h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

From:

http://harlanellison.com/review/voice1.htm

" 'Laugh Track' undoubtedly draws on Harlan's experiences writing for television. This story is a very humorous look at mindless sitcoms and their producers. The narrator, an Italian kid making his way in show business, keeps hearing his dead aunt Babe's laugh on laugh tracks for awful television shows. It turns out that she went to a taping years ago, and that laugh has been recorded over and over again. With the help of a 'phantom sweetener,' one of those mysterious people who freshen up inane sitcoms with laugh tracks, he frees his aunt's ghost from television hell, with hilarious results. The last sentence turns out to be the punch line for a long, though well told joke."



P.S. Ellison is the offbeat sci-fi writer responsible for "A Boy and His Dog", and a lot of other weird stories.