Critically reviled. Hopelessly dated. Forever near extinction. Yet in a TV landscape full of brutally realistic hits, sitcoms with background laughter are not only still popular, but have become cozily weird.
Exactly. People have levied the same complaints about musicals, yet we don’t see videos floating around of musicals without music. Both are genres that aren’t trying to be entirely realistic.
I’m personally kind of over laugh track shows simply because they feel performative. I’d rather watch a comedy that has a plot than watch comedy built like stand-up: with a setup, punchline, and then pause for audience response. It’s why so many of them have catchphrases like “Did I do that?” “Bazinga!” and “We were on a break!” It’s fine if others enjoy different setups for the same joke, but I’d personally rather be more immersed in the show than constantly be reminded I’m supposed to laugh.
Cutting between two closeups of people talking is not realistic. Jumping in time to the next morning is not realistic. Being able to see the conversations between people in their private homes is unrealistic. All tv is extremely stylized, we’re just familiar with the style.
Exactly. People have levied the same complaints about musicals, yet we don’t see videos floating around of musicals without music. Both are genres that aren’t trying to be entirely realistic.
I’m personally kind of over laugh track shows simply because they feel performative. I’d rather watch a comedy that has a plot than watch comedy built like stand-up: with a setup, punchline, and then pause for audience response. It’s why so many of them have catchphrases like “Did I do that?” “Bazinga!” and “We were on a break!” It’s fine if others enjoy different setups for the same joke, but I’d personally rather be more immersed in the show than constantly be reminded I’m supposed to laugh.
“Realistic” is also a treacherous term.
Cutting between two closeups of people talking is not realistic. Jumping in time to the next morning is not realistic. Being able to see the conversations between people in their private homes is unrealistic. All tv is extremely stylized, we’re just familiar with the style.