Actually, like most sitcoms of that era, it was filmed in front of a live studio audience, it’s not a canned laugh track. The reason it lasts just long enough to overlap audio is because the actors wait for the laughter to die down before continuing. The whole point of the laughter isn’t to make it funnier to the viewer, it’s so the actors can see how the jokes land and tweak their performance, it’s constant feedback. It’s done for the same reason comedy has an audience even when it is a filmed special.
Funnily enough, it was filmed in front of a live audience, and it is canned laughter. In the edit, they often replaced the audience’s genuine reactions with stock laughter for various reasons. For example, when Monica popped out from under the sheets with Chandler, the audience shouted for minutes on end, they trimmed that for broadcast.
Actually, like most sitcoms of that era, it was filmed in front of a live studio audience, it’s not a canned laugh track. The reason it lasts just long enough to overlap audio is because the actors wait for the laughter to die down before continuing. The whole point of the laughter isn’t to make it funnier to the viewer, it’s so the actors can see how the jokes land and tweak their performance, it’s constant feedback. It’s done for the same reason comedy has an audience even when it is a filmed special.
Funnily enough, it was filmed in front of a live audience, and it is canned laughter. In the edit, they often replaced the audience’s genuine reactions with stock laughter for various reasons. For example, when Monica popped out from under the sheets with Chandler, the audience shouted for minutes on end, they trimmed that for broadcast.
Hollywood trope: Applause sign. Forced laughter and laugh tracks are definitely real.