Writers for the CBS science comedy want to make sure the show gets laughs, and creator Chuck Lorre’s theory is that if the jokes don’t bang with a live audience, it’s best to change them on the spot.
Lorre says filming in front of a live audience makes the cast and crew “vulnerable” to the silence of watchers, and he often fixes material in the middle of shooting to make sure people laugh.
He explains, “If something we think is funny isn’t funny we’ll re-write it and shoot the scene again. If it sucks here, it sucks at home. We do it every week.”
Lorre laments that comedy “isn’t science,” so writing the sitcom is mostly “guesswork.”
But when the jokes jive, the satisfaction is well worth the stress.
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