I dislike programs containing volume controlled laughing machine commonly known as Canned Laughter.
     Exampling an SBS shown UK program, “8 out of 10 cats does countdown”. The program’s Canned Laughter is very loud and frequently heard.
     The Graham Norton Show also contains loud canned laughter. Regardless whom participating gusts are, the few times I glimpsed the program, the program seems designed to entertain childlike intelligence, laughing at almost all sentence endings.
     During 1971 to 1987 British BBC program entitled, The Two Ronnies, performed sketches and scripted news program announcements. As the scripted lines were spoken rather quickly for my liking compared to real news reporters, canned laughter quickly jumped in even before humorous punchlines were completed.
     My opinion being audiences are being hurried through thinkable content in order to classical condition listeners not to think about spoken sentences thinkable content, encouraging hurried shallow childlike intelligence. Audiences have only enough time between sentences interrupted loud canned laughter to judge compared to existing childhood shallow memories at best.
     I’d compare analysing above conditioned behaviours with school education face to face learning.
     During year 1999, on being prompted by an Australian radio program Radio National morning Life Matters guest speaker regarding school education mental stress had on young children in order to gain radio listeners’ confidence. I asked questions from an A grade educated man who at the time was suffering from depression, he told me he was taking the strongest anti depression medication his psychiatrist could prescribe.
     On questioning him about his schooling, he stated that he had to be seen by his fellow class students to be getting classroom teacher student opportunities of conversations where perceived humour could be had, he had to be seen by classroom students to be getting moments of laughable humorous punchlines quickly by being the first to laugh and laughing loudly so every student could hear he got humorous punchlines.
      My argument, because school students spend so many hours without getting brain rest periods, mental stress builds, cortisol levels within blood increases, adrenaline increases, fight flight hyperactivity incentives quickening brains’ primitive responses, short periods of distractions are felt with positive reinforcement brain chemical stimuli. Regardless how pointless teacher’s statements are addressing any particular chosen student. Remaining classroom students are wanting/anticipating humorous punchlines, feeling intelligent for believing laughable humour has been perceived, classroom of students competing with each other to be heard laughing.
     I have heard from another young male adult suffering from overwhelming mental depression, saying, “laughter is the second best feeling after sex”.
     I on rare occasions watch TV broadcasts of Melbourne and Canadian comedy festivals. Halls of listening audiences laughing at stand up comedians (to my standards) many comedians aren’t funny enough for audiences to leave comfortable housing, pay money to sit in crowded halls to listen to badly scripted punchline comedians.
     My belief is that many people whom suffer from school students mental stress disorders, suffering a degree of repressed mental depression, such people want to believe delusions of intelligence by getting comedian performance punchlines with an added feature of audiences loud laughter distracts audiences awareness of their own constant mental depression.
     Television programs labelled comedies, added canned laughter are creating revisited childhood brain chemical stimuli allusion of being in a classroom atmosphere of young children fellow supporters of assumed laughable punchlines, brain stimuli self-perceived intelligence for getting anticipated humorous punchlines.
     My mentioned above 1999 medicated for depression man today quickly gets my attempts at punchline humour, he quickly laughs while I barely indicate a smile, I assume leaving him unrewarded for getting humorous punchlines intelligence reinforced by myself.
     Comedy television programs reinforce self-perceived intelligence brain chemical stimuli rewards distractions from probable quiet time self-reflections, assessing the true value of humour and other forms of information to be worthy of learning or evaluated as a waste of time, which evaluation of time spent on whether to remember information should have began as a child, to have continued during aged: 5; 6; 7; continued years, instead school classroom spelling and mathematical calculating number tables, many hours at a time periods, builds mental stress memories retained as learning thinking traumas, medicated by adrenaline, loudness of laughter interruptions to sentences reduces opportunities to evaluate true values of sentence humorous punchlines, merely laughing in need of classical conditioning laughter brain chemical stimuli.
     I bother to type this reading to have a value to readers to express above reading has more relevance to readers than to comment frequently criticise politicians poor performances, which I suggest are intentional, no change to improve life comes from criticising something that is intentional propaganda free speech society democratic governments which is little more than a 2 party dictatorship whom criticise each other’s petty personal performances.

