Editing Laugh track (section)

===Controversy, bucking the trend===
The practice of simulating an audience reaction was controversial from the beginning.<ref name="variety">{{cite web|last=Blasina |first=Niki |url=https://variety.com/2003/scene/people-news/charles-rolland-charlie-douglass-1117884944/ |title=Charles Rolland 'Charlie' Douglass, Inventor-operator of TV 'Laff Box' aud reaction machine|publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=2003-04-21 |access-date=2015-05-11}}</ref> A silent minority of producers despised the idea of a prerecorded audience reaction.<ref name="Iverson" /> Douglass was aware that his "laff box" was maligned by critics and actors, but also knew that the use of a laugh track became standard practice.<ref name="variety" /> Leading industry experts reasoned that laugh tracks were a necessary evil in prime time television: without the canned laughter, a show was doomed to fail.<ref name="Iverson" /> It was believed that in the absence of any sort of audience reaction, American viewers could not differentiate between a comedy or drama.<ref name="Hobson Help" /> That did not stop several from forgoing the laugh track entirely:
* Former child star [[Jackie Cooper]] believed that the laugh track was false. Cooper's comedy/drama ''[[Hennesey]]'' (CBS, 1959–62) was cancelled in 1962 after three seasons. For its first two seasons, the show used only a mild laugh track; by the third and final season, the chuckles were eliminated completely. Cooper later commented that "we're manufacturing a reaction to our own creation, yet we'll never know if people out there are really laughing." Cooper concluded by saying, "It's a put-on all the time."<ref name="Hobson Help" />
* In September 1964, the comedy/drama ''[[Kentucky Jones]]'' (NBC, 1964–65), starring [[Dennis Weaver]], tried to eliminate laughs, simulated or live. After only five episodes and slumping ratings, Douglass was recruited to add the laugh track. ''Kentucky Jones'' was cancelled the following April.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/kentucky-jones/ | title = Kentucky Jones | date = 6 January 2005 | publisher = nostalgiacentral.com|access-date = 3 April 2020 }}</ref>
* [[Ross Bagdasarian Sr.]], creator of the ''[[The Chipmunks|Alvin and the Chipmunks]]'' franchise, outright refused to utilize a laugh track when production began on ''[[The Alvin Show]]'' (CBS, 1961–62) in 1961. Bagdasarian's reasoning was if the show was funny, the viewers would laugh without being prompted. ''The Alvin Show'' was cancelled after a single season.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Mark|title= Aaaaalllviiinnn!: The Story of Ross Bagdasarian Sr., Liberty Records, Format Films and The Alvin Show |publisher= BearManor Media |year=2019 | location = Albany, Georgia |isbn = 978-1629334325}}</ref>
* ''[[Peanuts]]'' creator [[Charles M. Schulz]] refused to employ a laugh track during the production of the holiday favorite ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas]]'' (CBS, 1965).<ref>{{Cite web |title=December 9, 1965 |url=https://schulzmuseum.org/timeline/december-9-1965/ |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=Charles M. Schulz Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> Like Bagdasarian, Schulz maintained that the audience should be able to enjoy the show at their own pace, without being cued when to laugh. When CBS executives saw the final product, they were horrified and believed the special would be a flop (CBS did create a version of the show with the laugh track added, just in case Schulz changed his mind; this version remains unavailable).{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} When the special first aired on December 9, 1965, it was a surprise critical and commercial hit. As a result of this success, all subsequent ''Peanuts'' specials aired with no laugh track present.<ref name=liner>{{cite web|title=George Winston: ''Love Will Come'' Liner Notes|url=http://www.georgewinston.com/us/liner-notes-love-will-come-music-vince-guaraldi-volume-2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312200446/http://www.georgewinston.com/us/liner-notes-love-will-come-music-vince-guaraldi-volume-2|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-03-12}}</ref>
* ''[[Rocky and His Friends]]'' (ABC, 1959–61; NBC, 1961–64 as ''The Bullwinkle Show'') was originally broadcast with a laugh track, against the wishes of creators [[Jay Ward]] and [[Bill Scott (voice actor)|Bill Scott]], who disputed the laugh track with ABC; given the rapid-fire pace of the show's humor, the laugh track slowed the timing and at times interrupted dialogue.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} After getting support from sponsor [[General Mills]], Ward and Scott convinced ABC, and the laugh track ended after its fourth episode; while current syndicated prints of these episodes still retain the laugh track, it has been subsequently removed from the DVD release.
