Yesterday I wrote about Jumior Miller's consummate skill as the larfing sidekick during the 8:40 bit. Hard to seem sincerely amused -- which brings the listener in, keeps him listening -- without overdoing it. Junior is the Picasso, yes, dare I say, the Norman Rockwell of this delicate art.
Yesterday he got some relief from his larfing chores because Gordon did the Snapper John M.D. bit solo, so George could carry some of the pretend-audience burden.
It was an OK bit, middle-of-the-road, predictable naughty anatomical-feature jokes, a peculiar choice of voice, but OK.
George seriously, seriously overlaughed, to the point where I actually began to question whether George has a sense of humor. He was practically breathless as he wheezed out peals of mirth.
Of course, in comparison to the subtle master, Junior -- who was doubtless looking on disapprovingly as George chortled uncontrollably -- anything would have sounded contrived.
I could do without the forced laughter from any of them; I really don't think it's necessary. My favorite comedy shows have always been the ones which respected their audience enough to do away with this practice.
ReplyDeleteIn general I agree, but I think you'd miss Junior's chuckling if it weren't there. The shows that don't have laugh tracks are the ones that don't rely on gags, but on situations. These bits rely on gags, and if gags don't have some kind of community reaction, they die.
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