Buzz
When imagining doctors treating injured soldiers amidst a brutal war, laughter is the last thing that comes to mind. But on a rerun of M*A*S*H, that’s precisely what you get. The canned laughter echoing from an invisible audience at the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital feels oddly misplaced.
It wasn’t just the subject matter that made the use of a laugh track feel out of place. Unlike nearly every other sitcom of the time, M*A*S*H was shot in a way that felt dynamic and immersive. The lack of a traditional staged setup with a fixed camera circle was what made the show stand out, making the laugh track feel jarringly out of sync.
The reason it was included is relatively straightforward. CBS studio executives had never ventured into creating a sitcom without a laugh track. It was an old habit from the days of radio, and they couldn’t fathom leaving a joke without the audience's reassurance of laughter. Even though M*A*S*H blended comedy with intense drama, CBS insisted on the laugh track.
“I always felt it lowered the quality of the show,” remarked series creator Larry Gelbart. “The network got their way. They were footing the bill for dinner.”
Nevertheless, the show's creators managed to negotiate a few terms to eliminate the laugh track. “We refused to use canned laughter during any O.R. scene,” Gilbert explained. “It was hard to imagine 300 people laughing while the doctors were stitching up someone’s insides.” They also succeeded in having the laugh track removed for several episodes: "O.R.," "The Bus," "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?," "The Interview," "Dreams," "Point of View," and "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen." (Since "The Interview" was filmed in a documentary style, omitting the track was crucial to maintaining the concept.)
After season six, the laugh track was significantly reduced, and later episodes featured a much softer track, a stark contrast to the earlier, louder episodes filled with uproarious laughter.
The DVD versions of M*A*S*H offer viewers a brilliant choice: watching the series without the laugh track. It's remarkable how much the absence of that background laughter enhances the experience.
