Laugh track Series creators Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds wanted M*A*S*H broadcast without a laugh track ("Just like the actual Korean War", Gelbart remarked dryly), but CBS rejected the idea. By Season Two, a compromise had been reached, whereby the producers were allowed to omit the laugh track during operating room scenes if they wished. As a result, few scenes in the operating room contain canned laughter. Certain episodes omitted the laugh track completely ("O.R.", "The Bus", "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?", "The Interview", "Dreams", "Point of View") as did some international and syndicated airings of the show. The first five seasons of the series contained a rather intrusive laugh track, similar to other laugh-tracked sitcoms of the period, but by Season Six, newer, significantly quieter, laughs were recorded and employed. In the United Kingdom, where the show was broadcast by the BBC (and therefore also without advertising breaks), the laugh track was removed entirely from all episodes. On all released DVDs, both in Region 2 (Europe, including the UK) and Region 1 (including the U.S.), there is an option to watch the show with or without the laugh track. Syndicated broadcasts in the U.S. and UK today retain the original U.S. laugh track.
