Somebody (from Los Angeles) mentioned hearing a laugh-track (of kids) when they saw this show but there most certainly was none added during production or broadcast both back in 1971 and in reruns in 2007 here in Canada (where the show was made).
So either he's mistaken, or the Americans actually added a laugh-track for that market. This might make sense, since so many American shows do have a fake laugh-track (thankfully, their version of The Office does not).
The only laughing that makes sense in a TV show is when there really is a live audience present, and you hear genuine laughter. I saw a live taping of Kids In The Hall around 1991 and the laugher heard during broadcast really is the genuine laughter of the real audience.
The Hilarious House of Frightenstein doesn't have a lot of stuff that would incite robust laughter anyway. It's more weird than funny. A lot of it is obviously ad-lib, and in modern times many of the scenes would require a "take 2" (or 3 or 4 or 5) to perfect it. But on this show, part of the charm is the inclusion of semi-flubbed stuff.
I remember once where a guy who looks like a stage-hand kind of peaks around the corner while Igor is doing a scene and he looks like he knows he screwed up. It was kept in for final broadcast and the result is this micro-surreal moment.
Julius Sumner Miller (The Professor) is shown actually forgetting where he put a prop for an experiment he is about to show, and he ad-libs something and moves on to another topic.
At one point The Oracle has is hand stuck in the crystal ball, and the "POP" sound effect happens way before he pulls his hand out and there's an ad-lib "well, you can't win 'em all" and it's almost like Billy Van steps out of character for a moment.
In another universe or era, this would have lots more editing or retakes. And it would be very boring. I wonder how much my 9-year old brain in 1971 loved this show in part because of all the screw-ups.
So either he's mistaken, or the Americans actually added a laugh-track for that market. This might make sense, since so many American shows do have a fake laugh-track (thankfully, their version of The Office does not).
The only laughing that makes sense in a TV show is when there really is a live audience present, and you hear genuine laughter. I saw a live taping of Kids In The Hall around 1991 and the laugher heard during broadcast really is the genuine laughter of the real audience.
The Hilarious House of Frightenstein doesn't have a lot of stuff that would incite robust laughter anyway. It's more weird than funny. A lot of it is obviously ad-lib, and in modern times many of the scenes would require a "take 2" (or 3 or 4 or 5) to perfect it. But on this show, part of the charm is the inclusion of semi-flubbed stuff.
I remember once where a guy who looks like a stage-hand kind of peaks around the corner while Igor is doing a scene and he looks like he knows he screwed up. It was kept in for final broadcast and the result is this micro-surreal moment.
Julius Sumner Miller (The Professor) is shown actually forgetting where he put a prop for an experiment he is about to show, and he ad-libs something and moves on to another topic.
At one point The Oracle has is hand stuck in the crystal ball, and the "POP" sound effect happens way before he pulls his hand out and there's an ad-lib "well, you can't win 'em all" and it's almost like Billy Van steps out of character for a moment.
In another universe or era, this would have lots more editing or retakes. And it would be very boring. I wonder how much my 9-year old brain in 1971 loved this show in part because of all the screw-ups.