The argument is that being funny wasnt the end of the sitcom. That it was meant to be :comfy:. That the laugh track was a form of interpassivity. It's not that people laughed because the laugh track. People heard laughter and got a tiny mental recharge. It is my opinion that the one of the reasons podcasts blew up is because it has that same interpassvity. Where listeners get that tiny relief from their alienation.