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[[File:Applause sign.jpeg|thumb|right| Praise be entertainment! Laugh track coincides with the applause request observed by studio audiences.]]

[[File:Applause sign.jpeg|thumb|right| Praise be entertainment! Laugh track coincides with the applause request observed by studio audiences.]]

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''', or "canned laughter", is pre-recorded laughter played in a repetitive manner to create the illusion in television comedy show that the viewer is part of the actual audience in a studio or performance hall.  It is one of several effects that producers to produce this "live" ambience, like the "applause" sign shown at the right.

 

It became commonplace during the 60's and 70's, and was universally hated, derided, and ridiculed by the public.  But the producers kept doing it anyway.  One of the noteworthy shows to move beyond the laugh track was ''All in the Family'', produced by [[Norman Lear]] in 1971.  The action was taped in a "live" performance in front of an invited studio audience, and the audience reaction was made part of the sound track.  In later years the show retreated from the somewhat:  The show was taped, the tape was shown to a studio audience, and their reaction became part of the sound 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). The notably pro-homosexuality show ''Modern Family'' does not use a laugh track either.

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). The notably pro-homosexuality show ''Modern Family'' does not use a laugh track either.