(Vintage television studio ‘Applause’ and ‘Clap’ prompt signs. Credit: Emily Tan / CC BY 2.0)
If you’re old enough, you may recall the hum of fuzzy stereo speakers blasting an ancient rerun of your favourite sitcom. Then—out of thin air—the oh so familiar cackles of a seemingly invisible studio audience would erupt.
Love them or hate them, laughing tracks have been decorating our most beloved comfort shows for decades, from Friends to The Big Bang Theory. But just why have we been hearing less and less of these infamous chucklers in recent years—and where did they come from in the first place?
Well, in the grand old days of showbiz, most programmes were filmed in front of a live studio audience. However, American sound engineer Charley Douglass didn’t like that these live audiences often laughed too wildly, or at the wrong moments. This prompted Douglass to invent the Laff Box in the early 1950s, a machine which generated pre-recorded guffaws (or “canned laughter”) for the shows to use as they wished.
In the decades that followed, laugh tracks practically became an industry standard. The tracks instructed audiences at home on when to chuckle, when to “ooh”, and on rare occasion when to “aw”. But by the early 2000s, many viewers grew tired of this emotional crutch, viewing it as an insult to their intelligence rather than a helping hand.
(The Office (US) represented a shift for the laff track. Credit: NBCUniversal.)
Hollywood’s solution? Dunder Mifflin. Shows like The Office (US) and Modern Family began to swap constant laugh tracks for awkward glances at the camera and iconic fourth wall breaks. This “mockumentary” style became a hit with younger audiences, forcing Douglass’ canned laughter back into storage and giving a much-needed revamp to the modern sitcom.
This wasn’t the only dramatic shift for the small screen at the time. Many classic sitcoms were migrating from the bottom of the TV guide to growing streaming services like Netflix. This new home led a fresh generation of fans to programmes like Friends and Seinfeld, complete with their old-school humour, fashion, and—you guessed it—laugh tracks.
(The cast of NBC’s “Friends.” Credit: NBC/NBCUniversal)
So, next time you flick onto the comedy channel after a long day, you may hear a symphony of almost century-old laughter. Now, you know not only where the giggles come from, but also what drove them from the end of a punchline to the brink of extinction.
J.J. O’Regan is arts editor for SIN this year. He is a second-year journalism student at the University of Galway. In his free time, he enjoys piña coladas and long walks on the beach.