Canned Laughter

Posted on: 5 October 2010

I love comedy, it's all I really tune into on TV these days, with the possible exception of True Blood. And after catching up with How I Met Your Mother last night and catching the inexplicable Inbetweeners tonight, there is something that puzzles me when it comes to comedy, especially when comparing shows either side of the Atlantic: why is "canned laughter" so often used?

Friends & How I Met Your Mother - two of my favourite comedies of all time - brilliant as they are - are both lessened by their use of laugh tracks. In my opinion there really isn't much use for it these days and can spoil the subtlety of humour in some cases.

The Inbetweeners is a typical British comedy - in the sense that there is no recorded laughter; although utterly atypical in its content. Its for both these reasons that I think this show is an absolute gem. There really is nothing else like it on Television, past and present, and I truly admire its bravado and daringness in its subject matter. This shows has balls and I challenge any person to watch this show without audibly cringing.

It is that bad; that disgusting but easily that damn good.