Micklebot
Moderator
- Apr 27, 2010
- 56,709
- 34,507
Just to re-iterate to Qward's point. It's neither fully recorded nor fully live. It's a mix of both.
I can understand why people don't like laugh tracks, however it does serve a purpose other than to tell you when to laugh.
The actors in comedies leave a pause in dialogue in order to make sure the audience is able to catch everything, and not miss out just like a public speaker might do for applause. If during a recording this is left void, it makes the scenes pacing seem odd, hence either a live studio is used or a laugh track.
Edit: not sure why I quoted you, oh well.
All that said, laugh tracks are abused, and certainly have been tweaked to exaggerate reactions. I prefer no laugh track myself, as I seldom find a comedy funny enough that I miss dialogue though.