Canned Laughter

Last night upon turning on the TV I suddenly grewly greatly depressed. I turned to NBC to check out John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor's new show, '20 Good Years.' This is what have become of the post 'Arrested Development' star Tambor. Going from a show that was so clever to such a generic predictable sitcom is quite a fall. Then today I was watching the most recent episode of 'My Name is Earl" and I came to a realization. All the comedies that I have enjoyed in the past 3 or 4 years have all been lacking a laugh track. I never before realized exactly how demeaning a laugh track can be to an audience. It basically says, "You're too dumb to know when to laugh so we're just going to tell you." On the contrary, shows such as 'Arrested Development,' 'The Ofiice,' and 'My Name is Earl' actually respect the audience enough to leave out the laugh track. If you miss a joke it's your loss. It also adds a dimension of realism to the show that makes it that much more funny.