steve9

Many valid points but I’m a little puzzled as to the necessary connection between some of them.
What however can be done about the nausiating curse of canned laughter? It’s so ingrained in the public mind even live comedy sometimes suffers from audience wide ‘reactions’ to completely unfunny moments.
We are a very strange species.

steve9 wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2021 at 2:16pm:

I dislike programs containing volume controlled laughing machine commonly known as Canned Laughter.      Exampling an SBS shown UK program, “8 out of 10 cats does countdown”. The program’s Canned Laughter is very loud and frequently heard.      The Graham Norton Show also contains loud canned laughter.

I'm not sure about during COVID, but before the virus those two shows had live audiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMuh2IQ7fjo


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8GKO7ZHrMo

What a weird post.

They are doing crowd sound effects for the Olympics. They also did crowd sound effects at Suncorp Stadium during the State of Origin in 2004, when I was there. It is all about creating an atmosphere. Nothing wrong with television shows using canned laughter.

UnSubRocky wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2021 at 5:43pm:

Nothing wrong with television shows using canned laughter.

First world problems  :D :D

I prefer canned peaches.

Peaches come from a can,
They were put there by a man
In a factory downtown
If I had my little way,
I'd eat peaches every day
Sun-soakin' bulges in the shade

I find canned laughter annoying.
Some American shows have hysterical laughter every
15 seconds yet after 10 minutes of it I haven't laughed once.
It's so fake and used when the jokes are not even funny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-j8z1-hjiw

Laugh track removed. Makes the show scene seem better.

Bobby. wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2021 at 6:22pm:

I find canned laughter annoying. Some American shows have hysterical laughter every 15 seconds yet after 10 minutes of it I haven't laughed once. It's so fake and used when the jokes are not even funny.

I'll second that, Bobby.

I feel exactly the same way.

If it's funny, I'll laugh.

If it's not, I won't.

But I strongly dislike what amounts to being
told to laugh and told when to laugh.

Gordon wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2021 at 6:16pm:

I prefer canned peaches. Peaches come from a can, They were put there by a man In a factory downtown If I had my little way, I'd eat peaches every day Sun-soakin' bulges in the shade

Millions of peaches

Peaches for me  ;D

The only time canned laughter annoys me when

the show or comedian is just not funny

or the timing is out.

Hello Kramer
(canned laughter)
Hello Jerry
(canned laughter)
Have you talked to George
(canned laughter)
Why?
(canned laughter)
He joined a gym
(canned laughter)
Nooo
(canned laughter)
Yes
(canned laughter)
Well I better start training
(canned laughter)

Someone gave me 11 seasons of Seinfeld for $10. So far, I have yet to find anything funny about the show. Complete egomaniac that Jerry Seinfeld.

Steampipe wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 11:49am:

Hello Kramer (canned laughter) Hello Jerry (canned laughter) Have you talked to George (canned laughter) Why? (canned laughter) He joined a gym (canned laughter) Nooo (canned laughter) Yes (canned laughter) Well I better start training (canned laughter)

Well, it saves on actually having to write dialogue... fill in 50% with canned L and easy as pie...

UnSubRocky wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 3:58pm:

Someone gave me 11 seasons of Seinfeld for $10. So far, I have yet to find anything funny about the show. Complete egomaniac that Jerry Seinfeld.

It is soooooooooooooo 1980s!  ::)

... :)

The only show where I really couldn't stand the canned laughter was in the M*A*S*H TV series.

Fortunately, the producers had the good sense to omit the canned laughter from all the operating room scenes.

Carl D wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 5:43pm:

The only show where I really couldn't stand the canned laughter was in the M*A*S*H TV series. Fortunately, the producers had the good sense to omit the canned laughter from all the operating room scenes.

