To talk directly to the elephant I focused on laugh tracks. It reminded me of this video that somebody made to make fun of the TV show, The Big Bang Theory. Somebody took out the laugh track from one of its episodes and it turned it into an incredibly awkward stage play with terrible comedic timings.
Although the video is funny, I don't quite find it fair to judge a show's comedy solely based off this experiment. TBBT writes and edits the show with the laugh track in mind, so taking it out would be taking an integral piece out of a machine. I personally do not like TBBT, but I do not mind having a laugh track. One of the main reasons I enjoy going to the theaters is to experience a film within a large group of people. The social aspect of watching film or theater is incredible to me, so a laugh track is a crude yet effective way to simulate such an experience.
Most modern shows no longer utilize laugh tracks. It would be an interesting experiment to do the opposite of the video above by adding in laughs to a show without a laugh track. Although it would obviously disrupt the original intent of the show, much like taking away the laugh track from TBBT, it would be interesting to see if it actually adds or detracts from the show.