I regularly don't watch television with 2 exceptions: The Simpsons and its following show Arrested Development.

I just read that Arrested Development is "on the bubble". This I don't understand. The show has won 5 Emmys in comedy and is genuinely funny. However, it lacks a laugh track so you actually have to pay attention to the dialog and the show to know when to laugh. It brilliantly dark, witty, and occasionally sensational. The acting is solid.

But I digress. I really wish I could find the link again but I remember reading of a study that found people didn't find Friends funny with no laugh track. I digress again. Its a rambling notion but interesting to think on. I would love to see if I laughed as much at, say, Seinfeld if there hadn't been a laugh track. Are we conditioned to laugh when others laugh and then find it funny or do we actually think for ourselves?

Edit: here is the link to "save the show" as it were. Click here