> Generally the humor is built around concept of surprising with punchline, but many sitcoms are just repeating same joke in predictable way. Instead of actual

> Generally the humor is built around concept of surprising with punchline, but many sitcoms are just repeating same joke in predictable way. Instead of actual humor they are just broadcasting "this bit right here is supposed to be funny" every couple of seconds. The laugh track creates conditioning that triggers good emotions in people. Just find a sitcom video with laughing track removed and see how eerie they become I've heard this idea a few times, and seen YouTube videos of, for example, segments from Friends with the laughter removed. And it does feel weird without the laughter. But I'm not sure it's correctly diagnosed. Friends (which I'm picking on because that's the example I've seen) was filmed in front of a live audience, and the actors respond to the audience. I think mostly it feels weird without the laughter because you get lots of unnaturally long pauses in the flow of the lines - those pauses are where the actors were leaving space for the audience's laughter. This is completely normal when acting in front of a live audience and doesn't mean that the jokes aren't funny. (Yes, some of the jokes aren't funny - when you have a lot of episodes you'll get some duds)