* The musical sitcom ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'' (NBC, 1966–68) featured a laugh track throughout its first season and several episodes of the second. Midway through Season 2, the [[The Monkees|Monkees band members]] insisted the show eliminate the laugh track, believing their viewers were intelligent enough to know where the jokes were. [[NBC]], already annoyed by the rock group wanting too much control over their show, cancelled ''The Monkees'' after the conclusion of its second season, citing the removal of the laugh track as a significant factor.<ref name="Iverson" /> [[Peter Tork]] commented in 2013 that "we didn't want it from the beginning, but NBC insisted. I thought it was a stroke of genius when it was eliminated in the second season."<ref>{{cite conference | first = Peter | last = Tork | author-link = Peter Tork | title = Peter Tork In This Generation: My Life In The Monkees and So Much More | publisher = Sellersville Theatre | date = May 24, 2013 | location = [[Sellersville, Pennsylvania]] }}</ref>
* When discussing the making of the sitcom ''[[Get Smart]]'' (NBC, 1965–69, CBS, 1969–70) in 2003, television producer and screenwriter [[Leonard B. Stern]] initially opposed to employing a laugh track for the sitcom, given its somewhat violent nature, calling it "offensive". Stern and [[Mel Brooks]] relented and the earlier seasons contained a more-or-less modulated track. The laugh track got steadily more invasive as the show increasingly got camper in the later seasons. Comedian [[Don Adams]], who played Maxwell Smart on ''Get Smart'', reportedly hated the laugh track, citing it for refusing to watch the show in reruns. At a reunion seminar honoring the show in 2003, Adams stated, "it offended me in the pilot, the laugh track. I would come in a room and say 'Hello, 99!' and the guy would push the goddamn button! What the hell is funny about 'Hello!'?"<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BevRX9_iQcg&t=3017s | title=Get Smart Extras S00e03 @ Get Smart Reunion Seminar, 2003 | website=[[YouTube]] | date=7 September 2017 }}</ref> In a 1995 Entertainment Weekly interview when discussing the legacy of the show, Adams firmly stated the laugh track was unnecessary. Conversely in the same interview, actress [[Barbara Feldon]], who played Agent 99, was more lenient, saying "You need a laugh track. Laughter inspires laughter."<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/1995/01/13/barbara-feldon-and-don-adams/ | title=Barbara Feldon and Don Adams | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] }}</ref>
* [[Bill Cosby]]'s first sitcom, ''[[The Bill Cosby Show]]'' (NBC, 1969–71) was produced without a laugh track at the insistence of Cosby. He stated that his opposition to NBC's desire to add a laugh track led to the show's cancellation after two seasons.<ref name="Iverson" />
* [[Andy Griffith]] initially resisted the inclusion of a laugh track on ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]''. Co-star [[Don Knotts]] had previously been a member of the ensemble cast of ''[[The Steve Allen Show]]'' when it transitioned from a live audience to a laugh track in its fourth season. Knotts felt the artificial audience reaction contributed to the show's demise – a sentiment that influenced Griffith's opinion. Instead of a laugh track, Griffith insisted on screening completed episodes in front of an audience, recording their reaction, and inserting that into the show's soundtrack (a practice that became more commonplace for television comedies in years to come). The earliest episodes include these custom audience reactions; however, Griffith's experiment was too costly, and the network insisted on a Douglass laugh track. Griffith eventually compromised on the grounds that it be utilized sparingly.<ref>{{cite AV media| people = [[Andy Griffith]] | title = Pioneers of Television | medium = Interview with Andy Griffith | publisher = PBS | date = 2012 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJznC_Bqh4A}}</ref>
* [[Larry Gelbart]], co-creator of ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' (CBS, 1972–83), initially wanted the show to air without a laugh track ("Just like the actual [[Korean War]]", he remarked dryly). Though CBS initially rejected the idea, a compromise was reached that allowed Gelbart and co-producer [[Gene Reynolds]] to omit the laugh track during operating room scenes if they wished. "We told the network that under no circumstances would we ever can laughter during an OR scene when the doctors were working," said Gelbart in 1998. "It's hard to imagine that 300 people were in there laughing at somebody's guts being sewn up."<ref>{{cite AV media| people = [[Larry Gelbart|Gelbart, Larry]] | title = Emmy TV Legends: Larry Gelbart Interview | medium = Interview with Dan Harrison  | publisher = Archive for American Television | location = [[Los Angeles, California]] | date = May 26, 1998 | url = https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/larry-gelbart}}</ref> Seasons 1–5 utilized Douglass's more invasive laugh track; Carroll Pratt's quieter laugh track was employed for Seasons 6–11 when the series shifted from sitcom to comedy drama with the departure of Gelbart and Reynolds. Several episodes ("O.R.", "The Bus", ""Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?", "The Interview", "Point of View" and "Dreams" among them) omitted the laugh track; as did almost all of Season 11, including the 135-minute series finale, "[[Goodbye, Farewell and Amen]]".