Dave
Live audiences have been in front of the stage
for almost all the history of television and
laugh tracks - if you recall - we available
during the 1950s from a machine that Rudy Franchi
evaluated on Antiques Roadshow
Rich
At 05:39 AM 3/9/2011, Dave Rosen wrote:

I had no idea a version of MASH without a laugh
track existed. I'd love to see it.
In the 70s, the practice of taping sitcoms in
front of a live audience started (except for
MASH, which was shot on film without an
audience), supposedly as a reaction against the
over-use of "dead" (ie, taped) laugh tracks. The
idea was to get a live audience reaction to the
comedy. The problem was, a lot of the comedy
wasn't (and still isn't) funny, so producers
soon started to "sweeten" the live audience
laughter, if there was any, with recorded laughs.
Flash forward to today and virtually all the
"taped before a live audience" shows are totally
sweetened. In other words, virtually NONE of the
laughs you hear are real. Why? Because the shows
aren't funny. The best test of a comedy is to
watch it without the laugh track, if you can. If
you don't laugh, it ain't funny. It's that simple.
Best sitcom ever on US TV? For me, it was The
Larry Sanders Show. Hands down. And no laugh track.
Dave
Message -----
From: <mailto:[email protected]>Phil Edwards
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 3:43 AM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] ONE AND A HALF MEN
Yes, buit only the UK edition of MASH which the
BBC insisted did not have the laugh track.
Without the ghastly laugh track, MASH was quite a different show altogether.
Phil
----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:[email protected]>Adrian Cowdry
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 7:05 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] ONE AND A HALF MEN
Two and a Half Men for me is as Peter says
medicore at best I'd say it was tosh.
I will name a few sitcoms that have been
imported to the UK that I feel had an excellent
team of writers that kept the viewers coming
back for more. Some might be classed as Comedy Drama.
Boston Legal (one of the best US Comedy Drama's ever)
Scrubs
Friends
Frasier
Cheers
All in the Family
Roseanne had some very good high peaks.
The Office
And of course MASH
There are many more that I cannot think of just
yet but there is an awful lot of dross which
doesn't deserve to be high rating winners.
There was one series about 15 years ago made by
HBO that was a little near the knuckle and it
involved carnal activities of a young bachelor
it had only one series but it was funny.
I also think Cougar Town has potential.
I will say that I think when the US writers come
up with something and it's good - it is really
good. But things like Will and Grace, Two and
Half Men, Dharma and Greg and this new one Hot
in Cleveland are truly poor examples of American Comedy.
I do feel that sitcoms at their best nothing
comes close to Fawlty Towers, probably The
Office (UK version), and there are several that
I will not name as they really are purely
British that do not export well but truly are so funny that your ribs ache.
It is such a shame that Sheen has come out of
the closet as such an idiot but hey...if he had
any sense his bank account will be quite full
that he can put the bulk of it in a high
interest account and sniff the interest!
[]
This never happened to the other fella.
-----Original Message-----
From: peter contarino <[email protected]>
To: 'Adrian Cowdry' <[email protected]>
CC: [email protected]
Sent: Tue, 8 Mar 2011 16:40
Subject: RE: [MOPO] ONE AND A HALF MEN
I have to agree with Ade on this. I donât tend
to jump into threads but this guy is so annoying
I feel the need to vent. First, with the world
blowing up around us, I canât fathom how this
is newsworthy. Itâs speaks poorly for the
media and the public in general. Secondly, Two
and a Half men is a really mediocre, low-brow
show. Thirdly, I donât know Sheen but he seems
like a real scumbag and is marginally talented at best.
I will depart with Ade on his comment that it is
not up to US sitcom standards. I think it is
completely on par with the absolute dreck that
dominates the airwaves. I can scarcely think of
a comedy that is any more interesting than the
commercials funding them. There are several
decent comedies on some of the pay channels but
the Majors have set the bar so low that it is
scarcely worth the trouble to watch.
I feel better now
-peter
From: MoPo List
[<mailto:[email protected]?>mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Adrian Cowdry
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 2:55 AM
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Subject: Re: [MOPO] ONE AND A HALF MEN
Charlie Sheen has made a right charlie of himself.
He was never the greatest actor...he was never
the best comedian. Obviously he was in the right
place at the right time and had a great formula
with an exceptionally good team of writers that
made him the focal point of a TV series that was mediacore at best.
There I said it. Two and a Half Men was not
fantastic. Better sitcoms have been produced in
the US. This series was based, lets face it,
loosely around Sheen's actual hell raising lifestyle.
How this series could have garnered awards I
cannot fathom. The acting was stilted, the
comedy was transparent. It was not up to the standards of US sitcom writing.
It would be nice if now the networks cast around
and get down to something a lot better and
classier. Sheen has killed his career, if he
ever works in Hollywood again it will be a cold
day in hell I suspect. I think the man was
stupid to kill the Golden Goose but I do not
think his brand of sitcom will be missed. I am
sure that the writing team that backs Two and a
Half Men will come up with a formula as good -
hopefully better - and not be saddled with an
over indulged actor to lead the troops.
[]
This never happened to the other fella.
-----Original Message-----
From: Kirby McDaniel <<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]>
To: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Sent: Mon, 7 Mar 2011 21:55
Subject: [MOPO] ONE AND A HALF MEN
<http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/charlie-sheen-fired-from-two-and-a-half-men/?emc=na>http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/charlie-sheen-fired-from-two-and-a-half-men/?emc=na
Kirby McDaniel
MovieArt Original Film Posters
P.O. Box 4419
Austin TX 78765-4419
512 479 6680 <http://www.movieart.net>www.movieart.net
mobile 512 589 5112
Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site
at <http://www.filmfan.com>www.filmfan.com
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