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End of 'Big Bang' stirs debate over future of TV comedies

19 Comments
By LYNN ELBER

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19 Comments
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'Friends' was best but this was just too cheesy. There are far better comedies.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

In 2006, TV critics swooned over "30 Rock," part of a new breed of comedy that dared to fly without a laugh track

2006? I want to say by the late 90's laugh tracks had become outdated in UK comedies thanks to shows like The Office, People Like Us and The Royal Family.

I one day dream of Japanese TV "daring to fly" and ditching worthless food segments, panels shows with of armies of d-list nodding head "talento", eye bleeding set designs and garish subtitles. One can dream. . .

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Abysmal, truly abysmal.

Some clever person on Youtube has removed the laugh track from Bing Bang and the result is so painful it's unwatchable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKS3MGriZcs

4 ( +6 / -2 )

'Friends' was best

No, Seinfeld was.

Friends was like having a wisdom tooth removed without anesthetic, over and over again. As Elaine Benes would say, "cringeworthy."

Big Bang Theory was just okay, but it didn't make me want to watch more of it.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Unfortunately, Reality tv has taken over, because it’s so much cheaper to make without paying actors their huge salaries.

personally, I loathe reality tv - I live in reality so why would I want to watch someone else’s !?

8 ( +8 / -0 )

I refused to watch TBBT for years, not believing the hype. Decided to give it a try, and have been hooked ever since. It may not be possible to identify every separate trait that in total adds up to a wonderful show, but whatever magic it takes to succeed, this show has it.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

They should rename the show to Dad jokes and obvious. Who watches sitcoms anymore?

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

This show was the worst. Ironically, you had to lower your intelligence to watch it, let alone enjoy it. Every punchline is totally predictable and lacking in imagination. As someone already said above, remove the laugh track and it's beyond cringe-worthy. It's a sad commentary on U.S. television viewership that this show continued as long as it did.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Brilliant show unequaled in modern television. Got the cast chemistry right. Twelve years is no fluke and it could and should have gone on for further seasons.

Would be great to see Stuart get his own spin off "Comic book man" with the old gang returning from time to time, once or twice a season.

So sad to see it ending, they felt like family and were welcome in my home every week.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

Maybe just me but I always preferred British comedy. Didn't particularly dislike this or some of the other shows mentioned in the comments but I would never sit down and watch religiously like I did with British comedy.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Absolute garbage TV, along with friends. you could even see where the jokes are headed before the episode starts, and when it happens, it's just trash.

Seinfeld is the king of TV, and even when you know where the joke was headed, you were looking forward to it, because even without a laugh track, the actors knew what they were doing in order to make real comedy.

big bang, friends, it's for the simple minded.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

The show lasted as long as it did because ALL the actors and their characters were good -- male and female.

We remember sitcoms in large part because of the recurring gags that always work - the constant background of the PA system in MASH, Get SMART's Cone of Silence, the bar greeting "Norm!" in unison. We even remember the Carol Burnett show because the late great Tim Conway could ALWAYS make Harvey Korman laugh. 

Was anything about Big Bang close to the reality of life, in a factual sense? No. But we remember Sheldon's spot, and the elevator with caution tape, and Mrs. Wolowitz's voice. Because those running gags were always funny, part of a mostly-always-funny show.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Talking about spin-offs, Young Sheldon is pretty good. I hope they come up with one or two others.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

To each their own. 12 seasons? It was a bit too long but I suppose that is more reflective of the reception it got rather than the appropriate length. This show clearly was based on a theme that isn't as open ended as others, so the jokes surely was repetitive and predictable.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

If the masses did not tune into this it would never have lasted 12 seasons.

For me, after living in Japan so long and always hating, but being forced to the exposure of the Japanese “tarento warai Nangun I” (I never laugh), my sense of humor is so messed up that there is not a single American Sit-com I find humorous. While my American friends are guffawing away, I am left scratching my head and asking, “why is this considered funny?” My mom, however, loved the series. Even Seinfeld seemed terribly mundane and not at all interesting.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Sorry. “Nangun I” — bangumi

0 ( +0 / -0 )

sourpussToday 09:13 am JST'Friends' was best

No, Seinfeld was.

Friends was like having a wisdom tooth removed without anesthetic, over and over again. As Elaine Benes would say, "cringeworthy."

Big Bang Theory was just okay, but it didn't make me want to watch more of it.

Somehow comedies and sitcoms died when 'Cheers' went off the air. I just knew it was an end to an era. The last few seasons made me laugh with no stupid 'laugh track'. 'The Simpsons' were a totally hilarious hoot until the mid-late 90s and it ran out of gas. That show during the first few seasons made me laugh until I nearly got sick, week after week!

'Seinfeld' was good until about 1996 then it got so godawful unfunny, and its finale was one of the worst ever!

And to think Tim Conway died this week of dementia at age 85. I remember him and Harvey Korman - they made a nice pair. TV comedies are dead, and reality shows suck suck SUCK. You gotta find your entertainment elsewhere.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

BBT was appalling. Comedy by cliche and horribly overacted, not funny and all the subtlety of a sledgehammer cracking a walnit.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

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