The Guardian

Only when we laugh: now even dad jokes can be funny | Rebecca Nicholson

A new study shows that laughing is more enjoyable when we do it together. And TV comedy hits, from Friends to Ab Fab to Father Ted, have tapped into this
Father Ted’s Frank Kelly, Pauline McLynn, Dermot Morgan and Ardal O’Hanlon. Photograph: taken from picture library

There are few things more likely to raise the hackles of a comedy snob than the notion of “canned laughter”. A sitcom with a laugh track – not so much canned, these days, as a recorded live audience reaction – implies that it will be an old-fashioned sort of comedy. We are living in an era that rewards a more naturalistic approach.

Gag-soaked sitcoms such as and , which barely give you time to honk before moving

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