i think the canned laugh track should have a more active role in sitcoms that have it. have them boo, have them groan, have them go silent when a joke doesn't land. hell, have the actors interact with the audience a bit, even when there's no "physical" audience to interact with. i bet that'd be kinda fresh as sitcom gimmicks go
@typhlosion The laugh conveying the emotional response/state of one of the characters?
If they dissociate it becomes white noise.
@typhlosion Maybe give the "weird neighbor kid" character some real power for once! Lead character says something generally accepted as funny but is actually terrible to other people? Crickets.
@typhlosion woahhh
oh my gosh, like a greek chorus but with like, an impact on their world
or like, characters just understanding this as part of their reality and plots are driven by their need to placate the audience
@heatherhorns YES i was just thinking about the greek chorus
i'm a sucker for stuff like this
even better: have only one character be able to interact with the laugh track
galaxy brain: have them be a supporting character