Larry Sanders Show question - laugh track/audience? (1 Viewer)

[Scott_J]

I've never seen the show (don't get HBO) but plan on picking up the Season 1 set in February. Did this show use a laugh track? Was it filmed in front of a live audience? I assume it's the latter since it was a spoof of a late-night talk show, but I just want to know what to expect when the DVD set comes out.

Thanks.

 

[Mike St.Louis]

I think the scenes where he was performing were filmed before an audience. A lot of the show is behind the scenes.

 

[Michael Reuben]

I don't know whether the "studio audience" for the show-within-a-show was real or fake, but it was the only laughter on the soundtrack. All others events, whether behind the scenes or in Larry's private life, were played straight.

M.

 

[Mike St.Louis]

I first heard about Larry Sanders when I saw an interview with Gene Siskel. He said the show was excellent and had arranged to see a taping. That's why I thought it was taped before an audience.

I think it would have been easier to get a crowd reaction by taping a real audience.

 

[Scott_J]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

 

[Michael Reuben]

I first heard about Larry Sanders when I saw an interview with Gene Siskel. He said the show was excellent and had arranged to see a taping. That's why I thought it was taped before an audience.

Could be. OTOH, maybe they just let him watch because he was Gene Siskel.
It might be hard to get a studio audience to react with the right timing and tone, especially since we never saw a complete "show". It was usually just a few excerpts. So even if they used a studio audience for some scenes, the laugh track might be necessary.
M.