Why are US series obsessed with canned laughter?

It wouldn't work without it, psycholigically we need canned laughter to find crap humour funny.

If there was no canned laughter, people wouldn't be psychologically motivated to laugh and would grow tired of watching these shows.

I'm assuming you're talking about shows like Friends and Big Bang Theory.
 
The only US comedies worth watching are 30 rock, arrested development, the office and trailer park boys (canadian though) and none of them have canned laughter. I think sienfeld is the only good one with a laugh track.
 
kwerk said:
The only US comedies worth watching are 30 rock, arrested development, the office and trailer park boys (canadian though) and none of them have canned laughter. I think sienfeld is the only good one with a laugh track.
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Those shows you mentioned with no canned laughter are a totally different style of comedy, they are subversive humour.
 
Audiences need emotive music to know when something inspirational/sad/sinister is occurring too

Solution - don't watch crap TV
 
kwerk said:
because otherwise you'd end up with this

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Obviously it would seem crap if you took the laughter out. That's because it has loads of random pauses where the actors are waiting for the laughter to end etc. However, if the episode were to actually be filmed without a laughing track, I'm sure the very same script could still be made to be pretty good.

@OP: I'm watching a show called Community. It sounds like it's right up your street. It's a comedy, but it's not a sitcom so no laughing tracks ;)
 
Aside from Big Bang Theory, none of the American comedies I've been watching recently have a laughter track. Community, Parks & Recreation, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, The Office, New Girl, Happy Endings, Party Down, Call Me Fitz, Arrested Development.

Usually the sitcoms with laughter tracks are the crap ones designed for a lowest-common denominator audience.
 
It's probably something to do with the disparity between 'Merican humour and British dead-pan humour, which you could argue is more sophisticated and doesn't need vocal support.
 
Only Fool and Horses.
I'm Alan Partridge.
Fawlty Towers.

That's off the top of my head, I'm sure there's many more. But don't let me stop you all on your "LOL AMERICANS R DUMB!" crusade.
 
Eames said:
Perfectly sums up my post.
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Not really, that doesn't work because it's a live audience so the actors are physically waiting for a time they can say their liens without screaming over an audience.


That's not canned laughter and so doesn't demonstrate your point at all.

Like red dwarf without the laughter would be very strange as there would probably be about 5 minutes worth of science in each episode of them just staring at each other after telling the joke.

but without those pauses it would be fine.
 
LOL at people complaining about canned laughter on Big Bang Theory, it's filmed in front of a live audience, of course there will be a laughter track.

*cue canned laughter :D
 
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