<ref name="Iverson" /> The laugh track is also omitted from some international and syndicated airings of the show; on one occasion during an airing in the UK, the laugh track was accidentally left on, and viewers expressed their displeasure, an apology from the network for the "technical difficulty" was later released. The [[DVD]] releases, meanwhile, give the viewer a choice of watching every episode with or without the laugh tracks (though the French and Spanish track do not have this option). UK DVD critics speak poorly of the laugh track, stating "canned laughter is intrusive at the best of times, but with a programme like ''M*A*S*H'', it's downright unbearable."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myreviewer.com/Review_of_MASH_Season_3_DVD_Review/a57838/page2 |title=Myreviewer.com/Review of MASH Season 3 DVD Review |publisher=Myreviewer.com |date=2004-03-20 |access-date=2013-07-09}}</ref> "They're a lie," said Gelbart in a 1992 interview. "You're telling an engineer when to push a button to produce a laugh from people who don't exist. It's just so dishonest. The biggest shows when we were on the air were ''[[All in the Family]]'' and ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' both of which were taped before a live studio audience where laughter made sense," continued Gelbart. "But our show was a film show – supposedly shot in the middle of [[Korea]]. So the question I always asked the network was, 'Who are these laughing people? Where did they come from?{{'"}} Gelbart persuaded CBS to test the show in private screenings with and without the laugh track. The results showed no measurable difference in the audience's enjoyment. "So you know what they said?" Gelbart said. "'Since there's no difference, let's leave it alone!' The people who defend laugh tracks have no sense of humor."<ref name=gelbart>{{cite news |first= Deborah Starr |last= Seibel |title= Funny Business: TV Laugh Tracks Can Still Cause Frowns, But The Studios Feel A Need To Be Humored |work= [[Chicago Tribune]] |date= April 16, 1992 |url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/04/16/funny-business-23/ |access-date=2014-01-27}}</ref> Gelbart summed up the situation by saying, "I always thought it cheapened the show. The network got their way. They were paying for dinner."<ref name=mentalfloss>{{cite web | last = Greene | first = Nick | url = http://mentalfloss.com/article/56777/why-did-mash-have-laugh-track | title = Why Did ''M*A*S*H'' Have A Laugh Track? | publisher = mentalfloss.com | date = May 19, 2014 | access-date = January 12, 2016}}</ref>
* The sitcom ''[[Police Squad!]]'', which was a parody of [[police procedurals]], did not utilize a laugh track in any of its six episodes. The decision not to incorporate one was at the behest of its creators, the trio of [[Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker]], since most of the humor of the program was derived from events that occurred either in the foreground or in the background of various scenes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-29-ca-670-story.html|title = Creators of a TV Flop Get Just Dessert with 'Naked Gun'| website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date = 29 November 1988}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/police-squad-the-complete-series-2495751020.html|title=Police Squad!: The Complete Series, PopMatters|date=12 December 2006 }}</ref>
* Another satirical police sitcom, ''[[Sledge Hammer!]]'' (ABC, 1986–88), utilized a laugh track for the first 13 episodes of its first season, of which creator [[Alan Spencer (writer)|Alan Spencer]] did not approve. After months of fighting with ABC, Spencer was able to cease adding laughter beginning with episode 14, "[[State of Sledge]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sledgehammeronline.com/show_history6.htm |title=The Official Sledge Hammer! Website – History |publisher=Sledgehammeronline.com |access-date=2013-07-09}}</ref>
* The sitcom ''[[Dinosaurs (TV series)|Dinosaurs]]'' (ABC, 1991–94) initially featured a laugh track. At the insistence of co-producers [[Brian Henson]] and [[Michael Jacobs (producer)|Michael Jacobs]], it was eventually dropped as the show grew in popularity.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
* ''[[Sports Night]]'' (ABC, 1998–2000) premiered with a laugh track, against the wishes of show creator [[Aaron Sorkin]], but the laugh track became more subtle as the season progressed and was completely removed at the start of the second season.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} In some cases, a laugh track was needed to maintain continuity, as portions of each episode were filmed in front of a live audience, while the remainder were filmed without an audience present.
* The [[Saved by the Bell (2020 TV series)|2020 revival]] of ''Saved by the Bell'' is a single-camera sitcom that dropped the live audience and laugh track altogether, which is a major difference from the [[Saved by the Bell|original series]].