Am I the only one who thinks sitcoms with embedded laugh tracks are just stupid beyond comprehension? Also, for those of you "addicted" to them, do you not feel the least bit insulted that the producers seemingly think you lack the intelligence to know when to laugh on your own? Laugh tracks are used to tell you when you're supposed to laugh at whatever supposed joke the show is trying to make.

Shows like Modern Family and The Office respect its audience enough not to insult them or clutter up the show with fake laughing.

On the flipside, you have shows like The Big Bang Theory (which rates up there as one of the dumbest shows I think I've ever seen) that uses it. I haven't yet run across a "laugh track sitcom" that didn't suffer from weak writing and was plagued by unfunny humor.

They don't bother me, though in some scenes on TV shows I find them inappropriate. Like in that episode of Boy meets World where Cory left 5 year old Morgan alone and she broke a window and ran away to hide, and he came home and thought she was kidnapped. Hours later the parents come home, find the window broken, Cory tells them he'll pay for it. His dad asks 'how are you going to do that?' and Cory says 'well I would tell you but the shouting that would ensue would wake up my little sister, who thank God is still alive'. To me, that was a bad place to put a laugh, because considering it from his view point, that was a very serious situation.

Then there are times I think they could USE a laugh, like in the episode of Roseanne when she and Dan are having the mother of all battles and destroying everything. And he says 'why don't you tell me how to clean up all this crap! that you call decorating?' and he throws everything on the floor and she says, 'Okay, I will, I want you to pick them all up using your ASS, and start with the pointy things!' That COULD have used a laugh in it.

Sometimes I notice them, other times I do not. I like Big Bang, and I guess it never bothers me with that show. But I do notice it when a show is not that funny (mostly in now syndicated comedies) and it is laugh track after laugh track with lame jokes.

Kind of disillusioning that TV sitcoms are phasing out of studio audiences. By and large, today it's either subtle comedies with no audience laughs, or shows that use canned laughter.

Chris wrote:

Kind of disillusioning that TV sitcoms are phasing out of studio audiences. By and large, today it's either subtle comedies with no audience laughs, or shows that use canned laughter.

Yeah, that's a real letdown because the best moments are ALWAYS when the storyline has reached a point where the audience members cannot help but talk back and you can pick up on what they're saying. Like in that episode of Good Times where Penny told J.J.'s friends he was in a car wreck, they all come running in and jump on him and some dude in the audience yells 'he ain't dead!' or in the Christmas episode where Penny's wallet is stolen so she steals the necklace for Willona and somebody in the audience is going 'run!' or something like that.