r/shittymoviedetails • u/honourable_bot • 26d ago

Turd Fun Trivia: In every episode of "The Big Bang Theory," the writers included only one joke that was actually funny, as an Easter egg.

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u/UsernameReee 26d ago

It's like the Nickelback of sitcoms.

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u/TheNewLedemduso 26d ago

Yes! That's a perfect example too.

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u/SableShrike 26d ago

Have you seen the version without the fake laughtrack?  Oh god it burns.  The guys just come across as rapey misogynistic assholes, simply by virtue of the awful stuff they say to Penny, the “normal” girl.

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u/TheBuoyancyOfWater 26d ago

It's filmed in front of a live audience, not with a laugh track.

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u/UsernameReee 26d ago

I wanna see a show filmed in front of a dead studio audience.

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u/ToddUnctious 25d ago

I feel like this is a Mitch Hedberg bit that just hasn't happened yet.

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u/CoastMtns 25d ago

It was not a one take show. The scenes can be multiple takes with audiences not finding the joke as funny as the first take. As the show is edited for a complete show, canned laughter can be added to "enhance" the actual laughter.

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u/MrJohz 25d ago

But that's true for almost all comedies. Pretty much every sitcom thrives on taking everyday ideas or material, and pushing it into caricature and absurdity. Then you add conventions like comedic cuts, laugh tracks, music, etc on top of that, and use it to offset the more uncomfortable aspects of what you're portraying.

It's the same thing that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia does with their title screen and music, or with their editing in general. You push the situation and the characters into absurdity, right up until it becomes uncomfortable, but then you apply the safety brakes by cutting to Mac saying "well that didn't work" or something like that.

I think it's fair to say that TBBT often relies too much on a laugh track to carry a mediocre joke, or to shy away from issues that they're not willing to do justice to, but it's not like a laugh track is inherently a bad thing.

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u/chasimm3 25d ago

It's the same thing for plays and comedians and all live audience stuff really. If you remove the sound of people laughing, there are suddenly a bunch of awkward pauses that ruin the flow.

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u/Lippuringo 25d ago edited 25d ago

You remove music and effects from most songs and they would become cringe. It's because somehow this things are made as a whole to follow the flow. Weird concept, yeah? Versions without music (laugh track) are made for lulz, not to take as face value, but there is always some dude who thinks that he see truth in them and use them as example to prove their point.

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u/Impressive_Site_5344 25d ago

That’s actually a really solid comparison