A good decision.

Operations generally aren't very funny, and even less so in that context.

UnSubRocky wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 3:58pm:

Someone gave me 11 seasons of Seinfeld for $10. So far, I have yet to find anything funny about the show. Complete egomaniac that Jerry Seinfeld.

Not even the big salad?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jX3wT0fqK8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msOBNIe-au0

Neferti wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 4:27pm:

UnSubRocky wrote on Aug 4th, 2021 at 3:58pm: Someone gave me 11 seasons of Seinfeld for $10. So far, I have yet to find anything funny about the show. Complete egomaniac that Jerry Seinfeld. It is soooooooooooooo 1980s!  ::)

1990s

Carl D wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 5:43pm:

The only show where I really couldn't stand the canned laughter was in the M*A*S*H TV series. Fortunately, the producers had the good sense to omit the canned laughter from all the operating room scenes.

I trust you are aware the cast didn't want it, but the studio over-rode them...

NorthOfNorth wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 7:01pm:

UnSubRocky wrote on Aug 4th, 2021 at 3:58pm: Someone gave me 11 seasons of Seinfeld for $10. So far, I have yet to find anything funny about the show. Complete egomaniac that Jerry Seinfeld. Not even the big salad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jX3wT0fqK8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msOBNIe-au0

Or….That crazy dance Elaine did  ;D
My daughter mimics her so well we pizz ourselves laughing!

https://youtu.be/HQu_NLRvULM

Sophia wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 8:07pm:

NorthOfNorth wrote on Aug 4th, 2021 at 7:01pm: UnSubRocky wrote on Aug 4th, 2021 at 3:58pm: Someone gave me 11 seasons of Seinfeld for $10. So far, I have yet to find anything funny about the show. Complete egomaniac that Jerry Seinfeld. Not even the big salad? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jX3wT0fqK8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msOBNIe-au0 Or….That crazy dance Elaine did  ;D My daughter mimics her so well we pizz ourselves laughing! https://youtu.be/HQu_NLRvULM

Ah yes! The thumb dance!

Couldn't stand Seinfeld.

Rather watch reruns of Porridge or Open All Hours

Gnads wrote on Aug 5^th, 2021 at 5:37am:

Couldn't stand Seinfeld. Rather watch reruns of Porridge or Open All Hours

So would I.

At least they are actually funny - canned laughter or not.

As good as Julia Louis-Dreyfus is with her acting, she cannot save a show like Seinfeld.

Live audience comedy can have its drawbacks (at least for the actors), as Andy Kaufman proved on 'Taxi' playing Ladka.

In this clip Kaufman interrupts the script with an ad lib piece that infuriated the cast. Note their demeanour (particularly Jeff Conway whose moment was interrupted by Kaufman).

It's why comedians loved and hated Kaufman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAANT2VtinE

Kat wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2021 at 7:12pm:

Bobby. wrote on Aug 3rd, 2021 at 6:22pm: I find canned laughter annoying. Some American shows have hysterical laughter every 15 seconds yet after 10 minutes of it I haven't laughed once. It's so fake and used when the jokes are not even funny. I'll second that, Bobby. I feel exactly the same way. If it's funny, I'll laugh. If it's not, I won't. But I strongly dislike what amounts to being told to laugh and told when to laugh.

It's silly.

Gnads wrote on Aug 4^th, 2021 at 6:57am:

The only time canned laughter annoys me when the show or comedian is just not funny or the timing is out.

One of the earliest successes I can recall without a laugh track was Working Dog's "Frontline" - for the ABC - followed by "The Games"
They opened the way for "The Office" and "30 Rock"

Nowadays we have Peta Credlin, Andrew Bolt, Sharri Markson and Alan Jones - with occasional guest Craig Kelly appearing - on Sky TV's "Bat-sh!t Crazy Hours"

No laugh track
But hilarious fun and satire set in a fictional "newsroom"