I’ve always wanted to rewatch M*A*S*H, beginning to end. But every time I started, the laugh track would annoy me so much that I'd stop. I just couldn’t stand it. Is it because it is so obviously artificial? We all know there can't be a studio audience sitting on bleachers behind those tents. I don't remember it bothering me when I was young and watching it with my mom, but I'm a bit more of a sophisticated viewer these days.
Anyway. So I tried rewatching again a couple of months ago and got to the third episode before stopping. And then I started wondering if there was an obvious solution. Is there a version of M*A*S*H available without the laugh track?
There is. Unfortunately, it’s not available to stream – I checked Prime and Hulu. It appears to be only on the DVDs. I bought the DVD set for season one, and there it was in the "Languages" section, "English without laugh track." My daughter and I watched the first few episodes, and she immediately bought every season on DVD, some of them used.
It is such a drag to buy DVDs when the show you want is available streaming. But you know what? The show I want isn't available streaming.
M*A*S*H without a laugh track is like a whole different show. It's sharper and darker, like the movie on which it was based. The terrific performances are even better since we're not being distracted from what they're saying, or forced to consider every other line to be a joke. It resembles the show I once watched in my youth, but it's much, much better. And I think it's what was originally intended.
If you've been considering a M*A*S*H rewatch, you might want to invest in DVDs. It's worth it.
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
Us in the UK were very lucky as it was broadcast without the Laugh track.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, you *were* lucky. What I don't understand is if it was already aired in the UK without the laugh track, why isn't that version more readily available?
DeleteI started a re-watch myself around Christmas trying to decide if I wanted to commit to season reviews as this is one of my favorite shows of all time. Like you, I gave up because I found the laugh track so grating. I don't remember it being so prominent in the past, but maybe I've just grown up.
ReplyDeleteI'm tempted by the DVDs, but I would need to buy something to play them on. My player broke about a year ago and I just haven't bothered to replace it. Yet.
ChrisB, if you should decide to do it, I certainly would love to read season reviews of M*A*S*H. :)
DeleteChrisB, do you have a blu-ray player? They play old style DVDS -- they're backwards compatible.
DeleteI watched M*A*S*H during its initial run but haven't revisited it since. At the time, everything had laugh tracks, so I don't really remember being annoyed by it. When you remove it, does the dialogue not have strange pauses?
DeleteIt's interesting that removing the laugh track makes it more like the film, because I remember when I finally saw the movie in the 90's finding it very different from the show. I found the movie hard to enjoy because Hawkeye and Honeycutt in the film were so unpleasant and misogynist.
Billie-- it was a blu-ray that gave up the ghost. When I finally had to admit that it was not going to work anymore, I began researching new players. One thing led to another and I just never bought a new one. To be honest, I haven't missed it. Until now. I really, really want to experience M*A*S*H without the laugh track.
Deletemagritte, I haven't noticed any strange pauses. There is still sexism, though. It was a 70s show about the 50s.
DeleteIt's true that almost any show from that era will occasionally feel sexist by modern standards, even ostensibly progressive shows like Star Trek TNG. But the treatment of Houlihan in the movie was really distasteful, particularly the scene where the tent is taken away while she's showering.
Deletemagritte, I totally, totally agree. What's worse is that after that, she turns into an idiotic cheerleader. I can argue that in the series, Houlihan is a much better character and a lot more respected, especially after Burns leaves the series.
DeleteChrisB, I would also love to read your reviews on M*A*S*H ... please get a player and the DVDs! (Besides, they are so worth watching laugh track free!)
DeleteAnonymous -- thank you! I would love to write the reviews, but between buying the player and finding some time this spring, I feel it may be a project for later in the year. Thank you again for the push.
DeleteLater in the year is good, looking forward to reading them! :)
DeleteLoved MASH as a kid. My parents and grandparents watched it, and it was one of the rare shows the adults enjoyed that I did as well as a child. I grew up with that laugh track, so it was 100% normal to me, but laugh tracks are super annoying to me as well, and it does put one off when it won't shut up. I'll laugh when I find it funny, thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteMASH was such a great show, although near the end it got very weird and less of a sitcom while also getting even darker. We don't talk about After MASH though.
I always get DVDs or Blu-Rays so I can watch stuff whenever I want to, I have 0 streaming services anyway. The biggest partial exception to this is that I did buy some digital copies of some of the older Scooby Doo seasons, as some aren't available on physical media, although I can't find the Addams family meet Scooby Doo anywhere as there's some kind of copyright dispute.
Did a quick search and included 'without laugh track' but not sure if that's what I see on Amazon. It also suggested other classics like 'Hogan's Heroes' (which I enjoyed, my grandpa loved it), 'Cheers' (another old favorite), and 'Gilligan's Island' (which I did like back then, but not sure now).
ReplyDeleteI realize now that I've never seen the movie, just the TV show!
Oh, and also the 'Andy Griffith Show' in the 'frequently bought together' section. I did like that one too, but mostly for Don Knotts.
DeleteWe ordered the season one DVD with no way to confirm. When it arrived, we checked and it did have the "English with no laugh track" option under languages.
DeleteI grew up in Germany and the German dub has no laugh track
ReplyDelete(a few minor exceptions). I was actually surprised to learn that shows like MASH, Flintstones or I Dream Of Jeannie originally had a laugh track
But actually most of MASH was shot on sets in a studio, which usually had a fixed perspective. The swamp, the OR, the offices usually always had the same wall missing, so it is possible to imagine those scenes being shot before an audience. And even sitcoms which actually were shot in front of an audience often had scenes which were shot outdoors or could for one reason or another not be shot in front of an audience.