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A '''laugh track''' is pre-recorded laughter played in a repetitive manner to create the false illusion of other people laughing at jokes during a television show. It is designed to have a [[Pavlovian]] effect on viewers, particularly dimwitted ones.
A '''laugh track''' is pre-recorded laughter played in a repetitive manner to create the false illusion of other people laughing at jokes during a television show. It is designed to have a [[Pavlovian]] effect on viewers, particularly dimwitted ones.
Over time, a laugh track has a deadening effect on the intelligence of the real audience. [[Liberals]] rarely object to it, although it is not used in many sitcoms created by established liberals, including [[Tina Fey]] (''30 Rock''), Larry David (''Curb Your Enthusiasm''), [[atheist]] Ricky Gervais (''The Office''), Mitchell Hurwitz (''Arrested Development''), Greg Daniels and Michael Schur (''Parks and Recreation''), and Dennis Leary (''The Job''). Sitcoms which mostly portray non-family topics such as ''The Big Bang Theory'', the highly sexualized ''How I Met Your Mother'' and ''Rules of Engagement'' use them - they all run on [[CBS]]. Likewise M*A*S*H creator (and former Huffington Post blogger) Larry Gelbart famously wanted the series to run without a laugh track, but was overruled by the network (a compromise was reached in which msot O.R. scenes omitted the track).
Over time, a laugh track has a deadening effect on the intelligence of the real audience. [[Liberals]] rarely object to it, although it is not used in many sitcoms created by established liberals, including [[Tina Fey]] (''30 Rock''), Larry David (''Curb Your Enthusiasm''), [[atheist]] Ricky Gervais (''The Office''), Mitchell Hurwitz (''Arrested Development''), Greg Daniels and Michael Schur (''Parks and Recreation''), and Dennis Leary (''The Job''). Sitcoms which mostly portray non-family topics such as ''The Big Bang Theory'', the highly sexualized ''How I Met Your Mother'' and ''Rules of Engagement'' use them - they all run on [[CBS]]. Likewise M*A*S*H creator (and former Huffington Post blogger) Larry Gelbart famously wanted the series to run without a laugh track, but was overruled by the network (a compromise was reached in which most O.R. scenes omitted the track).