I enjoyed Little Britain USA on the BBC last night and felt that it kept true to the original spirit of the original British version of the show. However, I am surely not the only person who got irritated by the hysterical canned laughter which greeted almost every line, even those lines which featured no catchphrases or jokes.
It reminded me of the classic series M.A.S.H., which US television used to sell to the BBC without the canned laughter track because, as one of the stars of the show, Alan Alda said, "British audiences know when to laugh and don't need to be told". Sadly, Little Britain USA obviously came with the canned laughter track as part of the audio, thus meaning it could not be removed. This is a shame because I became increasingly irritated by the same hysterical laughter making it difficult to actually hear what was being said.
3 comments:
I am somewhat puzzled by adapting Little Britain for Big America only to import it back in tins?
Some years back I worked in a theatre in Leeds which hosted TV shows. Sometimes it involved re-shooting the same scene over and over again. And the jokes were no longer funny. Out would come the producer holding up a card which said "Laugh" or "Applaud" and the audience would respond to the cue.
Watched it, but wasn't overly impressed. Wonder if the viewing figures will hold up. Its in the highest rated prime time BBC 1 comedy slot.
Just did a search for "little britain usa canned laughter" to see if anyone else was equally annoyed by the laughter. When will people realize that little britain simply isn't funny!!
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