. I find I can't watch old episodes of Friends anymore. That really sucks for someone who owns the entire series. I'd like to think that perhaps the series is just dated and my sense of humor has grown (yeah right) and has become more sophisticated (hehehe, monkey), but the truth is I was watching an old episode of Cheers and I felt right at home.

I remember driving home one day and hearing on the radio a promo for the evening's episode of Two and a Half Men. Even for the commercials the laugh tracks would come on and I would think of how bad it was. Not to mention the joke wasn't even all that funny. Stop laughing.

This doesn't mean that shows with laugh tracks (I have to admit they are a dying breed) can't be funny. But with this rush of copycats of popular crime shows, reality TV, and prime time games shows, I doubt someone will come along and bother to waste time creating a scripted comedy when there is so much popularity to capitalize on. I get the feeling the laugh track sitcoms are going to die with Joey. And yet somehow Yes, Dear will make it to its 200th episode (cue audience laughing).