Make Me Laugh was a '50s comedy series where contestants had to keep from laughing at comedians who performed directly to them. The original series was hosted by Robert Q. Lewis; the syndicated version (debuting in the '70s) was hosted by Bobby Van. In 1997, it got a reboot on Comedy Central; the first season was hosted by Ken Ober, who was replaced by Mark Cohen in season 2.
Tropes featured:
- Cheer Them Up with Laughter: Inverted. Contestants of this game show earned $1 for every second they don't laugh at the routines of three stand-up comics.
- Special Guest: One of the more famous contestants on the '70s version was Frank Zappa, who had a great poker face.
- Speed Round: The final round of the Comedy Central version had all three comics tag-teaming on the remaining contestant for 60-90 seconds.
- Tough Room: The whole gimmick. Contestants lose if they laugh, so outside of the studio audience, the comedian's jokes are basically bombing if they fail to get the contestant to crack.
