Main Entry: Laugh·ter·bate
Pronunciation: "Lauf-t&r-'bA-te
Function: noun : comic stimulation especially of one's own sense of humor commonly resulting in laughing till you shit your own pants and achieved by written or other forms of amusement such as photo's or drawing concocted solely for the purpose of self entertainment,or by various combinations of these agencies
"johnny's sudden and unexpected episode of laughterbation in public was shocking!.. but slightly amusing, though the purpose of his antics where for his own selfishdesire for a cheap laugh"
A phenomenon in film/television series, most notably streaming series, where the main premise is drawn out to such a point that it takes an entire season or more to get the parts of the series the audience is actually interested in seeing.
For example, if a series is titled "Surf Dracula," a majority of viewers would tune in expecting to see Dracula surfing by the first or second episode. However, the entire first season would instead be tedious padding and backstory before finally ending with Dracula surfing in the last five minutes of the season finale.
I watched "Smallville" on Netflix the other day. Dude, it was ten seasons of filler before he finally flew! Major Surf Dracula Syndrome!